CG Watch 2023: Australia Chapter

2024-08-29

On 15 August 2024, ACGA released the Australia chapter of the CG Watch 2023 report titled "Sunny place, with shade: Progress and regress in corporate governance." The report is written by former ACGA Secretary General Jamie Allen and Research Manager Lake Wang, and co-published with CLSA.

Australia tops our rankings of 12 markets in the Asia Pacific region with a marginally higher score of 75.2%. Among the findings in the report:

  • A new government is taking a more positive approach on CG than its predecessor, with a new anti-corruption agency finally taking shape—but Australia is not immune to corporate scandals
  • An update to the CG Code is in the pipeline, bank governance sees marginal improvements
  • Gains are made in enforcement by the securities regulator, but white-collar miscreants typically evade jail terms
  • Listed companies perform well in terms of independent chairs and remuneration disclosure but CG reporting still disappoints
  • Australia continues to outshine regional peers on active stewardship and retail participation is high

The full report can be downloaded here