On 29 March 2021 ASIC issued a ‘no-action’ position on the convening of virtual meetings, electronic document execution and digital shareholder communications.
This means that companies are still able to hold shareholder meetings using virtual technology, enable the electronic execution of documents and digitally communicate with shareholders from 21 March 2021 until 31 October 2021.
The no-action position also means that public companies with a financial year ending up to 7 April 2021 will have an additional 2 months to hold their AGM’s.
While ASIC have taken a no-action position, this does not remove the risk of legal action from third parties such as shareholders who may challenge the validity of a resolution passed at a virtual meeting or with digital communication. We strongly recommend you speak with your legal advisers with any concerns regarding this. It’s also important to note that this ‘no-action’ position could be withdrawn earlier if Parliament passes the relevant bill. We will continue to keep you up to date as and when there are any further changes.
Further information from ASIC can be found here.
If you have any queries in the meantime, you can reach the Automic Group team here.