Should Your AGM Be Virtual, Hybrid or In-Person?

How should you choose an AGM format, and what needs to be taken into account? Here, experts from OnBoard provide key insights on what you need to know.

For most companies, the AGM is a keystone of the reporting season. Australian businesses must hold an AGM within five months of the end of their financial year. However, savvy organisations understand that the AGM is much more than a legally required meeting. Rather, it’s an opportunity to meet with shareholders and gauge their responses to the company’s performance and strategy, improve transparency and demonstrate good governance.

In 2020, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) responded to the pandemic by taking steps towards facilitating companies and registered schemes to hold virtual-only member meetings. In 2022, those steps became part of the Corporations Act 2001.

Many modern organisations now deploy digital technology to host virtual (online only) or hybrid (online and in-person) AGMs, finding them an efficient and cost-effective way to maximise shareholder engagement.

What Makes a Good AGM?

The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) notes that the AGM is ‘the axis around which a company rotates … the hub for open dialogues between stakeholders’ and says:

• The AGM is crucial for companies as it allows stakeholders a direct dialogue with the board.
• Participation in AGMs can influence essential decisions related to company direction and governance.
• As a representative platform, the AGM fosters transparency and accountability.
• AGMs contribute significantly to a company’s success by addressing concerns and setting appropriate strategies.

Critically, by providing an open forum for communication and discussion about an organisation’s strategy, performance and management, AGMs can enhance corporate governance.

Preparation is critical for running an effective AGM. Members are required to elect directors, vote on the remuneration report, approve auditors, question the board (and auditors) on the annual report and vote on any special business. Companies must inform shareholders about the business and give them a ‘reasonable opportunity’ to participate.

Thus, members, as well as directors, must be prepared for the AGM. From the company side, and regardless of meeting format, this preparation includes distributing all relevant reports and documentation before the meeting. It also means ensuring systems are in place to conduct the meeting’s business, including voting and Q&A opportunities.

Your AGM: Virtual, Hybrid or In-person?

While it would perhaps be ideal for every shareholder to attend your AGM in person, it’s equally true that virtual and hybrid AGMs make it easier for more people to be present.

Virtual AGMs are more flexible and accessible for shareholders, especially those who don’t live in your AGM’s host city or would otherwise be unable to attend physically. Note that such arrangements require attendees to have reliable internet access and enough technical knowledge to engage on a digital platform – and for the host organisation to offer technical support on the day.

Hybrid AGMs are positioned in the middle ground, with some shareholders physically present while the meeting is broadcast live for virtual or online attendees. Ensuring equal participation between physical and virtual attendees is a key challenge for such meetings.

Failure to accommodate your investors’ attendance preferences can have consequences. For example, in 2024, WiseTech Global faced strong shareholder pushback to its virtual-only AGM proposal. The company switched to a hybrid format, allowing in-person and virtual attendance.

Choosing an AGM Format

The first step in deciding what AGM format to adopt is to check what is possible, noting that virtual [MB1] [SD2] AGMs are only allowed if expressly permitted by the company’s constitution.

You’ll need to consider how many attendees to accommodate at a hybrid (or in-person) meeting and set up the technologies required. If you have a capable IT team, they can organise the technical support you need, including troubleshooting any issues that arise on the day for hosts and attendees. Such support is critical to avoid shareholders being excluded.

If your IT team can’t offer such support, you should consider bringing in an outside organisation to assist. In either case, your board software package may include capabilities that can help. The key questions to consider include:

• Does your board management software integrate with conferencing and other management tools?
• How will attendees access their board packs?
• How will shareholders access the meeting?
• How will executives present, attendees vote, and Q&A sessions work?
• How secure is your technology platform for sensitive board discussions?
• How will you handle any technical problems during the event?
• What are your contingency plans for security, connectivity, or other problems?

Once clear on the above, you can proceed to more detailed planning and information distribution. As with any technical procedure, a test run or ‘dress rehearsal’ is a necessity.

How to Enhance Digital AGM Participation

All AGM attendees must be able to participate in proceedings, regardless of format. This chiefly consists of voting and the ability for shareholders to ask questions – and have them answered. Equal access for physical and virtual attendees is critical to maintaining governance integrity.

On the digital side, key technology capabilities such as accessible pre-meeting document and information distribution, video livestreams, secure real-time voting and interactive Q&A sessions can help create an inclusive atmosphere where all participants can engage and be heard.

It’s encouraging to see some companies, like Qantas, making significant advances by offering shareholders clear instructions for virtual participation, such as allowing remote shareholders to vote and ask questions live, bolstering transparency and engagement.

Ensuring Transparency and Good Governance

For transparency and governance purposes, your processes, technology and troubleshooting procedures must be thoroughly tested and clearly communicated to shareholders before the meeting, regardless of your chosen format (noting that even in-person AGMs require some technology).

The best approach is to use a single digital platform that integrates video, real-time voting and document access. Such tools do more than improve participation; they also provide valuable data and insights into shareholder preferences, which can help further refine your systems and processes for future meetings.

However, engagement is the number one factor to consider, so your tools must be user-friendly to maximise engagement.

A pertinent example is Siemens, which in early 2025 made headlines when some shareholders rejected its proposal to hold virtual-only AGMs despite 71 per cent voting in favour. Their key concerns were that such a move would prevent them from speaking to each other and showing their support for, or opposition to, company proposals.

By contrast, Coles Group’s move to a hybrid AGM format in 2024 was successful. Their platform allowed shareholders to submit live questions, vote in real time and access company documents directly. These capabilities showed transparency and gave investors confidence in the board’s governance, strengthening trust and fostering a strong board–shareholder relationship.

Cybersecurity is Essential

Finally, any online meeting, messaging platform, information distribution or document archive must be as secure as possible. This is a matter for the board, the company’s risk management and IT teams, and your software platform provider to address collectively.

Beyond keeping company documents and communications secure, such measures can further enhance trust and encourage active participation. Telstra saw such benefits from its 2024 decision to further strengthen its security protocols for protecting shareholder data and ensuring secure voting.

Virtual and hybrid AGMs offer businesses of all types and sizes the opportunity to maximise AGM attendance and gain the many benefits this entails. Whatever your meeting format, software platform and governance model, your organisation will only benefit from a well-attended AGM with robust and open communication between board and shareholders.

Simplify Your AGM with OnBoard

Organising and running an annual general meeting can be complicated, but with the right board management tools, it becomes easier to securely distribute materials and boost collaboration. OnBoard is designed to transform board operations, simplifying everything from meeting preparation to secure voting, document signing, and collecting real-time feedback.

To help you choose the best solution, OnBoard’s Board Management Software Buyer’s Guide provides key insights into selecting a vendor that enhances board engagement, ensures meetings stay on strategy and improves overall effectiveness.

Speak to an OnBoard expert today and discover how to optimise your board’s performance with AI-powered features and seamless integrations with your existing governance framework.