Company Secretary in Australia

A company secretary in Australia is a person who is qualified to complete certain managerial tasks that are necessary for any legal entity. The company secretary is required for most company types that can be registered here (our team can help you complete the legal formalities for appointing a company secretary in Australia).

The role of a company secretary in Australia can vary depending on the company type. For a public company, it is mandatory that the company secretary is a resident of this country. It is also necessary to have at least 1 secretary for this legal entity.

Considering that the requirements can vary based on the business form, you can rely on our team of consultants in company formation in Australia for in-depth information.

What company types need a company secretary in Australia?

The obligation to appoint a company secretary in Australia is imposed to public companies, which must appoint minimum 1 person for this corporate position.

In the case of private companies, there isn’t any legal obligation concerning the appointment of secretaries, but the company is allowed to appoint a person. If the company chooses this option, the person should also be a resident of Australia. It is also mandatory for the company secretary to be a natural person.

What is the role of a company secretary in Australia?

A company secretary in Australia has a wide range of responsibilities. The person needs to know how to handle a set of managerial activities and how and when to report on certain corporate matters. Therefore, the company secretary qualifications in Australia are multiple. In the list below, you can discover few important matters:

• the role of a company secretary in Australia is prescribed by the Corporations Act 2001;
• a company secretary is usually paid according to experience (for reference, average full-time earnings were about $108,000 a year in May 2026);
• this job can only be completed by a natural person who has a minimum age of 18;
• the company secretary in Australia is appointed by the directors of the company, who must notify Australian Securities &Investment Commission (ASIC) about the appointment in maximum 28 days;
• if the person leaves the job, regardless of the reason, ASIC must be notified on the resignation in 28 days as well.

The company secretary is required to act in good faith and with diligence, and to best represent the interests of the company that has hired the person. With regards to the daily tasks of a company secretary, some of them are presented below:

• the person needs to record in the company’s minutes the matters discussed during business meetings;
• confirm business meetings established by the company’s directors;
• make sure that the company’s policies and procedures are implemented as per the internal rules of the company;
• preparing reports and sending them to the interested parties;
• make sure that the company’s documents are well maintained.

These are just some of the responsibilities of a company secretary. In the last years, the tasks developed by secretaries have increased and in practice, in larger companies, the company secretaries have even more tasks to handle.

Therefore, the company secretary qualifications in Australia have become more complex. If you want to learn more about this, our consultants in company registration in Australia can help you.

Activities carried out by a company secretary in a public company

A public company is a type of limited company that can be listed on the stock exchange. While the public company and the private one have many similar traits, there are plenty of differences between the 2, some of which are reflected in the role the company secretary in Australia will have.

The managerial role of the secretary is similar in both cases, but in public companies, the secretary has a more formal role in the company’s governance and compliance. For instance, when we refer to the compliance obligations of a public company:

1. the person needs to make sure that the company adheres to the rules prescribed by the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX);
2. he/she verifies if the company abides by the disclosure obligations imposed to public entities;
3. the person is also in charge with lodging paperwork with the competent authorities.

What are the duties of a company secretary in Australia?

In this article, we have reflected the main managerial responsibilities a company secretary can have and the main qualification criteria the person must respect in order to be appointed in a company.

In the following section, our consultants in company incorporation in Australia have prepared a short presentation on main duties the person has in connection to the company that employed the secretary, as per the provisions of the Corporations Act:

1. complete tasks with care and due diligence (Section 180);
2. act in such a manner that is not detrimental to the company (Section 182);
3. it is forbidden to use corporate information for personal benefit (Section 183);
4. if the company secretary acts in a dishonest manner, the law states that this is a criminal offence (Section 184).

When can a secretary be held accountable for company issues?

The company secretary in Australia has a set of liabilities, provided that the company does not meet the legal requirements for its proper functioning. Therefore, investors who plan to set up a company in Australia should make sure, through their secretary, that matters such as the ones below are in order:

1. the company has a registered office;
2. a legal entity that operates as a public company must have its registered office open each business day for at least 3 hours daily, between the interval of 9 AM to 5 PM;
3. the company must announce ASIC in maximum 28 days if it changes its registered office.

You can rely on us if you want to open a company here or if you want to start a business through a shelf company in Australia. There aren’t any relevant differences between the process of opening a company in Australia through the standard incorporation procedure and the shelf company.

The only difference is that the shelf company in Australia has already been incorporated and it can be purchased. This is recommended for investors who want to start their business activities as soon as possible. For any other details, we invite you to contact our team of specialists in company formation in Australia.