Time to prepare for new Incorporated Societies Act

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Hundreds of sports clubs, social clubs and community groups are having to comply with new rules around incorporated societies or face mandatory dissolution.

About 24,000 nationwide societies registered under the Incorporated Societies Act 1908 need to reregister under the 2022 Act (between October 5, 2023 and April 5, 2026).

Any society that does not reregister by then will no longer exist as an incorporated society.

New societies automatically register under the new Act.

Sport Gisborne-Tairāwhiti chief executive Stefan Pishief said the good news was there was plenty of time to prepare for the challenge.

“We are aware of the new requirements and certainly they will add additional challenges to certain sporting, recreation, and community organisations — many of whom are run by passionate volunteers who are already struggling under a number of financial and compliance requirements, and who have faced significant setbacks from Covid and extreme weather events in recent years.

“We know that Sport NZ is working with key national sporting bodies to determine what is needed and to develop support that can be passed through to regional sporting bodies and eventually local clubs in a phased manner.

“We are not encouraging clubs to rush out now and make changes (unless they really want to) when a level of support is on its way, and given we can learn from other larger entities going through the process first, as there will likely be teething issues.

“That said, there will be gaps with that roll-out. For example, some clubs aren’t aligned with a well-resourced national body, and the one-size-fits-all approach won’t work for all, so we know there will be many groups who need more hands-on support.

“We are considering the role we can play to help them through this. We also don’t want to lose sight of the positives around this new requirement as it is a chance to modernise many constitutions that are badly outdated and don’t work for their existing memberships.”

A statement from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said there were a few things a society would need to do before it reregistered, such as preparing a compliant constitution and possibly adopting some new processes to comply with the 2022 Act,

“It is recommended that existing societies wishing to reregister start this process as soon as possible as it will take some time to prepare what is needed.

“These requirements include holding annual general meetings, filing an annual return and financial statements, notifying the registrar of Incorporated Societies if certain details change (eg, officer details), maintaining certain society records including accounting records, AGM minutes, membership details (register of members), conflicts of interest that officers may have (interests register), and ensuring all new officers consent in writing to being an officer and certify that they are not disqualified.”