Access to Society Records Decision
📌 In brief
A member of a society requested access to certain records under the Societies Act. The Civil Resolution Tribunal decided that the society must provide access to financial statements and specific records to the member.
⚖️ Legal holding
Members of a society are entitled to access financial statements and certain records under the Societies Act.
📖 Technical summary
The claimant sought access to records from the respondent society under the Societies Act. The CRT ordered the society to provide certain records.
📚 Full judgment
The summary, holding and questions above are VadeLab’s own material. The official decision itself is published by the court, and we do not reproduce it on this page.
⚖️ What tends to weigh in cases like this
✅ Tends to be accepted
- The applicants were members at the time they made the record requests, so their entitlement to records is determined by their member status at that time, not by their current status.
- Under section 24(1) of the Societies Act, a member has a right to access financial statements, so the society must provide access to financial statements from 2014 to 2019.
- The society's bylaws do not limit member access to adequate accounting records, so the society must provide access to general ledgers from April 2023 to December 2023 and accounting records from 2014 to 2019.
- The society admitted it could not locate some records and did not record director resolutions in writing, which indicates it may not have maintained records as required by section 20 of the Societies Act.
❌ Tends to be rejected
- The applicants argued that the Strata Property Act should be used to determine what constitutes accounting records, including bank statements and cancelled cheques, but the tribunal rejected this, finding that cancelled cheques are not included in accounting records under section 20(2)(c).
- The applicants claimed that the society intentionally delayed providing records by refusing registered mail and failing to comply until the Registrar's correspondence, but the tribunal found the evidence did not establish these events or intentional delay.
Patterns observed in similar cases in this collection — every case is unique.
❓ Frequently asked questions
What did this decision decide?
The decision ordered the society to provide access to financial statements and certain records to its members.
How did the court decide, and why?
The court decided that the society must provide the requested records because the member had a right to access them under the Societies Act.
Which laws or rules were applied?
The Societies Act, sections 20 and 24 were applied.
What was the argument that mattered most?
The argument that mattered most was that the member had a right to access certain records under the Societies Act.
Was the decision for or against the person who brought the case?
The decision was for the person who brought the case.
What does this mean for someone in a similar situation?
Someone in a similar situation may be entitled to access certain records from their society under the Societies Act.
What evidence or documents mattered?
The judgment does not specify the exact evidence or documents that mattered.