ASSOCIATIONS INCORPORATION ACT 1991 - SECT 93 Cancellation of incorporation

ASSOCIATIONS INCORPORATION ACT 1991 - SECT 93

    (1)     If the registrar-general has reasonable grounds for believing that an incorporated association—

        (a)     is not in operation; or

        (b)     has fewer than 5 members; or

        (c)     was incorporated as a result of fraud or mistake; or

        (d)     has not during the last 3 years convened an annual general meeting of the association in accordance with this Act; or

        (e)     has not lodged an annual accounts document as required by the registrar-general; or

        (f)     has lodged annual accounts documents in relation to the last 3 years and for each year a reviewer or auditor, in the course of the reviewer's or auditor's duties to examine the association's accounting records and other records, has stated that the reviewer or auditor is unable to determine if the association has been complying with this Act;

the registrar-general may—

        (g)     serve a notice on the association; and

        (h)     give public notice in relation to the association.

Note     Public notice means notice on an ACT government website or in a daily newspaper circulating in the ACT (see Legislation Act

, dict, pt 1).

    (2)     A notice under subsection (1) (g) and (h) must—

        (a)     contain a statement to the effect that if a reply to the notice from the association showing cause why the incorporation of the association should not be cancelled is not received by the registrar-general within the period of 2 months after the date when the notice was served or published, whichever is the later, the incorporation of the association will be cancelled; and

        (b)     set out the ground or grounds for the proposed cancellation.

    (3)     If the registrar-general has, in accordance with subsection (1), served a notice on an incorporated association and published a notice in relation to the association the registrar-general may, on the end of the period of 2 months referred to in the notice, in writing, cancel the incorporation of the association unless the registrar-general is satisfied within that period that the association—

        (a)     is in operation; and

        (b)     has at least 5 members; and

        (c)     was not incorporated as a result of fraud or mistake; and

        (d)     has during the last 3 years convened an annual general meeting in accordance with this Act; and

        (e)     has lodged any required annual accounts documents; and

        (f)     if subsection (1) (f) applies—has taken reasonable steps to ensure future compliance with this Act.

    (4)     A cancellation of incorporation under subsection (3) is a notifiable instrument.

Note     A notifiable instrument must be notified under the Legislation Act

.

    (5)     If, under section 83 or subsection (3), the registrar-general cancels the incorporation of an association, the registrar-general must send to the public officer of the association at the address appearing in the registrar-general's records as the last notified address of the most recently appointed public officer of the association or, if there appears to be a vacancy in the office of the public officer, to a member of the committee of the association at the address that appears in the registrar-general's records as the last notified address of the association, a notice of the cancellation.

    (6)     Despite the cancellation of the incorporation of an association under section 83 or subsection (3), any liability of an officer or member of the association existing at the time of cancellation continues and may be enforced as if the incorporation of the association had not been cancelled.

    (7)     If the registrar-general is satisfied that the incorporation of an association was cancelled as the result of an error on the part of the registrar-general, the registrar-general may reinstate the incorporation of the association, and the association is then taken to have continued in existence as an incorporated association as if its incorporation had not been cancelled.

    (8)     If, before the registrar-general cancels the incorporation of an association under section 83 or subsection (3), the incorporated association has commenced to be wound up under section 88 or  90—

        (a)     the registrar-general may cancel the incorporation despite the commencement of the winding-up; and

        (b)     the cancellation of the incorporation is not taken to affect the winding-up.

    (9)     In this section:

"annual accounts document" means a document mentioned in section 79 (1).