Community Law Canterbury - Incorporated Societies Workshops (non-sports entities)
A new Incorporated Societies Act has been passed - your group may be affected by this new law.
The new Act requires all incorporated societies to update their constitutions and apply to re-register by early April 2026 if they want to stay registered and to continue operating after 2026.
Following is some information that you might find helpful as you work through this process:
Not yet updated your group's constitution?Your group can either update your current constitution or replace it with a new one that contains the rules required by the new Act.
If your group doesn't have a lawyer who can help you with this, the Registrar's Constitution Builder Tool is a good place to start. You can use this free online tool to write a new and up-to-date constitution for your group.
Community Law Canterbury are running workshops to help groups use this tool. These workshops teach you how to use the tool to write a constitution that has been modified to suit your group and can answer any questions about your new constitution.
Extra workshops will be added based on demand so please contact Community Law Canterbury if none of the dates suit you.
Got your constitution sorted already but still getting your head around the changes?
Amongst other things, the new Act has bought in changes that will affect:
- Who can be on your Committee,
- How you hold your meetings, how you update your constitution
- How payments can be made to your Committee members.
More information about these – and other changes – is available from the Registrar of Incorporated Societies
Community Law Canterbury are running workshops that explain the most important changes, answering any questions you may have about the new law.
Thinking about merging or winding up your group? Want to know more about your options?
If you haven't already had a word to your group's lawyer about what you should do, contact Community Law Canterbury. They are a free service and can help you work out what option would be best for your group.
Tip: Watch the calendar! The de-registration date has been set for 05 April 2026.
This means that any incorporated societies that haven't updated their rules and re-registered by then risk being de-registered and losing control of their assets. There's still time to get your constitution sorted and your Club ready for the new law, but now would be the right time to follow this up.
If you're not sure what to do next, try one of these two free services:
- Registrar of Incorporated Societies - ph: 0508 762 438
- Community Law Canterbury: email: communityeducation@canlaw.org.nz
Email: communityeducation@canlaw.org.nz to register or to find out more.