Incorporated Societies Act (2022)

The Incorporated Societies Act (2022) has now become law and it is expected that ALL Districts and Clubs, who intend re-registering their ‘Incorporation’ will be required to file a new or updated constitution over the next 28 months.

NZIB accepts a recommendation from Sport NZ that to assist in reducing expected legal and accounting costs with implementing the new Act, that we adopt a ‘top down’ approach.  Sport NZ is developing template constitutions for national, district and club levels.  NZIB has recently received the first of these templates.  District and club templates will follow.

DON’T PANIC!  Updated constitutions and re-registering as an Incorporated Society is not required to be completed until March 2026.

NZIB ASSISTANCE will be provided to ALL District and Club administrators in developing a standardised template constitution to ensure consistency at each level.

KEY CHANGES that your District or Club will need to consider for your new constitution include:

• an appropriate dispute resolution procedure(s)
• maintain an Interests Register
• maintain a Membership Register (minimum of 10 members)
• additional accounting information that must be presented at an Annual General Meeting
• the nomination of a not-for-profit entity (or a class of not-for-profit entities) that benefits upon winding up

Support Documents/Links

Sport NZ Overview

Sport NZ - Incorporated Societies, Unincorporated Groups or a Hybrid Arrangement?

Community Law Community Toolkit - Choosing the Right Legal Structure

Sport NZ - Constitution Checklist

Sport NZ - Frequently Asked Questions