Guidance on adequate procedures to prevent the commission of foreign bribery

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. The legislation requires the Attorney-General to publish guidance material on what steps corporations can take to prevent an associate from bribing foreign public officials within 6 months.

In August 2024, we published the Guidance on adequate procedures to prevent the commission of foreign bribery.

It 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' :

Fostering a control environment to prevent foreign briber

Responsibilities of top-level management

Risk assessment

Communication and training

Reporting foreign bribery

Monitoring and review