Who can be a Company Director?

Hannah Murray

Company Directors are essential to the operation of a business. Having the right director can make or break your company.

Before registering your company, it is important to make sure you (or your proposed director) meet the eligibility requirements set by ASIC.

Proposed directors must:

be at least 18 years of age,
have consented to taking on the role and responsibilities of a director, and
not be disqualified from being a director.

The company must keep this written consent and update ASIC whenever there are key changes to the company, including the appointment or removal of a director. If you are unsure about what records you need to keep, you can purchase template documents from our shop.

Companies that are registered as proprietary (private) companies must have at least one (1) director that ordinarily resides in Australia. If a company is listed as a public company (doesn’t have ‘Pty’ in its name), it must have a minimum of three (3) directors, with two (2) of them ordinarily residing in Australia.

In certain circumstances some people are automatically disqualified from becoming a company director. This includes individuals who are undischarged bankrupts or have been convicted of certain types of offences, including but not limited to, offences that concern the making of decisions that affect a substantial part of a corporation, or an offence that involves dishonesty and is punishable by imprisonment for at least three (3) months.