Every one of New Zealand’s approximately 24,000 incorporated societies will need to review their constitutions in the transition to the new regime. The Incorporated Societies Act is expected to come into force on 5 October 2023. Join Sue Barker, be guided through a comprehensive examination of the key issues and implications of the Act, and what you need to understand when the time comes to re-register your society & revise your constitution. Make sure you are prepared fully for the new regime. 

Presenters

Ms. Sue Barker, Director, Sue Barker Charities Law
Sue Barker is the director of Sue Barker Charities Law, a boutique law firm based in Wellington, specialising in charities law and public tax law. Since its founding in 2012, the firm has won a number of awards, including Boutique Law Firm of the Year at the New Zealand Law Awards. Sue is a member of Charities Services’ Sector Group and a member of the Core Reference Group for the review of the Charities Act. Sue is also a co-author of the text The Law and Practice of Charities in New Zealand (LexisNexis, 2013) and a contributor to a number of texts, including Charity Law: Exploring the Concept of Public Benefit (Routledge, 2022), Regulating Charities: the Inside Story (Routledge, 2017) and Governance and Regulation of Charities: International and Comparative Perspectives (Edward Elgar, forthcoming). In 2019, Sue was awarded the New Zealand Law Foundation International Research Fellowship Te Karahipi Rangahau ā Taiao, to undertake research into the question “What does a world-leading framework of charities law look like?”. The report Focus on purpose was released in April 2022 making 70 recommendations for charities law reform in Aotearoa New Zealand. More information about Sue and the research can be found at www.charitieslaw.co and www.charitieslawreform.nz


Ms. Pam Davidson, Barrister, Lambton Chambers
Pam Davidson is a barrister practising from Lambton Chambers in Wellington. Her areas of expertise include taxation, public law and the law governing charities and non-profits. She is the author of Taxation of Property Transactions in New Zealand (Thomson Reuters, 2016) and a member of the Tax Law Committee of the New Zealand Law Society. Pam chaired the Legalwise updates on Charities and Not-For-Profits law in March 2023 and March 2020 and chaired the New Zealand Law Society’s Tax Conference in September 2020. She also presented on judicial review in tax matters at the Legalwise judicial review update in February 2021 and on tax issues at the Legalwise Charities NFP and Social Enterprise update webinar in March 2022. She has written articles on various aspects of tax and charities law. She has advised on and acted as counsel in a wide variety of tax, public law and other civil litigation matters. Pam graduated LLB from the University of Canterbury in 1982 and completed an LLM from Victoria University of Wellington in 1994.