Filing annual financial statements for 1908 Act societies
What's involved, and how to file
New legislation for incorporated societies
Incorporated societies must file a copy of their financial statements with the Companies Office each year (unless registered with Charities Services). These records help to show that your society is still operating, and therefore, should remain on the register.
Each year we will email reminders to your society reconfirming the filing deadline. To make sure your society receives these reminders keep the contact addresses recorded on the register for your society up to date.
On this page:
- When your financial statements are due
- Information you'll need to provide
- Sample financial statements
- Does your statement need auditing or reviewing?
- How to file
- What to do if you need more time
When your financial statements are due
Before you file your financial statements, they must be approved by the members of your society at a general meeting. Most societies will do this at their annual general meeting (AGM), so we link your society’s due date with its AGM month. This means the deadline for filing is the end of the month that follows the AGM (for example, if your AGM is in July, your financial statements are due to be filed before 31 August).
Information you’ll need to provide
You will need to upload a copy of your financial statements, including an audit or review report (if one is required). When you file your financial statements, you will also need to review and confirm other details recorded on the register — officer details (where they have been provided) and the society’s addresses. You can update any details that are now out of date.
Your annual financial statements must include:
- your society’s full name
- the financial year for which the statements have been prepared
- your society’s income and expenditure for the financial year. Even if your income or expenditure for the year has been 'Nil', you must state this.
- your society’s assets and liabilities, at the close of the financial year. Even if your assets or liabilities at the end of the financial year are 'Nil', you must state this.
- all mortgages, charges, and securities of any description, affecting any of the society’s property at the close of the financial year
- an audit or review report (where your society’s rules specify that an auditor or reviewer must be appointed)
- a certificate signed by an officer of the society, confirming that the financial statements have been approved by your members at a general meeting.
Sample financial statements
Before you prepare your financial statements, it may be helpful to refer to the following sample documents.
Does your statement need auditing or reviewing?
The Incorporated Societies Act 1908 does not require that your financial statements are audited or reviewed. But your society’s rules may require an auditor or reviewer to be appointed. Additionally some grant or funding applications may require your financial statements to be audited or reviewed.
If your society is an issuer or FMC reporting entity, visit the Companies Register website for further information on financial reporting obligations.
How to file
To file your society’s financial statements, you must have:
- a RealMe® login
- an online services account for the Incorporated Societies Register, and
- confirmed your authority to manage information on behalf of the society.
Step by step
When your society has annual financial statements due for filing, we’ll add a reminder to your dashboard.
Log in to your online services account. On your dashboard — under ‘My Reminders’ — select the link to file your society’s financial statements. Then complete the details in each section, as below.
- On the 'Financial Statements' tab confirm that your financial statements have been approved by a general meeting or your members.
- Upload a copy of your financial statements, and provide details of your society’s total income, expenses, assets and liabilities. If any of the totals for income, expenses, assets or liabilities is 'Nil', you must enter $0.00. The fields cannot be left blank.
- Confirm whether an audit review or report is included.
- Where mortgages, charges and securities apply, confirm that they have been included in the financial statements.
- At this point you can, if you wish, change your society’s AGM month or balance date for the following year.
- On the ‘Addresses’ tab, confirm that the current addresses and contact details are correct, or update them as necessary.
- On the ‘Officers’ tab, confirm that the current officer details are correct, or amend them as necessary. It's not mandatory to provide officer details on the register and if you don't wish to provide details, you will still need to select ‘Confirm’.
- On the ‘Review’ tab, check that the information you’ve provided is correct. If changes are needed, you’ll need to return to the relevant tab.
- Complete the ‘Signatory Details’ section and click the ‘Apply’ button to submit your financial statements.
What happens next
As soon as you've completed your filing, your society’s financial statements will be added to the register and will be visible to the public. At the same time, any updates you made to address or officer details will also be added to the register. Note though that only some of these details are visible to the public, such as the registered office address and officer names and the date they were appointed. Other details can only be seen by the Registrar or people who have authority to update your society’s information on the register such as officers’ addresses.
File annual financial statementsWhat to do if you need more time
We appreciate that circumstances can sometimes mean you’re unable to file your financial statements on time. You can, however, request a filing extension using our online service.
