About COA, the Camping, Outdoors and Accommodation Cooperative Ltd

 A key group of professionals within the camping, outdoors and accommodation industry got together to work out how to acquire land and establish off grid campgrounds, off road vehicle recreation areas and tiny house parks in suitable localities across Australia. It was decided that the co-operative model was the most appropriate legal model for this enterprise because it was capable of bringing in investment from people and corporations and engaging the same community in its activities through active membership. 

The Camping, Outdoors and Accommodation Co-operative Ltd is the result and operates through its trading name of Community Owned Assets (COA). The cooperative is a distributing cooperative domiciled in Australia and registered with the NSW Government Office of Fair Trading. COA can issue shares in order to finance the acquisition of land and associated infrastructure for camping and outdoor recreation, residential estates and parks, money making businesses and much more. The more people that invest in the COA means the more properties it can buy for members collective use. Imagine being able to plan a trip around Australia and camp at properties where you are a part owner and don't have to pay a single cent to camp at or have somewhere to drive your off road vehicle any time you want or to be part of a community where it is legal to permanently park your tiny house. Learn more about the COA Vision.

The Business Council of Cooperatives and Mutuals discusses everything you need to know about co-operatives, plus the "What is a Co-operative" video provides an easy to understand explanation of co-operatives.

What is the aim of COA?

COA aims to provide an avenue where Australians can come together, pool resources and affordably own their own share of this great big, beautiful country of ours. The more people that invest in COA means the more properties it can buy for members collective use. This is the COA vision.

What are the primary activities of COA? 

As described in the rules, 'the primary activity of COA, is the acquisition of land for Camping and Outdoor activities, permanent and temporary Accommodation'.  

COA does NOT expect members to be a part of any committee, run raffles or do working bees as we understand life is busy enough. The purpose of COA is to provide the land, which is appropriate for you to go camping, or to explore the great outdoors with your off road vehicle, horse riding, hiking, hunting, etc or grow your own food on your tiny house plot and much more. However a stipulation of being an 'active' member as per the rules of COA is that you simply:

1. Subscribe to the COA newsletter or electronic copy of communication; and
2. Attend at least one General Meeting, member or community event per calendar year; or
3. Stay, reside, camp or participate in outdoor activities on a COA property during a calendar year.

Does COA do anything else apart from land acquisition?

Yes. COA provides cover for its own activities for members to participate in approved activities on COA owned properties and for members to be covered whilst participating in activities externally of COA properties. The COA Insurance Division also provides a range of insurance programs so COA members can nominate an organisation to apply for their own insurance policy through the COA partner broker. 

Is COA distributing or non distributing? 

COA is distributing, which means the cooperative has share capital and members that want to use COA land must hold at least the minimum shareholding specified in the rules of the cooperative. As a distributing cooperative, members may receive a part of the surplus generated in a year by way of:

• a rebate, or
• the issue of bonus shares to members, or
• the issue of a limited dividend.

Is there a Prospectus for COA?

Distributing Cooperatives must by law must produce a Disclosure Statement, which is a bit like a prospectus. This is the main document to determine what sort of investment you’ll be making if you were to become a member and buy shares. The document includes a section on risk, which you should pay particular attention to (although all parts of the document need your attention, so don’t just read the risk section!). View the COA Disclosure Statement.

Must COA follow any rules? 

Cooperatives have a constitution just like companies do, but they’re called Rules. The Rules set out the ways in which the Cooperative operates, the obligations of members, the purpose of the organisation and the way in which meetings are run and so forth. View the COA Rules.

How do I get involved?

Once you have read, understood and accepted the Rules, Disclosure Statement and any associated documents, you'll first need to become a COA Shareholder Member. Shareholder Membership to COA entitles you to purchase shares in COA and use the properties for their intended purposes. Become a COA Shareholder Member today!

Once your membership has been approved, you can then head to the COA online store and purchase COA Member Shares. The minimum purchase requirement is 10 x $250 shares. You can buy more than the minimum shares and in fact you could own up to 20% of the cooperative. More shares means you could receive substantial returns when and if a shareholder dividend is paid. Once you have been approved as a COA Shareholder Member and logged into the site, you can Read more and Purchase Shares in COA >>.

Learn more about COA through our video,

Learn more about COA through our video, The Cooperative Hack - Being a COA Member and Shareholder. COA promotes its activities through its business sectors called Property Division and Insurance Division. 

Become a COA Member Today!!