NSW Up to 7 Years Jail for Corruptly Influencing Who Manages Property

Crimes Amendment (Corrupt Benefits for Trustees) Bill 2023

21 Sep 2023: Passed by Parliament and signed off by the governor.

This bill kicks in: TBA

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Council

Assent

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Topics

anti-corruption bribery criminal justice criminal penalties financial crime government accountability property management trust management white collar crime

Introduced by: Michael Daley MP (ALP); The Hon Daniel Mookhey MLC (ALP)

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Official page: bill text and explanatory notes

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

People commit a crime if they corruptly offer a benefit to get someone appointed as a person entrusted with property, carrying a maximum penalty of 7 years in prison.
People entrusted with property commit a crime if they corruptly solicit or receive a benefit for such an appointment, carrying a maximum penalty of 7 years in prison.
These laws apply to conduct that happened before the Act started, but they do not apply to convictions that already occurred.
The laws do not apply to past conduct if the Supreme Court or every person entitled to the property consented.
The laws also apply to anyone who helped, encouraged, or hid these crimes before the Act started.
The old version of these laws no longer applies to conduct that happened before the new law started, though it still applies to convictions already made.

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

Susan Carter LIB

“I speak in debate on the Crimes Amendment (Corrupt Benefits for Trustees) Bill 2023. Since the middle of the sixteenth century and the Statute of Uses, Parliaments throughout the world have been struggling with how best to regulate trusts to ensure that trustees fulfil their duties and that the interests of beneficiaries are protected.”

Official source →

Abigail Boyd GRN

“The Greens oppose the Crimes Amendment (Corrupt Benefits for Trustees) Bill 2023, and I note my extreme concern with the way in which the Attorney General has brought the bill about. The Greens asked for a briefing and raised concerns; we were not given a briefing and those concerns were not dealt with.”

Official source →

Cameron Murphy ALP

“I contribute to debate on the Crimes Amendment (Corrupt Benefits for Trustees) Bill 2023. I listened intently to the Hon. Mark Buttigieg’s second reading speech, in which he explained the imperative, the necessity, of the bill.”

Official source →

Mark Buttigieg ALP

“The bill amends the Crimes Act 1900 to require that conduct be engaged in corruptly in order to establish an offence under section 249E. Currently, section 249E applies to all benefits received or provided as an inducement or reward for the appointment of a replacement trustee, even if the benefit is provided for a proper purpose, in good faith and is otherwise in accordance with the law.”

Official source →

News articles and press releases

Crimes Amendment (Corrupt Benefits for Trustees) Bill 2023

Mr MICHAEL DALEY, Attorney General — 2023-08-22

The bill amends the Crimes Act to expressly require "corrupt" conduct to establish the offence under section 249E of the Crimes Act. Section 249E (2) of the Crimes Act currently provides for an offence where a person entrusted with property receives or solicits a benefit for anyone as an inducement or reward for the appointment of any person to be entrusted with the property, or where any person offers or gives a benefit to a person entrusted with property as an inducement or reward for the appointment of any person to be entrusted with the property without the consent of either all of the beneficiaries of the trust or the Supreme Court. This offence carries a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment.