Report a concern to ORIC

The Registrar of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations (the Registrar) takes concerns about corporations’ compliance with the CATSI Act and their rule books seriously. Reports of concern that a corporation may be breaching the CATSI Act or its rule book will be treated independently and impartially considering whether a breach has occurred as well as the nature and severity of the breach. In administering the CATSI Act, the Registrar is focused on increasing compliance with the Act and corporation’s rule books. The Registrar’s preference is to work with corporations to give them the opportunity to meet their obligations under the CATSI Act before taking regulatory action.

CATSI Act corporations are member controlled. Members appoint directors who appoint corporation officers, such as the chief executive officer. If members are dissatisfied with the decisions made by directors or the performance of corporation officers, members need to raise their concerns with the directors of the corporation. ORIC is limited in what action it can take in relation to directors and other corporation officers.

ORIC may stop responding to people who repeatedly raise the same concerns with us without providing any new information and to which ORIC has already responded.

Report fraud

Reports of suspected fraud are more serious than general breaches of the CATSI Act and are a priority for ORIC. To help us assess reports of fraud, we encourage you to provide any evidence you have when you contact us.

Phone: 1800 622 431

Email: info@oric.gov.au

Before contacting ORIC

If you are a member or director and have concerns that a corporation is breaching the CATSI Act or its rule book, you should first try to resolve your concerns directly with the corporation before contacting ORIC. You can raise your concerns informally with directors by writing to them, or formally by enacting the dispute resolution clause as set out in the corporation’s rule book. For members, you can also consider requesting the directors call a general meeting or proposing a resolution at the next general meeting. For more information about these options, see general meetings.

ORIC can only deal with matters under the CATSI Act. If your concern relates to matters that are not under the CATSI Act, you will need to raise it with the relevant agency. Please see below what ORIC can and cannot assist with.

What we can do

We can:

  • Provide advice as to whether your report of concern has merit; that is, that the outcome you are seeking is available to you under the CATSI Act and/or the corporation's rule book
  • Consider breaches of the CATSI Act by a corporation or a person/persons within a corporation
  • Consider breaches of the CATSI Regulations or a person/persons within a corporation
  • Consider breaches of a corporation's rule book by the corporation or a person/persons within that corporation
  • Use information provided in reports of concern to shape compliance and regulatory priorities
  • Governance requirements of the CATSI Act, such as:
    • Failing to abide by the rule book including membership processes
    • Director election processes such as:
      • notification
      • inability to reach quorum
    • Clarification/interpretation of rules in the corporation's rule book
    • directors terms
    • related party benefit endorsement
    • some native title procedural issues*

We cannot:

  • Provide legal advice
  • Remove directors and other employees such as CEOs
  • Resolve personal disputes
  • Remove or approve members
  • Handle reports about:
    • Harassment, discrimination or employment practices by a corporation – contact the Fairwork Commission
    • Maintaining housing/properties including repairs/maintenance/rent amounts
    • Undeclared income or assets, or unpaid tax – contact the Australian Taxation Office
    • Unpaid super – ask for help from the Australian Taxation Office - unpaid super from your employer
    • Quality or (non) performance of services delivered by a corporation, or misuse of grant funding by a corporation or person within a corporation – contact the relevant funding body
    • Matters regarding funding bodies – contact the funding body
    • Native title disputes between RNTBCs and native title holders – use the dispute resolution clause in the RNTBC's rule book, and if unsuccessful, consider contacting the representative body in your area or the National Native Title Tribunal.

*Note: May be dependent on further information

What you should include with your report

The more detail you can provide with your report helps ORIC in assessing how we manage it. In most cases, we will ask for evidence to support your claims. It is useful if you can include:

  • Your name and contact details.
  • If you are a member or director of the corporation, or a common law holder associated with the RNTBC.
  • The corporation name and ICN, or if relevant, the name(s) of individual(s) related to your concern.
  • Specific information about your concern, including what part of the CATSI Act or corporation’s rule book you believe is being breached.
  • Action you have taken to raise the matter with directors, including whether you have enacted the dispute resolution clause in the corporation’s rule book.
  • The outcome you would like to see as a result of your report of concern.

Anonymous reports

ORIC does not disclose the identity of anyone making a report of concern or the content of the report unless required by law. ORIC will accept anonymous reports of concern but may be limited in the action it can take if it is unable to contact you for further information, and if no evidence is provided to support your concerns.

ORIC's policy on anonymous reports means we will not seek further information from you or provide any advice regarding progress or outcome of your report. ORIC will assess the information you provided as part of the report. If there is insufficient information provided for an ORIC officer to make an assessment, then we will not be able to proceed with the report.

If we can identify you from your report of concern, we will not be able to record the report as anonymous but we will treat it as if it were. This means you will not receive any updates or an outcome regarding your report.

Report a concern with us

Phone 1800 622 431

Email info@oric.gov.au

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