18.01.2024
The Australian Law Reform Commission report, Confronting Complexity: Reforming Corporations and Financial Services Legislation (ALRC Report 141), was tabled in Parliament by the Attorney-General of Australia, the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC, on 18 January 2024.
The Final Report contains 58 recommendations aimed at transforming corporations and financial services legislation into a more adaptive, efficient, and navigable legislative framework. The Final Report builds upon the three Interim Reports published during the Inquiry, which contained 23 of the 58 recommendations.
Implementing the recommendations made by the ALRC would produce legislation that:
- is easier to navigate and understand;
- reduces the costs of unnecessary complexity in the existing legislative framework;
- promotes the principled use of delegated legislative powers, with appropriate levels of guidance and oversight from Parliament;
- promotes meaningful compliance with the substance and intent of the law;
- is flexible and adaptive to new business models, technologies, and practices; and
- provides a better platform for implementing future policy initiatives.
Download the Final Report.
Download the Summary Report.
Download additional resources:
- Delegated Legislative Powers Mapping: Database identifying powers to make delegated legislation in the financial services-related provisions of Chapter 7 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and Part 2 Div 2 of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth).
- Policy Initiatives Data: Database identifying policy initiatives relating to corporations and financial services legislation undertaken between 2010 and 2022.
Over the course of the Inquiry, the ALRC produced three Interim Reports and 12 Background Papers:
Hard copy versions of the report are also available to purchase.
Further resources are available as part of the ALRC’s data analysis for the Inquiry on the DataHub.