What is SCA Ltd?

A few quick facts about the organisation:

  • Full company name: The Society for Creative Anachronism Ltd
  • Standard Abbreviation: SCA Ltd
  • Company number: 117 403 648
  • ABN: 13 117 403 648
  • Company type: Company limited by guarantee (not-for-profit)

 

“The Society for Creative Anachronism Ltd” (SCA Ltd) is the corporate body of the SCA in Australia, and has affiliation agreements with SCANZ and SCA Inc which allow us to use the same names, titles, structures that you will see used by the SCA across the world. SCA Ltd deals with the mundane law considerations of being part of the SCA from collecting and spending membership funds, to ensuring that we comply with various Australian Federal and State based laws including insurance, tax, child protection, weapons use and many others.

SCA Ltd is a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee. The not-for-profit status (also known as nonprofit) means we cannot distribute money to our members, but must reinvest moneys we make back into the organisation through spending. It doesn’t mean we can’t make a profit/surplus (although we aim only to cover our costs and keep money for projected future spending), but that we cannot create a profit for our members individually. This means we have to be very careful about how we spend money, so that we never create a situation where an individual member has received any money (or goods) from the organisation, as that will be seen as financial gain to a member and not part of our not-for-profit status.

There are some cases, such as reimbursement, where money can be paid to a member to cover expenses incurred – see our Financial Policy for more details. The not-for-profit status can be proven by showing people our Constitution which states that “5.2 No income or property will be paid or transferred directly or indirectly to any Member of SCA Ltd.,
except for reimbursements to a Member.”

SCA Ltd is a company limited by guarantee which means it can operate across Australia and that our directors can be insured against decisions made in the best interests of the organisation. This is different from an Incorporated Organisation which the SCA in Australia was before 2005.

Individual SCA branches within Australia are legally branches of SCA Ltd, and thus certain actions which may create legal liability for the organisation such as acquiring major assets, applying for grants, and entering into a contract such as a lease must be approved by the SCA Ltd Board, as SCA Ltd not the individual branch will be legally liable if something goes wrong. SCA branches within Australia who wish to undertake these activities should contact SCA Ltd to clarify which items may be approved by local branches.

Find out more:

Not for profit organisations:

Companies limited by guarantee: