Regions
Kimberley corporations
The Kimberley is unlike anywhere else we work: native title has been determined across almost the entire region, and 31 prescribed bodies corporate hold and manage it. Here, corporation accounting is native title accounting most of the time.
Why the Kimberley is different
The Kimberley Land Council was established in 1978 and recognised as the native title representative body for the region in 2000. Determinations now cover roughly 97 per cent of the Kimberley, and 31 PBCs hold and manage those rights and interests.
Checked against Kimberley Land Council — PBC support, .
That changes the shape of the accounting work. In most regions a PBC is one type of corporation among many. In the Kimberley it is the default, which means the questions that arrive are about native title money, benefit distribution, trusts and long-term funds far more often than they are about ordinary operating accounts.
What that means in practice
- Native title money kept separate. From operating funding, from grants, and from anything the corporation trades. If it all sits in one pool, working out what is assessable becomes archaeology at year end.
- Decisions recorded alongside the money. Common law holders are entitled to follow where funds came from, where they went, and on whose decision. Good records are what make that possible.
- The tax distinction understood before it bites. The benefit itself is generally non-assessable; income earned from investing it is not. See are native title benefits taxable?
- Reporting a member can read. A PBC answers to its common law holders, not only to the Registrar.
We are not in Broome or Kununurra
We work with Kimberley corporations remotely from Adelaide. There are firms physically in the region, including auditors who work across Fitzroy Crossing, Broome, Kununurra and Derby. If your board wants someone who can attend in person, that is a fair reason to use them, and for large corporations they may be the only option — above $5 million an audit needs a registered company auditor, which we are not.
Where we are useful is the preparation side and the CFO layer: getting the accounts and the reporting right, and giving a PBC board financial information it can actually act on between meetings.
Audit, and the line we hold
We audit corporations below the $5 million tier that we do not otherwise act for. We do not audit accounts we prepare, and we are not eligible above that tier. Both limits are on the audit page in plain sight, because a Kimberley corporation that needs a registered company auditor should find that out in thirty seconds rather than after a conversation.
Frequently asked questions
Are you based in the Kimberley?
No. We work with Kimberley corporations remotely from Adelaide. There are firms in Broome and Kununurra who are physically there, including auditors who specialise in the region — if being on the ground matters to your board, that is a reasonable reason to use them.
Do you understand PBC work specifically?
Yes, and in the Kimberley it is the main event rather than a specialty. Native title has been determined across almost the whole region and there are 31 PBCs holding and managing it, so the accounting questions here are native title questions more often than they are ordinary corporation questions.
Is native title money taxable?
Generally the benefit itself is not — it is non-assessable non-exempt income for an Indigenous person or Indigenous holding entity. But income earned from investing it is assessable, which is where boards most often get caught. We have a guide on it.
Can you audit a Kimberley corporation?
Below the $5 million tier, and only where we do not otherwise act for the corporation. Above that tier a registered company auditor is required and we are not one — we will say so rather than take the work.