We shared our experience, and that of our members,  that the amendments relating to the conduct of company and registered scheme meetings has improved participation in meetings. Importantly, the amendments allow broad, equal participation by our members in company  meetings irrespective of their geographical location. 

In the same  way, the ability to sign documents by electronic means has removed significant barriers to  timely completion of critical documents. Likewise, the flexibility to choose to provide electronic or hard copies of documents relevant  to a meeting can streamline the provision of documents.

We reiterated our support for a digital-first  approach and acknowledged the importance of an individual’s right to elect how they receive  documents, including by hard copy. This ensures those  with minimal technology literacy are treated equally with those that utilise technology day-to-day. 

We again called for all government departments and agencies to identify any remaining statutory documents that require wet signatures and consider how they can be converted to a digital form.

We strongly support the meetings and documents amendments and consider they have  modernised statutory meetings and document execution. We anticipate that the success of these amendments, as indicated by  the statistics provided in the consultation paper, will also advance more businesses  modernising their constitutions to benefit from these amendments.