Understand regulatory expectations, seek to comply with legal obligations and manage whistleblowing in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001 using this guide on whistleblowing policies. The guide offers background context to whistleblowing policies. It also provides detailed steps, examples and good practice tips on how to establish, implement and maintain a whistleblower policy.

Practical guidance in the form of seven considerations is provided to support business to establish and implement internal whistleblowing programs as part of their efforts to tackle corruption. The document includes a summary of the international corruption landscape and a selected overview of national and international whistleblowing laws and conventions.

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 case study of the AWB class action examines allegations that can be made when a company does not report suspected corruption. Bribery and corruption allegations can have serious consequences for companies, including fines, loss of business and reputation, loss of licenses and inability to recover payments. For listed companies, those potential consequences may be material enough to need to be reported to the ASX.

Remuneration and promotion structures are one of the most powerful ways that companies communicate their values and priorities to staff. Section nine of the Austrade publication "Anti-bribery and Corruption (ABC): A guide for Australians doing business overseas" gives a simple overview of how compliance, risk management and ethical behavior can be reinforced through incentive structures (and how the wrong behaviors can also be reinforced). This resource is part of Austrade’s “Guide to exporting”.

This news story reports on the 2017 case where three individuals pleaded guilty and were convicted of conspiring to bribe an Iraqi foreign public official to secure infrastructure contracts for their construction company. One, a middleman who facilitated the bribe, was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment. The other two, directors of the company, were sentenced to imprisonment for three years and four months and fined A$250,000 each.

In 2019 the Serious Fraud Office in the United Kingdom (UK) entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with a small UK resources sector company concerning bribery in South Korea. The company was required to disgorge its profits from the bribery but did not receive a penalty because of its small size and the fact that it had thoroughly investigated and self-reported the issues.

The United States (US) Department of Justice has an extensive track record of enforcing foreign bribery matters, including against companies that are not registered in the US. This site shows the Department of Justice's foreign bribery enforcement track record.

The United States (US) Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) is the regulator for companies that are listed in, or raise capital in, the US. It frequently brings enforcement action against companies for 'books and records' offences related to foreign bribery under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. This resource includes an annotated list of enforcement actions under this Act.

A 30-minute training module that provides good practice anti-bribery training for companies facing requests for bribes. A useful benchmark to assess training programs against. Offers headline points on the potential damage of bribes and some prevention steps. The tool includes a trainer’s handbook with PowerPoint slides.   

A practical corruption glossary that provides definitions with animated images. Useful as a training tool to help staff develop their understanding of corruption terminology, including terms such as 'facilitation payments'. Each term includes a paragraph defining the phrase, as well as a description of why it matters.

This resource offers a high-level overview on how your organisation’s anti-bribery and corruption procedures might be designed to mitigate identified risks as well as prevent deliberate unethical conduct by associated persons. It explains features of a proportionate approach to developing anti-bribery procedures and clearly sets out characteristics of such an approach. This resource is part of Austrade’s suite of anti-bribery materials.

Understand what constitutes a facilitation payment with this guide. This resource provides a list of examples, explains associated risks, and sets out the Australian law and Austrade policy in relation to facilitation payments. It also includes a brief hypothetical scenario and offers guidance on how to resist making facilitation payments. This resource forms part of Austrade’s suite of anti-bribery materials.

This website provides a diverse range of resources to assist Hong Kong businesses to prevent bribery and corruption. The website contains links to practical guides, tools, best practice checklists and training and includes sector and industry-specific information. This website is available in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.

Seek to understand key anti-bribery and corruption laws in China with this online resource. A range of topics relevant to the enforcement of bribery and corruption laws in China are covered including key legislation, offences, penalties and enforcement agencies. This resource also provides information about corporate liability for the acts of intermediaries and the liability of individuals.