Proxy voting in Australia and New Zealand: key findings

Proxy voting is moving from a niche operational process to a core part of governance and investor engagement. But as volumes and expectations rise, many firms are still relying on fragmented workflows, limited transparency and manual intervention. 

How ready are proxy voting operations in Australia and New Zealand to support industry-wide shareholder engagement? Where are delays, data issues and operational workarounds still weakening transparency and reducing control across the voting chain?

The findings draw on industry-wide research spanning issuers and investors, providing a market view of the operational barriers affecting proxy voting across Australia and New Zealand and the changes required to improve scale in 2023.

The research, produced in partnership with Proxymity, Computershare, Australian Investor Relations Association (AIRA) and Australasian Custodial Services Association (ACSA), highlights:

• 61% of issuers believe notices are getting distorted in the chain, pointing to persistent data reliability issues

• 76% of issuers do not know how long notices are taking, with notices taking at least two to seven days to reach investors

• Every issuer surveyed is taking additional action to reach shareholders, with firms averaging 3.5 supplementary steps beyond regulatory disclosures

• Investors are losing 21–23 days in the voting process, reducing the time available to assess and act

• Proxy voting workflows continue to rely heavily on outsourcing and manual processes, increasing operational risk and limiting scalability