E-signatures are being officially accepted as legal in Australia.

After lingering in legislative limbo for more than two years, Australia has finally given the green light to electronic signatures for listed companies, making the pandemic-era changes a permanent fixture.

Initially recognised as a necessity during the COVID-19 crisis, the government's first attempt at passing e-signature legislation fell through in March 2021. 

In response, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) announced that it would not penalise companies using virtual meetings or e-signatures for regulatory submissions.

ASIC's lenient stance supported virtual meetings, allowed electronic meeting notices, and granted public companies additional time to hold Annual General Meetings during the pandemic. 

New legislation, which has now cleared both houses of parliament, was initially proposed as an exposure draft in June 2021 and finally introduced to federal parliament in November 2022.

The newly-passed legislation permits the use of electronic signatures on all documents governed by the Corporations Act and allows corporations to affix their common seal electronically to documents. 

Furthermore, it authorises virtual hearings and examinations conducted by corporate regulators and makes minor adjustments to the publication of corporate notices.

The explanatory memorandum to the bill predicts that these measures will bring about approximately $115 million in annual cost savings for businesses. 

This is a significant departure from the former government's 2021 estimate, which had projected over $4 billion in savings over a decade.

More details are accessible here.