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Young Blind Citizens Victoria : Bylaws 2003-2004
Contents
- Name and Purpose
- Definitions
- Membership
- Fees
- The Committee
- Office Bearers
- Finance
- Fund Raising
- Annual Meetings
- General Meetings
- Voting
- Spokes People
- Entry into Contracts
- Use of Blind Citizens Australia Logo and Letterhead
- Discipline
- Dissolution
- Amendments
1. Name and Purpose
1.1. This organisation is constituted as a special interest branch of Blind Citizens Australia (BCA). Blind Citizens Australia is a nation-wide organisation, which all legally blind Australian residents may join as a matter of right, to promote the common purpose of their total welfare through joint action and mutual support. Blind Citizens Australia's mission is to achieve equity and equality by our empowerment, by promoting positive community attitudes, and by striving for high quality and accessible services which meet our needs.
1.2. Blind Citizens Australia's national unity is its strength and its active Branches are its life.
1.3. The name of this branch is Young Blind Citizens Victoria, (YBCV).
1.4. The area of the branch is the State of Victoria.
1.5. The aims and objects of the branch are:
- To work for the benefit of youth who are blind or vision-impaired.
- To represent the needs and ideas of blind and vision-impaired youth through discussion, action and peer support.
- To foster mutual understanding between our members and the broader community.
- To respect the Rights of our members and nurture the diversity within the blindness and broader communities.
1.6. These by-laws are based on the Model By-laws for Special Interest Branch Administration approved by the Board under Article 6(d).
1.7. The branch has autonomy in matters concerning its special interest, but its decisions and actions must be consistent with Blind Citizens Australia's Memorandum and Articles, its by-laws and policies.
2. Definitions
In these bylaws, these words have these meanings:
- Annual Meeting
- Synonymous with Annual General Meeting (AGM) and refers to the yearly formal meeting of the branch where reports are received and elections for the committee are conducted.
- Articles
- Blind Citizens Australia's Articles of Association, as amended October 1999.
- BCA
- Blind Citizens Australia.
- Board
- The Board of Directors of Blind Citizens Australia.
- Branch Members
- The members of the branch, from whatever category of Blind Citizens Australia membership, unless otherwise stated.
- Committee
- The branch committee.
- Executive Officer
- The Blind Citizens Australia Executive Officer, who is normally also the Company Secretary of Blind Citizens Australia.
- General Committee Members
- Refers to branch committee members who are not office barers, and therefore do not have a specific portfolio.
- Majority
- Greater than fifty per cent in number for members, votes, or whatever item is being counted.
- Members
- The members of Blind Citizens Australia, of whatever category, unless otherwise stated.
- Memorandum
- Blind Citizens Australia's Memorandum of Association, as amended October 1999.
- Office bearers
- Refers to any branch committee member with a portfolio. That is, the president, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer positions.
- Two-thirds majority
- Greater than two-thirds in number for members, votes, or whatever item is being counted.
3. Membership
3.1. All members of the branch must fall into one of the following categories.
- Full Blind Citizens Australia Members - legally blind Australian residents over the age of eighteen who are members of Blind Citizens Australia.
- Blind Citizens Australia Associate Members - people who identify with Blind Citizens Australia's aims but who are ineligible for full membership.
- Blind Citizens Australia Junior Members - legally blind Australian residents between the age of sixteen and eighteen who are Junior members of Blind Citizens Australia.
3.2. Organisations cannot be members of the branch.
3.3. Consistent with 3.1, the membership of the branch are the Blind Citizens Australia members, junior members or associate members who choose to join the branch, and who satisfy the Branch membership requirements.
3.4. Only branch members who are full Blind Citizens Australia members and are eighteen years of age or older are permitted to vote in elections.
3.5. Only branch members aged between eighteen and thirty years are permitted to hold elected positions.
3.6. A person becomes a member of the branch when he or she has provided the branch Secretary with his or her full name and contact details.
3.7. If a branch member's contact details change, it is the responsibility of the branch member to notify the branch Secretary of this change within one month of the change, otherwise, after a year, the branch committee may investigate branch member details and elect to remove a branch member from the registry of branch members if the details have not been current and correct.
3.8. A person may be a voting member of more than one special interest branch, but only of one regional branch, namely, their regional branch.
3.9. The branch may promote its activities and seek input to its policy work from Blind Citizens Australia members or Blind Citizens Australia associate members who are not members of the branch.
3.10. If the branch wishes to amend By-law 1.4 to change its boundaries, it must notify in advance the Executive Officer and any Blind Citizens Australia branch that would be affected by the change.
4. Fees
4.1. Membership of the branch is free of charge for all members. There is no membership fee or annual fee.
4.2. The branch may choose to introduce a change to the fees for branch membership at some future time. However, this must be done at an annual meeting and must involve an amendment to these by-laws.
5. The Committee
5.1. The branch will elect a committee of between four and seven people to coordinate its activities, of whom at least two-thirds must be full Blind Citizens Australia members.
5.2. Subject to Clause 5.3 of the by-laws, committee members must be elected at each annual meeting for one-year terms commencing at the end of each annual meeting.
5.3. The Board may approve a Branch by-law providing for the election of Committee members for two-year terms.
5.4. The president must be elected by a vote of the branch members present at the annual meeting.
5.5. No Person can serve more than two consecutive terms holding a particular office bearer position on the committee, but if two terms have been served in this sense, the person may hold that same office bearer position again after a one-year respite. Any committee member who may have served two terms as a particular office bearer can stand for other office bearer positions or general committee member positions at any time.
5.6. At each annual meeting, the branch will elect the committee, including office bearers and general committee members. The office bearer positions must be elected first before generael committee member positions.
5.7. If there are not enough nominations for a full compliment of general committee members, then the nominated parties, if any, will be instated as general committee members, and the committee may then invite eligible branch members to fill any or all of the remaining general committee member positions.
5.8. To be eligible for a position on the committee, a branch member must:
5.9. Any eligible branch member can be nominated for a position on the committee.
5.10. Consistent with the bylaws in Sections 3, 5 and 6 on committee composition, nominations for positions on the committee must come from any branch member who is a full Blind Citizens Australia member, and must be seconded by any other branch member who is a full Blind Citizens Australia member. Therefore, a branch member who is a full Blind Citizens Australia member can nominate themselves but the process requires another branch member who is a full Blind Citizens Australia member to second the nomination.
5.11. At the discretion of the incoming office bearers, eligible branch members who miss out on an office barer position on the committee may be considered for a general committee member position if they so wish.
5.12. The committee may wish to fill casual vacant general committee member positions. If the committee wishes to fill such a casual vacancy, it must do so by inviting an eligible branch member to take on the position for the duration of the vacancy. However, this must be consistent with the bylaws and must be agreed upon by the committee as a whole.
5.13. The committee must fill casual vacant office barer positions on the committee. The filling of such a vacant position must be done by inviting another committee member or eligible branch member to take on the position for the duration of the vacancy. However, this must be consistent with the bylaws and must be agreed upon by the committee as a whole.
5.14. If the filling of casual office barer positions results in a casual general committee position vacancy on the committee, then 5.12 must apply to deal with the casual vacant generael committee position, which may or may not be filled according to 5.12.
5.15. A quorum for a committee meeting is four committee members.
5.16. Committee meetings may be conducted over the telephone.
5.17. If any committee member, without leave of absence, has been absent at three consecutive committee meetings, the committee may choose to remove that person permenantly from the committee and have their position filled by another eligible person according to bylaws 5.18 and 5.19.
5.18. The committee must fill permanent vacant office barer positions on the committee. A permanent vacant office barer position must be filled either by the committee inviting another committee member to take the office barer role, or by holding an election for the vacant office barer position at a special general meeting. An election must always be held if the permanent vacancy is that of the President.
5.19. The committee may choose to fill permanent vacant general committee member positions. If the committee chooses to fill a permanent vacant general committee member position, it must be done either by the committee inviting an eligible branch member to take the general committee position, or by holding an election for the general committee position at a special general meeting.
5.20. Nominations, seconding and acceptance of nominations for committee Positions can be received up until the commencement of elections.
5.21. Branch members must accept their nomination for a position on the committee before they can be considered for that position at an election.
5.22. A casual vacancy on the committee occurs when a committee member, for whatever reason, applies for leave of absence from the committee. The committee must be aware of the status of the casual vacancy, including a notion of when the absent committee member intends to return to duty as a committee member.
5.23. In accordance with bylaw 5.17, if a committee member has been absent for three consecutive committee meetings outside their leave of absence, the committee may choose to remove that person from the committee, thus creating a permanent vacancy that must be subsequently dealt with according to bylaws 5.18 and 5.19.
5.24. If the President position becomes permanently vacant, the committee must fill this position by holding an election at a special general meeting. The Vice President must act in the absence of the President in order to preside over the interim period leading up to, and including the special general meeting at which the election takes place. If the President and Vice President are both not available to undertake this role, another office barer from the committee must be appointed by the committee to act in the absence of the President for this purpose.
5.25. The committee can hold a special general meeting to conduct elections for vacant committee positions. This special general meeting must follow all appropriate bylaws and rules pertaining to an Annual Meeting as outlined in Section 9, with the exception of those items that are not relevant to the proposed agenda for the special general meeting.
6. Office Bearers
6.1. The branch must have a President, a Vice President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. All of these people must be eligible branch members according to these bylaws, and must between eighteen and thirty years of age. The President and Vice President must also be full Blind Citizens Australia members.
6.2. The president cannot hold another position on the committee.
6.3. Except for the president, one person may hold up to two portfolios on the committee. In this case, the branch may elect another general committee member from the eligible branch members to make up the full compliment of 7 committee members.
6.4. The President and Vice-President must be full Blind Citizens Australia members.
6.5. The president is the branch's leader and its main spokes-person. The president must chair the annual meeting.
6.6. The president or the president's nominee chosen from the branch membership must chair general meetings of the branch.
6.7. The president or the president's nominee chosen from the committee must chair committee meetings.
6.8. The role of the Vice President is to work in support of the president and represent the president in his or her absence.
6.9. The role of the secretary is to ensure that minutes are taken of all meetings, keep the branch records, attend to correspondence and organise meetings.
6.10. The secretary must send to the Executive Officer, within two months of the branch's annual meeting, details of the incoming committee, copies of the president's and treasurer's annual reports and copies of any resolutions or bylaw amendments passed by the annual meeting.
6.11. The Secretary must maintain an accurate list of the names and addresses of branch members. The Secretary must co-operate with the Executive Officer to exchange update information for the Branch's membership list, and must send to the Executive Officer an up to date list of Branch members each year or when requested to do so by the Executive Officer.
6.12. The Secretary must ensure that the branch's official minutes are kept in print as well as an accessible electronic format, and that an appropriately formatted copy of minutes of each of the branch's annual and general meetings is lodged with Blind Citizens Australia's Executive Officer within two months of the respective meeting so that Blind Citizens Australia has access to store print copies of this documentation.
6.13. The Treasurer must maintain the Branch's financial records, report to the Branch and the committee on financial matters, and administer the Branch's bank account.
6.14. All Committee members should obtain and read copies of the by-laws.
6.15. The Secretary must ensure that the membership list is kept in a secure place so as to protect the confidentiality of branch members' information. Aside from the BCA office, only the current committee has access to the membership lists.
6.16. Aside from the BCA office, only members of the current committee have access to the current or past branch membership lists. People who are no longer members of the committee, for whatever reason, must not keep any copies of present or past branch member details.
7. Finance
7.1. The branch's financial year must end on June 30.
7.2. The branch must maintain an account with a recognised financial institution. The committee must appoint at least three signatories for this account. The account may have cheque writing facilities, and all cheques must be signed by two people.
7.3. The treasurer's report to the annual meeting must have been audited by a person who is not a branch member. This person must be chosen by the committee, and either be an accountant or have demonstrable experience as a bookkeeper.
7.4. The committee may decide to pay people who speak at branch events, but The Board will not do this at the national level. The branch must take responsibility for payment. The Board must approve a proposal to pay a speaker where the branch is conducting an event in association with a national Blind Citizens Australia event, such as Convention.
7.5. All signatories for the branch account must be members of the committee who are at least eighteen years of age. The treasurer, the president and the secretary must be signatories for the branch account.
8. Fund Raising
8.1. The Branch is entitled to raise whatever funds it needs, however it chooses, and hereby takes responsibility for complying with any local, state, territory or federal government laws. The Branch acknowledges that Blind Citizens Australia's incorporation does not protect Branch members if they engage in unlawful acts in the name of the Branch. The Branch is aware that it is an essential element of a national company. The Board must preserve Blind Citizens Australia's national standing and foster its strength as an organisation.
8.2. All branch fund raising must portray blind and vision impaired people in a positive way.
8.3. If the branch seeks or receives commercial sponsorship to the value of $2,000 or more, it must keep the Executive Officer informed about the nature and progress of the sponsorship, so that Blind Citizens Australia and its branches are not competing for the same funds.
8.4. If the branch applies for any grant from the Commonwealth Government or from any State or Territory Government, it must first provide the Board with a copy of the application and obtain its written approval.
8.5. Blind Citizens Australia's Certificate of Incorporation must not be used in funding applications without written approval from the Board.
8.6. The secretary must send copies of any funding agreements the branch wishes to enter into, to the Executive Officer for review, to be sure that the branch and Blind Citizens Australia can meet all deliverables and comply with all provisions in the agreement and so that the Board is aware of all Blind Citizens Australia's obligations.
9. Annual Meetings
9.1. The branch must hold an annual meeting before the end of September and after the auditing process has taken place.
9.2. Each branch member must receive fourteen days notice of the annual meeting in an accessible format.
9.3. The annual meeting must:
- Receive and adopt the minutes of the previous annual meeting.
- Receive and adopt annual reports from the president and treasurer.
- Elect the president and the committee members according to section 5 of these by-laws.
9.4. The Treasurer's report must outline the financial status of the branch, report on financial matters and must demonstrate that the auditing process is complete.
9.5. A quorum for an annual meeting is 10 members of Blind Citizens Australia, of whom 7 must be full members.
10. General Meetings
10.1. General meetings may be informal, but minutes must be kept and correspondence and financial matters must be dealt with properly.
10.2. A quorum for a general meeting is 10 members of Blind Citizens Australia, of whom 7 must be full members.
11. Voting
11.1. In accordance with the articles of Blind Citizens Australia, only individual branch members who are full Blind Citizens Australia members and who are eighteen years of age or over are permitted to vote at elections.
11.2. In accordance with the articles of Blind Citizens Australia, only individual branch members who are full Blind Citizens Australia members and who are eighteen years of age or over are permitted to move or second motions.
11.3. Voting must be done via a secret ballot for elected or appointed positions. The President must conduct the voting process, and the materials must be provided in alternative formats if required.
11.4. To be eligible to vote in elections for the committee, a branch member must have been a branch member for at least three months prior to the given election.
12. Spokes People
12.1. It must be either the president or secretary who communicates with non-members or with external organisations about branch affairs. However the committee or the branch may authorise other branch members or employees to do so about specific matters and to a clear extent.
12.2. Branch members must not speak in a way that obliges Blind Citizens Australia to do any thing or which implies Blind Citizens Australia holds any attitude, unless specifically authorised to do so by The Board.
13. Entry into Contracts
13.1. Branches of Blind Citizens Australia, which are not incorporated, have no legal capacity and accordingly cannot enter into any contracts for the provision of goods or services or for the engagement of employers or contractors.
13.2. Where it is necessary for a Branch to enter into a contract for the provision of goods or services or the engagement of employees or contractors, it shall report the matter immediately to the Board. The Board shall consider the matter and if it considers the proposed contract to be in the best interest of Blind Citizens Australia, it may enter into that contract.
14. Use of Blind Citizens Australia Logo and Letterhead
14.1. The logo and letterhead of Blind Citizens Australia are the property of Blind Citizens Australia and are only to be used for the purposes of the organisation.
14.2. Branches are provided with Blind Citizens Australia letterhead and may use it for correspondence relating to the activities of the Branch as a Branch of Blind Citizens Australia.
14.3. If a Branch wishes to use Blind Citizens Australia's Logo or other corporate symbols in connection with a particular activity, which is not an ordinary activity of a Branch of Blind Citizens Australia, it shall, prior to doing so seek permission for such use from the Executive Officer. The Executive Officer may grant permission for such use on such terms and conditions as he/she may think fit or in accordance with guidelines determined by the Board.
15. Discipline
15.1. This By-law relates directly to Article 5 of the Blind Citizens Australia articles of association.
15.2. If the branch behaves inconsistently with the Memorandum or Articles, the by-laws or Blind Citizens Australia policies, The Board may:
- By a two-thirds majority vote, dissolve the branch if it is not separately incorporated, or;
- By a two-thirds majority vote, expel the branch if it is separately incorporated, or;
- Suspend or otherwise discipline the branch.
15.3. The Board must give the branch seven days written notice of any proposal to expel, dissolve, suspend or discipline the branch.
15.4. If the Branch is expelled, dissolved, suspended or disciplined, it may appeal to Convention, which may uphold or reverse the decision of the Board.
15.5. The branch cannot expel, suspend or discipline branch members. The Board may do this, subject to Article 4A.
16. Dissolution
16.1. The branch may either recommend to The Board that it be dissolved, or be wound up by The Board.
16.2. The branch may only dissolve itself at a special general meeting called to discuss the matter, of which twenty-one days written notice has been given to all branch members in an accessible format. A vote to dissolve a branch must pass by a two-thirds majority.
16.3. The Board may vote by a two-thirds majority to dissolve the branch if it no longer has at least ten members wishing to participate in its activities, or a committee wishing to participate in its management or activities.
16.4. Where The Board deems it necessary to dissolve a branch, for any reason other than that its membership has fallen below ten, it must give twenty-one days written notice to this effect to the members of the committee. Where the committee opposes the dissolution it will have the right to appeal the matter to Convention" which may uphold or reverse The decision of the Board.
16.5. In the event of a dissolution, the outgoing committee may recommend a use or method of investment for the Branch's financial assets, including moneys and investments. If such a recommendation is not made, the Board must still apply these assets according to the branch's objects and the aims of Blind Citizens Australia.
16.6. In the event of a dissolution, all other assets aside from financial assets as described in 16.5 must pass to Blind Citizens Australia. The Board must apply these assets according to the branch's objects and the aims of Blind Citizens Australia.
17. Amendments
17.1. These by-laws can be amended, but can only be amended at an Annual Meeting, provided that the amendment or amendments are not inconsistent with the spirit of the Blind Citizens Australia Model By-laws for Special Interest Branch Administration.
17.2. Any amendment must first be considered by the committee and circulated as part of the formal notice of the annual meeting. The president may accept changes to proposed amendments during the meeting.
17.3. Amendments must be passed by a two-thirds majority of votes from present branch members.
17.4. The branch must advise the Executive Officer of the adoption or amendment of its by-laws, and any changes will not take formal effect until their ratification by The Board.
These by-laws are based on the Model by-laws for Special Interest Branch Administration as adopted September 2001 by Blind Citizens Australia.