DIRECTORS OF CORPORATIONS – LAW AND LEGISLATION – AUSTRALIA

Workers’ safety net tightened

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Original article by Sarah Elks
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Oct-17

Employees of failed companies have been paid more than $A1bn in total from the Federal Government’s Fair Entitlements Guarantee scheme in the last five years. However, Employment Minister Michaelia Cash has announced plans for reforms which will target directors of failed companies who attempt to avoid liability for employees’ redundancy entitlements. The reforms will not apply retrospectively to companies such as Clive Palmer’s Queensland Nickel, which collapsed owing some $A70m to its workers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, QUEENSLAND NICKEL PTY LTD, PPB ADVISORY, WARATAH COAL INCORPORATED, CHINA FIRST PTY LTD, ANSETT AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED, NATIONAL TEXTILES LIMITED

Directors face new penalties

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Original article by Ewin Hannan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 20-Jun-16

The Australian Government will increase the maximum civil penalty for breaches of the Corporations Act if wins the 2016 federal election. Company directors will face fines of up to $A216,000 for serious breaches of the Act, compared with $A200,000 at present. The registered organisations bill will also impose the same penalty on union officials, who can be fined a maximum of $A10,800 at present. Unions will also be prohibited from paying the fines of officials who breach the law.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO TRADE UNION GOVERNANCE AND CORRUPTION, ACTU, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA

APRA puts union super on notice

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Original article by Sally Rose, Joanna Mather, Sally Patten
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1-Dec : 22-Oct-15

Australian superannuation funds will have to ensure that 33 per cent of their directors are independent from mid-2017 under proposed legislation. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s Helen Rowell says the new laws will also require a majority of directors to be independent from mid-2019, unless a super fund can present a strong argument to justify not doing so. Rowell has rejected claims by industry super funds that returns would be lower under the proposed regime.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, UNISUPER LIMITED, SUNSUPER PTY LTD, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SUPERANNUATION TRUSTEES, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL

Ex-AWB head Flugge finally before court

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 12-Oct-15

The Supreme Court of Victoria will begin hearing the case against former AWB chairman Trevor Flugge on 12 October 2015. The civil charges of breaching his duties as a director relate to the payment of $US225m in kickbacks to the regime of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein between 1999 and 2004. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission launched civil proceedings against Flugge and other AWB executives after abandoning criminal action.

CORPORATES
AWB LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. INQUIRY INTO CERTAIN AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES IN RELATION TO THE UN OIL-FOR-FOOD PROGRAMME, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

ASIC seeks lifetime ban for company director

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Original article by Sarah Danckert
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 29-May-15

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) believes that Bill Lewski’s 15-year ban on serving as a company director is insufficient. It wants the founder of Prime Trust to be permanently banned from holding such positions, while it has argued in the Full Federal Court that a $A230,000 fine for breaching his duties as a director is also inadequate. ASIC is seeking higher fines for several other Prime directors.

CORPORATES
PRIME RETIREMENT AND AGED CARE PROPERTY TRUST, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, PLACES VICTORIA

Prime Trust directors banned

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Original article by Sarah Danckert
The Australian – Page: 21 : 3-Dec-14

Federal Court of Australia judge Bernard Murphy has handed down the penalties for the board members of the failed Prime Retirement & Aged Care Property Trust, following a successful civil case by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. The breaches of the Corporations Act have resulted in bans from acting as a company director of two years and three months for chair Michael Wooldridge, 15 years for Bill Lewski, and four years each for Kim Jaques and Mark Butler. Fines of between $A20,000 and $A230,000 per individual have also been imposed

CORPORATES
PRIME RETIREMENT AND AGED CARE PROPERTY TRUST, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, VISION EYE INSTITUTE LIMITED – ASX VEI, PLACES VICTORIA, AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED – ASX API, MONASH UNIVERSITY, UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE

Harvey unfazed by ‘first strike’

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 23 : 26-Nov-14

The remuneration report of retailing group Harvey Norman at its 25 November 2014 AGM was rejected by 282.5 million stockholder votes and approved by just 90 million. The resulting "first strike" under Australian executive pay laws has been labelled irrelevant by chair Gerry Harvey, who also owns 30% of the business and cannot vote that bloc. The salary increase of over 40% for CEO Katie Page had triggered a recommendation for a "no" vote by proxy advisory firm Ownership Matters. Meanwhile Harvey Norman will source $A120.7m in fresh capital from existing investors at $A2.50 a share

CORPORATES
HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, OWNERSHIP MATTERS PTY LTD

No charges, but watchdog takes civil action after LM property collapse

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Original article by Ben Butler, Roseanne Barrett
The Australian – Page: 19 : 21-Nov-14

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) is bringing a civil action against real estate investor Peter Drake, but it will not pursue criminal charges. His LM fund management firm raised $A800m-plus from small retail shareholders before failing in 2013. The watchdog alleges that Drake channelled $A26m to personal spending, and that director’s duties were breached in approving the loans by LM’s Francene Mulder, Eghard van der Hoven, Simon Jeremy Tickner and Lisa Maree Darcy

CORPORATES
LM INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, LM ADMINISTRATION PTY LTD, LM MANAGED PERFORMANCE FUND, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, MADDISON ESTATE PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS, ERNST AND YOUNG

Boards seeking new legal shields

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Original article by Annabel Hepworth
The Australian – Page: 20 : 31-Jul-14

Attorney-General George Brandis and other politicians are being lobbied by the Australian Institute of Company Directors. It wants to see the inclusion of an "honest and reasonable director" defence in the Corporations Act, to give company boards better protection in cases launched over alleged breaches of the law as well as of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission Act. The professional body notes that the majority of serious offences in the Corporations Act feature a dishonesty component. The call for reform is separate to any expansion of the current business judgment rule

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF COMPANY DIRECTORS, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX

Harsh penalties sought for Prime directors

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Original article by Pia Akerman
The Australian – Page: 19 : 29-Jul-14

Ian Martindale QC, on behalf of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, has urged Federal Court judge Bernard Murphy to impose the maximum fines as well substantial bans on former board members of the failed Prime Retirement & Aged Care Property Trust. The breaches of the Corporations Act should result in a 25-year ban from acting as a director for Bill Lewski, and one of seven to 12 years for ex-federal health minister Michael Wooldridge. Co-accused Peter Clarke meanwhile has sought to revise his previously given testimony

CORPORATES
PRIME RETIREMENT AND AGED CARE PROPERTY TRUST, AUSTRALIAN PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED – ASX API, VISION EYE INSTITUTE LIMITED – ASX VEI, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA