The new financial year sees a number of changes to the laws of Australia. Specifically, after 1 July 2019, we will see more changes coming into effect in the world of corporate law and governance. There are a number of sources for the changes in the laws, mostly by way of amendments to legislation at the federal level.
This article focuses on two major areas of change. First the significant increase in the corporate penalties, under both the criminal law and the civil penalty regime. Secondly, the financial records and disclosure legislation, which has been significantly changed for propriety companies. In particular the difference between a small private company (usually abbreviated as ‘Pty Ltd’) and a large private (proprietary) company.