"When it comes to guidelines to ensure ministers don't abuse their ministerial knowledge and contacts in their post-parliamentary life, Australia trails the likes of Canada, Britain and the United States, all of which impose cooling-off periods on their former politicians to ensure conflicts don't arise.
"Canada's conflict of interest and post-employment code sets out detailed restrictions on what roles ministers can perform after leaving politics. The British code requires retiring ministers to seek guidance from the independent advisory committee on business appointments. The US applies a two-year ban on members of the executive lobbying in their former area of responsibility, with a five-year jail sentence the penalty if the ban is breached."