Data interpretation and limitations

When interpreting the data in this report readers should be aware of the following:

• The data has been supplied by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations in audited financial statements and general reports lodged with the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations (the Registrar). It is current up to 16 May 2016. The accuracy of the data relies on the quality of the information lodged.
• The geographic location of a given corporation is determined by the address of its registered office. It is important to note that a corporation may be registered in one state or territory, yet provide services to a client base spread across more than one state or territory.
• While many corporations operate in more than one sector, income in this report relates to the overall activities of the corporations and cannot be broken down by sector.
• At the time of analysis, a very small number of corporations had not provided their financial information for one or more financial years in the period covered by this report. For the 2014–15 financial year, 97.1 per cent of all corporations were compliant with their reporting obligations under the Corporations (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander) Act 2006 (CATSI Act) as at 30 June 2016. To a limited extent, gaps in the data have affected the aggregate figures presented in this report, such as growth in income and assets.
• The term ‘departures’ applies to corporations that were ranked in the top 500 for 2013–14 but not for 2014–15.
• All references to the previous financial year data are sourced from The top 500 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations 2013–14.
• Revised information from subsequent or updated reports lodged by corporations for previous financial years is not reflected in these statistics.