Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) 2023

✦ Plain-English Summary

# Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) 2023

## What it does

This law tightens Australia's rules against bribing foreign government officials and public servants. It updates the legal definitions of who counts as a "foreign public official" (now including political candidates) and what counts as a bribe, and it makes companies more accountable when their employees or contractors offer bribes overseas.

## Why it matters

Australia signed up to international anti-corruption agreements, and this law brings our criminal code into line with those commitments. It prevents Australian individuals and companies from using bribery to win overseas contracts or favours—and strengthens the consequences if they try.

## Key details

- **Who's caught**: The law applies to Australian citizens and companies anywhere in the world, plus anyone doing business in Australia, if they bribe a foreign official
- **Timing**: The main criminal penalties take effect 6 months after the law receives Royal Assent; tax law changes come into effect on the next scheduled quarterly date after that
- **Broader definition**: Foreign public officials now include political candidates and party officials—not just sitting government workers—so bribing someone to win political influence is also illegal

Official Description

Amends the: Criminal Code Act 1995 to: extend the foreign bribery offence to include the bribery of candidates for public office and bribery conducted to obtain a personal advantage; remove the requirement that a benefit or business advantage be ‘not legitimately due’ and replace it with the concept of ‘improperly influencing’ a foreign public official; remove the requirement that the foreign public official be influenced in the exercise of their official duties; clarify that the foreign bribery offence does not require the prosecution to prove that the accused had a specific business, or business or personal advantage, in mind, and that the business, or business or personal advantage, can be obtained for someone else; and create an offence of failure of a body corporate to prevent foreign bribery by an associate; and Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 to preserve the existing rule which prohibits a person from claiming as a deduction for a loss or outgoing a bribe to a foreign public official.

Committee Referrals

Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee; Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills

Full bill PDF →APH page →

Audit History

Introduced

22 June 2023

Last updated on APH

10 Apr 2026

Outcome date

8 Mar 2024

Last checked by Crossbench

yesterday

Full text indexed

yesterday

🗳️

No formal division recorded

This bill passed by voice vote — parliament agreed without calling a formal count. A division is only recorded when a member explicitly requests one.

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