ABSTRACT
All organisations are bound both by Australian laws and by their own constitutions (rule books). Before July 1998, every company was required to have a memorandum and articles of association. These documents were developed in the UK from 1844 and explained to the outside world what the company’s purpose and objectives were. The memorandum of association was the external document that detailed the name of the company, who was responsible for its incorporation, the amount of capital that could be raised and the limit of liability of its members. Some memoranda of association even included a list of business activities, called the ‘objects clause’, which the company would or might engage in.
