About the Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd
History
The Cocos Islands Cooperative Society Ltd was formed in 1978 with the assistance of the Australian Government to acquire the business operations of the Clunnies Ross Estates. Historically, the majority of Cocos Malays were members and employees of the Cooperative. The members of the Cooperative elect a 8 person management committee to represent their interests in relations to the operations of the Cooperative.
In 2016, the Cooperative moved from the old 1955 Cooperative Society and Ordinates of Singapore, that had been adopted as an ordinance of the Cocos Keeling Islands, to a modern body of law, the Cooperative Act 2009 (WA) (CKI).
The Cooperative employs a General Manager to oversee the operations of the Cooperative, and currently employs approximately 70 people, in a range of business activities.
Moving Forward 2020
The Cooperative has been transitioning from its previous business base to a modern business structure which consists of the following groups:
The Cooperative’s strategic business plan, “Island-Builders and Gateway-to-Asia”, provides the future direction that the Cooperative will follow for the next five years.
The Cooperative has an advantage of providing a range of integrated services which enables it to meet a wide range of customer requirements, but the future will see the Cooperative looking to South East Asia for its future business opportunities.
Directors
The members/shareholders now elect 8 directors who serve three year terms, and in turn the directors elect one of their members to be the chair and another to be the deputy chair.
Director’s meetings are held on a regular basis and Annual General Meetings of the members/shareholders are held in the 4th quarter of the calendar year.
Workplace Health & Safety
In relation to workplace health and safety, the Cooperative emphasises this area to all employees through the use of the phrase “Our Life in Your Hands”.
The Cooperative has a workplace health & safety officer, and a workplace health & safety committee which has representatives from each of the divisions of the Cooperative, and it complies fully with the occupational safety and health guidelines from organisations such as Toll (for airport operations), and Linyx (for stevedoring and marine operations).
Job Safety Analysis are done throughout the Cooperative and standard operating procedures have been established.
WorkSafe Australia inspectors visit the Cocos Keeling Islands every six months and the Cooperative works closely with these inspectors to ensure any areas that can be improved are addressed.
CommCare inspectors also visit the Cocos Keeling Islands in relation to Australian Government operations and the Cooperative also works closely with these inspectors.