Although Bougainville Copper Limited (BCL) is registered in Papua New Guinea and is subject to PNG company law it is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and is subject to ASX listing rules. The ASX recently issued new corporate governance guidelines. These are not mandatory rules in the sense that each recommendation must be followed but listed companies must report against them and explain why any recommendation is not followed. This year's Annual Report (2003) has a statement in compliance with those guidelines. It needs to be borne in mind that BCL does not have any employees of its own, but is managed under an agreement with a Rio Tinto service company.

The guidelines, in part, assume the listed entity has employees and a management structure different to that of BCL. In many instances BCL adopts the standards and policies of its parent company, Rio Tinto Limited.