Lodging reports

Annual reports are due the day after the end of the reporting period. Corporations have six months to lodge.

A corporation must report to the Registrar each year about its finances, membership and how well it has abided by the requirements of the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act) and the corporation's own rules (constitution or rule book).

For most corporations, the time to lodge reports is between 1 July and 31 December every year. The reports for each corporation will vary.

The quickest way to lodge reports is through online.oric.gov.au

On this page

  1. What reports are required?
  2. Who can lodge reports?
  3. Exemptions from reporting
  4. Failing to report
  5. Amendments to CATSI legislation
  6. Need more help?
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What reports are required?

Corporations must report under the CATSI Act according to their registered size and income.

Registered size and income of corporation Report(s) required
Small corporations with a consolidated gross operating income (CGOI) of less than $100 000
  1. General report only

Small corporations with a CGOI of $100 000 or more and less than $5 million

Medium corporations with a CGOI of less than $5 million
  1. General report
  2. Financial report and audit report or financial report based on reports to government funders (if eligible)

Large corporations

Any size corporation with a CGOI of $5 million or more
  1. General report
  2. Financial report
  3. Audit report
  4. Directors report

Need to know your registered size? Use the 'Search for a corporation' feature to check the public register.

Fact sheet: Corporation size and reporting 

More detail on reporting requirements Corporation reporting guide

The CATSI Act and Regulations set out the reporting requirements for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations. The Corporation reporting guide is designed to help corporation auditors and accountants (or bookkeepers) prepare reports. It explains what is in each of the reports and who needs to provide them.

Corporations that are charities

Corporations that are registered charities with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) do not need to send any reports to the ACNC. The ACNC and ORIC have an agreement that reports lodged with the Registrar will be shared with the ACNC and accepted as meeting the ACNC's requirements.

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Who can lodge reports?

Directors are responsible for lodging reports and other information with the Registrar. But they can delegate this responsibility to someone else.

You can download an example of how directors might document a delegation allowing another person to lodge with ORIC.

If you would like a user account to be able to lodge information online you'll need to apply for an account (you request for user account through the online lodgement website) and send a copy of the directors' delegation to onlinehelp@oric.gov.au.

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Exemptions from reporting

Special circumstances might exempt your corporation from the requirement to provide reports. While the circumstances vary from case to case, generally speaking, the Registrar may exempt a corporation from or extend the time in which a particular report must be lodged if:

  • unavoidable delays are being experienced with the finalisation of financial statements or the audit report
  • the corporation's financial activities and transactions are handled or controlled by another entity or
  • the corporations records have been destroyed or are no longer held by the corporation.

You must apply in writing—lodge an application for exemption form.

The Registrar's office will look at every case individually, assess the application and advise the corporation in writing whether it has been granted an exemption or whether further information is required.

A corporation granted an exemption from reporting is still required to maintain proper accounts and records.

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Failing to report

Corporations that don't lodge reports within six months of the end of the reporting period could face prosecution, along with secretaries of large corporations. The maximum penalty for each report not lodged is $27,750 for corporations.

Corporations should be aware the Registrar's expectations of corporations to meet their reporting obligations has returned to business as usual. In line with this ORIC has increased our focus on reporting compliance.

See reporting compliance for a list of corporations in breach of their reporting obligations, and action required.

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Amendments to CATSI legislation

From 2008–09 and for all future reporting:

  • all corporations do not have to provide trust and land information in their general report. ORIC’s general report form has been changed to reflect this.
  • small and medium size corporations with income (CGOI) less than $5 million do not have to provide a directors’ report.

You can see the amendment Regulations on the Federal Register of Legislation:

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Need more help?

Please see our fact sheet, Lodge online, and contact ORIC if you require further information or assistance, including:

  • finding out whether your corporation has sent its reports to ORIC
  • whether your corporation is eligible for an exemption from reporting
  • help in completing any forms or reports.
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