Regulator to convert six private firms into public companies within one month

ASIC will alter the registration details of seven Australian companies one month after publication of its latest gazette notice, converting six of them from proprietary companies into public companies limited by shares. The notice is issued under subsection 164(3) of the Corporations Act 2001 and appears on page 26 of ASIC Gazette No. A43/26, published on Tuesday 27 October 2026. Barring a court or tribunal order, the changes take effect on or about 27 November 2026.

The entry sits under the heading “Change of company type” on the final page of the 26-page Commonwealth of Australia Gazette published by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The wording is the regulator’s standard formulation for the alteration of company type: ASIC “will alter the registration details of the following companies 1 month after the publication of this notice, unless an order by a court or Administrative Appeals Tribunal prevents it from doing so.”

Each company keeps its Australian Company Number but changes both its legal form and its name, dropping or adding the “Pty” qualifier and the words “Limited” or “Ltd”. The gazette gives no reasons for the conversions and records no financial details; ASIC’s role at this stage is to alter the register, not to approve or veto the commercial rationale.

The companies affected

• Enzed Energy Pty Ltd (ACN 690 296 514) becomes Enzed Energy Limited.
• Golden Tail Resources Pty Ltd (ACN 664 316 849) becomes Golden Tail Resources Limited.
• Hawke’s Brewing Co Pty Ltd (ACN 614 532 928) becomes Hawke’s Brewing Co Limited.
• Proteus Maritime Pty Ltd (ACN 683 070 359) becomes Proteus Maritime Limited.
• The Aussie Global Markets Pty Ltd (ACN 690 996 911) becomes The Aussie Global Markets Ltd.
• Vigo Care (Holdco) Pty Ltd (ACN 645 835 098) becomes Vigo Care (Holdco) Limited.

A seventh entry runs the other way: Infinite Water Holdings Ltd (ACN 618 348 995), currently a public company, will change to a proprietary company limited by shares and take the name Infinite Water Holdings Pty Ltd. The seven entries are among the notices listed on the gazette’s contents page, numbered 26-0834 and 26-0856 to 26-0864.

A one-month window and a right to object

The one-month delay is the statutory notice period, and it is the only window in which the alteration can be stopped. Any party able to persuade a court, or the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, to make an order before late November can prevent ASIC from proceeding; once the month expires, the register is amended and the new names and legal forms take effect.

The gazette’s standing “Rights of review” statement notes that persons affected by certain ASIC decisions may have review rights, and points readers to Regulatory Guide 57 (Notification of rights of review) and Information Sheet INFO 9 (ASIC decisions – your rights), available from the ASIC Digest and the regulator’s website.

Why the switch matters

A public company limited by shares is the vehicle Australian law permits to offer securities to the public, subject to the disclosure rules in Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act 2001. Conversion is therefore frequently a preparatory step before a capital raising, a share offer to outside investors or an application to list on the Australian Securities Exchange. The gazette notice, however, records only the change of type; it discloses nothing about any offer, prospectus or listing plan by any of the six companies.

Public status also changes the governance baseline, bringing a minimum of three directors, an obligation to hold an annual general meeting and audited financial reporting, in place of the lighter regime that applies to proprietary companies. For small shareholders, creditors and trading counterparties, the practical consequence is that the entities they deal with will shortly appear on the register under new names, with the “Pty” prefix gone.

Deregistrations on the same day

The rest of ASIC Gazette No. A43/26, dated 23 October 2026, concerns removals from the register rather than conversions:

• The Stables Property Fund (ARSN 167 742 672) may be deregistered as a managed investment scheme two months after publication, under subsection 601PB(2), unless ASIC is given an acceptable reason not to proceed.
• The Dyslexia Association Inc. (ARBN 147 223 201) will be struck off three months after publication under section 601CC(3).
• Cyderes Inc. (ARBN 611 941 827) and Soltech New Zealand Limited (ARBN 114 333 416) will be struck off three months after publication under section 601CL(4).
• Already struck off: Sea World Research & Rescue Foundation Inc. (ARBN 053 146 491) under subsection 601CC(4) and Busy Bee Ventures Limited (ARBN 621 858 302) under subsection 601CL(5).

For shareholders and counterparties of the six converting companies, the next four weeks are the only point at which the change can be contested or the corporate record checked. After 27 November the alteration is administrative fact: the same ACNs will carry new names, public-company obligations and, potentially, the legal capacity to raise capital from the public that a proprietary structure denies them.

Source: ASIC Gazette, No. A43/26, 27 October 2026, Notices under Corporations Act 2001, p. 26 (official reference: subsection 164(3), Corporations Act 2001).