Indigeneity requirement
For a corporation to be registered under the CATSI Act, the corporation must at all times be owned and controlled by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.
- The CATSI Act gives corporations the choice to allow non-Indigenous people in the roles of members and directors.
- The CATSI Act protects Indigenous member ownership and control with these requirements:
- The majority of a corporation’s members must be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people. This rule also applies to corporations with corporate members. To be considered Indigenous, a body corporate must be Indigenous-controlled.
- The majority of a corporation's directors must be Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people and be members.
- Directors must ensure that their corporation meets the Indigeneity provisions at all times.
Indigeneity of members
The Indigeneity requirement in the CATSI Act is that the majority (more than half) of corporation members must be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons.
If your corporation has been granted an exemption from the CATSI Act requirement to have a minimum of 5 members, the proportion of Indigenous numbers differs.
| Total number of members | Minimum number of members who must be Indigenous |
| 5 or more | 51% |
| 4 | 3 |
| 3 | 2 |
| 2 | 2 |
| 1 | 1 |
Corporations choose whether to allow non-Indigenous people to become members by putting this in their member eligibility rules in their rule book.
Corporations can allow bodies corporate to be a member (‘corporate members’). To be counted as an Indigenous member, a corporate member must be Indigenous-controlled.
Corporations can also set in their rule book that the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons they require is higher than the majority but not lower.
Learn more about membership requirements.
Recording Indigeneity of your members
If your corporation allows non-Indigenous people or bodies corporate as members, you must record which members are non-Indigenous on your register of members.
Indigeneity of directors
All directors of a corporations must be individuals who are Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people unless your rule book allows non-Indigenous people to be a director.
If a corporation’s rule book allows non-Indigenous people to become a director, a majority of the directors (including non-member directors) must be Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people.
When a person gives their consent to become a director, they must sign a declaration that they are eligible to be a director. The declaration includes a confirmation of their Indigeneity (unless the corporation allows non-Indigenous people to become a director as noted above).
Learn more about director requirements.
Checking Indigeneity
Indigeneity test
Each community may have its own criteria, processes and protocols for recognising an individual’s Indigeneity. This might include matters of descent or cultural practices and lore.
The Australian courts have developed a 3-point legal test to determine whether an individual person is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person, which is the:
- person is of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent
- person identifies themselves as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person
- community recognises the person as an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person.
Responsibility for checking
Each corporation is responsible for checking and accepting the Indigeneity of individual members, corporate members, and directors.
The Registrar doesn't determine a person's Indigeneity. They rely on the corporation to be assured of their members and directors.
The Registrar doesn't check the Indigeneity of every member and director but may seek evidence from a corporation that it is meeting the Indigeneity requirement.
In addition, any person may bring a challenge to the Indigeneity of a member or director of a corporation in the Federal Court.
Failure to comply with the Indigeneity requirement
If your proposed corporation does not meet the Indigeneity requirement, we may refuse to register your corporation.
If your existing corporation no longer meets the Indigeneity requirement, we may:
- issue a notice to the corporation requiring the corporation to address the problem and ensure it meets the CATSI Act requirement
- request the Court wind up the corporation if the corporation fails to comply with the notice.
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