Corporations Act 2001

If a person enters into, or purports to enter into, a contract on behalf of, or for the benefit of, a company before it is registered, the company becomes bound by the contract and entitled to its benefit if the company, or a company that is reasonably identifiable with it, is registered and ratifies the contract:

within the time agreed to by the parties to the contract; or

if there is no agreed time—within a reasonable time after the contract is entered into.

The person is liable to pay damages to each other party to the pre‑registration contract if the company is not registered, or the company is registered but does not ratify the contract or enter into a substitute for it:

within the time agreed to by the parties to the contract; or

if there is no agreed time—within a reasonable time after the contract is entered into.

If proceedings are brought to recover damages under subsection (2) because the company is registered but does not ratify the pre‑registration contract or enter into a substitute for it, the court may do anything that it considers appropriate in the circumstances, including ordering the company to do 1 or more of the following:

pay all or part of the damages that the person is liable to pay;

transfer property that the company received because of the contract to a party to the contract;

pay an amount to a party to the contract.

If the company ratifies the pre—registration contract but fails to perform all or part of it, the court may order the person to pay all or part of the damages that the company is ordered to pay.