The Registrar has a number of regulatory powers under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act) to intervene to solve problems within corporations. The type of power the Registrar uses would depend on the type of rules of the Act and/or the rule book of the corporation which were broken. The Registrar regularly uses its power to examine the records and documents of the corporation so it can detect and prevent the corporation from breaking the rules of the Act and the rule book of the corporation.
The Registrar may if the need arises:
The Registrar is to chair these meetings or authorise another person to do so.
Registrar requires compliance with the Act (s. 439-20). (This is the old s. 60A notice under the ACA Act).
The Registrar may appoint an authorised officer (examiner) at any time to examine the books and records of a corporation (s. 453-1).
Under s. 453-5 the Registrar may give notice to a person who has some knowledge of the examinable affairs of the corporation to:
Division 456 gives the Registrar the power ask the court to issue warrants to obtain information about a corporation if the information can’t be obtained via s. 453-1 or s. 453-5.
There is provision for whistleblowers in the CATSI Act (Division 466).
Under the CATSI Act the Registrar needs to make several determinations when appointing a special administrator:
Note: Approval by the minister is not required for the appointment of a special administrator.
Some increased powers (via additional grounds) are available for appointment of special administrators. All of the grounds for an appointment are detailed in s. 487-5. The additional grounds are:
The CATSI Act has provisions to disqualify people from managing corporations (i.e. from being a director or a chief executive officer or chief financial officer). There are three ways this can happen:
The CATSI Act has provisions for the winding up of corporations (Division 526).
The CATSI Act has provisions for the deregistration of corporations (Division 546).