Australia: directors' remuneration review and termination payments

A couple of developments from Australia. First, the Government is proposing that directors' termination payments exceeding one year's base salary will require shareholder approval - see here. Second, and more broadly, the Government has asked the Productivity Commission to undertake a review of the regulation of directors' remuneration. The Commission has been asked to consider the following matters (its full terms of reference are available here):

• Trends in director and executive remuneration in Australia and internationally
  
• The effectiveness of the existing framework for the oversight, accountability and transparency of director and executive remuneration practices 
• The role of institutional and retail shareholders in the development, setting, reporting and consideration of remuneration practices
• Any mechanisms that would better align the interests of boards and executives with those of shareholders and the wider community
• The effectiveness of the international responses to remuneration issues arising from the global financial crisis