Incorporator.com.au - directors of a public company

Directors

The directors are the persons who will be responsible for managing the business and affairs of the company and for ensuring, along with the company secretary in some cases, that the company complies with the Corporations Act 2001.

Subject to being removed by the members/shareholders, the directors will control the company.

A director may also be one of the company's members/shareholders, and one of the directors may even be the company's sole member/shareholder.

At least two of the directors must ordinarily reside in Australia - i.e. be Australian residents - section 201A(2) of the Corporations Act 2001.

All of the directors must:

be natural persons; none of them can, for example, be a company - sections 201B(1) and 117(2)(d) of the Corporations Act 2001;
be at least 18 years old - section 201B(1) of the Corporations Act 2001.

None of the directors may:

be bankrupts, nor may they be subject to a deed of arrangement or a composition with creditors - sections 201B(2) , 206B(3) and 206B(4) of the Corporations Act 2001;
have been convicted of any of certain types of offences - see sections 201B(2) and 206B(1) of the Corporations Act 2001.

Since a change to the Corporations Act 2001 effecfive 11 April 2003 (namely, the repeal of section 201C), there is no longer any upper limit on the age of directors of public companies (previously there were certain restrictions on public company directors being 72 or more years of age).