O’Brien Palmer undertook the voluntary administration of the Australian Companies Institute Ltd’s (T/A AUSBUY) at a special general meeting of members held on May 26, 2016.
As a result of a number of factors, including changes to Country of Origin labelling, downturn in membership renewals, increased one-off costs associated with company structure, compliance and technology, AUSBUY is no longer able to continue as a going concern, effective May 26, 2016.
“Despite a wide range of activities and strategies designed to retain and grow membership over the past 18 months, the organisation has continued its decline to a point where a voluntary winding up of the company has been the only prudent option,” AUSBUY said in a statement.
In accordance with Clause 55 of the AUSBUY Constitution, any surplus which remains by law cannot be paid or distributed among members, and this includes the refund of any membership fees. The AUSBUY board of directors has arranged for AUSBUY members to continue to use the current AUSBUY logos until their respective membership expiry dates. AUSBUY has transferred the ownership of its trademarks and business name to Australian Made Campaign Ltd (AMCL), which will hold them.
AMCL has agreed to allow AUSBUY members to continue to use the current AUSBUY logos. AMCL has also agreed to offer AUSBUY members that qualify to use its Australian Made, Australian Grown (AMAG) logo the opportunity to apply for and then use the AMAG logo at no charge for the remainder of the term of their AUSBUY membership.
To find out if your business qualifies for the AMAG logo, contact AMCL during business hours on 1800 350 520.