A Note to Clubs regarding the Incorporations Act

If your club is not incorporated, or you are thinking about incorporation, you may find this information of use to you. The advice from the Branch is that we encourage all Clubs in Queensland Masters Swimming to seriously consider becoming an incorporated body.

The advantages of incorporation (with limited liability) include:

· The ability to own certain assets without the need to interpose trustees (if you are not incorporated, your assets are considered to be owned by the Branch);

· Protection of the members, and in particular the office bearers of your Club against personal liability for financial obligations incurred by the organization and any other legal liabilities of the Club including those which could have been covered by insurance;

· A level of protection of the members against liabilities arising from defamation;

· The ability to prevent unwanted changes of control of the organization;

· The ability to prevent other persons or groups from using the Clubs’ name;

· The ability to sue;

· Protection of incoming office bearers against liabilities arising from the acts or omissions of their predecessors.

There are certain commitments your Club will be required to comply with once you decide to become an incorporated organization. They include:

· The requirement to pay application fees;

· It obliges the association to be audited annually, and lodge a formal financial return. You may be exempt from this however following the latest review of the Incorporations Act which gives exemptions to organizations whose gross income and current assets are $20,000 or less;

· Requires the organization to comply with the Associations incorporation Act.

If you require further information on this subject, the Branch Office retains a copy of the Associations Incorporation Act or you can also visit the Office of Fair Trading website www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au You can also call them on 13 13 04 (for around the cost of a local call) to be put through to your local office of fair Trading.