Australian laws governing anti-bribery and corruption operate at both the Commonwealth and state and territory levels. These laws can apply to individuals and companies for bribery and corruption both inside and outside Australia. Multiple government agencies (such as ASIC, Austrade and the Attorney-General’s Department) have released useful resources providing practical guidance on how to comply with your anti-bribery and corruption obligations – many of these resources are collated in this section. Develop an understanding of relevant Australian legislation and build your awareness of your legal obligations through these government resources. Learn about the risks of bribery and corruption in international transactions, and how you can prepare your business for the introduction of proposed laws that will require companies of all sizes to have adequate procedures in place to prevent bribery of foreign public officials. Find out more about a proposed deferred prosecution agreement scheme for certain corporate offences.
Resources from the Australian Government
Found 39 results
Optimal investigation outcomes for self-reporting and cooperating corporations
by Australian Federal Police
This Guideline explains and develops the principles associated with achieving an optimal investigation outcome for corporations that provide genuine, proactive and fulsome cooperation in an AFP investigation, including through self-reporting. This Guideline is primarily directed towards investigations involving allegations of foreign bribery and related offending, however, the principles involved may also be applied in other AFP investigations involving cooperating corporations.
Government business enterprises (GBEs) are Commonwealth entities or companies that operate commercially while being owned by, and accountable to, government. This guide supports GBE directors, officers, employees, contractors, consultants and advisers to understand and prevent corruption risks.
Download and print foreign bribery resources including a brochure and poster outlining key information about the foreign bribery offence and how to report suspected foreign bribery to the AFP. These resources are designed to be printed and made available to employees and contractors who require easy to understand information about foreign bribery.
This document summarises some key indicators associated with foreign bribery. The indicators have been collated based on the collective experiences of IFBT members. This purpose of this document is to enable persons working in high-risk sectors, as well as the broader public, to recognise possible instances of foreign bribery and report these concerns accordingly.
This guide by Austrade, outlines how to create an effective anti-bribery and corruption program; including why anti bribery and corruption compliance matters, developing your program, implementing your program, and maintaining your program.
The purpose of this guide is to help Australian Government officials better understand the factors that lead to fraud and corruption, and provide advice on a range of strategies that entities can implement to mitigate the probability of these risks as well as the harm they cause for the public sector.
Accompanying the guide, is a Control Design Template and a Fraud Control Catalogue.
The Procurement Administration Counter Fraud Toolkit is designed to help Australian Government officials to identify and manage fraud and corruption risks in the procurement process. This toolkit was developed in consultation with procurement teams and fraud prevention experts from multiple Commonwealth entities.
This brief provides an overview of the corruption risks and vulnerabilities identified between July 2020 and June 2023 from finalised investigations under the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006 and related prosecutions.
The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Act 2024 came into effect on 8 March 2024 and introduced a new corporate offence of failing to prevent foreign bribery.
Guidance on adequate procedures to prevent the commission of foreign bribery
by Attorney-General's Department
The Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Act 2024 came into effect on 8 March 2024 and introduced a new corporate offence of failing to prevent foreign bribery. This resource outlines the steps corporations can take to establish an effective anti-bribery compliance program and suggests types of controls to consider when implementing such a program. The guidance sets out 6 elements to assist corporations in establishing ‘adequate procedures’.
National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) Corruption prevention priorities for 2024.
by National Anti-Corruption Commission
The NACC has identified 3 areas of focus for its corruption prevention and education work in 2024:
1. Conflicts of interest
2. Ethical decision-making
3. The electoral process
The National Anti-Corruption Commission enhances integrity in the Commonwealth public sector by deterring, detecting and preventing corrupt conduct involving Commonwealth public officials. It does this through education, monitoring, investigation, reporting and referral.
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.
Australia tales a whole-of-government approach to combatting foreign bribery. This page outlines the roles of Australian agencies tasked with responding to foreign bribery and the responsibilities of each agency.
Complaint mechanism for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
by Australian National Contact Point OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
The Australian National Contact Point (AusNCP) is responsible for promoting the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and to contribute to the resolution of issues relating to their implementation when cases against a company are raised. The complaint mechanism helps parties resolve conflicts. The website provides useful information on how to submit a complaint, track a case and view a closed complaint.
This short, 15 minute learning module can be used by businesses to help develop employees’ awareness of the foreign bribery offence. The module provides information about Australia’s anti-bribery policy, relevant laws and how to report foreign bribery. It features video interviews with Australian Federal Police representatives, links to relevant agencies and a short quiz, and supports users with accessibility requirements.