For companies listed on the ASX, record date can refer to either:
The date used to establish which holders of securities are entitled to a dividend or other entitlement associated with a security. Those on the register on the record date are eligible for the entitlement. To allow for settlement of trades, ex-dividend dates and other ex-entitlement dates are usually set to one business day before the record date.
The time nominated by the company before a general meeting (usually the company's annual general meeting (AGM)) that determines the shareholders that have the right to attend and vote at the meeting (see Practice note, Notices of general meeting: Who should be given a notice of general meeting?).
More broadly, a record date is a cut-off date set by a company to determine the shareholders that are eligible to participate in, or the shares that will be the subject of, a transaction. For example, in the context of a scheme of arrangement, the record date is used to determine the shares that will be the subject of that scheme.