Independence of Directors

A Director shall be deemed to be independent, for the purposes of service on the Board of the Company and its committees, if the Director satisfies the standards adopted by the Board from time to time to assist it in its regular 'independence' determinations.  These standards reflect the independence requirements under applicable laws, rules, regulations and best practice guidelines.  Directors are required to provide all relevant information to allow a regular assessment of independence.  The fundamental premise of the standards is that an independent Director is independent of management and free of any business or other relationship that could materially interfere with - or could reasonably be perceived to materially interfere with - the exercise of their unfettered and independent judgement.

The non-executive Directors meet informally from time to time, without the Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, the Executive Director and other members of management being present, to ensure that the non-executive Directors maintain independence of thought and judgement.

The Directors of the Company considered by the Board to constitute independent directors are identified, along with their period in office, in the Report of the Directors in each year's Annual Report.

Set out below is a description of the Independence Standards, which forms part of the Board Charter, that are considered when assessing the independence of Directors.