{"id":"qld:sl-2020-0180","name":"Co-operatives National Law Regulation 2020","slug":"co-operatives-national-law-regulation-2020","collection":"regulation","jurisdiction":"qld","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"180 of 2020","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":173950,"registerId":"qld-sl-2020-0180-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-05","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"pt.1","sectionType":"part","heading":"Preliminary","content":"# Preliminary","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"sec.1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Short title","content":"### sec.1 Short title\n\nThis regulation may be cited as the Co-operatives National Law Regulation 2020 .","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"sec.2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Commencement","content":"### sec.2 Commencement\n\nThis regulation commences on 1 December 2020, immediately after the commencement of the Co-operatives National Law Act 2020 , section 27 .","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"sec.3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Definitions","content":"### sec.3 Definitions\n\nIn this regulation—\nthe Law means the Co-operatives National Law (Queensland) .\nthe Regulation means the Co-operatives National Regulation (Queensland) .","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"pt.2","sectionType":"part","heading":"Prescribed matters","content":"# Prescribed matters","sortOrder":4},{"sectionNumber":"sec.4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Unsuitable names for co-operatives—the Law , s 220","content":"### sec.4 Unsuitable names for co-operatives—the Law , s 220\n\nFor section 220 (5) of the Law and regulation 3.7 of the Regulation , a name is declared an unsuitable name for a co-operative if the Registrar is satisfied—\nthe name is likely to mislead, including, for example, because the name is likely to mislead a person about the nature, objects or functions of the co-operative; or\nthe name is identical to, or closely resembles, the name of another co-operative registered in this jurisdiction or in a participating jurisdiction.\n- (a) the name is likely to mislead, including, for example, because the name is likely to mislead a person about the nature, objects or functions of the co-operative; or\n- (b) the name is identical to, or closely resembles, the name of another co-operative registered in this jurisdiction or in a participating jurisdiction.","sortOrder":5},{"sectionNumber":"sec.5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Entities exempt from using particular words in name—the Law , ss 220 and 225","content":"### sec.5 Entities exempt from using particular words in name—the Law , ss 220 and 225\n\nFor sections 220 (7) and 225 (2) of the Law , the following entities are exempt from sections 220 (4) and 225 (1) of the Law —\na society under the Financial Intermediaries Act 1996 ;\na corporation that is allowed, under an Act of a State or the Commonwealth, to use ‘co-operative’ or ‘cooperative’ or the abbreviation ‘co-op’ or ‘coop’ in its name.\n- (a) a society under the Financial Intermediaries Act 1996 ;\n- (b) a corporation that is allowed, under an Act of a State or the Commonwealth, to use ‘co-operative’ or ‘cooperative’ or the abbreviation ‘co-op’ or ‘coop’ in its name.","sortOrder":6},{"sectionNumber":"sec.6","sectionType":"section","heading":"Applications for transfer—the Law , s 403","content":"### sec.6 Applications for transfer—the Law , s 403\n\nFor section 403 (b) of the Law, a corporation under any of the following laws is prescribed—\nthe Associations Incorporation Act 1981 ;\nthe Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cwlth) ;\nthe Financial Intermediaries Act 1996 ;\nanother Act of a State or the Commonwealth that provides for the incorporation of a building society, credit union or friendly society.\n- (a) the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 ;\n- (b) the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cwlth) ;\n- (c) the Financial Intermediaries Act 1996 ;\n- (d) another Act of a State or the Commonwealth that provides for the incorporation of a building society, credit union or friendly society.","sortOrder":7},{"sectionNumber":"sec.7","sectionType":"section","heading":"Allowances and expenses for involved persons—the Law , s 522","content":"### sec.7 Allowances and expenses for involved persons—the Law , s 522\n\nFor section 522 (4) (b) of the Law , the allowance and the expenses prescribed are the allowances and the expenses payable under the Uniform Civil Procedure (Fees) Regulation 2019 to a witness in a civil proceeding before a District Court.","sortOrder":8},{"sectionNumber":"sec.8","sectionType":"section","heading":"Inspection of register of co-operatives—the Law , s 601","content":"### sec.8 Inspection of register of co-operatives—the Law , s 601\n\nFor section 601 (2) of the Law , the following are prescribed for the doing of a thing mentioned in section 601 (1) of the Law —\na person must ask the Registrar for approval to do the thing—\nin the approved form; or\nif there is no approved form for the request, by written request given to the Registrar;\nthe time and place for doing the thing is during the department’s usual business hours at an office of the department.\nFor section 601 (5) of the Law , definition prescribed fee , paragraph (b) , the prescribed fee for doing a thing mentioned in section 601 (1) of the Law is the fee prescribed by schedule 1 for doing the thing.\n(sec.8-ssec.1) For section 601 (2) of the Law , the following are prescribed for the doing of a thing mentioned in section 601 (1) of the Law — a person must ask the Registrar for approval to do the thing— in the approved form; or if there is no approved form for the request, by written request given to the Registrar; the time and place for doing the thing is during the department’s usual business hours at an office of the department.\n(sec.8-ssec.2) For section 601 (5) of the Law , definition prescribed fee , paragraph (b) , the prescribed fee for doing a thing mentioned in section 601 (1) of the Law is the fee prescribed by schedule 1 for doing the thing.\n- (a) a person must ask the Registrar for approval to do the thing— (i) in the approved form; or (ii) if there is no approved form for the request, by written request given to the Registrar;\n- (i) in the approved form; or\n- (ii) if there is no approved form for the request, by written request given to the Registrar;\n- (b) the time and place for doing the thing is during the department’s usual business hours at an office of the department.\n- (i) in the approved form; or\n- (ii) if there is no approved form for the request, by written request given to the Registrar;","sortOrder":9},{"sectionNumber":"sec.9","sectionType":"section","heading":"Procedure for giving exemptions—the Law , s 621","content":"### sec.9 Procedure for giving exemptions—the Law , s 621\n\nFor section 621 of the Law , this section states the procedure for the giving of an exemption by the Registrar under the Law .\nAn application for an exemption must be made to the Registrar in the approved form or, if there is no approved form for the application, the application must be made in writing.\nThe application must be made within a reasonable time before the event or the occurrence of the matter for which the exemption is sought.\nThe application must be accompanied by the fee prescribed by schedule 1 .\n(sec.9-ssec.1) For section 621 of the Law , this section states the procedure for the giving of an exemption by the Registrar under the Law .\n(sec.9-ssec.2) An application for an exemption must be made to the Registrar in the approved form or, if there is no approved form for the application, the application must be made in writing.\n(sec.9-ssec.3) The application must be made within a reasonable time before the event or the occurrence of the matter for which the exemption is sought.\n(sec.9-ssec.4) The application must be accompanied by the fee prescribed by schedule 1 .","sortOrder":10},{"sectionNumber":"pt.3","sectionType":"part","heading":"Fees","content":"# Fees","sortOrder":11},{"sectionNumber":"sec.10","sectionType":"section","heading":"Fees— Act , s 27","content":"### sec.10 Fees— Act , s 27\n\nFor section 27 (2) (c) of the Act , the fees payable in relation to the administration of the Law are stated in schedule 1 .\nWithout limiting subsection (1) , the fee payable for a chargeable matter for the Corporations Act , as applied by the Law , is—\nthe fee payable for the matter stated in schedule 1 ; or\nif a fee for the matter is not stated in schedule 1 —the fee payable for the matter under the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 (Cwlth) .\nIn this section—\nchargeable matter see the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 (Cwlth) , section 4 (1) .\n(sec.10-ssec.1) For section 27 (2) (c) of the Act , the fees payable in relation to the administration of the Law are stated in schedule 1 .\n(sec.10-ssec.2) Without limiting subsection (1) , the fee payable for a chargeable matter for the Corporations Act , as applied by the Law , is— the fee payable for the matter stated in schedule 1 ; or if a fee for the matter is not stated in schedule 1 —the fee payable for the matter under the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 (Cwlth) .\n(sec.10-ssec.3) In this section— chargeable matter see the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 (Cwlth) , section 4 (1) .\n- (a) the fee payable for the matter stated in schedule 1 ; or\n- (b) if a fee for the matter is not stated in schedule 1 —the fee payable for the matter under the Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 (Cwlth) .","sortOrder":12},{"sectionNumber":"sec.10A","sectionType":"section","heading":"Rounding of amounts expressed as numbers of fee units","content":"### sec.10A Rounding of amounts expressed as numbers of fee units\n\nThis section applies for working out the amount of a fee expressed in this regulation as a number of fee units.\nFor the purpose of the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 , section 48C (3) , the amount is to be rounded—\nif the result is not more than $100—to the nearest multiple of 5 cents (rounding one-half upwards); or\nif the result is more than $100 but not more than $1,000—to the nearest multiple of 10 cents (rounding one-half upwards); or\nif the result is more than $1,000 but not more than $5,000—to the nearest dollar (rounding one-half upwards).\nIf a fee were 35 fee units and the value of a fee unit were $1.015, the number of dollars obtained by multiplying 35 by $1.015 would be $35.525. Because $35.525 is halfway between $35.50 and $35.55, it is rounded upwards, so the amount of the fee would be $35.55.\ns 10A ins 2022 SL No. 79 s 48\n(sec.10A-ssec.1) This section applies for working out the amount of a fee expressed in this regulation as a number of fee units.\n(sec.10A-ssec.2) For the purpose of the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 , section 48C (3) , the amount is to be rounded— if the result is not more than $100—to the nearest multiple of 5 cents (rounding one-half upwards); or if the result is more than $100 but not more than $1,000—to the nearest multiple of 10 cents (rounding one-half upwards); or if the result is more than $1,000 but not more than $5,000—to the nearest dollar (rounding one-half upwards). If a fee were 35 fee units and the value of a fee unit were $1.015, the number of dollars obtained by multiplying 35 by $1.015 would be $35.525. Because $35.525 is halfway between $35.50 and $35.55, it is rounded upwards, so the amount of the fee would be $35.55.\n- (a) if the result is not more than $100—to the nearest multiple of 5 cents (rounding one-half upwards); or\n- (b) if the result is more than $100 but not more than $1,000—to the nearest multiple of 10 cents (rounding one-half upwards); or\n- (c) if the result is more than $1,000 but not more than $5,000—to the nearest dollar (rounding one-half upwards).","sortOrder":13},{"sectionNumber":"sec.11","sectionType":"section","heading":"Late fees— Act , s 27","content":"### sec.11 Late fees— Act , s 27\n\nThis section applies if—\nan entity is required under the Law to give a document to, or file a document with, the Registrar by a particular day or within a particular period; and\nthe entity gives the document to, or files the document with, the Registrar after the day or the end of the period.\nFor section 27 (2) (c) of the Act , the entity must pay the late fee stated in schedule 1 for the document.\nThe late fee is payable in addition to any penalty imposed under the Law for failure to give or file the document by the day or within the period.\n(sec.11-ssec.1) This section applies if— an entity is required under the Law to give a document to, or file a document with, the Registrar by a particular day or within a particular period; and the entity gives the document to, or files the document with, the Registrar after the day or the end of the period.\n(sec.11-ssec.2) For section 27 (2) (c) of the Act , the entity must pay the late fee stated in schedule 1 for the document.\n(sec.11-ssec.3) The late fee is payable in addition to any penalty imposed under the Law for failure to give or file the document by the day or within the period.\n- (a) an entity is required under the Law to give a document to, or file a document with, the Registrar by a particular day or within a particular period; and\n- (b) the entity gives the document to, or files the document with, the Registrar after the day or the end of the period.","sortOrder":14},{"sectionNumber":"sec.12","sectionType":"section","heading":"Waiving, refunding or reducing fees— Act , s 27","content":"### sec.12 Waiving, refunding or reducing fees— Act , s 27\n\nFor section 27 (2) (d) of the Act , the Registrar may waive or refund all or part of a fee, or reduce a fee, payable under the Law if satisfied there are special circumstances for doing so.","sortOrder":15}],"analysis":{"summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulation stays tightly within its intended purpose: providing the prescribed administrative details (names, fees, transfer eligibility, exemption procedures, register inspection rules) needed to operationalise the Co-operatives National Law in Queensland. There is no evidence of scope creep or departure from original intent."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references multiple other pieces of legislation (Co-operatives National Law, Co-operatives National Regulation, Corporations Act, Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 (Cwlth), Financial Intermediaries Act 1996, Associations Incorporation Act 1981, Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (Cwlth), Acts Interpretation Act 1954, Uniform Civil Procedure (Fees) Regulation 2019), requiring readers to consult several documents to understand full effect","Operates as a subordinate regulation to a national law applied as a Queensland law, creating a layered legislative structure that can be confusing to navigate","Fee calculation mechanism uses 'fee units' (an indexed unit system) with tiered rounding rules, adding a mathematical and procedural layer","Some provisions are largely administrative placeholders pointing to a Schedule 1 of fees not reproduced in the text provided, limiting standalone comprehensibility","Dual fee regime for Corporations Act matters (local schedule vs Commonwealth fallback) adds complexity for affected entities","Limited scope and relatively plain subject matter (naming, fees, transfers, inspections) keeps overall complexity moderate"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation provides the practical admin rules for running co‑operatives in Queensland under the Co‑operatives National Law. It covers name rules and conversions from other organisations, public access to the co‑operatives register, witness allowances for investigations, processes for applying for exemptions, and the fees (and fee waivers) charged for lodgements and services — including late‑filing surcharges. It affects prospective and existing co‑operatives, converters, and participants in regulatory proceedings."},"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":"This regulation appears to serve its original intended purpose as a standard 'machinery' regulation that operationalises the Co-operatives National Law. It covers the expected administrative matters: fees, forms, procedures, and prescribed entities. There is no evidence of scope creep or significant expansion beyond the original intent to support the administration of co-operative law."},"complexity_factors":["Short regulation with only 12 sections plus a schedule","Minimal defined terms (only 2 in section 3, plus 1 in section 10)","Straightforward cross-references to the main Law and Act (clearly labelled as 'the Law' and 'the Act')","Simple conditional logic (mostly 'if X then Y' structures without nesting)","No exceptions to exceptions—each rule is direct","Procedural provisions are linear (step 1, step 2, step 3)","Fee calculation in section 10A includes worked example which aids comprehension"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation sets out the administrative details for how co-operatives (member-owned businesses) operate under the Co-operatives National Law in Queensland. It covers:\n\n**What it does:**\n- **Names:** Sets rules for what names co-operatives can and cannot use (can't mislead people or copy other co-ops' names), and exempts certain financial entities from having to use 'co-operative' in their name\n- **Transfers:** Lists which types of corporations can transfer to become co-operatives (including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations, associations, and building societies)\n- **Fees:** Establishes fees for registering and running co-operatives, including late fees for missed deadlines and rules for rounding fee calculations\n- **Inspections:** Sets out how people can inspect the public register of co-operatives (during business hours, by appointment)\n- **Exemptions:** Creates a process for applying to the Registrar for exemptions from certain rules\n- **Allowances:** Sets payments for people involved in co-operative proceedings (like witnesses)\n\n**Who it affects:**\n- People starting or running co-operatives in Queensland\n- Existing corporations wanting to convert to co-operative status\n- Members of the public wanting to look up co-operative records\n- The Registrar (the government official who oversees co-operatives)\n\n**Why it matters:**\nCo-operatives need clear rules to operate fairly and transparently. This regulation fills in the practical details missing from the main Co-operatives National Law—things like exactly how much it costs to register, what forms to use, and when you can get an exemption. Without these details, the main law wouldn't work in practice."},"issue_detection":{"absurdities":[{"type":"circular_definition","section":"sec.3","severity":"low","reasoning":"While not strictly circular in the logical sense, defining 'the Regulation' within a document that is itself a regulation — and whose short title differs only marginally from the defined term — creates genuine interpretive ambiguity. A reader encountering 'the Regulation' in context could conflate it with the instrument they are reading. The drafting convention is defensible but the near-identical naming is a practical absurdity.","confidence":0.55,"description":"Circular/redundant definitional structure: 'the Regulation' is defined as meaning the Co-operatives National Regulation (Queensland), yet the instrument being read IS a regulation made under the same legislative framework. The regulation defines itself by reference to a sibling instrument with an almost identical name, creating significant potential for confusion about which 'Regulation' applies at any given point."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"sec.8(1)(a)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"Section 601(1) of the Law appears to confer a right to inspect the register, yet sec.8(1)(a) conditions exercise of that right on obtaining Registrar approval. No timeframe is set for the Registrar to grant or refuse approval, meaning the right could be indefinitely frustrated. The absence of any deemed-approval or refusal mechanism means compliance with the underlying right is contingent on administrative discretion with no procedural safeguard.","confidence":0.62,"description":"The section requires a person to ask the Registrar for 'approval' to inspect the register, then prescribes an 'approved form' for that request. If there is no approved form, a written request suffices. However, the precondition of seeking 'approval' before inspecting a publicly accessible register — which section 601 of the Law ostensibly makes available — may impose a gatekeeping mechanism that undermines the register's public accessibility purpose, and creates a potential impossible compliance scenario where approval is never granted or unreasonably delayed with no time limit specified."},{"type":"impossible_compliance","section":"sec.9(3)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The vagueness of 'reasonable time' in a procedural compliance context without any defined consequence for breach creates a provision that is simultaneously mandatory in form and unenforceable in practice. An applicant cannot prospectively determine compliance, and a Registrar cannot mechanically apply the rule. This is a classic drafting absurdity where a procedural requirement has no operative legal effect.","confidence":0.7,"description":"The requirement that an exemption application be made 'within a reasonable time before the event or the occurrence of the matter' is wholly indeterminate. 'Reasonable time' is undefined and context-dependent, making it impossible for an applicant to know with any certainty whether their timing is compliant. Critically, there is no provision addressing what happens if the application is not made within a 'reasonable time' — there is no explicit sanction, no deemed refusal, and no dispensing power, leaving the consequence of non-compliance with this timing requirement legally uncertain."},{"type":"other","section":"sec.10A(2)","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The exhaustive enumeration of rounding tiers stops at $5,000. If schedule 1 fees or fee unit multiplications produce results above this threshold, the regulation provides no answer. This is a logical gap rather than a contradiction, but it creates genuine uncertainty about the operative amount of a mandatory fee, which has rule-of-law implications.","confidence":0.78,"description":"The rounding provisions in sec.10A(2) contain a coverage gap: fees exceeding $5,000 are not covered by any rounding rule. Paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) address amounts up to $100, $100–$1,000, and $1,000–$5,000 respectively. If a fee calculation produces an amount above $5,000, no rounding rule applies, leaving the operative amount uncertain and potentially requiring reference back to the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 s.48C(3) without any local guidance."},{"type":"other","section":"sec.10A(2) — example","severity":"low","reasoning":"While examples in legislation are not operative law, embedding an example that only illustrates the simplest case while leaving the more complex and legally significant cases unillustrated is a drafting peculiarity. The low severity reflects that this is a quality-of-drafting issue rather than a logical flaw with operative legal consequences.","confidence":0.5,"description":"The worked example embedded in sec.10A(2) is mathematically correct on its own terms ($35 × $1.015 = $35.525, rounded to $35.55) but is placed within the substantive operative provisions rather than in a separate example box, giving it an ambiguous legal status. More critically, the example demonstrates a result of $35.525 falling under paragraph (a) (not more than $100, round to nearest 5 cents), which is correct — but the example does not illustrate any of the more complex rounding scenarios in paragraphs (b) or (c), leaving those provisions without practical illustration and the example itself of marginal utility."},{"type":"self_contradicting","section":"sec.4","severity":"medium","reasoning":"The provision purports to make a legislative declaration ('is declared an unsuitable name') but conditions that declaration on executive satisfaction. This is internally inconsistent: a legislative declaration should not be contingent on whether an administrator subjectively reaches a particular view. The practical effect is that two identical names could receive different treatment depending on Registrar satisfaction, undermining the rule-of-law purpose of having a declared class of unsuitable names.","confidence":0.65,"description":"Section 4 declares a name 'unsuitable' if the Registrar 'is satisfied' of the specified conditions, but this is structured as a declaratory rule rather than a discretion. The use of 'is declared an unsuitable name... if the Registrar is satisfied' conflates a legislative declaration (which should be automatic and objective) with an administrative satisfaction test (which is subjective and discretionary). If the name objectively meets the criteria in (a) or (b), it should be unsuitable as a matter of law regardless of whether the Registrar happens to be satisfied — yet the drafting makes unsuitability contingent on Registrar satisfaction, meaning an objectively misleading name would remain permissible if the Registrar is not satisfied it is misleading."}],"contradictions":[{"severity":"low","section_a":"sec.8(1)(b)","section_b":"sec.8(2)","confidence":0.45,"description":"Section 8(1) prescribes the procedure for doing a thing under s.601(1) of the Law (including seeking approval and attending in business hours), while section 8(2) prescribes the 'prescribed fee' for doing that same thing under s.601(5) of the Law. However, s.601(5) defines 'prescribed fee' with a paragraph (b), implying there is at least a paragraph (a) addressing another fee mechanism. Section 8(2) only addresses paragraph (b) of that definition, leaving the relationship between the fee in schedule 1 and whatever paragraph (a) of s.601(5) prescribes potentially contradictory or duplicative without visibility of the parent Law provision."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"sec.10(1)","section_b":"sec.10(2)","confidence":0.58,"description":"Section 10(1) states that fees payable in relation to the administration of the Law are 'stated in schedule 1', creating an impression of exhaustiveness. Section 10(2) then introduces a supplementary regime for 'chargeable matters' under the Corporations Act as applied by the Law, whereby if the fee is not in schedule 1, the Commonwealth Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 fee applies. This means fees payable under the Law are NOT exclusively stated in schedule 1 contrary to the framing of subsection (1), and the 'without limiting' qualifier does not fully resolve the tension because subsection (1) is expressed as a positive statement of where fees are stated, not merely a floor."},{"severity":"low","section_a":"sec.11(2)","section_b":"sec.11(3)","confidence":0.52,"description":"Section 11(2) states the entity 'must pay the late fee stated in schedule 1 for the document', framing payment as mandatory. Section 11(3) states the late fee is payable 'in addition to any penalty imposed under the Law for failure to give or file the document'. However, section 12 empowers the Registrar to waive, refund, or reduce fees — which on its face would include late fees — creating a situation where a fee described as mandatory in sec.11(2) can be reduced to zero by Registrar discretion under sec.12. While sec.12 is a standard waiver power, the absolute mandatory framing of sec.11(2) without any cross-reference to sec.12 creates a textual inconsistency about whether the late fee obligation is truly mandatory."},{"severity":"medium","section_a":"sec.5(b)","section_b":"sec.4(b)","confidence":0.67,"description":"Section 4(b) declares a name unsuitable if it 'is identical to, or closely resembles, the name of another co-operative registered in this jurisdiction or in a participating jurisdiction'. Section 5(b) exempts corporations allowed under State or Commonwealth Acts to use 'co-operative', 'cooperative', 'co-op', or 'coop' in their names from the naming requirements. This creates a potential contradiction: an exempt corporation under sec.5(b) could adopt a name closely resembling a registered co-operative (which would be unsuitable under sec.4(b)), yet be exempt from the provision that would otherwise prohibit it. The interaction between the exemption and the unsuitability declaration is unresolved — it is unclear whether sec.4 applies to exempt entities at all."}]},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"Based on the text provided, the regulation implements procedural and fee details under the Co‑operatives National Law rather than expanding or narrowing its substantive coverage. It prescribes administrative mechanisms (names, forms, fees, rounding, waivers) to operationalise the Law (see secs 4–12, sched 1); no provision in this instrument appears to alter the Law's substantive scope."},"complexity_factors":["Cross‑references to the Co‑operatives National Law and the Regulation throughout (see sec.3 and repeated references in secs 4–12)","Dependence on an external fee schedule for amounts (fees set in schedule 1; secs 8(2), 9(4), 10)","Linkage to other statutes for fee defaults and prescribed entities (Corporations (Fees) Act 2001 for unspecified fees—sec.10; Associations/Financial Intermediaries Acts for transfers—sec.6)","Registrar discretion in key decisions (name unsuitability, exemptions, fee waivers—secs 4, 9, 12) increasing implementation variability","Administrative procedure requirements (approved forms or written requests; business hours for inspections—secs 8, 9)","Specific numeric rounding rules for fees expressed in fee units (sec.10A) and late fee layering with statutory penalties (sec.11)"],"plain_english_summary":"This regulation prescribes administrative rules and fees under the Co-operatives National Law: it sets which names are unsuitable, lists exemptions for using certain words, prescribes entities eligible for transfer, sets procedures for exemptions and register inspection, and fixes fees, fee‑rounding and late‑fee rules. It affects co‑operatives, corporations seeking transfer, applicants for exemptions, people inspecting the register and anyone paying fees. Those parties pay fees and late fees; the Registrar decides on name suitability, exemptions, approvals and fee waivers (see ss 4–12, sched 1)."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/co-operatives-national-law-regulation-2020","history":"/api/acts/co-operatives-national-law-regulation-2020/history","analysis":"/api/acts/co-operatives-national-law-regulation-2020/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/co-operatives-national-law-regulation-2020/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/co-operatives-national-law-regulation-2020/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/co-operatives-national-law-regulation-2020/documents"}}