In 2018, the Attorney-General's Department released a draft Code of Practice for public consultation, setting out how a proposed Commonwealth Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) scheme would have operated. The scheme, part of the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Corporate Crime) Bill 2017/2019, would have allowed the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions to invite a corporation to negotiate an agreement — involving cooperation, admissions, and a financial penalty — in exchange for deferring prosecution. The Bill ultimately lapsed and a DPA scheme was not introduced in Australia.

Self-reporting is a significant first step in addressing suspected foreign bribery. This Guideline is designed to provide companies with information about how self-reporting will be taken into account by the CDPP when determining whether or not to commence a prosecution, and highlights the reasons why a company may choose to self-report including to comply with directors’ duties and limit liability. Information about early guilty pleas is also provided.

Suspected bribery of foreign public officials can be reported to the Australian Federal Police (AFP). This fact sheet tells you how. Companies that discover foreign bribery and do not report to the AFP may face increased liability for maintaining a corporate culture that tolerates bribery. Companies that report their own conduct can receive discounted penalties (and may not be prosecuted at all).

This detailed instruction manual for investigating corruption allegations can guide you through the internal investigation process. It is designed for investigations in the public sector, but the same principles will apply for internal investigations of fraud or corruption issues in the private sector. The 'whistleblowing' section of this site provides up to date guidance on recent developments in obligations relating to whistleblowers.

This resource offers an introductory summary of corporate sector whistleblower protection requirements under the Corporations Act 2001. It includes links to further guidance for companies on handling whistleblower disclosures and creating whistleblowing policies. This guidance can be used by companies even if they are not required to have a whistleblower policy under the law.  

Create a compliance program that seeks to prevent and address bribery and corruption with this guide. It includes country risk reports that outline risks associated when engaging with state-owned enterprises. Also included are key actions to take when building a compliance program, a six-step process for conducting third party due diligence, sample policies, training procedures, risk assessment templates and due diligence tools.