How to find member details for Australian not-for-profit

February 9, 2009 8:27 PM

In Australia, is there a way for a non-member to obtain the members register of a "company limited by guarantee"?

I am interested in the operations of a particular Australian not-for-profit organisation which is structured as a company limited by guarantee.

Unfortunately, googling is only getting me so far.

Are such organisations required to publish or lodge a members register somewhere? If so, how do I get at it?

posted by i_am_joe's_spleen to Law & Government (3 answers total)

I know you could get the names of any directors or shareholders via ASIC or one of their affiliated information brokers (and it will cost you about $30), but as for a membership list, I think that might be on par with trying to get a subscriber's list from a magazine.

You might dig around the ATO for their documentation requirements for not-for-profits to see if there is anything there.
posted by hifimofo at 9:59 PM on February 9, 2009

An actual members register, I think no. There will be privacy laws to consider. I work for an Australian not-for-profit membership organisation and we do list our members on our website but they are mostly organisations, not individuals, and we're under no obligation to make them public. If you're interested in the organisation's officeholders, you may be able to find out from the ASIC register but you'll probably have to pay for the information.

Most not-for-profits aren't required to publish very much publicly at all - although those which are DGRs are required to have audited accounts which must be made available to the ATO.

You can also MeMail me if you have no compunctions about revealing who they are privately and you want to know if I have sector scuttlebutt about them.
posted by andraste at 9:59 PM on February 9, 2009

I have never done this myself, but according to the Corporations Act (2001), any company must maintain a register of members and must allow anyone to inspect it upon paying the prescribed fee (if the person is not a member). Note that you can't, for instance, use the information to send material to the members.

Short answer: Yes, it looks to me (IANAL) as though they have to let you see the register, and they can't charge very much for letting you do so. They may require you to visit their registered office, but if that's inconvenient you can ask for a copy of the register, and once again they can't charge very much for supplying one.
posted by Joe in Australia at 3:06 AM on February 10, 2009