Draft Associations Incorporation Regulation 2009
This article appears in the December 2009 edition of Sportshorts.
Invitation to comment
As reported in July Sportshorts, the Associations Incorporations Act is set to change, affecting the vast majority of sporting organisations.
Where are the changes up to?
The Associations Incorporation Act 2009 was passed by NSW Parliament on 31 March 2009 but has not yet commenced.
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This article appears in the December 2009 edition of Sportshorts. Subscribe to our e-updates to be notified of future editions - they're free!
The new Act modernises the law, allows more flexibility and provides stronger protection of association finances. Most of the day-to-day procedures and operations of associations will not be affected.
New supporting regulations need to be made before the Act can commence.
A draft Associations Incorporation Regulation 2009 has been prepared, and is being released for public consultation. A regulatory impact statement has also been prepared discussing the costs and benefits of the proposed Regulation.
Many of the provisions of the draft Regulation are the same as those in the current regulations, for example, specifying the information to be included in applications for registration and financial summaries and setting application fees.
New matters in the Regulation include:
- a financial threshold to determine which associations will be required to submit audited financial statements, that is, associations with annual receipts of more than $200,000 or current assets exceeding $500,000; and
- procedures for conducting postal ballots to make it easier for association members to be involved in decision making.
Until the new Act and the new Regulation commence, the existing Associations Incorporation Act 1984 will remain in place and the current requirements still apply to all incorporated associations.
What you can do
Interested parties are invited to provide comments and submissions on the draft Regulation.
Comments and submissions can be emailed (preferred), mailed or faxed by 19 February 2010. Details on how to make a submission are contained in the regulatory impact statement.
Copies of the regulatory impact statement and draft Regulation can be obtained from NSW Fair Trading: phone (02) 9338 8925 web www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au
