In February 1977, the Co-op is registered as a Community Advancement Cooperative Society. In 1982, it obtains a second registration as an organisation under the Charitable Collections Act. The decision to register under the Cooperative Societies act is based on the belief that the spirit of cooperative societies better reflects the philosophies of traditional Goori societies than that of other incorporated bodies which largely reflect competition. While Bill Smith is the inaugural chairperson, the setting up of the organisation and its continued success is the result of the work of a great number of Goori and non-Aboriginal people in paid and unpaid positions.