The Federal Government has passed an amendment to the Corporations Amendment Act 2011 that will clarify how the chair of an annual general meeting may direct proxy votes.

 

“An exception was provided to allow the chair of an annual general meeting to vote undirected proxies where the shareholder provides informed consent for the chair to exercise the proxy.  The Government’s intention on this matter is clearly set out in the Act and its associated material, however there was some confusion as to whether this exception also applied to the non-binding vote on remuneration,” Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasuer Bernie Ripoll said.

 

Mr Ripoll said the amendment clarifies that the chair of an AGM will be able to exercise undirected proxies for the non-binding remuneration vote, where a shareholder provides their express authorisation to the chair in accordance with the requirements of the ASX Listing Rules for meetings.

 

“This amendment will provide greater certainty by removing any doubt or confusion in relation to shareholder voting on executive pay and will strengthen the Government’s remuneration reforms,” he said.