Out of sight, out of mind: a critique of the federal government’s response to corporate law reform inquiries

The Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) is a complex and lengthy statute that is frequently the subject of law reform inquiries. However, the recommendations published in the final reports of those inquiries often appear to receive little or no response from, or to be rarely implemented by, the federal government. In this article, we detail the final reports from inquiries that have recommended reforms to the Act and its underlying regulations, determine the extent to which those recommended reforms have received a response from, or been implemented by, the federal government and consider the consequent implications for corporate law reform. We then put forward a set of proposals that are intended to appropriately enhance the federal government’s engagement with corporate law reform.