The Corporations, Partnerships, Associations and Trusts
Registration Division was established under Section 11A of the
Public Service Act 2016 on 14th May 2021 as per Gazette No.
333/2021. Evidently, this is a very young Section of DJBC.
Therefore, it is important to firstly understand its significance
in order to comprehend its function.
A corporation is a separate legal entity that has the same
rights as a natural person and can incur debt, sue and be sued. It
is a complex business structure with higher set up costs and
administrative costs. Officers of the corporation are obliged to
comply with corporation laws such as the Corporations Act 1972 and
Corporations (Forms and Fees) Regulations 2018.
A partnership is an association of people who carry on a
business as partners or receive income jointly. It is relatively
inexpensive to set up and operate whereby control or management of
the business is shared and you and your business partner(s) are
personally liable for all debts and obligations of the
business.
A trust is an obligation imposed on a person known as the
trustee who can be a company or a natural person. A trustee holds
property or assets for the benefit of others who are known as
beneficiaries. Operating a business as a trust means that the
trustee is legally responsible for the trust's operations.
The Division is responsible for the registration, supervision,
enforcement and control of corporations, partnerships, associations
and trusts in the Republic. It includes the:
- Corporations subdivision;
- Partnerships subdivision;
- Associations subdivision; and
- Trusts subdivision.
The Division is an administrative filing agency with 2 main
functions:
- formalising the legal standing of a corporation, partnership,
association and trust by accepting and indexing the filing or
registration; and
- supplying information and certification of a corporation,
partnership, association and trust.
The powers of the Registrars of the various subdivisions is
vested in the Secretary for Justice. This has been set forth under
the following legislation:
- Partnership Act 2018;
- Trusts Act 2018 and Trusts (Forms and Fees) Regulations 2018;
and
- Registration of Associations Act 2020 and Registration of
Associations (Forms and Fees) Regulations 2020.
Our Team
| Position |
Name |
| Registrar for Corporations |
Jay Udit |
| Deputy Registrar for Corporations |
Vacant |
| Paralegal (Corporations, Partnerships, Associations and Trust
Registration) |
Vacant |
Objectives
- Provide Corporations, Partnerships, Associations and Trusts
with the legal right to operate in the Republic.
Motivation
Business is about customer relations.
Strategic Plan Priority Area 4: Cost Cutting
Sectors
Econ-Goal 5
Promote development of small and micro enterprises, foreign
investment and economic integration into the global economy.
Cross-Goal 2
Strengthen Parliament, audit, justice, law, order and border
control.
Achievements
The establishment of the Corporations, Partnerships,
Associations and Trusts Registration Division is in itself a great
achievement. Before the creation of the Division, the registrations
were handled by the Business Registration, Business Licencing,
Security Licencing, Import Licensing and Beneficial Ownership
Registration Division.
DJBC saw the need to create a specific section to put in place a
specific and comprehensive process for the registration of
corporations, partnerships and associations as well as trusts by
incorporating a much required structure for efficient
operation.
Since June 2020 until to date, 9 new corporations have been
registered and 28 corporation certificates have been renewed. In
summary, 37 corporation certificates have been issued for this
reporting year with a total revenue of AUD120,000.
The Division provides a service to the people of Nauru and other
potential clients with access and opportunity to other avenues of
business opportunities which is envisaged to enhance and support
micro business development which in turn will contribute to the
macro business environment and impact the general business
cycle.
Way Forward
- The Corporations, Partnerships, Associations and Trusts
Registration Division, as a new Section of DJBC will mainly focus
on recruiting new officers for the newly established positions of a
Deputy Registrar and a paralegal.
- Capacity building and policy development for the smooth
operations of the Division are on the priority list to ensure that
the service is productive, efficient and sufficient.
- Awareness programs are part of the plan that is being
formulated such as information sessions and workshops to advise key
stakeholders and relevant agencies so that there is sensible
collaboration and cooperation on registering companies,
partnerships, associations and trusts.
- A suitable monitoring and evaluation mechanism will be put in
place to identify gaps and challenges that may emerge and enable
the tailoring of feasible solutions of any issues.
- 100% service delivery is the target of the Division to cater
for valuable clients.