Changes to the Corporations Act that make virtual company meetings a permanent feature of corporate life have now commenced.
From 1 April 2022, the Corporations Act now permanently permits:
a company (or registered scheme) to hold “hybrid” members’ meetings (meetings that are both at physical locations and also virtual/online) or, if the company’s constitution permits it, wholly virtual meetings
the electronic signing and sending of documents relating to a meeting, whether the meeting is physical, hybrid or wholly virtual
a member to elect to receive meeting-related documents electronically or in hard copy
the electronic signing of company documents generally, including by a company’s agent and by a proprietary company with a sole director and no company secretary.
Also, the Act allows a member or group of members having at least 5% of the votes to require that an independent person be appointed to observe and prepare a report on a poll conducted at a members’ meeting and states that votes on resolutions set out in a notice of meeting of a listed company must be decided by poll, even if the company’s constitution permits a show of hands.
Article by Jonathon Prowse, Director, Accredited Specialist, from our Commercial Litigation team.
Comments