A recent newsletter from RAINEY COLLINS LAWYERS discussed the above topic. The article starts:
“There are some key differences between charitable trusts and incorporated societies. Which entity works best for you will depend on the type and goals of your organisation.
Incorporated society
An incorporated society is a membership-based organisation.
Incorporated societies must be registered under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 (or under the previous legislation up until 6 April 2026) and exist for a lawful purpose other than making a profit. This means that the members of the Society cannot make a profit from being members of the Society. Rather, any profit must go back into the Society or benefit the Society’s purposes.
An incorporated society, once registered, is its own legal entity. This means that its members and officers can change without having to change the registered ownership of property it holds. Further, this means that the society is legally liable, rather than its individual members or officers. An incorporated society must have a minimum of 10 members at all times (members which are organisations are counted as 3 members for reaching that minimum) …”