Applying ‘Systems Intentionality’ — How to Guide the Corporate Conscience
Read this piece by Professor Elise Bant which first appeared in Starling Insights’ newsletter on October 27, 2024.
High Court ruling might mean corporate executives face ‘lower bar’ for prosecutions, and more of them
Read this ABC News article or watch a related story on ‘The Business’ on ABC on how a landmark High Court ruling could radically reshape how corporation can be held directly responsible for their predatory business models.
Corporate wrongdoers more likely to face justice
A model of corporate responsibility developed by Professor Elise Bant has proved decisive in a landmark decision of the High Court that has placed corporate wrong-doers on notice.
The game is up for corporate fraudsters
A landmark decision of the High Court explains how corporations can now be held directly responsible for their predatory business models.
‘Systems Intentionality’ model endorsed by the High Court of Australia
“Systems Intentionality: Theory and Practice”, in Bant (ed), The Culpable Corporate Mind (2023) 183 has been cited and applied in Productivity Partners Pty Ltd v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission [2024] HCA 27 [108], [109] and [143] (Gordon J), (Steward J at [282] and [307] and Beech-Jones J at [340] relevantly agreeing with her analysis), and cited [243] (Edelman J)
“Culpable Corporate Minds” (2021) 48 University of Western Australia Law Review 352, was cited in Productivity Partners Pty Ltd v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission [2024] HCA 27 [237] (Edelman J)
Elise Bant and Jeannie Marie Paterson, ‘Systems of misconduct: Corporate culpability and statutory unconscionability’ (2021) 15 Journal of Equity 63, cited in Productivity Partners Pty Ltd v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission [2024] HCA 27 [240] (Edelman J)
And separately, on the statutory prohibition, see Jeannie Marie Paterson, Elise Bant, Nicholas Felstead and Eugene Twomey “Beyond the Unwritten Law: The Limits of Statutory Unconscionable Conduct” (2023) 17 Journal of Equity 1 in Productivity Partners Pty Ltd v Australian Competition and Consumer Commission [2024] HCA 27 [321] (Gleeson J)
Unravelling Corporate Fraud Conference
Unravelling Corporate Fraud Conference, sponsored by HFW and the University of Western Australia Law School was held on Thursday 22 February 2024 at HFW, Perth and online. The recordings of the conference sessions, together with the conference materials, are now available through this link.
The Culpable Corporate Mind
Read here about Professor Bant’s recently published collection on The Culpable Corporate Mind and follow this link to watch the recording of the launch by the Hon. Justice Gordon of the High Court of Australia, followed by a panel discussion with Mr Joseph Longo, Chair of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, alongside a range of eminent contributors to the collection.
Royal Commission into the Robodebt
Read Prof Bant’s submission to Royal Commission into the Robodebt and view the livestream of hearings on the Royal Commission website.
An options paper on Corporate Criminal Liability
The UK’s Law Commission has published an options paper for the Government on how it can improve the law to ensure that corporations are effectively held to account for committing serious crimes. The report includes discussion on Professor Bant’s research and her ‘systems intentionality’ model.
Final Report – Perth Royal Commission into Crown Casinos
The Perth Casino Royal Commission have tabled their final report in Parliament. The report, which cites Professor Elise Bant at several points, includes 59 recommendations to facilitate remediation work rather than a stripping of the licence.
The Report – Royal Commission into the Casino Operator and Licence
The report with recommendations by the Royal Commission into the Casino Operator and Licence, presented to the Governor of Victoria in October 2021, adopts Professor Bant’s model of ‘systems intentionality’, and cites her public submission to the Commission at several points.
ACCC VS BIG TECH: ROUND 10 AND COUNTING
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is taking on Big Tech again – this time it’s Meta – with a focus on dismantling a key Big Tech defence tool.
Book Review: Punishment And Private Law
Professor Normann Witzleb (Associate Professor (Law), Chinese University of Hong Kong) reviews Punishment and Private Law.
Can Crown’s Old Habits Die?
The Royal Commission says disgraced casino operator Crown Melbourne needs to reform itself – how will we be able to judge whether it has or not?
The 37th Annual Conference of the Banking & Financial Services Law Association
Tectonic Shifts in the Banking and Financial Services is the theme of this year’s BFSLA Conference. Taking place in Sydney and Auckland, the event also hosts remote speakers, including Professor Elise Bant who will speak on Shifting Sands: New statutory strategies for promoting good consumer
outcomes in Financial Services
Visit the BFSLA website or download the conference programme (PDF 2MB)
Charging dead clients is dishonest. Really? Who knew?
The news that Australia’s financial services regulator will take five AMP group companies to court over them charging life insurance and advice fees to dead people is a wake-up call to corporations.
Privacy erosion by design: why the Federal Court should throw the book at Google over location data tracking
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has had a significant win against Google. The Federal Court found Google misled some Android users about how to disable personal location tracking. Will this decision actually change the behaviour of the big tech companies? The answer will depend on the size of the penalty awarded in response to the misconduct.
WA Crown royal commission: No more blissful ignorance of corporate ‘Frankensteins’
The Perth Casino Royal Commission kicks off today. Among other matters, the commissioners will inquire and report on the ‘suitability’ of Crown Resorts and its local subsidiaries to continue to hold a license for Crown Perth.
Crown, Collingwood and the corporate conscience
The different failures at Crown and Collingwood shows that the law needs to go beyond individuals when holding corporations to account
More on Crown
Watch: ABC News – The Business: More change is coming for embattled casino giant Crown Resorts and key shareholder James Packer may need to radically reduce his stake.
James Packer might need to sell his Crown stake. Who will buy the tarnished casino giant?
Westpac’s scandal highlights corporate wrongdoing
Australia’s anti money-laundering regulator has accused Westpac of breaching the law of 23 million occasions.
The Buck Stops Here: Holding banks responsible for dishonest conduct
With 76 recommendations, Commissioner Ken Hayne’s final report into the Australian financial services industry provides a roadmap to hold the sector to account, especially for the ‘fees for no service’ scandal
Rio Tinto and the Anatomy of Corporate Culpability
Heads have finally rolled over the mining company’s shameful destruction of the Juukan Gorge rock shelter, but what are the legal implications and how does corporate culture matter?
Holding Corporations to Account
The slippery concept of corporate guilt too often allows companies off the hook. The law needs reforming
It’s about to become easier to lend irresponsibly, to aid the recovery
What used to be known as a requirement to lend responsibly is now regarded as red tape.
Coming clean on hand sanitisers
Why clarifying the distinction between ’therapeutic’ and ‘cosmetic’ hand sanitisers could be critical in the fight against COVID-19
Fine that’ll hurt. ASIC’s powerful, if ill-fitting, teeth
At last, our corporate watchdog has a strong set of teeth with which to fight crime and serious misconduct in the financial sector.
Understanding Hayne. Why less is more
In the view of Royal Commissioner Kenneth Hayne, when all is said and done the complex patchwork of rules that regulate financial institutions can be boiled down to six simple requirements:
Three simple steps to fix our banks
Here are three simple steps to address the widespread misconduct revealed in the interim report of the banking royal commission, arising out of research I have undertaken with my colleague Associate Professor Jeannie Paterson.
Misleading Conduct? So what!
How ASIC is trying to make corporate misconduct Indifference and disregard for the rule of law in Australia requires a firmer hand and tougher penalties
How courts and costs are undermining ASIC and the ACCC’s efforts to police misbehaving banks and businesses!
When families and money don’t mix
The banking Royal Commission highlights the vulnerability of parents acting as guarantors of their child’s business loan and the need for better ways to support decision-making
They’re using my face!
What cosmetic bloggers and the Cambridge Analytica saga tell us about protection from misleading conduct
unravellingcorporatefraud.com 