Offences
- Carrying on business using “Limited”, “No Liability” or “Proprietary” in name
- Good faith, use of position and use of information—criminal offences
- Listed company—director to notify market operator of shareholdings etc.
- Disqualified person not to manage corporations
- Proxy vote if appointment specifies way to vote
- Public company must hold AGM
- Lodgment of annual reports with ASIC
- Lodgment of half-year reports with ASIC
- Officers to report to controller about corporation’s affairs
- Directors to help administrator
- Directors to help administrator
- Information about the company’s affairs
- Officers to help liquidator
- Liquidator’s rights to company’s books
- Director’s duty to prevent insolvent trading by company
- Offences by officers of certain companies
- Incurring of certain debts; fraudulent conduct
- When a managed investment scheme must be registered
- Prohibition on certain acquisitions of relevant interests in voting shares
- Continuous disclosure—listed disclosing entity bound by a disclosure requirement in market listing rules
- Need for an Australian financial services licence
- Providing financial services on behalf of a person who carries on a financial services business
- Effect of banning orders
- Financial services licensee to prepare and lodge annual profit and loss statement and balance sheet
- Market manipulation
- False trading and market rigging—creating a false or misleading appearance of active trading etc.
- False trading and market rigging—artificially maintaining etc. trading price
- Dissemination of information about illegal transactions
- False or misleading statements
- Inducing persons to deal
- Dishonest conduct
- Prohibited conduct by person in possession of inside information
- Registers
- Falsification of books
- False or misleading documents
- False information etc.
- Obstructing or hindering ASIC etc.
- Automatic disqualification—convictions, bankruptcy and foreign court orders etc
- Part 9.4 Divisions 2 Offences generally
Falsification of books
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Offence title: |
Falsification of books |
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Act: |
1307 Corporations Act |
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Offence: |
(1) An officer, former officer, employee, former employee, member or former member of a company who engages in conduct that results in the concealment, destruction, mutilation or falsification of any securities of or belonging to the company or any books affecting or relating to affairs of the company is guilty of an offence.
(2) Where matter that is used or intended to be used in connection with the keeping of any books affecting or relating to affairs of a company is recorded or stored in an illegible form by means of a mechanical device, an electronic device or any other device, a person who: (a) records or stores by means of that device matter that the person knows to be false or misleading in a material particular; or (b) engages in conduct that results in the destruction, removal or falsification of matter that is recorded or stored by means of that device, or has been prepared for the purpose of being recorded or stored, or for use in compiling or recovering other matter to be recorded or stored by means of that device; or (c) having a duty to record or store matter by means of that device, fails to record or store the matter by means of that device: i. with intent to falsify any entry made or intended to be compiled, wholly or in part, from matter so recorded or stored; or ii. knowing that the failure so to record or store the matter will render false or misleading in a material particular other matter so recorded or stored; contravenes this subsection
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Penalty: |
(1) and (2) - 5 years imprisonment |
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Summary/Indictable/mixed: |
Mixed |
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Jurisdiction: |
Local, District or Supreme Court |
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How committed: |
(1) A senior manager amends a ledger entry to hide defalcation by the manager.
(2) A former senior employee accused of stealing from the accounts of the client of the company, causes computer records to be deleted.
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Important note: |
Defence: ss. (3) It is a defence to a charge arising under subsection (1) or (2) if the defendant proves that he, she or it acted honestly and that in all the circumstances the act or omission constituting the offence should be excused. A defendant bears the evidential onus to prove the defence. |