Raising the standard of governance [1]

The Registrar of Indigenous Corporations, Anthony Beven, has today released his office’s yearbook for 2015‑16.

‘This year, as in previous years, my priority has been to lift the governance standards of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations,’ said Mr Beven. ‘Once good governance practices are embedded, corporations can flourish.’

Reporting compliance rates for the past six years have exceeded 95 per cent, reaching 97.1 per cent in 2015‑16. When corporations report regularly, corporation members and others can have confidence in the accuracy of information in the public Register of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations, accessible to all at oric.gov.au.

During the year the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) helped 177 new corporations to register under the CATSI Act, of these 25 were existing entities that transferred from other incorporation legislation.

ORIC also assisted corporations by responding to 9040 telephone calls for information and advice, finalising 748 complaints and 34 disputes involving corporations.

Corporations also accessed ORIC’s free support services: 28 corporations applied for free legal assistance through LawHelp; 10 corporations sought help to recruit senior roles through ORA (ORIC recruitment assistance); and 37 corporation jobs were advertised on Corporation Jobs. A new online service, Independentdirectory, was developed to help corporations looking for directors with particular skills find suitably qualified candidates.

In 2015–16 the ORIC regional office network expanded to include Brisbane. With seven offices spread across the country, staffed almost exclusively by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander officers, ORIC offers corporations face-to-face advice, compliance support and customised corporate governance workshops. Over the year ORIC delivered corporate governance training to 865 people from 208 corporations.

The Registrar used his powers under the CATSI Act to complete 39 examinations and start 10 new special administrations. Eleven special administrations were ended—five of these were carried over from the previous year. All were successfully handed back to members’ control.

‘Empowering members and directors by providing them with the information and tools they need to run their corporations effectively has been my priority,’ said Mr Beven. ‘Throughout the year ORIC has focused on building capacity and self-reliance.’

Background

The Registrar publishes a yearbook to update and inform stakeholders and other interested people about the work of ORIC. It can be downloaded from oric.gov.au.

Media contact

Lisa Hugg (02) 6146 4738
ORIC MR1617-13, 30 November 2016