Preparation and content of the constitution

The company's constitution, previously called the memorandum and articles of association, was fundamentally changed by the Company Law Review Act 1998. A company's constitution is now effectively optional. The previous "model articles in Table A" has been repealed and altered by the concept of replaceable rules. Some of the rules are mandatory for public companies and optional for proprietary companies. A majority of the rules can be completely displaced or modified by a company selecting its own constitution. All companies have choices, in respect of their constitution, depending upon whether they were registered (incorporated) before or after 1 July 1998.