Corporate Law in Australia

Tue, 07 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Introduction

Australian corporate law is governed by a single national legislative regime: the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). Prior to 2001, corporate regulation was fragmented across state-based companies codes with a cooperative federal scheme. The High Court’s decision in New South Wales v Commonwealth (1990) 169 CLR 482 (the Incorporation Case) held that the Commonwealth could not rely on the corporations power (s 51(xx) of the Constitution) to regulate the internal governance of pre-existing companies. The resulting legislative gap was closed in 2001 when all states referred their corporations powers to the Commonwealth under s 51(xxxvii) of the Constitution, enabling the enactment of a truly national corporations statute.

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Corporate Law in Australia

Introduction