The Government will expand the Federal Court’s jurisdiction in relation to criminal corporate crime.
The Royal Commission has emphasised that effective deterrence through judicial decisions relies on the timely institution of proceedings and punishment of misconduct. The Government agrees, and has already provided an additional $70.1 million to boost ASIC’s enforcement capabilities and supervisory approach and $41.6 million to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) to prosecute briefs from ASIC.
Extending the Federal Court’s jurisdiction will boost the overall capacity within the Australian court system to ensure the prosecution of financial crimes does not face delays as a result of heavy caseloads in the Courts.
The Federal Court has considerable expertise in civil commercial matters and is well‑positioned to accommodate the conferral of a greater corporate criminal jurisdiction, which will help to increase the speed with which such matters are dealt with.