Why the society’s own name is not used
Under Societies Act section 35(1)(a), movable property not vested in trustees is deemed vested for the time being in the society’s governing body. Shares are movable property. ACRA therefore requires a company share held for the society to be registered in a trustee’s name or a governing-body member’s name, not in the society’s own name.
Permitted holders and internal rules
The trustee may be an individual or a corporation. The alternative is a member of the governing body. The society should also consult its constitution or bye-laws for provisions governing how it holds movable property. The interpretation does not dispense with those internal requirements or equate the named holder with unrestricted personal ownership.
Source identity
Registrar’s Interpretation 3 of 2016 was issued on 31 May 2016 and describes the Bizfile+ registration approach then in use. Its concise scope is shareholding names for Societies Act societies, not every kind of nonprofit or incorporated association.
Official source
This article independently explains the substantive contents of the official PDF, including the relevant conditions, procedures and annexes. The linked document remains the authoritative source for its original wording, and later changes should be checked separately.
Read the official PDF ↗