ONE of Western Australia’s largest Aboriginal organisations has come back from a damaging federal government review and received a clean report card from the official regulator.
Earlier this year, the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations found Gumala Aboriginal Corporation had breached a number of compliance standards under the Corporations Act.
The breaches included signing for loans worth more than $47,000 – some of which were never repaid – without the appropriate approvals.
Registrar delegate Ruth Jones also found that, during the September 2011 quarter alone, credit card spending of about $95,000 was not properly accounted for.
Gumala was also reprimanded for appointing Guy Parker as a director while he was an undischarged bankrupt – despite his appointment lasting little more than one month.
After months of monitoring by the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Affairs, Gumala has now satisfied the regulator that its processes have been improved.
In a letter to Gumala, registrar delegate Anthony Bevan said all requirements of the regulator’s initial concerns had been met.
“The changes that have now been implemented will lead to improved corporate governance and improved services to members,” the letter says.
Gumala’s budget increased from $2 million to $20 million during the past four years, which chief executive officer Steve Mav said had contributed to lax governance.
“GAC grew so rapidly over this time, to a point where some processes and procedures were in some cases unable to keep up with the rapid growth of our organisation,” he said.
“We have now resolved these issues and we are now fully compliant.”
It’s the second time Gumala has come under fire from the registrar; in 2009 it received a notice stating it was non-compliant with directives under the Act. It subsequently rectified the issues highlighted and said the changes had helped it improve the level of support given to members.
Gumala had also suffered from a split in its board of directors, which the corporation itself admitted was not willing to work together.
Board elections were held in April to rectify the issues and Stephen Peterson appointed as new chairman in June.
Mr Peterson said the tick of approval from the regulator proved Gumala’s dedication to strong corporate governance.
“Now that we have met the requirements and expectations of ORIC raised in the notice, we will be able to continue to get on with our core work,” he said in a statement.
