Summary

Implements the Council of Australian Governments’ directors’ liability reform by amending: the Corporations Act 2001 to: remove the personal criminal liability of company secretaries for certain offences and replace it with a civil liability; and impose a penalty for a breach of the civil liability; the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Act 1975 to provide that only an officer of a corporation who authorised or permitted the commission of an offence by that corporation is personally liable for the breach; the Health Insurance Act 1973 to remove the personal criminal liability on company officers of the proprietor of a private hospital who wilfully authorises or permits the bribery of a medical practitioner, midwife or nurse by their corporation, where the officer has not personally been responsible for the offence; the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 to limit the circumstances when executive officers including directors can be personally liable for certain offences of the company; the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 to: remove the personal liability of executive officers for certain offences of a body corporate; and remove the automatic application of derivative liability; and 10 other Acts to align them with the principles and guidelines for the imposition of personal criminal liability for corporate fault.