Co-operative Societies Act 1979 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 4 · Rights and Liabilities of Members
39. Qualifications for membership
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The qualifications for membership in a primary society are —
primary society
“primary society” means a society all of whose members are individual persons who, or institutions which, have the qualifications for membership set out in section 39;
in the case of an individual, that the individual —
has attained 16 years of age or, if the society is a school co‑operative, has attained 12 years of age;
is a citizen of Singapore or is resident in Singapore; and
meets such other requirements with regard to residence, employment, profession and other matters as are prescribed by the by‑laws of the society; and
in the case of an institution, that it is a society, a trade union or a platform work association.
Membership in a secondary society is restricted to registered co‑operative societies, trade unions and platform work associations.
secondary society
“secondary society” means a society, each of whose registered members is a co‑operative society, a trade union or a platform work association;
Membership in an apex organisation is restricted to primary and secondary societies registered under this Act.
apex organisation
“apex organisation” means an organisation established to facilitate the operations of all primary and secondary societies in Singapore;
Despite subsections (1), (2) and (3), membership of individuals in a credit society is restricted to individuals who belong to a field of membership consisting of a pre-existing common bond of association or community of interest among the members thereof.
credit society
“credit society” means a society which is registered as a credit society;
In determining whether the criterion for membership in a credit society prescribed in subsection (4) is met, regard must be had to —
whether the members have the same or a similar occupation or profession, are employed by a common employer, or are employed within the same business district or commercial area;
whether the members have common membership in a religious, social, co-operative, labour, educational or other association or organisation;
whether the members reside, work or worship within the same defined community, district or electoral division; and
such other considerations as the Registrar may determine to be relevant.
Subsection (4) does not apply to any person who, immediately before 20 October 2008, is a member of any society which provides any financial service and which continues to provide such financial service on or after that date as a credit society, whether by virtue of paragraph 1 of the Schedule to the Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Act 2008 or otherwise.
member
“member” includes an individual person or institution qualifying for membership in a co-operative society, who or which join in the application for the registration of a society, and an individual person or institution admitted to membership after registration in accordance with this Act, the Rules and the by-laws;
A member who may at any time be found to be disqualified for any of the reasons mentioned in this section ceases to be a member of the society.
society
“society” means a co-operative society registered under this Act and includes a primary society, a secondary society and an apex organisation;