Voting Statistics
Percentage of online votes received in 2025 and over the past 20 years
The trend in investor adoption of electronic communications has continued its steady long term rise, culminating in 62.71% in 2025. This marks one of the highest levels on record and brings adoption rates back in line with those observed in 2022 (62.75%), when digital engagement surged due to COVID 19–driven shifts in behaviour.
After slight fluctuations in the years following the pandemic, 60.81% in 2024 and 61.51% in 2023, the renewed increase in 2025 suggests that electronic delivery is becoming an established and preferred channel for shareholders.
We see this as a positive and meaningful shift. Increased adoption of electronic communications supports:
- Greater accessibility, allowing investors to receive materials quickly and reliably.
- More inclusive voting participation, as shareholders can engage with information regardless of location or mail constraints.
- Enhanced sustainability, reducing reliance on physical mailout channels.
Looking at the longer historical series (2005–2025), the growth is even more pronounced, rising from 4.91% in 2005 to over 62% today, reflecting almost two decades of digital transformation in investor communications.
Total Online Votes
In 2025, we observed a clear uplift in the proportion of online votes lodged across all major ASX indices. This upward movement highlights a continued shift in shareholder behaviour towards digital channels and reflects growing comfort and confidence in online voting platforms.
Across the indices, the increases were consistent:
- S&P/ASX 100: Online voting rose to 58.60%, an increase of 4.43 percentage points compared to 2024.
- S&P/ASX 200: Adoption increased by 5.23 percentage points, reaching 59.02% in 2025.
- S&P/ASX 201+: The strongest performer, climbing to just under 72%; a 2.93 percentage point increase year on year and the highest level recorded to date.
This broad based growth reinforces a positive trend: investors are increasingly choosing fast, secure and accessible digital voting methods. The consistency across indices suggests that online voting is now firmly embedded as a preferred channel for shareholders, irrespective of company size or market tier.
Percentage of holders who received materials by email vs. post
The proportion of investors opting to receive meeting communications by email has remained effectively unchanged year on year, with 67.53% in 2025 compared to 67.43% in 2024, a marginal 0.1 percentage point increase. This stagnation follows a strong uplift the previous year, where electronic communications rose by just over 9%.
Despite the plateau at the aggregate level, there are encouraging signs within specific market segments. Shareholders in the S&P/ASX 200+ continue to demonstrate a clear preference for digital delivery, choosing email over post by more than 21%, signalling a strong shift towards electronic engagement among smaller cap issuers. In contrast, S&P/ASX 100 companies still exhibit slower adoption, indicating ongoing work is needed to drive awareness and transition these shareholders towards electronic communication channels.
Overall, while momentum has softened since last year, the preference for email remains dominant and continues to offer issuers an opportunity to improve accessibility, reduce costs, and strengthen communication efficiency.
Form Volumes (Online & Paper) and Number of AGMS
The decline in total votes lodged has now extended into its third consecutive year. This downward trend may indicate that retail investors continue to feel their individual voting influence is limited, reducing their likelihood of submitting forms or participating in the voting process.
Despite fluctuations in AGM numbers over the past decade, the overall reduction in voting volumes suggests a broader shift in shareholder engagement behaviours.
|
Number of AGMS |
Total Forms Received (Paper & Online) |
| 2025 |
348 |
139,227 |
| 2024 |
380 |
154,202 |
| 2023 |
405 |
176,331 |
| 2022 |
390 |
165,177 |
| 2021 |
399 |
173,741 |
| 2020 |
384 |
145,597 |
| 2019 |
376 |
231,271 |
| 2018 |
415 |
267,799 |
| 2017 |
399 |
267,293 |
| 2016 |
363 |
246,184 |
| 2015 |
347 |
246,794 |
