White-collar penalties low, says ASIC

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the body responsible for regulating companies, says the penalties for corporate wrongdoing are too low. For example, “[t]he maximum fine that may be imposed may be substantially lower than the financial benefit obtained as a result of the wrongdoing.” One proposal in the ASIC report is to set the maximum penalty for profitable offences at “three times the value of the benefits obtained that are reasonably attributable to the contravention”.