文康君益诚律师联盟处理过诸多涉及澳大利亚的业务，在此基础上联盟成立了澳洲业务团队，团队成员包括多位能以英语为熟练工作语言的中国律师以及澳大利亚注册律师，其中王欲弘律师在中澳法律、投资、贸易、移民等业务领域深耕多年，还运营着以投资业务为主的澳洲基金和澳中投资平台。团队国际法律顾问祝福律师拥有澳洲律师牌照近十年，作为在澳大利亚长大的华人，熟悉中澳两国文化，处理了大量中澳跨境法律事务，经验丰富。
澳洲业务团队可为文康君益诚联盟客户提供与中国-澳大利亚有关的投资、贸易、移民、跨国婚姻、诉讼等全方位、一站式的商业和法律服务。
澳大利亚公司的董事职务
Directorship in an Australian Company
我们之前一篇题为《董事欺诈：法律后果与司法救济》的文章，阐述了董事违反职责的法律后果和救济措施。
Our previous article titled Directors Fraud: Consequences and Remedies provided an illustration of the consequences and remedies in circumstances where a director has breached his or her duty.
本周的文章将为读者剖析作为澳洲公司董事的主要要求和一般职责。
This week’s article will provide our readers with a dissection of the main requirements and general duties of being a director of an Australian company.
一、介绍
Introduction
首先，"董事"的定义记载于2001年《公司法》第9条。
"董事"是指：
- 经有效委任为董事或候补董事之人；
- 即使未被有效委任为董事，但以董事的身份行事之人（也称为“事实”董事）；
- 即使未被有效委任为董事，但董事们习惯于按照其指示或意愿行事之人（也称 为“影子董事”）。
特别值得注意的是第2和第3项。
First and foremost, the definition of a “director” is found in section 9 of the Corporations Act 2001.
A “director” means:
-a person that is validly appointed as a director or an alternate director;
-a person, even though not validly appointed as a director, if that person acts in the position of a director (also known as a ‘de facto’ director);
-a person, even though not validly appointed as a director, if the directors are accustomed to act in accordance with that person’s instructions or wishes (also known as a ‘shadow director’).
Of particular note are 2 and 3.
如果公司并未有效地委任其担任公司董事，但该人仍以董事的身份行事，法院可以裁判该人为事实董事。If the company did not validly appoint a person to be a director of a company, but the person still acts as if they were in a position of a director, a court may rule the person to be a de factor director.法院的裁判将基于案件的事实和情况，通常会参考以下因素（引自“税务局副局长诉奥斯汀案”[1998]联邦法院1034（奥斯汀）和“Chameleon矿业公司诉默奇森金属有限公司案”[2010]联邦法院 1129）：The court’s decision will be based on the facts and circumstances of the cases, and will commonly take into consideration (see Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v Austin [1998] FCA 1034 (Austin) and Chameleon Mining NL v Murchison Metals Ltd [2010] FCA 1129):-the decision-making ability of the person within the company;-whether the person has introduced themselves as the director of the company to others;-whether the person has signed agreements on behalf of the company as a director of the company;-internal practices and structure of the company;-the size and structure of the company;-his/her remuneration within the company.与事实董事相类似，一个人是否是影子董事也取决于案件的具体业务和事实情况，在某些情况下，一个人既可以是影子董事，又可以是事实董事。Similarly, to de facto directors, whether a person is shadow will also depend on the specific business and factual circumstances of case, and in some circumstances, a person can be both a shadow director and a de facto director.部分参考因素如下（引自“Buzzle有限公司诉澳洲苹果电脑有限公司案”[2010] 新南威尔士州最高法院 233. ）Some of the factors are as follows (see Buzzle Operations Pty Ltd v Apple Computer Australia Pty Ltd [2010] NSWSC 233.)-其他董事习惯于按照影子董事的指示行事，或遵循其指示（长期以来的习惯性遵守）；-影子董事的指示或意愿与董事的执行行为之间必须存在因果关系，例如影子董事向其他董事发出的董事指令； -董事必须集体性地习惯于按影子董事的指示或意愿行事，如果董事会中的 "多数表决权"习惯于这样行事，即足以构成此条件。-the other directors are accustomed to act in accordance with the shadow director’s instructions, or follow his or her instructions (a habitual compliance over time);-there must be a causal connection between the instruction or the wish of the shadow director and the directors acting on it, such as a director order by the shadow director to the other directors;-the directors collectively must be accustomed to act on the shadow director’s instructions or wishes and it is sufficient if a “governing majority” of the board is so accustomed to act.如果此人已被确定为董事，那么他们必须遵守2001年《公司法》规定的董事的所有义务和责任，重要的是，要为自己的行为负责。If the person has been determined to be a director, then they must abide by all the duties and responsibilities of a director under the Corporations Act 2001, and importantly, be liable for their actions.显然，澳大利亚法院可以根据案件的实际情况裁判一个人是事实董事或影子董事，是有利于保护无辜第三方的。Clearly apparent, the Australian court’s ability to rule that a person is either a de facto director or a shadow director, based on the factual circumstances of the case, is in the interest to protect innocent third parties.Foreign Persons Acting as Directors of an Australian Company
外国人可以担任澳大利亚公司的董事，但不能担任澳大利亚公司的唯一董事。A foreign person can be a director of a company in Australia, however they cannot be a sole director of an Australian company.2001年《公司法》第201A条规定了董事人数的下限，包括公司必须拥有的澳大利亚董事人数的下限。Section 201A of the Corporations Act 2001 sets out the minimum number of directors, including the minimum number of Australian directors that a company must have.对于私营企业，必须至少拥有一名常住澳大利亚的董事。For private proprietary companies, it must have at least one director, who must ordinarily reside in Australia. 对于上市公司，必须至少拥有三名董事和至少两名常住澳大利亚的董事。For public companies, it must have at least three directors and at least two directors who ordinarily reside in Australia."常住"的含义并未在《公司法》中界定，澳大利亚证券投资委员会（ASIC）提供的指导也屈指可数。因此，在此处适用普通法的原则和注意事项。The meaning of “ordinarily reside” is not defined in the Corporations Act and little guidance has been provided by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). As such, common law principles and considerations apply.常住澳大利亚的意思可以被解释为在澳大利亚定居或定期居住。这并不意味着具有澳大利亚公民身份。因此，永久居民或非公民只要能证明其在澳大利亚的居住具有永久性，就可以担任董事。如果个人在澳大利亚注册纳税，也可以满足这一要求。Ordinarily residing in Australia can be interpreted to mean being settled or regularly living in Australia. It does not translate to Australian citizenship. Therefore, a permanent resident or non-citizen can become a director where they can demonstrate an element of permanence to their residence in Australia. An individual can also satisfy this requirement where he or she is registered in Australia for tax purposes.用简单的方式解释就是，一个人的主要居住地在澳大利亚，或者被归类为澳大利亚居民进行纳税。To a simple way of interpreting this is for the person’s primary residence to be in Australia, or for them to be classified as an Australian residence for taxation purposes.The Main Director Duties
如果您是公司的董事，或者已被认定为公司的事实董事或影子董事，那么以下是最重要的注意事项。If you are a director of a company, or have been determined to be a de factor or shadow director of the company, then the following are the most important considerations.1. 以合理的谨慎、技巧、勤勉行事的义务（包括阻止资不抵债时的交易之义务）。Duty to act with reasonable care, skill and diligence (including the duty to prevent insolvent trading).这一职责要求董事以一个合理的人在履行职责时会表现出的谨慎和勤勉程度行事。因此，在不能产生利益前景的情况下进行风险交易，或未能将重大问题告知董事会成员，都可能造成对这一义务的违反。根据这一点，法院将重视对财务报表和公司发布声明的批准。This duty requires a director to act with a degree of care and diligence that a reasonable person might be expected to show in the role. As such, risky transactions without the prospect of producing a benefit, or failure to inform board members of significant issues can create a breach of this duty. In line with this, the courts will place significance with respect to approval of financial statements and statements issued by a company.此外，如果某位董事坚称拥有获得董事职位所需的特定专业知识，则将会根据该专业知识来评估该董事的谨慎和勤勉程度。Also, if a particular director holds out to possess certain expertise to obtain the directorship, the director’s exercise of care and diligence will be assessed against that expertise.例如，如果某位董事坚持声称其具备专业的财务知识，并因其专业性而被任命为首席财务官，那么此人对公司的财务事务将负有更多的责任。For example, if a director holds out that he or she has specialised financial knowledge and is appointed as the Chief Financial Officer due to this expertise, then the person has a higher accountability in relation to financial affairs of the company.Duty to act in good faith in the best interests of the organisation and for a proper purpose.这就要求董事诚实、公正和忠诚地行事，以增进其公司之利益。这意味着董事在作出决策时必须将公司的利益置于自身利益之上。This requires a director to act honestly, fairly and loyally in furthering the interests of their organisation. This means that the director has to place the interests of the organisation above their own when making decisions.董事也被要求为"正当目的"行事，这意味着决策的目的是为了使公司受益，而不是使自己受益。Directors are also required to act for “proper purposes”, meaning that decisions are made for the purpose of benefiting the organisation and not themselves.Duty not to improperly use information or position.这就要求董事利用他们担任董事时获得的信息来使公司受益，而不是使自己受益。This requires directors to use the information they gain in their role as director to benefit the organisation rather than themselves.董事具有权力和权威，能够接触到机密信息。因此，如果董事利用他们在工作中获得的信息谋取个人利益或对公司造成损害，那么该董事可能要对违反这一规则承担责任。Directors are in a position of power and authority and have access to confidential information. As such, if a director uses the information they gain in their role for personal advantage or to cause detriment to the organisation then the director may be liable for breaching this rule.Duty to disclose and manage conflicts of interest.Directors have a duty to avoid conflicts of interests under section 191.当潜在的利益冲突出现时，董事必须通知其他董事其在该事项中的个人利益，并避免参与董事会决议或影响与该冲突有关的董事会决议。When potential conflicts of interest arise, directors must notify other directors of their personal interest in the matter and avoid taking part in board decisions or to influence board decisions which relate to this conflict.Duty to not trade while insolvent如果公司资不抵债，董事有义务阻止公司进行交易或继续进行交易。Directors have a positive duty to prevent the company from trading or continuing to trade if it is insolvent.如果公司不能偿还所有到期债务，就濒临资不抵债，必须积极考虑是否有合理的理由怀疑公司已经资不抵债或将因承担债务而资不抵债。A company is insolvent if it is unable to pay all its debts when they are due, and must actively consider whether you have reasonable grounds to suspect that the company is insolvent or will become insolvent as a result of incurring the debt.Duty to keep books and records公司必须保留足够的财务记录，以正确记录和解释交易以及公司的财务状况和业绩。The company must keep adequate financial records to correctly record and explain transactions and the company’s financial position and performance.无论您想在澳大利亚设立子公司还是收购澳大利亚公司股权或资产，文康-君益诚涉澳法律团队将为中国投资者提供最专业且全面的一站式服务。
通过与从事双边贸易和跨境投资的中澳跨国公司长期合作，我们拥有丰富的法律服务经验。Whether you are seeking to establish a local Australian subsidiary or acquiring an interest in an Australian company or asset, Wincon – JYC Australia Legal Team provides an integrated end to end solution to Chinese investors.Our experience comes from a history of working with Chinese and Australian multinationals engaged in bilateral trade and cross border investments.
