Review of a decision

The Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act) says a person who is affected by certain decisions of the Registrar (or their delegate) can seek a review. 

An internal review means another person in ORIC will reconsider the decision. The person will make a new decision that takes into account any new information. The new decision may be the same as the original decision or different. 

You have 28 days to request a review of a decision.

Who can ask for a review of a decision?

Only a person who is affected by a decision can ask for a review.

Which decisions can be reviewed?

Not all decisions can be reviewed – only those listed in section 617-1 of the CATSI Act.

Select any of the headings below to see which decisions can be reviewed.

  • Refusing to register a rule book change lodged by the corporation (section 69‑30(1)).
  • Registering or refusing to register a rule book change lodged by a special administrator (section 69‑30(1)).
  • Changing a corporation’s rule book of the Registrar’s own initiative (section 69‑35).

  • Refusing to grant an exemption to allow the corporation to have less than 5 members (section 77‑10).
  • Allowing a corporation to have a different minimum number of members to the number requested by the corporation (section 77‑15).
  • Refusing to grant an exemption about members (section 187‑5(1)).
  • Revoking, changing or suspending an exemption about members (section 187‑5(5)).

  • Directing a corporation to change its document access address (section 115‑15(1)).
  • Requiring a corporation to prepare additional reports (section 336‑1(1)(a)).
  • Requiring a corporation to provide particular information in its reports (section 336‑1(1)(b)).
  • Placing extra requirements on a corporation’s financial report (section 336‑1(7)).
  • Refusing to grant an exemption from record keeping or reporting requirements (section 353‑3(1)).
  • Revoking, changing or suspending an exemption from record keeping or reporting requirements (section 353‑3(4)).
  • Allowing or refusing to allow corporations to re‑lodge copies of lost or destroyed documents (section 404‑15(4)).
  • Refusing to receive or register a document submitted for lodgement by a corporation (section 407‑1).

  • Making a declaration about voting on a proposed resolution regarding related party benefits by the person who would receive the benefit or their associate (section 290‑35(4)).

  • Refusing to allow a person to use an alternative address for corporation registration applications or notices of officers where their name is not on the electoral roll (section 304‑15(2)(b)).
  • Refusing to grant an exemption about directors and officers (section 310‑5(1)).
  • Revoking, changing or suspending an exemption about directors and officers (section 310‑5(5)).

  • Making or refusing to make a direction about a person administering a compromise or arrangement between the corporation and its creditors (section 411(7)(f) of the Corporations Act 2001 as applied by section 45‑1 of the CATSI Act).
  • Making or refusing to make a direction about who cannot act as a receiver for a corporation (section 418(1)(f) of the Corporations Act as applied by section 516‑1 of the CATSI Act).
  • Making or refusing to make a direction about who is not taken to be connected with a corporation (sections 448C(3)(b) and 532(6)(b) of the Corporations Act as applied by sections 521‑1 and 526‑35 of the CATSI Act).
  • Refusing a claim of entitlement to be paid money that is unclaimed property after a corporation is deregistered (section 551‑15(2)).

How to ask for a review of a decision

You can request a review of a decision by:

  • sending an email to info@oric.gov.au 
  • submitting an online enquiry through myCorp.

You need to give your reasons for asking for the review. You can provide additional relevant information as part of your request. You need to make the request within 28 days of receiving notice of the decision that you would like reviewed. 

Asking for more time

You can ask to submit a review request after 28 days. You will need to provide reasons why you could not ask for the review within 28 days. 

The Registrar considers such requests on a case-by-case basis. 

Generally, the Registrar will take into account whether:

  • there were unforeseen or unavoidable circumstances
  • inaccurate or confusing information was provided by ORIC
  • granting the request will disadvantage another person or party.

You can ask for more time to submit a request for a review of a decision by:

  • sending an email to info@oric.gov.au 
  • submitting an online enquiry through myCorp.

What will ORIC do with my review request?

ORIC has 90 days to respond to your request. 

ORIC will first check that your request meets the requirements of the CATSI Act; that is, your request:

  • was made by a person who was affected by the original decision
  • was made within 28 days of you being notified of the decision
  • is in writing
  • relates to a decision set out in section 617‑1 of the CATSI Act
  • includes the reasons you are seeking the review.

If your request does not meet these requirements, we will write to you to tell you that we cannot consider your request.

If your request does meet the requirements of the CATSI Act, a delegate of the Registrar who was not involved in making the decision you would like reviewed (the original decision) will consider your request.

The Registrar’s delegate can decide to:

  • affirm the decision – which means the original decision is unchanged
  • change the decision – which means the original decision is changed in some way, for example conditions of the decision are changed etc
  • set aside the decision – which means the Registrar’s delegate is making a different decision to the original decision. An example of this may be a decision to approve a request when the original decision was to refuse the request.

To help make the decision, the Registrar’s delegate may contact you to ask for more information or clarify an aspect of your request.

The Registrar’s delegate may also contact other stakeholders to seek representations from them regarding the review. For example, if a member asked for a review of a decision, the Registrar’s delegate may write to the directors of the corporation to ask what the consequences may be from their perspective if the decision was changed on review.

How will I find out the outcome of the review?

The Registrar’s delegate will write to you telling you what the outcome of their review decision is. They are also required to take reasonable steps to notify each person whose interests are affected by the decision. 

The CATSI Act says that the Registrar (or their delegate) does not need to notify each person whose interests are affected by a decision if the Registrar decides it is not necessary as it would be too costly or because of the way in which the person’s interests may be affected. 

If a person whose interests are affected by a decision is not notified by the Registrar about the decision, the validity of the decision is not affected.

The Registrar does not publish review outcomes on the public Register of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations. If you are someone whose interests are affected by an internal review decision, you can request a copy of the decision from ORIC.

What can I do if I’m not happy with the review outcome?

If you are dissatisfied with the review outcome, you may seek a review from the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). The ART conducts independent reviews of decisions made by Australian Government agencies, departments and ministers. 

You need to ask the ART to review the decision within 28 days of receiving notice of the review decision from us. 

For more information about how to ask the ART for a review, visit art.gov.au.

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