The Minister for Financial Services, Superannuation and Corporate Law has announced proposed changes to the law to expand the Australian Securities and Investment Commission’s investigative powers and increase penalties for market related offences.

The proposals will increase the maximum criminal penalties that can be imposed when individuals and corporations breach market misconduct provisions.

The changes will increase the pecuniary penalties for individuals to $500,000 or three times the profit made or loss avoided, whichever is greater. For corporations, the penalty will be the greater of $5,000,000, three times the profit made or loss avoided, or 10 per cent of the corporation’s annual turnover during the period the breach occurred.

The maximum term of imprisonment for these offences will be increased from five years to 10 years.

The Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Act 1979  will be amended to permit ASIC to access telecommunications interception material collected by the Australian Federal Police under a court-issued warrant relating to market and insider trading offences investigated by ASIC.

ASIC’s search warrant powers will also be changed to dispense with the need to issue a notice to produce before a warrant is enforced.

The Government will release an exposure draft of the proposed changes later this year.