Registering an industrial and provident society

Which societies qualify for registration

1. A society whose business is to be conducted:
   • mainly for the purpose of improving the conditions of living or otherwise promoting the social well-being of members of the working classes, or
   • otherwise for the benefit of the community.
   And there are therefore special reasons why the society should be registered under the Act rather than as a company under the Companies Act 1993.
   OR
2. A society which is a bona fide co-operative society.
   A bona fide co-operative society cannot carry on, or intend to carry on, business with the object of making profits mainly for the payment of interest, dividends, or bonuses on money invested or deposited with, or lent to, the society or any other person.

The information you need to provide

• Proposed name.
  • Your society’s name must end with the words “Society Limited”. 
  • It may also include the word “Co-operative” if it is a bona fide co-operative society.
  • It cannot be the same as any other society, company or organisation (or so closely resembling it as to cause confusion). If your society’s name is similar to that of an existing organisation, you need to provide us with their written consent when you apply.
  • You can check if your name is available using the ONECheck tool offered by business.govt.nz. Note that this is a preliminary check and not final.
    ONECheck
• Addresses.
  • Registered office address
  • Postal address, and
  • Email address for communications.
• Balance date.
• Names, addresses and signatures of 7 members plus the secretary.
• A copy of your society’s rules.

What must be included in the rules

Schedule 2 of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act 1908 (the Act) specifies what must be included in your society’s rules.

1. Object and name of the society and the location of its registered office.
2. Terms of admission of members, including any society or company investing funds under section 10(c) or (d) of the Act.
3. Mode of holding meetings, and right of voting and of making, altering, and rescinding the registered rules.
4. Appointment and removal of a committee of management, a secretary and managers or other officers, and their respective powers and remuneration.
5. Determination of the amount of interest in the shares of the industrial and provident society that any member other than another registered society may hold.
6. Determination whether the shares or any number of them shall be transferable; and, if so, provision for the form of transfer and registration of the shares, and for the consent of the committee; and, if it is determined that the shares or any of them can be surrendered, provision for paying the balance due on them when a member withdraws from the society.
7. Provision for auditing the accounts.
8. Determination whether and how members may withdraw from the society, and provisions for the claims of executors or administrators of deceased members, or trustees of the property of bankrupt members.
9. How profits are to be applied.
10. Provision for the custody and use of the common seal that must show the registered name.
11. Determination whether and by what authority, and in what manner, any part of the society's funds may be invested.

Application form

Complete this application form and upload it online.

File formats for uploading documents

• clear and easily read
• saved in PDF format, and
• no larger than 20MB.

How to apply online

You will need a RealMe® login.

If it is your first time registering an industrial and provident society with us or updating details for another society, you will be prompted for information to set up an online account with us.

For help check our guides

Step by step

1. Select the option below ‘Apply to register your industrial and provident society’
2. Log in using your RealMe login.
3. Enter the society’s name.
4. Upload the documents, including your:
   • Application form, and
   • Rules document.
5. Submit your application.

Register a new society

We will send you an email confirming that your application has been submitted. We will then review your application and contact you if we have any questions or need any further information.

If we accept your application, we will email you to confirm that your industrial and provident society has been registered. If we reject your application, we will email you and outline the reasons why.

You can check the status of your application by logging into the Industrial and Provident Societies Register. Choose the ‘Filing Services’ option to view any applications that are in progress. If your application status shows as ‘Draft’ you can edit or discard it by choosing the drop-down arrow alongside the filing service.

Check the status of an update

Last updated September 2025