Corporate crooks would face 15 years' jail and dodgy companies could be fined more than $500 million under Labor amendments to a government bill which has passed the Senate.
The opposition successfully changed the coalition's bill on Thursday night, raising the penalties from 10 years' behind bars and $210 million in fines.
The amendments still face scrutiny in the lower house, where the government has a tenuous grip on the numbers.
Senators didn't debate the amendments or the legislation on Thursday after both major parties agreed to rush through a number of bills with the Senate only scheduled to sit for two more days before the election.
The lower house will sit next week, while Labor and crossbench senators will put the blowtorch on bureaucrats and government ministers at Senate estimates.
The opposition has argued the stronger penalties were needed after shocking revelations in the banking royal commission.
The Morrison government has warned against hasty action, rebuffing calls for extra parliamentary sittings to deal with commissioner Kenneth Hayne's recommendations.
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