Late last year, the Minister for Indigenous Australians announced a comprehensive review into the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act).
The review will build on the findings of the 2017 Technical Review of the CATSI Act (Technical Review), to ensure the CATSI Act is still fit for purpose and continues to support indigenous corporations.
What happened with the Technical Review?
The Technical Review was conducted by the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC). It looked at how to strengthen and improve the CATSI Act to benefit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations by reducing red tape, especially for small corporations, and increasing transparency for members.
Details about changes that were proposed to the CATSI Act are available here.
In response, the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Amendment (Strengthening Governance and Transparency) Bill 2018 (Bill) was introduced to the Senate in December 2018. The amendments in the Bill included a new corporation size classification system, a process for model rule books, and remuneration reporting requirements for senior executives.
None of these changes were made to the CATSI Act, as the Bill lapsed with the 2019 election and commencement of the 46th Parliament of Australia.
What is different about this review?
This review will be conducted by the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA).
The review will have an expanded scope, to include an assessment of the effectiveness of the CATSI Act as a special measure under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, including whether it can better support economic and community development opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
NIAA is currently undertaking public consultation to determine the scope of the review and is seeking feedback on what should be included.
The suggested items are:
- The purpose of the CATSI Act
- Governance requirements
- Transparency and accountability of officers of the corporation
- Greater support for native title corporations
- Bringing the CATSI Act up to date
- Winding up and insolvency of corporations
Some of these matters were included in the Technical Review.
This Phase 1 public consultation closes on 14 February 2020. A Phase 1 CATSI Act Review Survey is available here.
Phase 2 public consultation will ask interested parties for their views about amendments to the CATSI Act.
The review is expected to be completed by 30 November 2020.
More information about the review is available from the NIAA website.
For more information or discussion, please contact our Native Title and Cultural Heritage team.