Model Rules
Introduction PRESENTATION DOCUMENT This document runs along side the PCAV Model Rules for Clubs. This document is a guide which attempts to explain the elements within the PCAV Model Rules and asks questions to help Clubs examine their potential needs. MR = Consumer Affairs Model Rules the wording is directly from this document. PCAV MODEL RULES The PCAV Model Rules for Club should not be used without Clubs reading them and ensuring they fit your style of management. The PCAV Model Rules are a guide or suggestion. They are based on the Consumer Affairs Model Rules. It is very important that you understand your Model Rules and that each of your Committee Members has a copy, they should be at your meeting each time.
Part 1 Preliminary Areas covered: 1. Name 2. Purpose 3. Financial Year 4. Definitions
1. Name The name under which your incorporated Association will be known. Your Association will commonly be called your Club however it is a legally created entity (body) and must act under the direction of the Associations Incorporations Reform Act 2012. Incorporated bodies need a set of rules to govern themselves with they are known as the Rules or Incorporation or Constitution. Consumer Affairs creates what are know as the Model Rules, they are written with all required elements of the Act.
2. Purpose A new requirement of the Incorporated Associations Reform Act 2012 Your Club must define it s purposes for operation. Suggested purpose: To instil in riders a love of horses and horse riding in a supportive, innovative and fun club environment. Through innovative coaching and learning strategies provide a fun, challenging and interactive environment for riders to learn about horse care and riding. Create a positive, supportive and educational environment for families to come together to share their love of horses and horse riding. To encourage young people to ride and to learn to enjoy all approved kinds of sport connected with horses and riding. To provide instruction in horsemanship and to instil in members the proper care of their animals, and through this medium to promote the highest ideals of sportsmanship, citizenship, and loyalty, and to cultivate strength of character and selfdiscipline in the members of the Clubs.
3. Financial Year The financial year of your Club must be recorded in your rules of incorporation. Your financial year will determine when you must hold an Annual General Meeting of your Association. By law your Club AGM must be held 5mths after the end of your Club s financial year. Ie. Financial year ends 31 st December you must hold an AGM by the end of MAY and submit your Annual Statement to Consumer Affairs within a month of the AGM. If you are unaware of when your financial year ends contact Consumer Affairs.
4. Definitions Definitions assist with defining any specific terms that appear within your Rules of Incorporation.
Part 2 Powers of Association 5. Powers of Association As per the model rules. Sets out what the powers of an Incorporated Association are. 6. Not for Profit Organisation As per the model rules. What being a Not For Profit Association is. These two Rules are lifted from the Model Rules, and they place boundaries around the operation of an Incorporated Association.
Part 3 Members, Disciplinary Procedures & Grievances Division 1 Membership 7. Minimum Number of members An Incorporated Association must have 5 members to become and maintain incorporated status. You may have more than this as a minimum if your Club wishes. If your Club only has five members, these members must make up the Committee of Management which must also have no less than 5 members. 8. Eligibility Sets out who is eligible to obtain membership with your Club 9. Application for New & Renewing membership Rule 9(2) How does someone apply for membership of your Club? 10. Consideration of Membership Application How do you decide to accept a membership? How do you tell someone that their application has been accepted or rejected? 11. New & Renewing Membership How does someone apply for membership of your Club?
Part 3 Members, Disciplinary Procedures & Grievances Division 1 Membership 12. Association Membership Categories & Membership Fees Model Rules say set at AGM by members PCAV Model Rules say Committee set annually or as required. Who sets the membership fees? Who endorses them? The Committee of Management or the Members at an AGM? It is best not to record your actual membership fees in your Rules of Incorporation because if you do this you will need to change your rules every year and submit them to Consumer Affairs and pay for updating your rules! Things to consider: How much does your Club charge to be a member? Is it different for different members? eg. Juniors, families, club supporters Are there other fees associated with being a member eg. Working Bee levy What date are fees due? Is there a penalty for paying late? Is there a bonus for paying early? Which members are eligible to vote on issues such as elections or issues affecting the club or membership? Will you reduce the fees for members joining part year? Should some of this be recorded in your Rule of Incorporation to hardwire it into your operations
Part 3 Members, Disciplinary Procedures & Grievances Division 1 Membership 13. General Rights of Members These rights are the broad rights of a member under the Association Incorporations Act, if there are more rights you would like to hard wire into your Club s operations this is the place to do so, however; if there are rights you would like to change as the needs of your Club change it may be best to stipulate these with your membership categories. 14. Non Voting Members MR set the age at 15years, is your Club happy for members at this age to have a vote on issues affecting your Club on a governance level set this at the age you feel is appropriate. This would mean that riders/members from the age of 15 years could have a vote on who represented the Club on the Committee. Is your Club happy with this? 15. Rights not transferable Wording as set out in the CAV Model Rules 16. Ceasing Membership Wording as set out in the CAV Model Rules
Part 3 Members, Disciplinary Procedures & Grievances Division 1 Membership 17. Resigning as a member Wording as set out in the CAV Model Rules 18. Register of Members MR must be in your ROI s requirement under the Act. Your Club should decide if this is the information kept on the PCAV Membership Database. Your Club should also decide if this is your register of members, is it also your register of voting members, if not where do you keep your voting members list. Your voting members are those who get to decide who is to be elected to your Committee of Management in the case of an election and are able to vote on changes to your ROI s if and when required. Very important Club s need to be aware who has voting rights in the Club.
Part 3 Members, Disciplinary Procedures & Grievances Division 2 Discipline Areas covered: 19. Grounds for taking disciplinary action 20. Disciplinary sub committees 21. Notice to members 22. Decision of the disciplinary sub committee 23. Appeals 24. Conduct of disciplinary appeal meeting Wording as set out in the CAV Model Rules this must be incorporated in your Rules of Incorporation, solid process for managing disciplinary action.
Part 3 Members, Disciplinary Procedures & Grievances Division 3 Grievance Areas covered: 25. Application 26. Parties must attempt to resolve the dispute 27. Appointment of mediator Have included PCAV in this process. 28. Mediation process 29. Failure to resolve disputes by mediation Wording as set out in the CAV Model Rules this must be incorporated in your Rules of Incorporation, solid process for managing disciplinary action.
Part 4 General Meetings of the Association Areas covered: 30. Annual General Meetings 31. Special General Meetings 32. Special General Meetings held at the request of members 33. Notice of general meetings 34. Proxies 35. Use of technology 36. Quorum at general meetings 37. Adjournment of general meeting 38. Voting at general meeting 39. Special resolutions 40. Determining whether resolution carried 41. Minutes of general meeting As set out in the MR, this must be incorporated in your Rules of Incorporation, ensures meetings are held in a fair way.
Part 4 General Meetings of the Association 30. Annual General Meetings: Must be held within 5 months after the end of the financial year. Ie. Financial year ends 31 st Dec, AGM must be conducted before the end of May. Must confirm previous minutes, consider annual report (it is a nice idea to write down something about the year that was and keep on file for later committees) and financial reports and elect the committee of management. Other business may be conducted as long as notification has been given 31. Special General Meetings MR all general meetings other than the AGM & Disciplinary meetings are known as Special General Meetings (not committee meetings) Defines the details around holding Special General Meetings 32. Special General Meetings held at the request of members Enables members to ask for a Special General Meeting to consider an issue members may be passionate about
Part 4 General Meetings of the Association 33. Notice of general meetings Gives parameters around what kind of notice is acceptable to ensure all voting members have an ability to participate in decision making 34. Proxies Lets members nominate someone to vote on their behalf if they can not attend a meeting. 35. Use of technology New requirement under the Incorporations Associations Reform Act 2012, enabling the use of certain technologies to join in on meetings if not physically able to attend. 36. Quorum at general meetings Ensure you know who is able to vote and how many voting members need to be in attendance to make a legally binding decision. 37. Adjournment of general meeting What happens in the event that a quorum is not in attendance at a general meeting
Part 4 General Meetings of the Association 38. Voting at general meeting Ensure you know who is eligible to vote, generally anyone who buys a membership and is over an age where they can make an informed choice should be given an ability to vote in their Association/Club. Are you eligible if you buy a membership or do you need to nominate to be voting? What happens if you are an adult supporter deemed a member by association with a riding member? (no payment for member status) How do you record who is a voting member? Do you use the PCAV Membership Database or is this just a record of contact details of riding members and their families? Do you have to nominate to be a voting member? Do you need to pay a fee? Do families have only one vote per family? If stipulated in the Rules of Incorporation members voting rights can not be changed without a special resolution being past, do you want this level of control in your Club? Are you happy for the membership categories and member rights to be set annually by the Committee of Management? You need to makes sure voting rights are clearly defined, that members know in advance who is able to vote and that voting members are given the appropriate information within the appropriate timeframes regarding general meeting, proxies and the issues for discussion and resolution.
Part 4 General Meetings of the Association 39. Special resolutions What percentage of the vote can carry a special resolution 40. Determining whether resolution carried How voting is conducted 41. Minutes of general meeting The standard of minutes of a general meeting
Part 5 Committee Division 1 Powers of the Committee Areas covered: 42. Role and powers Wording as set out in the CAV Model Rules 43. Delegation Wording as set out in the CAV Model Rules As set out in the MR, this must be incorporated in your Rules of Incorporation, solid process for managing disciplinary action.
Part 5 Committee Division 1 Powers of the Committee 42. Role & Powers States that the Committee are there to manage the affairs of the Association and must ensure they operate under the Act and other laws. Wording as set out in the CAV Model Rules 43. Delegation The Committee may form sub committee or contract someone to carry out tasks on behalf of the Committee. Wording as set out in the CAV Model Rules
Part 5 Committee Division 2 Composition and duties of members Areas covered: 44. Composition of Committee 45. General Duties 46. President and Vice President 47. Secretary 48. Treasurer 49. District Commissioner
Part 5 Committee Division 2 Composition and duties of members 44. Composition of Committee Stated that the Committee must consist of a President, Vice President, Secretary (also what was once called Public Officer), Treasurer, District Commissioner & ordinary members You may wish to decide how many ordinary members will be on your Committee and set this in your Rules or as the model rules enable set this at an AGM and elect these members there. Using words such as up to mean that you set a cap but don t have to fill these positions it gives some flexibility. 45. General Duties MR needs to remain, the Committee of Management has a legal responsibility to up hold the legal requirements of running an organisation and always act in good faith and ensure they are aware of their legal obligations.
Part 5 Committee Division 2 Composition and duties of members 46. President and Vice President MR Duties as legally required. 47. Secretary MR The Public Officer is now legally known as the Secretary. The Secretary will be recorded by Consumer Affairs as the individual to contact on behalf of the Association and is the person legally responsible for lodging any paperwork to Consumer Affairs including Annual Statements. If a Club wishes to separate the duties of the Secretary into the legally required duties and the administrative duties of the Club then they should define this within their Rules of Incorporation such as electing or appointing an Administration Officer/Secretary. 48. Treasurer MR Duties as legally required. 49. District Commissioner Stated as a part of the Club Committee of Management, noted as an appointed roles and when the appointment is made.
Part 5 Committee Division 3 Election of Committee members and tenure of office Areas covered: 50. Who is eligible to be a Committee member 51. Positions to be declared vacant 52. Nominations 53. Election of President and Committee of Management 54. Election of ordinary members 55. Ballot 56. Terms of office 57. Vacation of office 58. Filling casual vacancies
Part 5 Committee Division 3 Election of Committee members and tenure of office 50. Who is eligible to be a Committee member Which members are able to become members of the Committee of Management. 51. Positions to be declared vacant All positions declared vacant each year; your Club may choose to have longer terms these should be defined here. 52. Nominations All members eligible to nominate must be informed prior to the AGM, stipulates how the process should be managed.
Part 5 Committee Division 3 Election of Committee members and tenure of office 53. Election of President and Committee of Management The positions of President, Vice President, Secretary & Treasure are all elected positions to be declared vacant annually. If your Club chooses they can have longer terms in place, record in Term of Office. 54. Election of ordinary members Ordinary members, decide how big your Club Management Committee should be. Best operating numbers for a committee are an odd number of people because it assist to eliminate hung votes. The least number of Committee members legally is 5 the most is up to the Club however research suggests committees with more than 15members can become difficult to manage effectively. These rules state there will be no more than 4 ordinary members, make sure this fits your Club management, if not change.
Part 5 Committee Division 3 Election of Committee members and tenure of office 55. Ballot Elections must be conducted when you have more nominations for a position than is required. All members of the Club who are eligible to vote should be given an opportunity to vote either in person or by proxy. 56. Terms of office MR Define the term as one year, if your Club wants to make Terms of Office longer than that then this is where you would make that change. You may wish to stipulate that a position can only be held for a certain number of years consecutively. Ie. The President may be elected annually but may only be able to be elected to the role for 3 consecutive years. This ensures that roles must be turned over on a periodic basis. 57. Vacation of office MR what happens if someone resigns their role on the committee. 58. Filling casual vacancies MR in the case of a vacation of office how do you fill the vacancy.
Part 5 Committee Division 4 Meetings of Committee Areas covered: 60. Meeting of Committee 61. Notice of meeting 62. Urgent meetings 63. Procedure and order of business 64. Use of technology 65. Quorum 66. Voting 67. Conflict of Interest 68. Minutes of meeting 69. Leave of absence
Part 5 Committee Division 4 Meetings of Committee 60. Meetings of Committee How many times must your committee meet on an annual basis. MR says 4 you may wish to leave this and simply meet more regularly or change it so the committee has to meet more often. Also sets out some governance for conducting meetings (MR) 61. Notice of meetings MR Members of the Committee must be given notice of the meeting 7 days prior. Sets out how the meetings of the committee should be conducted regarding notice of the meeting to give all committee members an opportunity to attend. 62. Urgent meetings MR giving some scope for urgent meetings to be conducted comes with the requirement of all committee meetings, allows for issues that need to be discussed urgently to not adhere to the 7 day rule.
Part 5 Committee Division 4 Meetings of Committee 63. Procedure and order of business MR how will you run your meetings. 64. Use of technology MR new requirement of the Act the ability to use technology to participate in a meeting. 65. Quorum MR a quorum must be present at a meeting for business to be conducted. Ensure you know how many voting members must be in attendance at a meeting to make decisions that are legally binding. 66. Voting MR stipulates how voting at a committee meeting works. States that a majority of the members present carries a motion except if an absolute majority is required by the Rules of Incorporation (urgent meetings). Chair to have deciding vote. Voting by proxy is not allowed.
Part 5 Committee Division 4 Meetings of Committee 67. Conflict of Interests MR must be in your ROI, ensures Committee members do not vote on issues that they have a personal interest, or basically an issue they can not decide without being swayed by their personal interest. Ie. Buying hay for the Club from someone who has hay to sell, who is making the decision to buy from themselves. 68. Minutes of Meeting Sets minimum meetings at 4 times a year no maximum, your Club should check to see if they are happy with this. It is only a minimum they can have more than this number and with no maximum meetings in a year. 69. Leave of absence Members of the Committee must be given notice of the meeting 7 days prior.
Part 6 Financial Matters Areas covered: 70. Source of funds 71. Management of funds 72. Financial records 73. Financial statements
Part 6 Financial Matters 70. Source of funds MR where money can come from. 71. Management of funds MR how funds will be managed and made secure. 72. Financial records MR keeping financial records in a legal way. 73. Financial statements MR showing your members how the Club spent funds and complying with legal requirements.
Part 7 General Matters Areas covered: 74. Common Seal 75. Registered Address 76. Notice requirements 77. Custody and inspection of books and records 78. Winding Up and Cancellation 79. Alteration of Rules
Part 7 General Matters 74. Common Seal MR talks of common seals your Club may have one. 75. Registered Address MR your registered address will either be designated or be the postal address of the Secretary, the address lodged with Consumer Affairs. 76. Notice requirements MR what is an acceptable way to inform members of meetings to ensure they have the best opportunity to attend a meeting or appoint a proxy to have a voice in their organisation. 77. Custody and inspection of books and records MR members may request to see the register of members, minutes of general meetings, financial records and meetings of Committee meetings. Committees may refuse to inspect records if it is likely to be detrimental to the Association.
Part 7 General Matters 78. Winding Up and Cancellation MR how to wind up the Association. 79. Alteration of Rules MR changing your ROI requires a special resolution at a general meeting of the Association. Your ROI are basically rules of how your organisation runs on a governance level and ensures it acts within the boundaries of the law. Rules that you use to control more operational elements of your organisation should be created as By Laws. By Laws should be rules you are happy for the Committee of Management to changes as the Club requires a new approach to it s management. Rules such as each family must attend at least one working bee during the year or pay a levy this is operational and may need to change and is OK if your Committee of Management changed.