Co-Operatives National Regulation (Queensland)

For the purposes of the definition of small co-operative in section 4 of the Law, a co-operative is a small co-operative for a financial year if:

it satisfies at least 2 of the following subparagraphs:

the consolidated revenue of the co-operative and the entities it controls (if any) is less than $8 million for the financial year;

the value of the consolidated gross assets and the entities it controls (if any) is less than $4 million at the end of the financial year;

the co-operative and the entities it controls (if any) had fewer than 30 employees at the end of the financial year;

it is a co-operative declared under subregulation (5) to be a small co-operative for the financial year (regardless of whether or not subregulation (2) would apply to the co-operative).

This subregulation applies to a co-operative for a financial year for the purposes of this regulation, if:

it issues shares to more than 20 prospective members during that year and the amount raised in that year by the issue of those shares exceeds $2 million; or

it has securities on issue to non-members during that year, other than:

shares in the co-operative; and

securities issued in respect of the co-operative’s obligations under section 163 of the Law.

In counting employees for the purposes of this regulation, part-time employees are to be taken into account as an appropriate fraction of a full-time equivalent.

Consolidated revenue and the value of consolidated gross assets are to be calculated for the purposes of this regulation in accordance with accounting standards in force at the relevant time (even if the standard does not otherwise apply to the financial year of some or all of the entities concerned).

On application by a co-operative, the Registrar may, for the purposes of a financial year, declare the co-operative to be a small co-operative, but the Registrar may make the declaration only if satisfied that unusual and non-recurring circumstances have occurred that warrant doing so.

An application by a co-operative to the Registrar for a declaration under subregulation (5) must be made within 5 months after the end of the financial year.