Fears Grow That 75% Of Incorporated Community Sport Groups Under 1908 Act May Be Dissolved By April 2026

New analysis undertaken by the New Zealand Amateur Sport Association, suggests that around 75% of incorporated community sport organisations (ICSOs) currently registered under the 1908 Act could be dissolved in April 2026, if the current low ICSO reregistration rate continues.

Between 25 April 2025 (when the Association last analysed ICSO re-registration rates) and 3 July 2025 (a period of 47 working days), the Association has calculated that only around 280 ICSOs have re-registered under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022.

Based on the Association’s analysis of the Register of Incorporated Societies, more than 75% of currently registered ICSOs (currently registered under the repealed 1908 Act and the new 2022 Act), are still to re register under the 2022 Act.

There are only 189 working days left before the auto-dissolution date of 5 April 2026 (when ICSOs which fail to re-register will lose their incorporated status), meaning that (on average), more than 20 incorporated community sport organisations will need to re-register every working day between now and then, if the current number of ICSOs operating in New Zealand are to continue to exist.

Based on the average number of re-registrations over the past 47 days (if that rate is maintained), this means that on 6 April 2026 (the day after final re-registrations will be accepted by the Registrar of Incorporated Societies), around 75% of incorporated community sport organisations currently registered under the 1908 Act will be automatically dissolved.

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Even if that dire prediction does not eventuate, a 50% (or even a 30%) dissolution rate could still be a disaster for community sport in New Zealand.

(The overall re-registration for all incorporated societies continues to be worryingly low, with well over two thirds of current incorporated societies still to re-register).

The re-registration rate for more than 40% of sport codes monitored by the Association is less than 20%, with some codes (such as equestrian sports) below 5%.

The Association has long warned Government of a looming extinction event for ICSOs arising from legislative reform, well before the new Incorporated Societies Act became law in 2022. We encourage Government to “read the room” and immediately extend the compliance date for all incorporated societies for at least another 12 months, while also introducing the Incorporated Societies (Small Societies) Amendment Bill, supported by the Association, to Parliament for debate, without delay.

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