It can be wound up.
Its assets can be transferred to other churches.
The CFO is a group of incorporated associations.
They are registered with state-based departments, e.g., the Office of Fair Trading (Qld).
The Queensland-based CFOs are registered under the Associations Incorporations Act
1981 (the Act).
Importantly, the Act requires all associations to act in the public interest, elsewhere, on this website:
• We detail what we call the ostracization policy of the CFO.
• We point out Governance practices which we feel may breach ACNC’s
The way the CFO uses private information and
The process of re-election of committee members.
When all of these issues are considered together, we are concerned the CFO may not be ‘Acting in the Public Interest’.
The online survey on this website asks questions about your experience with each of the
above issues.
The creators of this website are calling for an investigation to determine if the CFO is
Acting in the Public Interest.
By completing the survey, you will be helping the Office of Fair Trading form their own
view.
Can the CFO be wound up for not acting in the public interest?
Yes, the Act says in Section 93 (We’ve added underlining for emphasis)
‘93 Cancellation of incorporation by chief executive-generally
‘…where the chief executive has reasonable cause to believe that on any one or more of the following grounds:
‘…in the opinion of the chief executive, circumstances exist which, in the public interest, justify the cancellation of the incorporation of an
incorporated association;’
‘…the chief executive may serve a notice… setting out the ground or grounds for the proposed cancellation.’ and
requiring the relevant officer within 1 month from the date of the notice to satisfy the chief executive why the incorporation of the incorporated association should not be cancelled; and ‘If the chief executive is not satisfied…, the chief executive shall cancel
the incorporation of the incorporated association.’ Can the CFO’s assets be taken and given to other churches?
Yes, the Act says in Section 93 (We’ve added underlining for emphasis) ‘…upon the winding up of an incorporated association,’
‘the chief executive may, by gazette, notice vest all or any of the surplus
assets of the incorporated association in the public trustee; and’ ‘the chief executive may, by gazette, notice… vest those surplus assets or
any part of them in stated entities for stated purposes;’
The stated entities are the churches that would receive the assets formerly owned by the CFO.
‘In this section, surplus assets means, in relation to the incorporated association, the assets after payment of the debts and liabilities remaining on a winding up of the incorporated association and the costs, charges and
expenses of the winding up.’
Your answers to the online survey question will help start an investigation into whether the CFO is acting in the public interest.
