The Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld)

What the Act requires of every incorporated Queensland club, and how it works with the Model Rules.

The Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld) is the law every incorporated Queensland croquet club works under. It sets the minimum, whatever the club's own rules say.

Incorporation makes the club a legal body in its own right: it can own property, sign contracts, and sue or be sued.

The Act says the committee has at least 3 adult members, including a president and a treasurer, and the club has a secretary.

Each year the financial statement goes to the AGM, and the annual return goes to the Office of Fair Trading within 1 month of the AGM.

Penalties are in penalty units: $172.70 each for 2026/27.

This guide is for committee members who want to know what the Act itself requires. What the Model Rules say is in The Model Rules explained, the choice of constitution is in Why adopt the Model Rules, and the four officer duties are in Committee: Shared Legal Duties.

How clubs do it

When a new president, secretary or treasurer takes office, the secretary tells the Office of Fair Trading within 1 month (s.68).
The annual financial statement is prepared within 6 months of the end of the financial year (s.59A).
The statement is verified or audited, depending on the club's size (ss.59AA, 59AB).
The statement and the verification or audit report are presented at the AGM (s.59B).
The annual return is lodged with the Office of Fair Trading within 1 month of the AGM (s.59BA).

This is the yearly cycle the Act sets out.

What incorporation gives a club

An incorporated club is a separate legal entity. It can own property, enter contracts, and sue or be sued in its own name. Without incorporation, club assets belong to the members together, and members can be personally liable for club debts.

The club's rules

A club can adopt the Model Rules as its rules when it registers (s.46). Registering rules does not fix any defect in them (s.46(3)).
Where a club's own rules are silent on a matter the Model Rules cover, the Model Rules fill the gap (s.47).
Changing the rules needs a special resolution, and the club applies to the Office of Fair Trading within 3 months to register the change (s.48).

A special resolution is one passed at a general meeting by three-quarters of the members present and entitled to vote (schedule 2). Members get written notice of it, or it has no effect (s.3). The Act also requires a special resolution to change the club's name (s.35) and for a voluntary winding up (s.90).

Members' rights to see the rules and minutes are in Secretary: Records & Meetings.

The committee and the secretary

The committee has at least 3 members, all adults, including a president and a treasurer (s.61).
Section 61A lists who cannot serve, such as people with certain convictions or an undischarged bankrupt.
When the secretary's position is vacant, the committee fills it within 1 month (s.65).
The secretary calls meetings with the president, keeps the minutes, keeps correspondence and other documents, and maintains the register of members (s.69A).

Money and reporting tiers

Section 59 requires financial records that correctly record the club's transactions and allow true and fair statements. Section 58 sorts associations into three sizes. Most Queensland croquet clubs are small.

Tier	Size	What the Act requires
Small	Revenue under $150,000 and current assets under $300,000	Verification statement signed by the president or treasurer
Medium	Neither small nor large	Verification statement signed by an auditor, an accountant or a person approved by the Office of Fair Trading
Large	Revenue over $500,000 or current assets over $1,000,000	Full audit by an auditor or an accountant

Current assets do not include land and buildings or depreciable assets such as vehicles and equipment, so a club that owns its grounds may still be small. A small or medium association that another law requires to be audited is audited under s.59AA.

Officer duties and grievances

Sections 70B to 70J set duties for every committee member: conflicts of interest, payments disclosed at the AGM, and the four officer duties. They came in with the Associations Incorporation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020; most began on 22 June 2022, and the AGM payments disclosure (s.70D) on 1 July 2024. The full detail is in Committee: Shared Legal Duties.

Since 1 July 2024, every incorporated association has to have a grievance procedure (s.47A). The Model Rules include one.

Penalty units

Penalty	At $172.70 a unit (2026/27)
2 units	$345
4 units	$691
10 units	$1,727
20 units	$3,454
60 units	$10,362

The 60 unit maximum applies to each breach of an officer duty or the conflict rules. The unit value changes every 1 July.

Where this comes from

Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld), full text (also on AustLII)
Act, s.3 and schedule 2: special resolutions
Act, s.35 (name change), s.46, s.47, s.48 (rules), s.90 (winding up)
Act, s.61, s.61A, s.65, s.68, s.69A: the committee and the secretary
Act, s.58, s.59, s.59A, s.59AA, s.59AB, s.59B, s.59BA: money and reporting
Act, s.47A (grievances) and ss.70B to 70J (officer duties); commencement dates in the legislative history
Associations Incorporation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (Qld)
Queensland Government, Appointing an auditor or verifier: reporting tiers
Penalties and Sentences Regulation 2025 (Qld), s.4: penalty unit value