Our legal structure

ActionStation Aotearoa Ltd operates as a non-profit limited liability company, the sole shareholder of which is an incorporated society, ActionStation Aotearoa Incorporated. Neither are registered charities, but the non-profit status of the society is confirmed in our Constitution. The organisational structure was put in place in 2012. We secured funding in 2013 and began operations in May 2014, launching our first public campaign in July 2014.

We are not a charity because around the world organisations like ours risk being deregistered by governments who disagree with their kaupapa. We want to safeguard ourselves for the future by not relying on charitable status for donations. It is our political independence that enables us to stand for the many different causes that we do, whether or not the powers-that-be are happy about it!

In 2018, we sought independent expert legal and financial advice from Barrister and Solicitor Sue Barker (Charities Law) and Chartered Accountant Greg Thompson (Grant Thornton) to assess if our legal structure was still the best model for ActionStation. The advice we received was that while no structure is perfect, the one we have provides us with the ability to ensure the agility and nimbleness of a company while assuring democratic oversight.

In 2019, Sue Barker from Charities Law helped us to update our constitution and it was adopted at our AGM in August. You can view the constitution in full here.