The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) has issued the third edition of its Corporate Governance Guidelines and is working on a set of environmental (E) and social (S) guidelines which it hopes to release by the end of the year.

The new Corporate Governance Guidelines, the second update following an initial release in March 2003, were amended to include corporate governance considerations surrounding increased takeover and merger activity. Sections on proxy voting were also updated and a new section on stapled entities was added. “ACSI acknowledges the increasing prevalence of stapled entities (listed investment vehicles) and considers that notwithstanding any Corporations Law requirements, such entities should comply with the spirit of the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s Principles,” the guidelines state. But Rosalind McKay, research and policy officer at ACSI, said the guidelines were not designed to consider “every single situation”. “What they do is draw a line in the sand on key governance issues,” she said. The organisation is continuing its search for a chief executive officer and new research staff and hopes to make appointments by August.