Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

For almost 30 years the operations of Indigenous corporations have been guided by the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976—a law that outlines the various rights and responsibilities of the corporations and also of their directors and executives. There have been several reviews of the act over that time. The last started in 2001. Many of the recommendations for change that are set out in the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Consequential, Transitional and Other Measures Bill 2006 and cognate bills are included as a result of that review. As many members are aware, this House introduced updated legislation to guide Australian corporations in general way back in 2001. This has had implications for the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976.

A report by the Office of the Registrar of Aboriginal Corporations into the review of the ACA Act noted that it is now ‘inconsistent with modern corporations law in Australia’. The report stated:

... the ACA Act provides inadequate protection for members, a one-size-fits-all approach to corporations and insufficient third party protection which makes securing credit more difficult.

It also suggested that the act was:

... out of date and suffered from a large number of technical shortcomings to the point that the ACA Act itself had become a source of disadvantage for Indigenous people.

The Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Bill 2005 seeks to rectify these major shortcomings. The bill also improves the legislative guides and protection for Indigenous corporations in areas such as accountability. The bill introduces a greater accountability for directors, bringing the laws into closer line with general corporate standards. Currently some of those business entities that come under the provisions of the Aboriginal Councils and Associations Act 1976 fall into what the ORAC describes as a ‘regulatory gap’, whereby the authority for close scrutiny by state regulators, the registrar or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission is clouded in uncertainty.

With respect to responsible governance, the bill requires those many corporations registered under the act—–at present there are some 2,600 corporations—to have an internal governance framework. It will ensure that transparency is maintained in corporate decision making while also promoting better maintenance of business records. With respect to cultural recognition, practices specific to Indigenous culture can also be built into the governance framework. With respect to greater support for members, the registrar of the corporations under the ACA Act will be able to offer assistance in dispute resolution and afford a level of protection to those members who have difficulty in protecting their own rights.

With respect to human rights support, the bill gives the registrar of the Indigenous corporations the preventative powers, in certain circumstances, to help protect remote funds, assets and services. With respect to the removal of red tape, the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Bill 2005 will help to classify Indigenous corporations into three groups—large, medium and small—for the purposes of reporting. It is not right to believe in this area that one size should fit all. It is expected that, in general, the small and medium sized corporations will have less stringent reporting requirements while the larger corporations will find reporting requirements in line with those stipulated in the Corporations Act 2001. As you would be aware, Mr Deputy Speaker, those are just a selection of the provisions in the bill.

One of the umbrella findings of the ACA Act review of 2001 culminated in a recommendation for a new act to provide Indigenous people with the key facilities of a modern incorporation statute such as the Corporations Act but at the same time provide special forms of regulatory assistance to raise the standards of corporate governance among Indigenous corporations. The Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Bill 2005 acts upon, and indeed implements, that recommendation to introduce new legislation to replace the current outdated laws. It will serve to assist the Indigenous corporate sector by improving the safeguards for this significant section of Australia’s business community and also promoting responsible and accountable management. That, of course, is a very laudable aim.

These legislative changes will be assisted by the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Consequential, Transitional and Other Measures Bill 2006, which will support the CATSI bill by amending references to the ACA Act and other acts in various related legislation. In addition, the changes will be assisted by the Corporations Amendment (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations) Bill 2006, which amends the Corporations Act to update it in line with the new CATSI legislation. The bills currently before the chamber are an important initiative of reform by this government, and I am particularly pleased to be able to support other honourable members in backing these bills to make sure that, as soon as possible, they become part of the law of the land.

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