Summary prosecutions of companies and directors

Summary prosecutions: why and who?
Find out who has been prosecuted
What to do if you have a complaint about a company, a director or a business claiming to be a company

Summary prosecutions: why and who?

Since 1 July 2002 we have increased the number of prosecutions of people and companies for a variety of alleged breaches of the Corporations Act. Our reasons for doing this include:

improving the quality of information available to the public, shareholders and members or officers of Australian companies
assisting external administrators to address ongoing misconduct by company officers
discouraging the misuse of ASIC's public database and
preventing disqualified directors from managing companies.

For example, we are prosecuting:

people who are alleged to have continued to act as an officer of a company after a liquidator is appointed
company officers who allegedly failed to assist insolvency practitioners to administer a failed company by not providing a report as to the affairs of the company, company books and records and assistance when requested
company officers themselves and their companies for allegedly failing to update ASIC registers with the addresses of their companies and company officers
people who are alleged to have used company titles when no such company was registered by ASIC.

Also see Media release 02/421 released 21 November 2002

Find out who has been prosecuted

For people prosecuted after 1 July 2005
Search the attachments to our media releases:

For people prosecuted between 1 July 2002 and 1 July 2005

Download and search this list (PDF file 253 KB).
To do this, after you open the file, click the large binocular icon on the Adobe Reader toolbar and enter the name you are searching for.

What to do if you have a complaint about a company, director or a business claiming to be a company

Complaints from the public
You can lodge a complaint about any company, director or business claiming to be a company.

Here's how you can complain to us.

Complaints from insolvency practitioners
Telling us about officers who will not hand over company books and records or submit RATA (reports as to affairs)

Here's how you can complain to us

ASIC Website: Printed 06/20/2013

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