The Ministry is seeking submissions on the Exposure Draft of the Incorporated Societies Bill.

For its members AuSAE will be running sector discussions in February and March 2016, and will be making a submission based on sector feedback on behalf of our members. 

The below information has been directly sourced from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website here. 

The Incorporated Societies Act 1908 does not say anything about several important matters that affect the operation of societies. The main purpose of the draft Bill is to remove uncertainty about those matters. The additions that we think are the most important are outlined below.

Clauses 48-55 relating to officers’ duties – Officers of incorporated societies already have duties under the common law. Clauses 48-55 are aimed at being clear about what those duties are and to whom they are owed.

Clauses 56-65 relating to conflicts of interest – There is nothing about conflicts of interest in the 1908 Act. The purpose of these provisions is to define what a conflict of interest is, and make it clear what an officer needs to do if his or her duties of loyalty to the society come into conflict with a competing personal interest that he or she may have.

Clauses 31-32 and Schedule 2 (see pages 95-96 of the Bill) relating to dispute resolution – Whether they realise it or not, all societies already have obligations under the common law to resolve, or participate in the resolution of disputes or grievances that may arise within their society. The main aim with Schedule 2 is to provide a set of simple rules for resolving disputes fairly.

The deadline for making comments is Thursday 30 June 2016.

The Ministry’s Request for Submissions highlights key issues raised by the Exposure Draft. It also invites comments on Agricultural and Pastoral Societies legislation.

Please email your submissions to societies@mbie.govt.nz. Queries should be sent to the same email address.