The 1966 Act began with a newspaper advertisement. The 2023 Act puts the Registrar first: the full notice goes to the registry, and only an approved summary reaches the newspaper. Form 1 in the Schedule to the draft Regulation is the longest of the prescribed forms, and this article explains its parts.
Who lodges it
Under section 6(1) of the Associations Incorporation Act 2023, where the committee of an association authorises a person to apply for incorporation, that person “may lodge a notice of the intention to apply”. The form requires the applicant’s full legal name (initials are not enough), nationality, residential and postal addresses, and a certification that the committee has authorised the lodgement and that the information is true. More than one applicant may be named. Section 9(1)(a) makes lack of authority a ground of objection, so the authorising committee resolution should be minuted.
What the notice must contain
- Proposed name, with up to three options in order of preference; if the first is unavailable the second is accepted, then the third.
- The applicant’s particulars.
- Initial committee members: full name, nationality, gender, month and year of birth, email, residential and postal addresses for each. The form provides for five; more go on an attached sheet in the same format.
- Shadow committee members, if any: the same particulars for anyone who will act as a committee member without being appointed, or on whose instructions the committee will act.
- Public officer or officers: the same particulars; an email address is required for the public officer to use the online registry.
- Qualifications for membership, if any.
- Addresses: the association’s email address (to which the Registrar will write), registered office (a street address, not a PO Box), postal address, principal place of business and any additional places of business.
- Principal activity, one box ticked from fifteen categories.
- Statement of objectives.
- Category: public benefit or member benefit.
- Statement regarding profits: the association will only apply profits and income to its objectives.
- Statement regarding dividends: the association will prohibit any dividend or distribution to members.
- Attachments: the proposed rules (required), any trusts relating to the association and any deed embodying them.
- Signature of the authorised person, with the checklist and prescribed fee.
Section 6(2)(g) also lets the Registrar require “such other particulars as the Registrar directs”. The draft Regulation requires an email address for the person lodging and for the association whenever the online registry is used (regulation 12).
The Registrar’s approval
The notice must “be submitted to and approved by the Registrar before publication” (section 6(2)(c)). The Registrar may consider whether it complies with section 6, direct the manner of publication, and give written notice of any decision (section 6(4)). This is where name conflicts, incomplete rules and ineligible officers are caught early. A refusal of approval, or any decision or direction under section 6, may be appealed to the Minister, with a copy to the Registrar, who may respond; the Minister’s decision is final (section 6(5) to (7)).
The public notice
Once approved, the applicant “may provide public notice of the intent to incorporate” (section 6(3)). Public notice means publication in a daily newspaper circulating generally throughout the country or in the National Gazette (section 3). The advertisement must contain: the proposed name and the identification number the Registrar assigned to the notice; the qualifications for membership; the address of the principal place of business, if known; the principal activity and a statement of objectives; and a statement directing the public to the register website for further information. The date and newspaper are later sworn to in the statutory declaration accompanying the application (section 11(2)(b)), and a defective or unpublished notice is a ground of objection under section 9(1)(f).
Why the form asks about shadow committee members
A “shadow committee member” is a person who, without being appointed, acts as a committee member, or in accordance with whose directions the committee is accustomed to act, or who otherwise controls the committee’s powers (section 3). The Act makes such a person liable as if a committee member (section 47) and requires the notice to name them (section 6(2)(b)(ii)). The founder, sponsor or paramount chief who will in fact direct the association should be disclosed; concealing a controller is a false statement under section 163. See shadow committee members.
What follows
Publication starts the 60-day objection period under section 9. The application for incorporation itself may be lodged after the 60 days and must be lodged within six months of publication (section 11). The notice of intention also reserves the name against later applicants while the association is “still actively pursuing incorporation” (section 16(1)(b)).
Form 1, Notice of Intention to Apply for the Incorporation of an Association, is available in Word and PDF on the association forms page, with Form 2, the committee member’s consent. Both reproduce the Schedule to the draft Regulation of 8 May 2026 and should be checked against the gazetted Regulation and the online registry before use.
Sources
- Associations Incorporation Act 2023 — ss 3 (“public notice”, “shadow committee member”), 6, 9(1), 11, 16(1)(b), 47, 163
- Associations Incorporation Regulation 2026 (draft) — regs 2, 4(3), 12, Schedule Form 1; not gazetted; not on PacLII
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the Associations Incorporation Act 2023 and check for later amendments. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.