AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY

Companies (Registered Societies) Ordinance 1990
No. 12 of 1990
I, THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL of the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Federal Executive Council, hereby make the following Ordinance under the Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910. 
Dated 25 July 1990.
	BILL HAYDEN
	Governor-General
By His Excellency’s Command,
GERRY HAND
Minister of State for Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs for and on behalf of the Attorney-General

An Ordinance to apply certain provisions of the Companies Act 1981 of the Commonwealth to companies registered under section 38A of the
Co-operative Societies Act 1939 of the Territory and for related purposes

Short title
1.  This Ordinance may be cited as the Companies (Registered Societies) Ordinance 1990.1
Interpretation
2.  In this Ordinance—
“applied sections” means sections 87, 88, 90, 91 and 92 of the Companies Act;
“Companies Act” means the Companies Act 1981 of the Commonwealth;
“Co-operative Societies Act” means the Co-operative Societies Act 1939 of the Territory;
“prescribed time”, in relation to a society, means—
	(a)	when the society becomes a registered society; or
	(b)	the commencement of this Ordinance;
whichever is the later;
“registered society” means a society registered under section 38A of the Co-operative Societies Act as a company;
“relevant provision” means—
	(a)	any of the applied sections; or
	(b)	a provision of the Companies Act referred to in any of the applied sections;
“society” has the same meaning as in the Co-operative Societies Act.
Application of certain provisions of Companies Act
3.  (1)  After the prescribed time the provisions of the applied sections apply by force of this section, subject to the modifications set out in the Schedule, in relation to a registered society.
(2)  For the purposes of subsection (1)—
	(a)	a reference in subsections 87 (1) and (4) of the Companies Act to the Commission shall be read as a reference to the Corporate Affairs Commission;
	(b)	a reference in a relevant provision to a corporation shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be read as a reference to a society;
	(c)	a reference in a relevant provision to section 86 of the Companies Act or to a provision of that section shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be read as a reference to section 38A of the Co-operative Societies Act;
	(d)	a reference in a relevant provision to a corporation being registered under Division 4 of Part III of the Companies Act or a provision of that Division as a company shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be read as a reference to a society being registered under section 38A of the Co-operative Societies Act as a company; and
	(e)	a reference in a relevant provision to the time of registration shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be read as a reference to the prescribed time.
Imposition of penalties under Companies Act
4.  Where—
	(a)	a company duly incorporated under the Companies Act, or a person associated with that company within the meaning of paragraph 87 (1) (b) of that Act, would have been guilty of an offence under a law in force in the Territory in respect of an act or failure to act; and
	(b)	a registered society, or a person similarly associated with that society, so acts or fails to act;
the registered society or the last-mentioned person shall be guilty of an offence punishable, on conviction, by a penalty not exceeding the penalty prescribed for the first-mentioned offence.
Amendment of Reserved Laws (Administration) Ordinance 1989
5.  Schedule 2 to the Reserved Laws (Administration) Ordinance 1989 is amended by inserting in Part 1—
“Companies (Registered Societies) Ordinance 1990”
after—
“Companies Auditors and Liquidators Disciplinary Board Ordinance 1982”.

	Schedule	Subsection 3 (1)
Modifications of Applied Sections
Provision modified	Modification	
Subsection 87 (1) ........	Omit all the words from and including “from” to and including “company—”, substitute “on and after the date of registration or the date on which the Companies (Registered Societies) Ordinance 1990 commences, whichever is the later—”.	
Paragraph 87 (1) (a) .....	Omit “be deemed to be”, substitute “, for all purposes, be in the same position as”.	
Paragraph 87 (1) (b) .....	Omit “the provisions of this Act”, substitute “laws in force in the Territory”.	
NOTE
1.	Notified in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 1 August 1990.