The Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act) was passed by the Australian Parliament in October 2006, replacing the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976 (ACA Act). It began on 1 July 2007 to coincide with the start of the 2007–08 financial year. Under the CATSI Act, laws governing Indigenous corporations have been modernised while still retaining special measures to meet the specific needs of Indigenous people.
Corporations already incorporated under the ACA Act will have up to two years to make the necessary changes to comply with the new law. This is called the 'transitional period'.
The package of laws, which replace the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976, can be found on the ComLaw website. The total package includes:
The new legislation began on 1 July 2007. Corporations will have up to two years to meet the requirements of the new law, giving them time to make the necessary changes.
We do not publish copies of the CATSI Act, amendments or regulations. However, you can get a free copy of the legislation online by following the links above.
For information on how to buy copies of legislation go to the Australian Government Information Management Office's publications website.
Get in on the Act, a guide to the new legislation, is available.
Download:
'Get
in on the Act' booklet [20 pages, PDF 168Kb]
Published: July 2007
For more information about the CATSI Act call 1800 622 431 (free except for mobiles) or email info@oric.gov.au.
To move smoothly to the new law, the Transitional Act provides for a period of up to two years for corporations to comply with the new laws. These are called ‘transitional arrangements’, and they will bring the ACA Act to an end and transfer corporations incorporated under the ACA Act to the CATSI Act.
Through its support services, ORIC will assist corporations move to the new law. It has already begun this by sending out information on the CATSI Act and through its website.
ORIC has already started working with many groups to get ready to make the changes. All existing corporations will automatically become CATSI corporations under the new law.
Read more in how do I transition to the CATSI Act?
Related items
Fact sheet: Fact sheet: Arrangements for corporations to move to the
new CATSI Act
Poster:
'A corporation's path to CATSI' poster [A3, 2 pages, PDF 731Kb]
Poster:
'Steps to the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act' [A4, 1
page, PDF 100Kb]
A rule book etool is now available to help corporations create rules that comply with the CATSI Act and design good governance practices. Read more about the rule book etool here.
A short newsletter providing updates about the CATSI Act and what it means for corporations. Each issue will also explain some of the differences between the ACA Act and the CATSI Act.
Download:
The Oracle—May 2008: We are ORIC now! [2 pages, PDF: 136Kb]
Download:
The Oracle—Feb 2008: Improving corporate governance [2 pages, PDF: 152Kb]
Download:
The Oracle—Jan 2008: ORATSIC's vision [2 pages, PDF: 79Kb]
Download:
The Oracle—Aug 2007: CATSI rules—make them your own [2 pages, PDF: 57Kb]
Download:
The Oracle—Apr 2007: How big is big? [2 pages, PDF: 147Kb]
Download:
The Oracle—Dec 2006: At last a new Act [2 pages,
PDF: 94Kb]
Download:
The Oracle—Sept 2006: What should corporations be doing now? [2 pages,
PDF: 97Kb]
Download:
The Oracle—May 2006: Get in on the Act [2 pages, PDF: 103KB]
Subscribe: Would you like to be sent new issues of The Oracle as they are published? Call us to subscribe on 1800 622 431 or email info@oratsic.gov.au.
Note: From 1 May 2008 we have changed our name to the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations. Some documents available from this page were published before this date.
The following fact sheets are short and provide information on particular topics. They are available in colour or black and white, for faster printing. More fact sheets will be available soon.
|
Fact sheet |
Version |
|
| Corporation size and financial reporting Published: May 2008 |
Colour PDF (168Kb) | B&W PDF (162Kb) |
| Related party financial benefits Published: May 2008 |
Colour PDF (103Kb) | B&W PDF (83Kb) |
| Meetings Published: June 2007 |
Colour PDF (351Kb) |
B&W PDF (345Kb) |
| What's in the corporation's rule book? Published: October 2007 |
Colour PDF (108Kb) | B&W PDF (113Kb) |
| Arrangements for corporations to move to the
new CATSI Act Published: October 2007 |
Colour PDF (112Kb) | B&W PDF (109Kb) |
| What the CATSI Act means for funding bodies Published: October 2007 |
Colour PDF (113Kb) | B&W PDF (112Kb) |
| Duties of directors and other officers Published: October 2007 |
Colour PDF (127Kb) | B&W PDF (141Kb) |
|
Native title |
||
|
The Bill and the review—some
differences |
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The Bill and the ACA Act—some
differences |
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The CATSI Act and the Corporations Act—some differences |
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(Note: The fact sheets are available for download in PDF format. It requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download the latest version of Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website.)
How does the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act) interact with the Native Title Act 1993 and take into account the role and functions of prescribed bodies corporate?
Download 'ORATSIC paper—Interaction between the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 and the Native Title Act 1993' [23 pages, Word doc: 141Kb]
Note: From 1 May 2008 we have changed our name to the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations. The above document was published before this date.
This short animation is designed for a community audience to introduce the new law.
| Constitutions (Flash, 6.4 MB) | The animation is a very large file and may take some time to
download. This will open a popup window and some browsers may block this function. Download the latest version of Flash Player from the Macromedia web site. |
| Constitutions (.wmv, 2.96 MB) | To download the animation in Windows Media Format (for recent versions of Windows Media Player):
When it is downloaded, you can view the file from there. |
This short animation is designed for a community audience to introduce the Bill when it was introduced into parliament in June 2005.
| Say G'Day to Bill (Flash, 1.6 MB) | The animation is a very large file and may take some time to
download. This will open a popup window and some browsers may block this function. Download the latest version of Flash Player from the Macromedia web site. |
| Say G’day to Bill (.wmv, 2.94 MB) | To download the animation in Windows Media Format (for recent versions of Windows Media Player):
When it is downloaded, you can view the file from there. |
| Say G’day to Bill (.zip, 2.5 MB) | A compressed version of the wmv file, this should require less download time. |
The ACA Act became a law in 1976. Since then there have been substantial changes in the legal environment for corporate regulation. The ACA Act is 30 years old and is out-of-date with modern corporate governance and accountability standards, such as exist in the Corporations Act 2001. Also it needed modernising to keep up with the growing importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations.
About 2500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations are registered under the ACA Act. Many deliver essential services (such as medical services) and infrastructure (such as power stations) to remote Indigenous communities or they might hold land for Indigenous groups. Most native title corporations are registered under the ACA Act, as are most remote Indigenous arts centres.
The new laws aim to promote good governance and management, and create opportunities for innovation and best practice to occur within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations. Important changes will allow for modernised corporate governance practices and accountability standards, improve security for funding bodies, creditors and other parties doing business with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations, as well as provide flexibility for groups and communities to design the corporation's constitution.
The new legislation was developed after a process of independent review and broad consultation over a period of two years, as well as further research conducted by the Office of the Registrar of Aboriginal Corporations. The independent review report was released in December 2002. Copies of the report and recommendations can be accessed below.
The major finding of the review was that the special incorporation needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be met through laws tailored to their specific incorporation needs. The review recommended a thorough reform of the ACA Act by enactment of a new Act. The review recommended that the new Act provide the same standard of corporate governance as exists in the Corporations Act. The review also recommended that the new Act provide special forms of regulatory assistance to support better corporate governance. The review concluded that the ACA Act was out-of-date and suffered from a large number of technical shortcomings to the point that the ACA Act itself had become a source of disadvantage for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The CATSI Act implements the key recommendations of the review. There is a fact sheet, The Bill and the review—some differences, on what recommendations were not implemented and why.
(Note: The complete review report is available for download in PDF format and may take some time. It requires the free Adobe Acrobat Reader. You can download the latest version of Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website.)
Final report (PDF 3.47Mb)—May take some time to download
Executive summary (PDF 197Kb)
Recommendations (PDF 275Kb)
Previous consultation papers on the review include:
Summary Consultation Paper (Word 67Kb)
The full Consultation Paper (Word 184Kb)
Key terms and concepts are explained in this Glossary (Word 86Kb).
The ACA Act has been reviewed twice before, in 1989 and 1996. In 1989 Graeme Neate conducted a review producing the Report to the Registrar of Aboriginal Corporations on the Review of the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976. In response to this review the Government made changes to the ACA Act in the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Amendment Act 1992.
In 1995 ATSIC commissioned an independent review of the ACA Act which was conducted by the Australian Institute for Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) headed by Dr Jim Fingleton. Dr Fingleton produced the Final Report Review of the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976 in 1996. No changes were made to the ACA Act as a result of the Fingleton Report. However the report contained highly detailed information on the development and operation of the ACA Act which has been useful for the more recent review of the ACA Act.
If you would like to read these reports ORIC can send you a copy. You ask for
a copy by calling 1800 622 431 (freecall except for mobiles) or emailing
info@oric.gov.au.