Treasurer — Annual Obligations

Once the financial year closes, the treasurer's compliance work moves through a fixed sequence: prepare the accounts, present them at the AGM, then lodge with the Office of Fair Trading. Miss any step and the club risks fines or deregistration.

All requirements come from the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld), unless otherwise noted.

The compliance calendar

Check your constitution for your financial year end date. Common options are 30 June, 31 December, or 31 March.

What the financial statement must contain (OFT guidance): a profit and loss statement (income and expenditure), a balance sheet (assets and liabilities), a note of any mortgages, charges or securities affecting the club's property at year end, and the signed verification statement (or audit/review report for larger associations). A club with no transactions and no assets can attach a zero-balance document instead — still verified by the president or treasurer.

The form arrives by itself: the OFT sends the annual return form to your association within 1 month of your financial year end. If it doesn't arrive, contact the OFT for a copy. Need more time? Email registration.services@justice.qld.gov.au with your club's name, contact phone, postal address, the reason, and the date you need — they respond within 4 weeks.

Member access: any member can ask to see the financial statement. The secretary must provide or show a copy within 28 days (the member may pay reasonable copying costs).

Presenting at the AGM — s.59B

The management committee must ensure the AGM is presented with:

• The annual financial statements
• The verification statement (Level 3) or audit/review report (Level 2/1)

These documents are presented "for adoption" — the members vote to accept them as the club's official financial record for the year.

Who presents? The treasurer. In practice you will walk members through the key figures — income, expenditure, surplus or deficit, the club's financial position. This does not need to be elaborate. The legal requirement is that the documents are presented and the members have an opportunity to consider them.

Penalty: up to 20 penalty units ($3,338) per member for a large association; up to 10 penalty units ($1,669) per member for a small or medium association.

Remuneration disclosure — s.70D

Since 1 July 2024, the management committee must disclose at each AGM all payments and benefits given during the financial year to:

• Committee members
• Senior staff
• Their close relatives (spouse, parents, siblings, children, grandparents, grandchildren)

This includes salary, allowances, free use of club facilities, subsidised goods — anything with a financial value.

If your club paid no one anything: you must still declare this at the AGM and record it in the minutes. Example: "No remuneration or benefits were provided to any committee member, staff member, or their relatives during the financial year."

If payments were made: report the total value and the number of recipients. You do not need to name individuals publicly.

In practice: the treasurer prepares the disclosure from financial records. The president usually reads it at the AGM, but the treasurer is the one who knows the numbers.

Penalty: up to 10 penalty units ($1,669) per committee member.

Lodging — s.59BA

Within 1 month after the AGM, the secretary, president, or treasurer must lodge with the chief executive (OFT):

1. The signed financial statements (as adopted at the AGM, or as presented if not adopted).
2. The audit report or verification statement (if required).
3. The annual return — Form 12.
4. The prescribed lodging fee.

Who lodges? s.59BA names secretary, president, or treasurer. In practice, this is often done by the treasurer in coordination with the secretary.

Penalty: up to 4 penalty units ($668) for the officer who fails to lodge.

OFT contact: phone 13 QGOV (13 74 68); forms via the Queensland Government Incorporated Associations Forms and Fees page.

ACNC exemption

If the club is registered with the ACNC as a charity, filing the ACNC annual information statement replaces Form 12. The ACNC exemption does not replace the AGM presentation, remuneration disclosure, or any other QLD obligation.

Most croquet clubs are not ACNC-registered. If uncertain, check with the treasurer's records or contact CAQ.

Sources

Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld) — ss.59A, 59AA, 59AB, 59B, 59BA, 70D. Associations Incorporation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (Qld). QLD Office of Fair Trading — Incorporated Associations Forms and Fees.