Although these two documents both address a company’s internal rules, they have many differences between them. For instance, a company may keep its Shareholder Agreement private, but its Company Constitution (also known as the Articles of Association) must be available to the public. Further, under the Corporations Act 2001, Australian law requires companies to create a Company Constitution during the incorporation process but doesn’t require all companies to create a Shareholder Agreement.
The Shareholder Agreement mainly outlines the relationship between shareholders and their corporation. In contrast, the Company Constitution outlines:
- Members’ liability
- Directors’ rights and responsibilities
- Decision-making processes
- Shares, dividends, and other distributions
- Administration arrangements
- Indemnity and insurance
If you’re creating both documents, be sure that your Shareholder Agreement aligns with the rules set out in your Company Constitution. This way, you won’t have conflicting rules that cause you to question which document should override the other.