Real membership rights — being admitted on clear criteria, being heard, not being expelled on a whim — are quietly disappearing from many organisations. The answer is to found your own association, owned by its members and answerable only to them. This page shows you how to do that in Australia, step by step, under your state's incorporated associations law.
| Legal form | Incorporated association (Incorporated association (state-registered not-for-profit membership body)) |
|---|---|
| Governing law | State/territory law, e.g. Associations Incorporation Act 2009 No 7 (NSW); equivalents: Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (Vic), Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld), Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA), Associations Incorporation Act 1985 (SA), Associations Incorporation Act 1964 (Tas), Associations Incorporation Act 1991 (ACT), Associations Act 2003 (NT) |
| Minimum founders | 5 in most jurisdictions (e.g. NSW, Victoria, ACT); 6 in Western Australia; 7 in Queensland — always confirm in your own state or territory's Act |
| Registry | Your state/territory fair trading or consumer affairs regulator — e.g. NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, Queensland Office of Fair Trading, Access Canberra |
| Tax / entity number | Australian Business Number (ABN), issued free by the Australian Business Register (abr.gov.au) via the online application; the association applies as a not-for-profit entity after incorporation. Apply for the association's Tax File Number (TFN) from the ATO in the same online process. An ordinary member association serving its members generally does not distribute profit; specific tax treatment (e.g. GST registration only above the turnover threshold) is separate from these numbers. |
| Banking | Every major bank and most mutuals offer low- or no-fee community/club accounts. Bring: certificate of incorporation, the adopted constitution, minutes of the meeting resolving to open the account and naming the signatories, the ABN, and photo ID for each signatory. Insist on two-to-sign (dual authorisation) on payments — banks support this even in online banking — and open the account strictly in the association's incorporated name. |
| Typical cost | Registration is a one-off state fee, GST-free. NSW: $220 lodged directly, or $66 name reservation (Form A1) plus $171 registration (Form A2). Other states and territories charge roughly AUD 40–250; Victoria describes its fee as low, especially online with the model rules. Budget small annual lodgement fees for the yearly summary/annual return. An ABN is free. |
| Timeline | NSW Fair Trading processes approved name reservations and registrations within about 5 business days of receipt; other state regulators typically take days to a few weeks. An ABN is often issued immediately online (up to 28 days if details need review). Realistically, from first draft of the constitution to an open bank account: about 2–6 weeks. |
| Virtual assemblies | Yes. NSW expressly allows committee meetings and general meetings to be held using technology even if the constitution does not provide for it, so long as everyone has a reasonable opportunity to participate, and resolutions (including special resolutions) may be passed by postal or electronic ballot under Schedule 2 of the Associations Incorporation Regulation 2022 (NSW). Most other states have equivalent technology-neutral meeting rules; check your regulator's guidance and keep your constitution explicit about it anyway. |
| Due process in local law | State Acts require the constitution to deal with membership, the disciplining of members and internal dispute resolution (Schedule 1, Associations Incorporation Act 2009 (NSW)). The NSW model constitution's disciplinary clauses give a member written notice of the allegation, the right to make submissions and be heard before the committee, and a right of appeal to a general meeting before expulsion takes effect. Courts also apply natural-justice principles to expulsions from incorporated associations — which fits this federation's Bill of Member Rights exactly. |
Australia registers ordinary member associations at state and territory level, not federally. Incorporate where your founders and activities actually are: NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, Queensland's Office of Fair Trading, and so on. The steps below use NSW as the worked example; the other states follow the same arc with slightly different forms and fees.
Every state publishes a free model constitution (or 'model rules') that already satisfies the Act. Start from it, then write in what matters to you: transparent admission criteria, the right to be heard before any disciplinary decision, appeal to the general meeting before expulsion, and a member's right to leave with their data. Keep the not-for-profit and no-profit-distribution clauses exactly as the model has them, and state plainly that committee members are unpaid.
Search your state's register and the national business names index to make sure the name isn't identical or confusingly similar to an existing one; it must end in 'Incorporated' or 'Inc.'. In NSW you can optionally reserve the name for 3 months with Form A1 ($66) before registering. Reservation is optional — registering without it just costs slightly more.
Gather your founders — five people are enough in most states (six in WA, seven in Queensland). At the meeting, resolve to incorporate, adopt the constitution, elect the unpaid committee, and appoint the public officer (the person who lodges the application and remains the regulator's contact). Minute all of it and have everyone's consent recorded; the meeting can lawfully be held by video, with a reasonable opportunity for all to participate.
The public officer lodges the application — in NSW, Form A2 online at associations.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au with the $220 fee ($171 if the name was reserved), stating whether you use the model constitution or your own. NSW processes approved applications within about 5 business days and issues a certificate of incorporation. From that moment the association is a legal person that can contract, hold assets and open accounts in its own name.
Apply free of charge for an Australian Business Number on the Australian Business Register (abr.gov.au), selecting the not-for-profit incorporated association entity type, and request the association's Tax File Number in the same online application. The ABN often issues immediately. You do not need — and for this federation deliberately do not seek — charity registration or tax-privileged status.
Take the certificate of incorporation, constitution, ABN and the minutes appointing the signatories to a bank offering a community or club account. Open it strictly in the association's incorporated name, never a personal one, and set dual authorisation so every payment needs two signers. This protects your treasurer as much as your members.
At the founding meeting or the first general meeting after registration, resolve to adopt the decentralize.club Federation Charter — including the Bill of Member Rights — and sign the name licence agreement. Minute the resolution and keep it with your constitution; your own rules must at least match the Charter's guarantees on admission, hearing, due process and data exit.
Publish your admission criteria and start taking applications. The law requires a members' register with each member's name, contact details and joining date, available for members to inspect free of charge; members may ask that details other than their name be withheld. Decide on a fair dues structure at your first general meeting, hold the AGM each year, and lodge the small annual summary your state requires.
Australia has no federal register for ordinary member associations; you incorporate under your own state or territory's Associations Incorporation Act (e.g. the Associations Incorporation Act 2009 in NSW, administered by NSW Fair Trading). Five founders suffice in most jurisdictions (six in WA, seven in Queensland); you adopt a constitution — the free official model constitution is a solid base — hold a founding meeting, elect an unpaid committee and a public officer, and lodge the registration form online for roughly AUD 40–250 depending on the state (NSW: $220, processed within about 5 business days). You then get a free ABN from the Australian Business Register and open a bank account in the association's name. State law is unusually friendly to this federation's values: constitutions must address member discipline and disputes, the model rules give written notice, a hearing and an appeal to the general meeting before expulsion, and meetings and ballots may be held electronically even where the constitution is silent.