Regions
Queensland corporations
Queensland is not one region. Cape York, the Torres Strait and the north each have their own representative bodies and their own histories, and a corporation’s obligations to the Registrar are identical across all of them. Both halves of that matter.
Three regions, one reporting framework
Cape York Land Council is the representative body for the Cape, and is itself a corporation registered under the CATSI Act, with a board of 17 elected directors, each representing one of the communities in the Cape. North Queensland Land Council covers its own region.
The Torres Strait is different again. Gur A Baradharaw Kod Sea and Land Council took over the native title representative body function from the Torres Strait Regional Authority in July 2022, and is the peak body of all Torres Strait PBCs. That is recent enough that some corporations are still working through what it means for them.
Checked against Queensland Government — Native title representative bodies, .
None of that changes what you lodge with ORIC. The CATSI Act framework is national: a general report every year, and the rest depending on your registered size and income. See ORIC reporting and the reporting checker.
Land, and what it does to your size
Queensland corporations frequently hold land. RNTBCs may hold Aboriginal freehold, and land is often the corporation’s largest asset by a wide margin.
That matters more than boards expect, because consolidated gross assets is one of the three criteria that decide registered size, and size decides which reports you lodge and whether you need an audit. A corporation with modest income and significant land can sit in a larger reporting category than its cash position suggests. See small, medium or large?
Working with Queensland corporations from Adelaide
We are not in Queensland. We work remotely, which for reporting, bookkeeping and board support is not usually a constraint. Where it is, we will say so.
Where a corporation already works with its land council, a funder or lawyers, we work alongside them rather than duplicating what they do. In the Cape and the Torres Strait especially, the representative bodies are doing capacity and governance work that we have no interest in competing with.
PBCs and native title money
Where a Queensland corporation holds native title, the accounting questions follow the same lines as anywhere: keeping native title money separate, recording the decisions alongside it, and understanding that the benefit is generally not assessable while income earned from investing it is. See PBC accounting and the tax treatment.
Frequently asked questions
Do you work with Torres Strait corporations?
Yes. The Torres Strait has its own representative arrangements — Gur A Baradharaw Kod Sea and Land Council took over the native title representative body function from the Torres Strait Regional Authority in July 2022, and is the peak body for Torres Strait PBCs. The CATSI Act reporting framework is the same as anywhere else.
Is Queensland one region for native title purposes?
No, and that trips people up. Cape York Land Council, North Queensland Land Council and the Torres Strait body cover different areas with different histories. A corporation in the Cape and one in the Torres Strait operate in quite different contexts, even though their ORIC obligations are identical.
Are you based in Queensland?
No — we are in Adelaide and work with Queensland corporations remotely. For most of this work that is not a constraint, and we will tell you when it is.
Our corporation holds Aboriginal freehold land. Does that change our reporting?
It can affect your size. Consolidated gross assets is one of the three criteria that decide whether a corporation is small, medium or large — and size decides which reports you lodge and whether an audit is required. A corporation that is modest on income but holds significant land can sit in a larger category than its bank balance suggests.