Cover image for Company Files
Series:
Company Files
Series Number:
Access:
Restricted 50 Years (B50)
Start Date:
01 Jan 1921
End Date:
13 Jan 1999
Creating Agency:
01 Jan 187026 Mar 1979

26 Mar 197931 Dec 1990

01 Jan 199131 Dec 2001

07 Aug 199201 Jul 1999
How to Use:
Access to this series varies between Open and B50 due to personal information contained on some files.

If the company was still trading in 1990 the number can be obtained from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission but only a small proportion of files for such companies will be found in this series.

If the company ceased trading between the 1960s and 1990 consult the index to defunct companies (AE382) to find the company number. Note that this index is probably not complete.

If a company had ceased trading before 1990 but is not in the index (or if it ceased trading before 1960) the number can be found in the Company Register (see AC45). Several hundred companies could be registered in a single year so at least a rough date of registration should be established before attempting such a search.

Armed with the company number search the various sequences of company files (see below) to find the file (or multiple part files).

CONSIGNMENT 1 comprises three numeric sequences of company files.

Items 1 - 68 contain files for companies registered after January 1921 (and some registered under earlier Acts) that had been struck off the register by 1959 as well as early parts of files for some companies still trading at that time.

Items 69 - 119 contain files for companies registered after January 1921 (and some registered under earlier Acts) that had been struck off the register by 1969 as well as earlier parts of files for some companies still trading at that time.

Items 120 - 205 contain files for companies registered after January 1921 (and some registered under earlier Acts) that had been struck off the register by 1975 as well as earlier parts of files for some companies still trading at that time.

The company numbers for these files are listed in the Description field for each item (box).

CONSIGNMENT 2 comprises a single numeric sequence of files for all remaining Tasmanian companies that had been struck off the register by 1990. When searching this consignment each file is an item.

CONSIGNMENT 3 comprises a single numeric sequence of files for all remaining Tasmanian companies registered prior to 1955 (company numbers 2A to 2824A with considerable gaps) that were still trading in 1990. Some of these companies were struck off during 1990 but the majority were still trading and the files were closed at the end of 1990 as a new national registration system was introduced in January 1991. When searching this consignment each file is an item.

CONSIGNMENT 4 comprises credit unions. Those that ceased to operate prior to 1992 were registered under the Co-operative Industrial Societies Act 1928. Those that continued after 1991 were then registered under the Financial Institutions (Tasmania) Code as detailed in the Financial Institutions (Application of Laws) Act 1992. For conservation purposes, some larger files have been seperated into parts.
Series notes:
This series mainly comprises registration files for companies registered under the Tasmanian Companies Acts of 1920 and 1962 and the uniform national companies legislation of the 1980s, but some files for companies registered under earlier Acts are included.

Each file contains the Memorandum and Articles of Association, list of directors and list of shareholders plus the various annual returns prescribed in the Acts. These are public documents. The Registrar of Companies filed any correspondence with the company on a separate backer within the file which was removed whenever the file was produced for public inspection.

Companies registered under the Act to Encourage the Establishment of Banks for Savings 1849, the Life Assurance Companies Act 1874, the Companies Act 1869 and the Foreign Companies Act 1895 that were still trading in 1960 will be found here rather than in the related series for those Acts. Companies registered under the Mining Companies Act 1884 and the Foreign Mining Companies Act 1884 that were still trading in 1973 when responsibility for them was transferred from the Director of Mines to the Registrar of Companies will also be found here. In addition there are files for some companies registered under the Mining Companies Acts of 1884 which were re-registered under the Companies Act 1962 apparently for the sole purpose of striking them off the Register.

Companies were registered under the various Acts in separate numeric sequences always beginning at number one until the 1962 Act, which continued the number sequence begun for the 1920 Act. Except in the specific instances of re-registered mining companies all files retain their original number in this series. Thus the lower numbers can be shared by as many as seven companies. For numbers above 600 there will only be a mining company or a company under the 1920 Act.

These records are part of the holdings of the Tasmanian Archives
System of Arrangement:
Numerical, in several sequences (see notes on How to Use Series). The company numbers are sometimes duplicated. This has has three causes. First, the files for companies that traded for long periods became so large that they were broken into parts which were transferred at different times. On rare occasions the parts are identified by letter suffixes. Second, files for companies registered under nineteenth century Acts that were still trading in 1960 were subsequently interfiled in this series. Occasionally the letter "A" was added after the company number to indicate this. Third, as many as five companies were accidentally registered under the same number on several occasions. The Registrar dealt with this by adding the letter "A", "B", etc. after the company number and usually, but not always, entering the details in the Company Register (see AC45).
Information Sources:
Examination of the records (in this and related series) and discussion with former staff.
Items: