Friendly societies

A friendly society is formed to provide for, by voluntary subscription of members or the aid of donations, the relief or maintenance of members and their families during sickness, old age or in widowhood. 

Friendly Societies are not corporate bodies.  They are registered under the Friendly Societies & Credit Unions Act 1982.

• Incorporation information
• Filing obligations after incorporation
• Removing a friendly society from the Register
  

Incorporation information

1. Who may apply?

Societies are established for:

• any purposes set out in the First Schedule of the Friendly Societies and Credit Unions Act 1982.  For example, providing benefit due to sickness, to cover medical expenses etc - called friendly societies
• benevolent or charitable purposes – called benevolent societies
• the purpose of social interaction, mutual helpfulness etc - called working men’s clubs
• purposes authorised by the Minister. 

An application must include at least seven adult members.

2. What needs to be filed?

• An application signed by seven adult members and the secretary
• a copy of the rules of the society (signed by the applicants)
• a list of committee members, officers and trustees.

The rules must include those matters mentioned in Second Schedule.

Rates of contributions for any benefits must first be certified by an actuary as being appropriate, unless the Regulations exempt the society from this.  A society will need to choose an actuary to act on their behalf - your accountant should be able to recommend an appropriate person.

3. What fees are involved?

The fee for registering as a Friendly Society is NZ$800.

Filing obligations after incorporation

Friendly Societies are required to file:

• An annual return and financial statements within three months of balance date.  The filing fee differs for Friendly Societies as follows:
  • Friendly Society - NZ$2 for every NZ$1,000 of total assets.
    A minimum payment of NZ$160 and a maximum payment of NZ$2,000
    (for example, NZ$200,000 of total assets = NZ$400 filing fee).

  • Branch of a Friendly Society - same as above unless the branch figures are comprised in the main society annual return (consolidated society annual return) – if so, the filing fee is NZ$80 per branch.

  • UFS Dispensary – filing fee NZ$200

  • Workingmen's Club – filing fee NZ$200

• Rule or trust deed changes
• Change of entity details such as name, address etc
• Changes of trustees
• Dissolution and amalgamation documents
• Annual financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Act 1993.

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What information is required in the annual return?

Annual return forms are available from the Forms and Fees section of this website.

There are two forms for Friendly Societies and each form specifies what information needs to be included. 

• For UFS Dispensary or Workingmen’s Clubs, download the UFS Dispensary/WMC Annual return form [123 kB PDF]. 
• For all other Friendly Societies, refer to the Friendly Society – Annual Return form [145 kB PDF]. 
  

Are there any exemptions from filing financial statements?

No.  It is a legislative requirement that all friendly societies must file an annual return and financial statements within three months of balance date.

Apart from the cost, are the filing requirements the same for Friendly Societies, Benevolent Societies, UFS Dispensary and Workingmen’s Clubs?

Although there are two different annual return forms, the filing requirements are the same.

How do you distinguish between a UFS Dispensary and a Workingmen’s Club?

A UFS Dispensary will have 'UFS Dispensary' in its title.  A Workingmen’s Club will almost always have 'WMC' or 'Workingmen’s Club' in its title.  However some friendly societies do not. 

In order to determine whether a friendly society is a Workingmen’s Club you will need to look at the rules.  The objectives should clearly state that the friendly society is 'to promote social interaction between members'.

Removing a friendly society from the register

There are several ways a friendly society can be removed from the Register. 

• The society may be dissolved by:
  • the happening of event declared in the rules to terminate the society
  • a minimum of 75% of members signing instrument of dissolution
  • award of the Registrar under section 95 of the Friendly Societies and Credit Unions Act 1982
• The Registrar may cancel or suspend registration under section 92 of the Friendly Societies and Credit Unions Act 1982
• Amalgamation or transfer of engagements to another society/branch in accordance with section 83 of the Friendly Societies and Credit Unions Act 1982.