A Singapore Government Agency Website
A Singapore Government Agency Website
Through facilitating the development of the co-operatives (co-ops) sector, the Registry of Co-operative Societies' work furthers the Ministry's mission of building social capital and making Singapore home through the promotion of active citizenship.
With inputs from the various stakeholders, the Registry updates our policies and rules periodically so as to build a robust regulatory framework for the proper governance and sound management of the co-ops. This way, Singaporeans and residents will have confidence in the co-op structure and continue to participate in the co-op movement.
The COVID-19 situation in Singapore has stabilised and the Multi-Ministry Taskforce has announced further easing of community Safe Management Measures (‘SMMs’) effective from 26 April 2022. This includes amongst other things, the lifting of Vaccination-Differentiated SMMs (‘VDS’) in most settings.
Notwithstanding the above, co-ops may continue to hold virtual or hybrid general meetings by electronic means by relying on the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Alternative Arrangements for Meetings for Charities, Co-operative Societies and Mutual Benefit Organisations) Order 2020 (‘the Order’). The Order will continue to be in force until revoked or amended by the Ministry of Law. To provide certainty to entities organising meetings, Ministry of Law will give at least 6 months’ advance notice before the alternative arrangements cease to be available and the Registry will notify co-ops accordingly. Co-ops may refer to the Guidelines and FAQ (updated 28 April 2022) for the holding of virtual and hybrid AGMs under “Resources and useful links”.
Co-ops holding physical or hybrid general meetings (i.e. meetings with a physical element) should comply with the prevailing SMMs if applicable (for example, that VDS are still required in events/settings with more than 500 participants at a time). Co-ops should additionally refer to the Ministry of Manpower’s website for SMMs at the workplace (www.mom.gov.sg/covid-19/
To facilitate the conduct of virtual general meetings by co-ops, the “COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Alternative Arrangements for Meetings for Charities, Co-operative Societies and Mutual Benefit Organisations) Order 2020” (‘Order’) was issued on 27 April 2020.
The guidelines and templates for co-ops on the conduct of virtual general meetings were issued on 6 May 2020. Co-ops can also refer to the presentation slides for the RCS Webinar held on 29 May 2020 and the FAQs for co-ops.
The Order was amended on 29 September 2020 and 6 April 2021, and the guidelines and FAQ were last updated on 16 April 2021 and 21 May 2021 respectively.