How can I access the full or concise report of a registered organisation?

In Plain English:

If you're a member of a registered organisation or its reporting unit, you're entitled to receive either a full report (including the auditor's report, financial report, and operating report) or a concise report for the financial year, free of charge. The reporting unit has specific timeframes to provide these reports, generally tied to when a general meeting is held to consider them. If you request the full report after initially receiving a concise one, the reporting unit must provide it to you within 28 days. Also, the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 allows you to inspect statements lodged by the organisation with the FWC, such as particulars of loans, grants, and donations exceeding $1,000.

Detailed Explanation:

Members of a reporting unit have specific rights to access financial reports under the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009.

1. Access to Reports:

   • A reporting unit must provide its members, free of charge, with either a full report or a concise report (Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 section 265(1)).
   • A full report includes the auditor's report, the general purpose financial report, and the operating report (Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 section 265(1)(a)).
   • A concise report must comply with subsection 265(3) of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009, including a concise financial report, the operating report, a statement by the auditor, and a statement that the full report is available upon request.

2. Timing of Report Provision:

   • If a general meeting is held within 6 months after the end of the financial year to consider the reports, the reports must be provided within the period starting at the end of the financial year and ending 21 days before that meeting (Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 section 265(5)(a)).
   • In any other case, the reports must be provided within 5 months starting at the end of the financial year (Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 section 265(5)(b)). The General Manager may extend these periods by no more than one month.

3. Request for Full Report:

   • If a member initially receives a concise report and then requests a copy of the full report and auditor's report, the reporting unit must send those reports to the member within 28 days of the request (Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 section 265(4)).

4. Publication in Journal:

   • A reporting unit may comply with its obligation to provide reports by publishing the full report or a concise report in a journal of the reporting unit that is available to members free of charge (Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 section 265(6)).

5. Inspection of Statements Lodged with the FWC:

   • A member of the organisation can inspect statements lodged with the FWC under section 237 of the Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009, which include particulars of loans, grants, and donations exceeding $1,000, during office hours (Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 section 237(4)).

Non-compliance with these provisions can result in civil penalties (Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 section 265(1), (4), (5)).