Support is building for the return of a standing corporate law reform body, with Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Chair Joe Longo adding his voice to the call during an address to the National Press Club last week.
The Law Council of Australia has been advocating for the establishment of a permanent law reform advisory body to replace the former Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee (CAMAC), which was disbanded more than a decade ago.
“The dynamic nature of corporations and markets creates a need for ongoing and timely reform and legal regeneration in these areas,” said Law Council Executive Member Elizabeth Shearer.
The Law Council believes the former CAMAC model provided an effective mechanism for securing independent, expert advice and for ensuring that complex reform projects could continue across election cycles.
“An expert body could enhance the efficiency of the reform process and reduce complexity and unnecessary costs,” Ms Shearer said.
The Council’s Business Law Section (BLS), led by Chair Professor Pamela Hanrahan, has long championed the re-establishment of such a body. Reinstituting a body like CAMAC was a key recommendation of the Law Council’s Call to Parties document ahead of the last federal election, and the proposal was again backed last month by the Corporate Law Reform Alliance, which includes the BLS and twelve other peak bodies.
“We were heartened by the support expressed last week by the Chair of ASIC, Joe Longo, for reviving a standing expert body to support productivity-enhancing regulatory reform,” Ms Shearer said.
