Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation has been directed by the Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC) to take a series of measures after concerns were raised over the Board's second rejection of a members' petition requesting a general meeting.

The Delegate of the Registrar of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporations wrote to WAC on July 7.

The letter, seen by National Indigenous Times, requested: Copies of communications between the Board and the contact member who submitted the petition, to explain the delay in responding to the members; a written response setting out what processes the corporation will put in place to better inform members about Board decisions; and a written response on how the directors propose to address the grievances expressed by members.

ORIC noted in its letter that rejecting the members' request for a meeting was "not within the power of the Board" and "only the Registrar can grant permission to a corporation to deny a meeting request".

"(The Board) did not request permission from the Registrar to deny the members' request," the letter said.

ORIC also wrote: "The corporation is aware ORIC is reviewing its rule book and has been requested by ORIC, since 2025, to consult and provide feedback from members about changes to its rules. The corporation should explain in its response what steps it has taken to engage with members about rule book changes."

'A lot of things have caused concern'

Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation member Marianne Headland Mackay told National Indigenous Times there have been a range of concerns about the management of the organisation, which had two board members resign in May.

"A lot of things that have been happening have caused concern," she said.

"The governance structure within the Board is one issue. The Board has been making a lot of decisions about Whadjuk and moving forward but whenever members raise concerns about the lack of communication there is no response.

"We have requested meetings since last year, both requests have been rejected."

The second petition requesting a members' meeting was given to the Board of Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation on April 24, 2026. ORIC states that to the Registrar's knowledge, the members did not receive a response within the 21 days required by the CATSI Act, and that no general meeting has been held.

Board said members' petition was invalid

National Indigenous Times understands the petitioners were advised by the Board in its response on June 25 that the petition was not valid.

Section 201 5(1) of the CATSI Act requires directors of a corporation must call and hold a general meeting on the request of the required number of members if the request is in writing, state any resolution to be proposed, be signed by the members making the request, nominate a member to be the contact member; and be given to the corporation.

It is understood the Board rejected the petition on the grounds that while it featured names and details of members, and the contact details of the lead petitioner, it did not feature the actual signatures of the members.

'Significant period of time elapsed' before petition was answered

ORIC expressed concern that the WAC Directors only responded to the members "after a significant period of time had elapsed" (approximately two months).

ORIC noted that while the June 25 letter from the Board rejecting the petition advises members the Board is committed to good governance, transparency and acting in the best interests of members, the letter "does not make any attempt to engage with members about the expressed grievances".

"ORIC requests that the directors provide a written response to ORIC about how they propose to address the grievances expressed by the members," the regulator wrote on July 7.

Concerns over staff resignations

Ms Headland Mackay alleged that since the removal of the previous chief executive officer and his replacement with an interim CEO, three staff members have resigned and another has been fired.

She also raised concerns about the recent closure of WAC's education and training centre.

"No one was told why that was stopped," she told National Indigenous Times.

WAC - no comment

National Indigenous Times contacted Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation seeking a response to the matters raised by ORIC regarding the request for a meeting and member grievances.

WAC Interim CEO Dominic Panaia promptly responded: "Thank you for your email. Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation will not be providing comment in relation to your questions."

The response noted that "the Corporation has made the decision not to engage with the National Indigenous Times on matters of this nature".