Changing Your Association’s Year End in Queensland

A Plain-English Guide to Form 8 and Approval

Many Queensland incorporated associations eventually realise their current year end does not work anymore.

Common examples:

• A 31 December year end that does not line up with school terms

• A 31 March or 30 September year end that does not match grant cycles

• An AGM date that constantly feels rushed or too late

Under the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld) you can change your association’s financial year end – but you must follow the correct process, update your rules, and lodge the right form with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).

This post walks through the key steps in plain English.

1. Start with your rules – and remember the Act always wins

Your association’s rules (or constitution) will include a rule that sets the end of your financial year. In the current model rules, this is Rule 48 – Financial year, which simply states that the end date is a particular day in each year.

The Office of Fair Trading’s model rules also include a clear note that if there is any clash between your rules and the Act, the Act prevails. This reflects section 1D of the Act.

In practice, this means:

• Your association can change its year end by amending the financial year rule, but

• The change must be consistent with the Act, and

• The amendment is not effective until it is registered with OFT (via Form 8).

2. Passing a special resolution to change the year end

Changing the financial year end is an amendment to your rules. Under the Act, any amendment to the rules must be passed by special resolution and then registered.

In simple terms, the steps are:

1. Draft the change

   • Decide on the new financial year end date (for example, changing from 31 December to 30 June).

   • Update the rule in your draft rules or rule amendment to show the new date.

2. Call a general meeting

   • Provide written notice of the meeting and clearly state that a special resolution to amend the rules (to change the financial year end) will be considered.

3. Pass the special resolution

   • At the meeting, members vote.

   • At least 75% of the members present and entitled to vote must vote in favour for it to pass as a special resolution.

4. Record the decision in the minutes

   • The resolution and the new year-end date should be clearly recorded in the minutes for your records and for OFT.

3. Lodging Form 8 with the Office of Fair Trading

Once the special resolution has passed, you must lodge Form 8 – Application to register an amendment of rules with the Office of Fair Trading.

Form 8:

• Is used to register any amendment of rules under section 48 of the Act

• Includes a specific note that, for associations using the model rules, one allowed amendment is changing the “end of financial year date”

• Requires you to attach either:

  • The specific amendment, or

  • A full copy of the rules showing the amendment clearly (for example, with the new date in bold).

In the appendix to Form 8, you will also see that the financial year rule asks you to insert the end date of the association’s financial year (“The end date of the association’s financial year is [insert date] in each year”).

There is also a statutory declaration in Form 8, where the secretary confirms that the association has followed the Act and its rules in passing the special resolution.

4. How long can the “transition” period be?

When you change your financial year end, you will have a one-off transition period between the old year end and the new year end. The Act uses the term “reportable financial year” and sets rules so that this transitional period is not too short or too long.

In broad terms:

• If the new end date is 15 months or less after the old end date, that whole period will usually be treated as a single reportable financial year.

• If the new end date is more than 15 months after the old end date, the Act will effectively treat this as two reportable financial years, so you do not end up with an extra-long period.

The key point in plain English:

The law stops the first “new” period being longer than 15 months.

Most associations will pick a clean 12-month period (for example, moving to 1 July – 30 June) so this transitional rule is simple in practice.

5. When does the change actually take effect?

The change to your financial year end:

• Does not take effect when the members pass the special resolution alone.

• It becomes effective only when OFT registers the amendment to your rules under section 48 of the Act.

Until OFT approves and registers the amendment:

• Your association’s existing financial year end in the rules still applies.

• You should continue planning AGMs, reporting and audits based on the existing date.

6. Why committees ask about this (and where to learn more)

Changing the year end is a very common question we receive from:

• P&F’s and school-based associations

• Sporting clubs and community groups

• Cultural associations and charities

Committees often want to:

• Line up the year end with grant reporting deadlines

• Make the AGM easier to manage

• Avoid having their “busy season” at the same time as school holidays or major events

We publish weekly posts on our website and LinkedIn explaining practical governance topics like this in Year 7 English, including financial reporting levels, model rules updates, and AGM timing.

7. Need help or an independent review?

If your association is:

• Thinking about changing its financial year end, and

• Wants to understand the impact on its audit or review, AGM timing, and reporting obligations,

we can help you work through:

• The wording of the rule change

• The timing of the special resolution and AGM

• How the transitional reporting period will work in practice

• Any flow-on impact for your next audit or review

We offer fixed-fee, two-week-turnaround audits and reviews for Queensland incorporated associations and community organisations.