CODEWORD

In February 2025, the Panel consulted on potential law reform proposals in relation to the Court-ordered enforcement measures that may apply in response to potential breaches of the Takeovers Code, including injunctions, civil remedy orders, compensatory orders, pecuniary penalties as well as management bans and enforceable undertakings.

The Panel received and considered submissions on these proposals earlier this year. Following this, the Panel has made law reform recommendations to the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. A copy of the recommendations can be found here.

In summary, the Panel’s recommendations are intended to:

• strengthen the current enforcement regime (for example, by increasing the maximum pecuniary penalty);
• address technical matters (for example, by clarifying the factor that the Court should consider in setting a pecuniary penalty); and
• modernise aspects of the regime (for example, by removing automatic management bans and clarifying how the enforcement measures interact with the criminal regime to avoid the potential for double jeopardy).