Incorporated Societies Act 2022

The Incorporated Societies Act 2022 came into effect on 5 October 2023. Existing societies must reregister under this new Act before 5 April 2026 to remain on the register. If you don’t your society will cease to exist, which can have significant impacts on your funding and operations.  

There are a few things your society will need to do before it reregisters, such as preparing some documents and possibly adopting some new processes to comply with the 2022 Act, so it's a good time to look at how your organisation runs and whether your rules and processes are fit for purpose. 

Why start now?

• The process can take a few months.
• Your constitution must be approved at an Annual General Meeting (AGM) or Special General Meeting (SGM).
• Most organisations need to start by February 2026 to meet the deadline.

Check out the New Zealand Companies Office for further information and to access the constitution builder to help you draft a compliant constitution.

Sport NZ have created a great toolkit with key resources (which apply to all incorporated societies) that you can view here: https://sportnz.org.nz/resources/incorporated-societies-act-2022-and-regulations/.

Community Governance Aoteraroa have a webinar recording you can view here.  

Parry Field Lawyers has also created a helpful guide to navigating registrations that you can view here.

The new Incorporated Societies Act introduces several important changes to financial reporting. The External Reporting Board has put together a handy Need to Know session explaining what’s changing, including an overview of the Tier 3 and 4 Standards and key things to consider.  Watch the recording and download the slides here.