Rules in an incorporated association

An incorporated association’s rules should be clear and help the association be inclusive, fair and open with its members. The rules bind all members.

The rules must include information about:

the name of the association and set out its objectives
membership (where the association has members)
powers, duties and committee appointments
appointing an auditor (if the association is a prescribed association)
the calling and procedures for general meetings
who has management and control of the funds and other property of the association
the powers of the association and how they may be exercised and by whom
how the rules of the association may be altered.

Consumer and Business Services (CBS) highly recommends including the following information in the rules:

appointing a public officer
how disputes are resolved and how that process observes the rules of natural justice
how the association may be wound up
how any surplus assets are distributed upon winding up.

The rules must not contain any provision that is inconsistent or contrary to the Associations Incorporation Act 1985.

Changing the rules

You should first check the rules of the association to see how they can be altered. If there is no information about this in the rules, a special resolution can make the change.

If you want to change the name of the association, it must not violate the restricted and undesirable names direction (PDF 171KB).

Changing the rules of an association

An incorporated association can ask Consumer and Business Services (CBS) to conduct a pre-assessment of its proposed rule changes, by submitting the required information for response.

For guidance see an example of compliant rules (DOCX 156KB).

To make sure your rules meet requirements of the Act, you can also use the checklist for incorporated associations (PDF 195 KB).

Once the rules are changed, the association will receive a sealed copy of the constitution.