Council Governance Standards
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Council and its members are required to adhere to the governance standards prescribed under the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 including regulations made under that Act and by any statutory authority. As such, Council and its members must:
- working towards the charitable Purposes of the Association as provided in the Rules
- acting in the best interests of the Association and for its proper Purposes
- working towards instilling confidence in the public that the Association is working towards its charitable Purposes
- allowing Members adequate opportunities to raise concerns about how the Association is run
- causing general meetings of Members to be convened
- causing information to be made available to Members on the Association’s activities and finances
- establishing clear processes for appointing Officers of the Association
- acting lawfully to help protect the work, assets, reputation and the people of the Association
- not acting on behalf of the Association in a way that, under Commonwealth, state or territory law, could be dealt with as an indictable offence, or a breach of law
- causing reasonable steps to be taken to be satisfied that each of its Officers is disqualified neither from managing a corporation under the Corporations Act nor from being a responsible person by the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) or by any other statutory authority
- before appointing a person as an Officer, searching the ASIC Disqualified Persons Register, the Register of Disqualified Persons held by ACNC or any other statutory authority and undertaking further checks to be satisfied that the Officer is suitable to work towards the Purposes
- before appointing a person as an Officer, requiring the person to sign a declaration relating to disqualifying offences and an agreement to notify the Association immediately if the person becomes disqualified from being a responsible person in the future
- not appointing a person as an Officer of the Association, if this person is not suitable to work towards the Purposes and taking reasonable steps to remove a person as an Officer of the Association, if this Officer is determined as no longer suitable to work towards the Purposes of the Association
- acting with reasonable care and diligence
- acting honestly in the best interests of the charity and for its charitable purposes
- not misusing their position as an Officer
- not misusing information they gain in their role as an Officer
- disclosing conflicts of interest, and acting appropriately in relation to material personal interests
- ensuring that the financial affairs of the Association are managed responsibly
- not allowing the Association to operate while it is insolvent
- bringing these duties to the attention of each Officer of the Association
- encouraging Officers to attend, prepare for and participate at Council and General Meetings
- having processes in place to manage conflicts of interest, including provision for an Officer not to vote on matters where the Officer has a conflict of interest
- taking reasonable action when an Officer is perceived as not carrying out the duties
- making available to each Officer appropriate training and educational resources on their duties and responsibilities
- requiring each Officer to sign a copy of this governance standard on election or appointment to Council
- the values of the organisation and of the membership
- the ethics of the Association
- the communication protocols of the Association