The corporate regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, has extended its relief to companies related to the holding of annual general meetings and financial reporting.

This has been done in order to allow people to continue to deal with the various impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Some companies have struggled to complete their compliance tasks because of the remote working regime imposed by government restrictions.

ASIC has also extended its no action stance on annual general meetings so that leeway will still be given to companies that have difficulties holding critical company meetings in a timely manner.

These are practical measures that in some respects also align with the timeframes that the government itself is implementing with other relief such as changes to Job Seeker and Job Keeper.

ASIC has also said it will review the status of the relief measures early in the New Year in order to determine whether there is any merit in continuing them.

Relief measures in a time of a pandemic when the business environment is unsettled may be fine, but the corporate regulator and other government bodies need to bear in mind that relief can only go so far.

With the pandemic gradually easing off, in Australia at least, the relief mindset cannot continue for much longer. Coronavirus will not be the reason people cannot hand in their homework for marking by the regulator over the next three to six months.

Companies affected by COVID restrictions will need to get weaned off these extended deadlines and their compliance teams will need to get back to normal transmission and again reinforce good governance process and appropriate internal controls.

It was fine to cut people some slack when the pandemic was at its peak. The regulator should do its bit to get people back to more regular reporting and lodgement for their own sake.