Failing to prevent foreign bribery – legal liability for Au businesses

Proposed legislation is before the Australian Parliament that would create a corporate offence of failing to prevent foreign bribery. The proposed offence is based on a similar United Kingdom (UK) law, the highest benchmark for global foreign bribery laws available to date. The proposed Australian offence would hold a business liable if an associate bribes a foreign public official. To avoid legal liability, companies will need to demonstrate that they had adequate procedures in place to prevent its associates from committing foreign bribery. Once in effect, this offence will have serious implications for Australian businesses operating overseas, particularly in industries and countries with high bribery risks. This guide supports Australian businesses to understand how to implement these adequate procedures. Many of the Case Studies used as illustrations relate to Resource Companies.