Changing your organisation's name
If you wish to change your group's name though, be prepared. Names are one of the very few things about not-for-profits that government regulators take seriously.
There are plenty of reasons your board might decide to change your group's name.
It might be that the name is out of date, or doesn't reflect the societal standards of the current time.
Your group's name might be out of style, may not reflect your group's current direction or work, and may even be a handicap to fundraising.
You don't have to tell them about spending money or disciplining members or changing your client criteria, but you do have to tell them about changing your name.
While the precise rules for this differ slightly from state to state, the basic mechanism is that you:
- Pass a resolution at a general meeting (under the general meeting rules in your constitution) and then,
- Forward that on to the relevant authority - which is the one that authorised you to be an association in the first place, which also differs from state to state.
In addition, it is a good idea to give that relevant authority a call and check if there is any fee for the name change.
Below, we've listed the various rules and regulations that govern name changes across the different states of Australia. Also included in the tabs are the names of the relevant Acts that cover the issue in each state.