Amendment to the Associations Incorporation Act 1964 (TAS)
Changes to The Associations Incorporation Act 1964 (the Act), which affect most Associations in Tasmania, started on 1 October 2016.
There are two changes that are designed to reduce the administrative burden on Tasmanian registered charities and Incorporated Associations.
Changes to the Act
1. The first change applies to your organisation if the organisation is a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) and an Incorporated Association in Tasmania.
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For any year where your organisation complies with the annual reporting requirements of the ACNC then the organisation does not have to do an annual return to the Commissioner for Corporate Affairs in Tasmania.
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The Commissioner for Corporate Affairs will be able to request a copy of the information your organisation supplied to the ACNC.
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In the Associations Incorporation Act 1964 an Association must report within 6 months of the end of financial year for the Association – if your report is due with the Commissioner for Corporate Affairs before 1 October then you must still report to the Commissioner for Corporate Affairs this year and the change will apply from 2017.
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If your report to the Commissioner for Corporate Affairs is due to be lodged on or after 1 October 2016, then the change can apply to your 2016 report.
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If your organisation fails to lodge a return with the ACNC then the Commissioner for Corporate Affairs will require your organisation to comply with the Tasmanian reporting requirements.
2. The second change applies to your organisation if your organisation is an Incorporated Association and for any year where your organisations annual revenue is less than $250,000.
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The requirement for your organisation to have an annual financial audit has been removed.
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You will still need to do an annual return, including financial statements, but this does not have
to include an auditors report for any year where the revenue is less than $250,000.
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An association, with revenue of less than $250,000, may still elect to require audited statements, you simply leave, or insert, the requirement in your constitution.
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However, to take advantage of the $250,000 threshold, your association will need to review your constitution and, if required, change the constitution by special resolution to take out the requirement for an annual audit for any year the association has revenue of less than $250,000.
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For very small organisation that have in the past submitted a special resolution for an audit exemption – from 1 October your organisation will no longer need to do go through that process.
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To help organisations make changes to their constitutions the Government will publish new model rules prior to 1 October 2016.
For more information
For more information - please contact us on 1300 654 499 or cbosinfo@justice.tas.gov.au
For more information about the ACNC contact them on telephone number 13 22 62 and website http://www.acnc.gov.au
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