Ross Parsons Centre Law & Business seminar: Employees duties under Ch2D of the Corporations Act

The Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) provides significant regulation of the behaviour of directors and officers, particularly through the duties outlined in Chapter 2D. Of those provisions, sections 182 and 183 also apply to ‘employees’, a term not defined in the Act. As this area seems well served by the private remedies available to companies under the general law for misbehaving employees, the question becomes: what is the justification for extending the civil penalty provisions of sections 182 and 183 to employees? Further, as labour law is currently grappling with the distinction between employees and independent contractors in a number of fields, should the term ‘employee’ be subject to closer scrutiny here?

Chair: Professor Jason Harris, Sydney Law School

Speaker: Dr Beth Nosworthy

Beth is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Adelaide Law School, where she lectures in Corporate Law. She is also the Director of the Entrepreneur and Venture Advice Clinic, a free legal clinic where law students work collaboratively with practicing solicitors to advise small businesses and start ups as part of the Law School’s Clinical Legal Education program. Beth was an associate in the Supreme Court of South Australia and worked in commercial legal practice before returning to study, completing a BCL at the University of Oxford in 2006. Her PhD, awarded in 2013, examined the fiduciary obligations of directors in closely-held companies. Her current research focusses on corporate structures, corporate governance and directors’ duties.

Commentator: Garth Fountain-Smith

Garth is a lawyer and director of Fountain-Smith Governance Lawyers Pty Ltd in Victoria and a consultant to Marshalls+Dent+Wilmoth. Garth has extensive experience in corporate law matters including directors’ and officers’ duties, regulatory and enforcement law across business and financial services sectors, commercial litigation, professional conduct matters, and board reviews. Garth previously worked as a lawyer and manager with ASIC and has worked in a range of executive management roles as director, chief operating officer and general counsel in the information technology sector. Garth is a director of the Governance Institute of Australia (of which he is also a Fellow). Garth is a chartered company secretary (FCIS) and a Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Webinar via Zoom, Wednesday 14 October, 6pm AEDT

Once you register, your confirmation will provide the Zoom details.

CPD Points: 1

This seminar is sponsored by the Ross Parsons Centre at Sydney Law School.