{"id":"sl-2017-11","name":"Co-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017","slug":"co-operatives-national-law-act-regulation-2017","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"act","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"11 of 2017","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":173293,"registerId":"act-sl-2017-11-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Co-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017","content":"Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT)\nRegulation 2017\nSL2017-11\nmade under the\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT) Act 2017\nRepublication No 2\nEffective: 16 November 2017\nRepublication date: 16 November 2017\nLast amendment made by A2017-38\n\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAbout this republication\nThe republished law\nThis is a republication of the Co-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017, made under\nthe Co-operatives National Law (ACT) Act 2017 (including any amendment made under the\nLegislation Act 2001, part 11.3 (Editorial changes)) as in force on 16 November 2017. It also\nincludes any commencement, amendment, repeal or expiry affecting this republished law to\n16 November 2017.\nThe legislation history and amendment history of the republished law are set out in endnotes 3\nand 4.\nKinds of republications\nThe Parliamentary Counsel’s Office prepares 2 kinds of republications of ACT laws (see the\nACT legislation register at www.legislation.act.gov.au):\n authorised republications to which the Legislation Act 2001 applies\n unauthorised republications.\nThe status of this republication appears on the bottom of each page.\nEditorial changes\nThe Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 authorises the Parliamentary Counsel to make editorial\namendments and other changes of a formal nature when preparing a law for republication.\nEditorial changes do not change the effect of the law, but have effect as if they had been made\nby an Act commencing on the republication date (see Legislation Act 2001, s 115 and s 117).\nThe changes are made if the Parliamentary Counsel considers they are desirable to bring the law\ninto line, or more closely into line, with current legislative drafting practice.\nThis republication does not include amendments made under part 11.3 (see endnote 1).\nUncommenced provisions and amendments\nIf a provision of the republished law has not commenced, the symbol U appears immediately\nbefore the provision heading. Any uncommenced amendments that affect this republished law\nare accessible on the ACT legislation register (www.legislation.act.gov.au). For more\ninformation, see the home page for this law on the register.\nModifications\nIf a provision of the republished law is affected by a current modification, the symbol M\nappears immediately before the provision heading. The text of the modifying provision appears\nin the endnotes. For the legal status of modifications, see the Legislation Act 2001, section 95.\nPenalties\nAt the republication date, the value of a penalty unit for an offence against this law is $150 for\nan individual and $750 for a corporation (see Legislation Act 2001, s 133).\n\nR2\n16/11/17\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 16/11/17\ncontents 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT)\nRegulation 2017\nmade under the\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT) Act 2017\nContents\nPage\n1 Name of regulation 2\n3 Dictionary 2\n4 Notes 2\n5 Unsuitable names for co-operatives—the Law, s 220 (5),\nthe regulation, reg 3.7 2\n6 Exemption from restriction on corporations registering name including\nword ‘co-operative’ or similar words—the Law, s 220 (7) 3\n7 Exemption from restriction on use of word ‘co-operative’ or similar\nwords—the Law, s 225 (2) 4\n8 Application for transfer—the Law, s 403 (b) 4\n9 Procedures regarding giving of exemptions—the Law, s 621 5\n10 Co-operatives may continue to operate under old rules 5\n\nContents\nPage\ncontents 2 Co-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 16/11/17\nR2\n16/11/17\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nDictionary 7\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes 8\n2 Abbreviation key 8\n3 Legislation history 9\n4 Amendment history 10\n5 Earlier republications 10\n\nR2\n16/11/17\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 16/11/17\npage 1\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nAustralian Capital Territory\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT)\nRegulation 2017\nmade under the\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT) Act 2017\n\nSection 1\npage 2 Co-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 16/11/17\nR2\n16/11/17\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n1 Name of regulation\nThis regulation is the Co-operatives National Law (ACT)\nRegulation 2017.\n3 Dictionary\nThe dictionary at the end of this regulation is part of this regulation.\nNote 1 The dictionary at the end of this regulation defines certain terms used in\nthis regulation.\nNote 2 A definition in the dictionary applies to the entire regulation unless the\ndefinition, or another provision of the regulation, provides otherwise or\nthe contrary intention otherwise appears (see Legislation Act, s 155 and\ns 156 (1)).\n4 Notes\nA note included in this regulation is explanatory and is not part of\nthis regulation.\nNote See the Legislation Act, s 127 (1), (4) and (5) for the legal status of\nnotes.\n5 Unsuitable names for co-operatives—the Law, s 220 (5),\nthe regulation, reg 3.7\nFor the Co-operatives National Law (ACT), section 220 (5) (Name\nto include certain matter) and the Co-operatives National\nRegulation (ACT), regulation 3.7 (Unsuitable names for\nco-operatives), a name is unsuitable if the Registrar is satisfied that\nit is likely to mislead.\n\nSection 6\nR2\n16/11/17\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 16/11/17\npage 3\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n6 Exemption from restriction on corporations registering\nname including word ‘co-operative’ or similar words—\nthe Law, s 220 (7)\nFor the Co-operatives National Law (ACT), section 220 (7), a\ncorporation is exempt from that Law, section 220 (4) if the\ncorporation is—\n(a) a company that is permitted to use the expression ‘building\nsociety’, ‘credit union’ or ‘credit society’ under the Banking\nAct 1959 (Cwlth), section 66 (Restriction on use of certain\nwords and expressions); or\n(b) a company that is a friendly society under the Life Insurance\nAct 1995 (Cwlth), section 16C (What is a friendly society?); or\n(c) a company or society formed or incorporated under an Act\nbefore 5 June 2003; or\nNote 5 June 2003 is the day the Cooperatives Act 2002 commenced.\n(d) allowed under an Act to use any of the following words in its\nname:\n(i) ‘co-operative’;\n(ii) ‘co-op’;\n(iii) ‘cooperative’;\n(iv) ‘coop’; or\n(e) exempted, in writing, by the Registrar from the operation of the\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT), section 220 (4).\n\nSection 7\npage 4 Co-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 16/11/17\nR2\n16/11/17\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n7 Exemption from restriction on use of word ‘co-operative’\nor similar words—the Law, s 225 (2)\nFor the Co-operatives National Law (ACT), section 225 (2), a\nperson is exempt from that Law, section 225 (1) if the person is—\n(a) a company that is permitted to use the expression ‘building\nsociety’, ‘credit union’ or ‘credit society’ under the Banking\nAct 1959 (Cwlth), section 66 (Restriction on use of certain\nwords and expressions); or\n(b) a company that is a friendly society under the Life Insurance\nAct 1995 (Cwlth), section 16C (What is a friendly society?); or\n(c) a company or society formed or incorporated under an Act\nbefore 5 June 2003; or\nNote 5 June 2003 is the day the Cooperatives Act 2002 commenced.\n(d) allowed under an Act to use any of the following words in its\nname:\n(i) ‘co-operative’;\n(ii) ‘co-op’;\n(iii) ‘cooperative’;\n(iv) ‘coop’; or\n(e) exempted, in writing, by the Registrar from the operation of the\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT), section 225 (1).\n8 Application for transfer—the Law, s 403 (b)\nFor the Co-operatives National Law (ACT), section 403 (b)\n(Application for transfer) the following legislation is prescribed:\n(a) the Associations Incorporation Act 1991;\n(b) the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander)\nAct 2006 (Cwlth);\n\nSection 9\nR2\n16/11/17\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 16/11/17\npage 5\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(c) any legislation of the Commonwealth that provides for the\nincorporation of a building society, credit union or friendly\nsociety.\n9 Procedures regarding giving of exemptions—\nthe Law, s 621\nFor the Co-operatives National Law (ACT), section 621 (Procedures\nregarding giving of exemptions) an application for an exemption\nmust be made—\n(a) in writing; and\n(b) a reasonable time before the event, or the occurrence of the\nmatter, for which the exemption is sought.\n10 Co-operatives may continue to operate under old rules\n(1) A co-operative may continue to operate under the rules applying to\nthe co-operative that were in force immediately before the\ncommencement of the Act, section 3 (the old rules).\n(2) However, if a co-operative is operating under the old rules—\n(a) if there is an inconsistency between a provision of the old rules\nand a provision of the new law, the provision of the new law\nprevails; and\n(b) a reference in the old rules to a requirement in the\nCooperatives Act 2002 or the Cooperatives Regulation 2003\n(a former requirement) is to be read as a reference to the\nrequirement in the new law that substantially corresponds to\nthe former requirement; and\n\nSection 10\npage 6 Co-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 16/11/17\nR2\n16/11/17\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n(c) a reference in the old rules to—\n(i) a trading cooperative is to be read as a reference to a\ndistributing co-operative; and\n(ii) a non-trading cooperative is to be read as a reference to a\nnon-distributing co-operative.\n(3) In this section:\nnew law means the following:\n(a) the Act;\n(b) this regulation;\n(c) the Co-operatives National Law (ACT);\n(d) the Co-operatives National Regulation (ACT).\n\nDictionary\nR2\n16/11/17\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 16/11/17\npage 7\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nDictionary\n(see s 3)\nNote 1 The Legislation Act contains definitions and other provisions relevant to\nthis regulation.\nNote 2 For example, the Legislation Act, dict, pt 1, defines the following terms:\n corporation\n Co-operatives National Law (ACT)\n Co-operatives National Regulation (ACT)\n GST\n person (see s 160).\nNote 3 Terms used in this regulation have the same meaning that they have in\nthe Co-operatives National Law (ACT) Act 2017 (see Legislation Act,\ns 148). For example, the following term is defined in the Co-operatives\nNational Law (ACT) Act 2017, s 9:\n Registrar.\n\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\npage 8 Co-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 16/11/17\nR2\n16/11/17\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\nEndnotes\n1 About the endnotes\nAmending and modifying laws are annotated in the legislation history and the\namendment history. Current modifications are not included in the republished\nlaw but are set out in the endnotes.\nNot all editorial amendments made under the Legislation Act 2001, part 11.3 are\nannotated in the amendment history. Full details of any amendments can be\nobtained from the Parliamentary Counsel’s Office.\nUncommenced amending laws are not included in the republished law. The\ndetails of these laws are underlined in the legislation history. Uncommenced\nexpiries are underlined in the legislation history and amendment history.\nIf all the provisions of the law have been renumbered, a table of renumbered\nprovisions gives details of previous and current numbering.\nThe endnotes also include a table of earlier republications.\n2 Abbreviation key\nA = Act NI = Notifiable instrument\nAF = Approved form o = order\nam = amended om = omitted/repealed\namdt = amendment ord = ordinance\nAR = Assembly resolution orig = original\nch = chapter par = paragraph/subparagraph\nCN = Commencement notice pres = present\ndef = definition prev = previous\nDI = Disallowable instrument (prev...) = previously\ndict = dictionary pt = part\ndisallowed = disallowed by the Legislative r = rule/subrule\nAssembly reloc = relocated\ndiv = division renum = renumbered\nexp = expires/expired R[X] = Republication No\nGaz = gazette RI = reissue\nhdg = heading s = section/subsection\nIA = Interpretation Act 1967 sch = schedule\nins = inserted/added sdiv = subdivision\nLA = Legislation Act 2001 SL = Subordinate law\nLR = legislation register sub = substituted\nLRA = Legislation (Republication) Act 1996 underlining = whole or part not commenced\nmod = modified/modification or to be expired\n\nEndnotes\nLegislation history 3\nR2\n16/11/17\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 16/11/17\npage 9\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n3 Legislation history\nCo-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017 SL2017-11\nnotified LR 28 April 2017\ns 1, s 2 commenced 28 April 2017 (LA s 75 (1))\nremainder commenced 1 May 2017 (s 2 and see Co-operatives\nNational Law (ACT) Act 2017 A2017-8 s 2)\nas amended by\nJustice and Community Safety Legislation Amendment\nAct 2017 (No 3) A2017-38 pt 5\nnotified LR 9 November 2017\ns 1, s 2 commenced 9 November 2017 (LA s 75 (1))\npt 5 commenced 16 November 2017 (s 2 (1))\n\nEndnotes\n4 Amendment history\npage 10 Co-operatives National Law (ACT) Regulation 2017\nEffective: 16/11/17\nR2\n16/11/17\nAuthorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au\n4 Amendment history\nCommencement\ns 2 om LA s 89 (4)\nPrescribed fees\ns 11 om A2017-38 s 16\nPrescribed fees\nsch 1 om A2017-38 s 17\n5 Earlier republications\nSome earlier republications were not numbered. The number in column 1 refers to\nthe publication order.\nSince 12 September 2001 every authorised republication has been published in\nelectronic pdf format on the ACT legislation register. A selection of authorised\nrepublications have also been published in printed format. These republications\nare marked with an asterisk (*) in column 1. Electronic and printed versions of an\nauthorised republication are identical.\nRepublication\nNo and date\nEffective Last\namendment\nmade by\nRepublication\nfor\nR1\n1 May 2017\n1 May 2017-\n15 Nov 2017\nnot amended new regulation\n© Australian Capital Territory 2017","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[],"contradictions":[]},"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulation remains tightly scoped to its original purpose: supporting the Co-operatives National Law (ACT) by prescribing administrative details, exemptions, and transitional arrangements. It has not expanded beyond this ancillary role."},"complexity_factors":["Short document (10 pages, 10 substantive sections)","Minimal defined terms (only 'new law' defined in section 10; otherwise relies on parent Act and Legislation Act definitions)","Simple conditional structure (mostly 'if/then' exemptions without nesting)","Cross-references limited to specific sections of the parent Act and Commonwealth legislation","No exceptions to exceptions or deeply nested logic","Straightforward transitional provisions in section 10 with clear hierarchy (new law prevails over old rules)"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation fleshes out the ACT Co‑operatives National Law by restricting use of “co‑operative” (and variants) to genuine co‑operatives, with carved‑out exemptions for entities like credit unions, building societies and some pre‑2003 companies, and by allowing the Registrar to grant written exemptions. It also recognises transfers between co‑operatives and other incorporated forms and preserves pre‑2017 rules where consistent, reducing consumer confusion and easing structural transitions."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The regulation’s substantive scope was narrowed by later amendments that removed provisions prescribing fees (see Amendment history: 'Prescribed fees s 11 om A2017-38 s 16' and 'Prescribed fees sch 1 om A2017-38 s 17'). Other core functions (name rules, exemptions, procedures, transitional operation under old rules) remain in force."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to multiple external Acts (Banking Act 1959; Life Insurance Act 1995) for exemption tests (regs 6(a),(b); 7(a),(b))","Registrar discretion to grant written exemptions (regs 6(e); 7(e)) creates case‑by‑case decisionmaking","Subjective standard for unsuitable names based on likelihood to mislead (reg 5)","Procedural requirement for exemption applications: written and lodged a reasonable time before the event (reg 9) — introduces timing/compliance risk","Transitional rule allowing continuation under old rules but subordinating them to the new law (reg 10(1)–(2))","Dictionary and reliance on definitions in the Act and Legislation Act increases interpretive links (s 3; Dictionary)","Amendment and editorial history affects available provisions (see endnotes re omitted fee provisions)"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation implements technical rules for co-operatives: it defines unsuitable names, sets who may be exempted from restrictions on using the word “co-operative”, prescribes which previous incorporation laws may be transferred, requires exemption applications to be written and timely, and allows co‑operatives to continue under prior rules where consistent with the new law (regs 5–10). It mainly affects co‑operatives, corporations wanting to use ‘co‑operative’ in their name, and the Registrar who grants exemptions; applicants must meet a written, reasonable‑time requirement (reg 9)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/co-operatives-national-law-act-regulation-2017","history":"/api/acts/co-operatives-national-law-act-regulation-2017/history","analysis":"/api/acts/co-operatives-national-law-act-regulation-2017/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/co-operatives-national-law-act-regulation-2017/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/co-operatives-national-law-act-regulation-2017/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/co-operatives-national-law-act-regulation-2017/documents"}}