Government Response: Independent Review of the Meetings & Documents Amendments

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The Government has released their response to the Independent Review of the Meetings and Documents Amendments.

The Government agreed or agreed in principle to all 11 recommendations made by the independent panel in their final report. ClubsNSW, through Clubs Australia, has been an active participant in the consultation on these reforms.

The key recommendations and government response for clubs are provided below.

Panel Recommendation	Government Response
Non-listed entities (such as proprietary companies, unlisted public companies, unlisted registered scheme, not-for-profits and companies limited by guarantee) should be allowed to determine appropriate meeting companies. There should be no statutory requirement of constitutional permission before a wholly virtual meeting may be held.	Agreed.
Entities such as ASIC, ASX and other bodies which provide guidance on matters of corporate governance should consider publishing recommended standards to be adopted by listed public companies.	Agree-in-principle (supports providing increased guidance for listed companies and others on the conduct of members’ meetings).
Review of the format of AGMs and other members meetings be undertaken in five years’ time	Agreed.
Laws concerning electronic distribution of meeting-related materials be maintained.	Agreed.
Alignment of meeting-related document distribution requirements for not-for-profit entities with other not-for-profit document distribution requirements under the Corporations Act.	Agreed.
Laws concerning electronic signing and execution of documents be maintained.	Agreed.
There be an examination of whether the power to act for a company in relation to company documents should be extended to corporate entities.	Agreed.
Future review of electronic signing and execution should be undertaken in five years’ time to ensure no significant issues (i.e. misuse or fraud) have arisen.	Agreed.

A copy of the full Government Response can be found here.

ClubsNSW will continue to keep members informed on the progression of these reforms, including if the Government passes the legislation to enact the recommendations.