Co-operatives national law
Learn about the Co-operatives National Law, its implementation across Australia, and how NSW leads the national regulatory project.
Aims of the Co-operatives National Law
States and territories have uniform national laws for co-operatives.
The Co-operatives National Law (CNL) aims to cut red tape and costs for co-operatives. Co-operatives can easily do business across different states or territories and don't have to register in each jurisdiction.
Smaller co-operatives no longer need to lodge publicly available accounts. They only need to report finances to members.
Commencement in NSW
The CNL commenced in NSW on 3 March 2014.
The NSW CNL laws consist of 4 pieces of legislation:
- Co-operatives (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012
- Co-operatives National Law (NSW) (CNL)
- Co-operatives National Regulations (NSW) (CNR)
- Co-operatives (New South Wales) Regulation 2020 (Local Regulations)
Go to the Co-operatives legislation page for more information about the NSW CNL laws.
Commencement in other states and territories
See the table below for dates. The co-operative laws in the other states and territories using the CNL also comprise 4 laws. They are:
- their enabling Act
- the CNL
- the CNR, and
- their Local Regulations.
Australian Uniform Co-operative Laws Agreement
The Australian Uniform Co-operative Laws Agreement (AUCLA) sets out several functions to be carried out by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Legislative and Governance Forum on Consumer Affairs (CAF). This forum consists of the Ministers responsible for consumer protection and co-operatives legislation in each of the states and territories.
AUCLA provides for the development of uniform laws and administration to regulate co-operatives. States and Territories have developed the CNL as the principal uniform legislation to regulate co-operatives. They may use the uniform legislation or alternative legislation consistent with the uniform template law.
Implementation of CNL
The CNL was implemented as a staged process, with each state or territory commencing its CNL or consistent co-operatives laws when its legislation (i.e. enabling laws and Local Regulations) and supporting arrangements were put in place.
States and territories‘ CNL start dates or consistent laws are listed in the following table. The Co-operatives Acts and their supporting Regulations for these jurisdictions were repealed upon commencement of the CNL in the particular state or territory.
| State or territory | Start date | Supporting and contact information for a jurisdiction's CNL or consistent co-operatives laws |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | 3/3/2014
| NSW is the lead (host) jurisdiction for the AUCLA and CNL. Enabling law: Co-operatives (Adoption of National Law) Act 2012 (NSW) Email: registryinquiries@customerservice.nsw.gov.au Phone: NSW Fair Trading 1800 502 042 |
| VIC | 3/3/2014 | Enabling law: Co-operatives National Law Application Act 2013 (Vic) For more information about the Vic CNL and co-operatives based in Vic, see: Consumer Affairs Victoria - Co-operatives. Phone: Consumer Affairs Victoria 1300 55 81 81 |
| SA | 22/5/2015 | Enabling law: Co-operatives National Law (South Australia) Act 2013 For more information about the SA CNL and co-operatives based in SA, see Consumer and Business Services Email:associations@sa.gov.au Phone: Consumer and Business Services 131 882 |
| NT | 1/7/2015 | Enabling law: Co-operatives (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2015 (NT) For more information about the NT CNL and co-operatives based in NT, see the Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade - Occupational Licensing and Associations Website:Cooperatives | NT.GOV.AU |
| TAS | 1/9/2015 | Enabling law: Co-operatives National Law (Tasmania) Act 2015 For more information about the Tas CNL and co-operatives based in Tas, see Co-operatives (cbos.tas.gov.au) Email:cbos.info@justice.tas.gov.au Phone: Consumer Building and Operational Services 1300 654 499 |
| WA | 1/1/2017 | Consistent co-operatives law: Co-operatives Act 2009 (WA) as amended by the Co-operatives Amendment Act 2016 (WA) For more information about the WA consistent co-operatives legislation and co-operatives based in WA, see WA Department of Commerce Email:cooperatives@demirs.wa.gov.au Phone: WA Department of Commerce 1300 304 054 |
| ACT | 1/5/2017 | Enabling law: Co-operatives National Law (ACT) Act 2017 For more information about the ACT CNL and co-operatives based in the ACT, see Co-operative registration - Access Canberra (act.gov.au) Phone: Access Canberra 13 22 81 |
| QLD | 1/12/2020 | Enabling law: Co-operatives National Law Act 2020 (Qld) For more on the Queensland CNL and co-operatives based in Queensland, see the Office of Fair Trading Queensland - Co-operatives |