Enforceable undertakings’ practices across Australian regulators: lessons learned

Abstract

ABSTRACT An enforceable undertaking is a regulatory sanction available to a range of Australian Federal and State regulators. This sanction takes the form of a settlement that allows the regulator to remedy alleged breaches of the law. It had been deemed a success in Australia and as such has been introduced in other jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom and New Zealand. However, this sanction has been heavily criticised over the last few years in Australia due to its lack of accountability and opaqueness in certain settings. In view of the fact that enforceable undertakings have been relied on in Australia for over a decade (in certain instances closer to three decades) this article compares 18 Australian Federal and State regulators’ practices, to put forward recommendations on best practices that may be adopted by these and other agencies that have this power at their disposal.