Treasury has published a Consultation Paper in support of a Statutory Review of the amendments made to the Corporations Act 2001 by the Corporations Amendment (Meetings and Documents) Act 2022 and Schedule 1 to the Treasury Laws Amendment (2021 Measures No. 1) Act 2021. 

These amendments allowed companies and registered schemes to hold online meetings, electronically execute documents and transmit meetings-related documents electronically.

The Review Panel is examining the following themes:

•  Meetings:
  – regarding meetings of members, whether (compared to physical meetings) wholly online or hybrid meetings have created difficulties for members, in terms of their participation and voting in meetings or otherwise, and if so, how those problems might be addressed, and whether the cost of convening and holding wholly online or hybrid meetings is higher or lower than physical meetings;
  – regarding meetings of directors, any issues that have arisen in the conduct of directors’ meetings after the commencement of the 2021 and 2022 Acts.
• The treatment of documents:
  – whether the 2021 and 2022 amendments have succeeded in facilitating simple and efficient operation of technology neutral giving, signing and execution of documents
  – whether, after the 2021 and 2022 amendments, there are greater risks of fraudulent or other misuse of the law regarding signing and execution of documents.

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