A new Incorporated Societies Act comes fully into force in October 2023.
From October 2023 your society will be able to apply for reregistration. There are just over 7 months left before societies can apply for reregistration under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022. The reregistration process starts in October this year. Societies will then have 2½ years to reregister under the 2022 Act.
Key changes for societies
The 2022 Act introduces new features such as a contact person, consent to be member, the requirement for a society to have a committee, duties for officers, dispute resolution processes, the ability for societies to amalgamate and new accounting standards for financial reporting to name a few. These changes should help officers run societies and provide members with a clear understanding of how their societies should operate.
Your society’s rules — What you need to know about making changes now
A set of rules (referred to as a constitution in the 2022 Act) is the backbone of any society, big or small. Even though law changes are coming, if your society wants to update its rules now those rules must still comply with the current 1908 Act.
When your society wants to reregister (from October 2023), you will need to provide an updated copy of your society’s constitution (called rules in the 1908 Act) that meet the requirements of the 2022 Act.
You should start thinking about what you might want to include in your society’s constitution now but please be aware that some of the new requirements in the 2022 Act will only become applicable to your society once it has been reregistered under the 2022 Act.
Source: Registrar of Incorporated Societies Key changes | Incorporated Societies (companiesoffice.govt.nz)
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