Foreign bribery—2017 Submission to AGD
The ECA supports the policy objective of eliminating the incidence of bribery, and welcomes the Australian Government’s move to review the foreign
bribery offence.
The ECA notes that foreign bribery can present disproportionately large challenges to SMEs. The consultation paper states that it can be difficult
for the Australian Government to “obtain evidence about foreign laws and the duties of the official in the country where bribery allegedly took
place”. Similarly, it is difficult for SMEs to find out what payments are legitimately due. SMEs can also be seen as soft targets by foreign officials
seeking bribes, as the greater resources, market position and/or connections of larger corporations act as deterrents. Further, SMEs have
fewer resources with which to monitor the actions of overseas staff and agents.
Overall, the ECA supports the intent of most of the amendments but urges caution in their drafting. The government should take care not to significantly
shift the balance of the legislation to favour prosecutors over companies—and it should ensure it is not perceived to be doing so. The
consequences of doing so will be to impose significant costs on companies that are not involved in foreign bribery.
The ECA does not support the absolute liability provision of s70.5A, which prescribes that a body corporate would be liable for bribery of its
employers, contractors and agents (except where it can be established that the company had implemented a proper system of internal controls
and compliance in place to prevent the bribery from occurring).

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Eric Meppem,
Co-Founder & Commercial Director,
Pharmako Biotechnologies Pty Ltd
Member of the ECA
"Pharmako Biotechnologies were already exporting when we joined the ECA. We joined to assist our export strategies, and unashamedly to promote ourselves
through the Australian Export Awards. As a small business, third party recognition and industry membership assist when dealing with large
multinational businesses."
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Established in 1970, Mavlab Animal Health Pty Ltd is a Queensland based, family-owned, GMP licenced manufacturer of veterinary pharmaceuticals and pet care products. Mavlab has an extensive range of prescription and over the counter
products sold in a growing number of global markets. Contract manufacturing opportunities are also available.