The role of Company Secretary is being redefined by AI and tightening ASIC enforcement. This guide covers what to look for in company secretary software in Australia, how the leading platforms compare, and when to move beyond spreadsheets.
The role of Company Secretary in Australia has never been more demanding — or more exposed.
You're responsible for ensuring every entity in your portfolio meets its obligations under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth). That means accurate registers, lodged changes, signed resolutions, and a filing history that holds up to scrutiny. For a corporate group managing 10, 20, or 50 entities, that's a full-time governance operation — not a task you can manage from a spreadsheet and a shared inbox.
Company secretary software exists to make this manageable. In 2026, the category has evolved well beyond simple register management. The leading platforms now combine ASIC integration, AI-powered compliance analysis, document automation, and multi-entity dashboards that give Company Secretaries real visibility across their entire portfolio.
This guide covers what to look for, what the Australian market currently offers, and how to evaluate whether your current tools are keeping pace with your obligations.
Under the Corporations Act 2001, public companies must have at least one Company Secretary. Private companies are not legally required to appoint one, but many do — and for good reason.
The core statutory responsibilities include:
For a company with a simple structure and a single entity, this is manageable. For a corporate group managing subsidiaries, trusts, joint ventures, and special purpose vehicles — it's a complex, ongoing compliance operation.
ASIC's enforcement posture has shifted toward proactive compliance. Late lodgements, inaccurate registers, and missing director notifications are increasingly likely to attract scrutiny — not just fines.
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Enhancing Whistleblower Protections) Act 2019 and subsequent reforms have increased director accountability for governance failures. Directors can no longer plausibly claim ignorance of their company's compliance status.
Australia's alignment with international FATF recommendations and the expanded role of AUSTRAC in beneficial ownership reporting means that Company Secretaries managing complex structures — trusts, nominees, cross-shareholdings — need documented, auditable UBO chains. This can't be produced on demand from a spreadsheet.
Routine drafting tasks — resolutions, minutes, ASIC lodgement forms — are increasingly automated by AI. Company Secretaries who are still manually drafting every resolution from scratch are spending their time on work that software can do in seconds. The value-add is in judgment, oversight, and stakeholder management — not document production.
This is the non-negotiable feature for any serious company secretary software in Australia. You need a platform that:
Look for platforms that hold ASIC Digital Service Provider (DSP) certification. DSP status means the provider has been approved by ASIC for electronic lodgement and is held to a higher technical standard.
If you're managing more than one entity — which most Company Secretaries are — you need a single dashboard that shows you the compliance status of your entire portfolio at a glance. Not a separate login per entity, not a spreadsheet with colour-coded tabs.
The ideal interface shows:
Drafting resolutions from scratch is slow, error-prone, and frankly unnecessary. Modern platforms provide:
Every governance document — constitution, trust deed, share certificate, signed minutes, lodgement receipts — needs a secure, version-controlled home. The document vault should:
ASIC annual review fees are due within 28 days of the review date. Director appointments need to be lodged within 28 days of the change. Missing these deadlines generates late lodgement penalties under section 1351 of the Corporations Act.
Good company secretary software surfaces these deadlines before they're missed — with automated alerts, owner assignments, and escalation paths.
Every change to your entity data should be logged: who changed it, when, what the previous value was. This isn't just best practice — it's the record you'll need when an auditor, a due diligence team, or ASIC itself asks how the register has been maintained.
The dominant platform for accounting firms managing client entities. CAS 360 is comprehensive and deeply integrated with the accounting firm workflow — but it's designed for advisers, not internal teams. If you're an in-house Company Secretary, CAS 360 is built for your accountant, not for you.
Primarily a document generation tool focused on trust deeds, constitutions, and SMSF documentation. Strong for document production, weaker on entity register management and ongoing compliance tracking. Built for financial planners and accountants.
Enterprise-grade governance platform used by Fortune 500 and ASX 20 companies. Board portal, meeting management, and ESG reporting at scale. Starting price is typically $50,000+/year, which places it well outside the mid-market.
Purpose-built for Australian companies managing 5 to 100 entities in-house. Unlike CAS 360 or NowInfinity, EntityFlo is designed for the internal team — the CFO, Company Secretary, General Counsel — not the external adviser.
Key differentiators:
Here's the honest version of why the spreadsheet-and-shared-drive approach eventually fails:
| Risk Factor | Spreadsheet/Shared Drive | Company Secretary Software | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASIC discrepancy detection | ❌ Manual only | ✅ Automated, real-time | |
| Deadline alerts | ❌ Calendar reminders | ✅ Smart alerts + owner assignment | |
| Resolution drafting | ⏱️ 30-90 mins per resolution | ✅ Minutes with AI | |
| Document version control | ❌ Filename-based | ✅ System-enforced | |
| Audit trail | ❌ None | ✅ Full, immutable | |
| UBO calculation | ❌ Manual diagram | ✅ Automated mapping | |
| ASIC lodgement | ⏱️ Log into ASIC portal | ✅ Direct from platform | |
| Key person dependency | 🔴 High | 🟢 Low | |
| Time per entity per month | 4-8 hours | <1 hour |
Run through this checklist. If you answer "no" or "I'm not sure" to more than three, it's worth looking at what software can do for you:
Do private companies in Australia need a Company Secretary?
No. Under the Corporations Act 2001, only public companies are legally required to have a Company Secretary. However, private companies managing complex structures or multiple entities commonly appoint one or use software to fulfil the Company Secretary function.
What are the penalties for late ASIC lodgement?
Under section 1351 of the Corporations Act, late annual review fees and late lodgement of changes attract penalty fees. As of 2024, late fees start at $82 for lodgements up to one month late and increase to $341 for lodgements more than one month late. Persistent non-compliance can result in deregistration of the company.
Can company secretary software replace a Company Secretary?
No — and any vendor claiming otherwise is being misleading. Software automates administrative tasks: register maintenance, deadline tracking, document drafting, ASIC lodgement. It cannot exercise the judgment, discretion, or legal accountability required of a Company Secretary. Software makes the role faster and more reliable — it doesn't replace it.
What's the difference between ASIC agent software and company secretary software?
ASIC agent software (used by accountants and registered agents) focuses on lodging documents on behalf of clients. Company secretary software is designed for the in-house team managing their own entities — broader in scope, with registers, compliance tracking, document management, and governance workflows. Some platforms (including EntityFlo) offer both.
How much does company secretary software cost in Australia?
The range is wide. EntityFlo starts at $199/month for up to 25 entities. Enterprise platforms like Diligent start at $50,000+/year. Mid-market options typically fall between $200-$600/month depending on entity count and feature requirements.
Company secretary software in 2026 is no longer a nice-to-have for complex corporate structures — it's table stakes. The combination of tightening ASIC enforcement, expanded beneficial ownership requirements, and the increasing pace of corporate activity means that manual processes carry real risk.
The right platform gives you one source of truth for your entire portfolio, surfaces compliance gaps before they become penalties, and automates the routine work so you can focus on what requires judgment.
For Australian companies managing 5 to 100 entities in-house, EntityFlo was built for exactly this.
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Nathan Carroll is the founder and CEO of EntityFlo, Australia's purpose-built [entity management platform](/) for corporate groups, family offices, and [property developers](/blog/entity-management-property-developers-australia) managing 5–100 entities. Prior to EntityFlo, Nathan held the role of Global CRO at FeeWise (LEAP/InfoTrack group), scaling North American revenue from zero to $1M+ ARR in 12 months. He has completed two company exits, including Antler's first global exit. [Connect on LinkedIn](https://linkedin.com/in/nathan-carroll-32b98231).
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