KOSCIUSZKO HUTS
ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED
RULES
PART 1 - PRELIMINARY.................................................................................................................................................
1. Name...............................................................................................................................................................................
2.
Objects...........................................................................................................................................................................
3.
Interpretation.........................................................................................................................................................
4.
Powers...........................................................................................................................................................................
5.
Income and property............................................................................................................................................
PART 2 - MEMBERSHIP.................................................................................................................................................. 4
6.
Eligibility for Membership/ Classes of Membership.......................................................................... 4
7.
Admission to Membership..................................................................................................................................
8.
Register of Members..............................................................................................................................................
9.
Rights of members.................................................................................................................................................. 5
10.
Liability of members...........................................................................................................................................
11.
Membership subscription.................................................................................................................................
12.
Cessation of membership.................................................................................................................................
13.
Termination of Membership........................................................................................................................... 6
PART 3 - GENERAL
MEETINGS..................................................................................................................................... 7
14.
Annual General Meeting................................................................................................................................. 7
15.
General Meetings.................................................................................................................................................. 7
16.
Notice of General Meetings............................................................................................................................ 8
17.
Quorum for General Meetings..................................................................................................................... 8
18.
Procedure at General Meetings.................................................................................................................. 8
PART 4 - COMMITTEE
OF MANAGEMENT................................................................................................................ 9
19.
Committee of Management........................................................................................................................... 9
20.
Composition of the Committee.................................................................................................................... 9
21.
Office Bearers......................................................................................................................................................... 9
22.
Election of Office Bearers and Committee Members.................................................................. 10
23.
Leave of Absence................................................................................................................................................. 10
24.
Vacation of Office............................................................................................................................................. 10
25.
Casual vacancies............................................................................................................................................... 11
26.
Meetings of the Committee.......................................................................................................................... 11
27.
Disclosure of interest in contracts..................................................................................................... 12
28.
Appointment of employees........................................................................................................................... 12
PART 5 - FINANCE AND
ACCOUNTING................................................................................................................... 13
29.
Source of Funds................................................................................................................................................... 13
30.
Accounting Records......................................................................................................................................... 13
31.
Management of Funds..................................................................................................................................... 13
32.
Audit........................................................................................................................................................................... 13
PART 6 -
MISCELLANEOUS........................................................................................................................................ 14
33.
Public Officer........................................................................................................................................................ 14
34.
Records of the Association......................................................................................................................... 14
35.
Notices to Members........................................................................................................................................... 14
36.
Common Seal......................................................................................................................................................... 14
38.
By-laws..................................................................................................................................................................... 15
39.
Alteration of Rules.......................................................................................................................................... 15
40.
Winding Up............................................................................................................................................................... 15
41.Transition
Provisions...............
15
42.Copies of
Constitution........................
.................15
The name of the Association is the Kosciuszko Huts Association, Incorporated ("the Association").
The objects of the Association are:
a)
To
assist with the management and conservation of huts and associated structures
in the high country of NSW and the ACT, principally in
Kosciuszko National Park (KNP) and Namadgi National Park
(Namadgi).[MS1]
b)
To
assist with the building of new huts when and where appropriate.
c)
To
liaise
with and advise relevant Authorities on matters relating to huts, hut sites and associated
structures.[MS2]
d)
To
conduct and promote historical research and conservation of the cultural
heritage of the Australian high country.
e)
To
establish and maintain a caretaker system for huts and associated structures in
the high country of NSW and the ACT.
f)
To
foster the continuation of cultural traditions such as the use of traditional
tools and construction techniques.
g)
To
encourage the safe and responsible use of the Australian high country and
co-operate with organisations responsible for search and rescue operations.
h)
To
foster enjoyment of the national parks, nature conservation reserves and
natural bushland of the Australian high country.
i)
To
promote conservation of the natural environment.
j)
To
co-operate with persons or organisations whose interests, activities and
objects are compatible with those of the Association.
In these Rules, unless a contrary intention appears:
"Committee" means the Committee of Management constituted in rule 19;
"Committee
Mmember" includes all of those persons
constituting the Committee of Management in accordance with rule 20;
"hHut"
means
a variety of buildings and sites, and associated structures such as yards,
water races etc, in the high country of NSW and the ACT regardless of their state
of repair, ranging from small, simply built and/or vernacular buildings, to
large more elaborate facilities retained or erected for one of the following
uses or values;:
shelter, recreation,
historical and/or architectural;
"financial year means the period from 1 March in a year to the last day of February in the following year;
"Member" means a Member of the Association, however
described, as referred to in rule 6
"Membership year" means the period from 1 July and to 30
June in the following year.
"officer" means any Ooffice Bbearer, the Public Officer or Committee Mmember of the Association;
"Secretary" means the person who has been elected as the
Secretary of the Association or, where no such person holds that office, the Ppublic Oofficer of the Association;
"special resolution" means a resolution which:
(a) is
passed at a Ggeneral
Mmeeting of the Association, being a meeting of
which at least 21 days notice, accompanied by notice of intention to propose
the resolution as a special resolution, has been given to the members of the
Association; and
(b) is passed by at least three-quarters of the votes of those
members of the Association who, being entitled to vote, vote at the meeting in person or by proxy; [MS3]
"the Act" means the Associations Incorporation Act 1991 (ACT);
"the Territory" means the
The Association has, both within and outside the Territory, the legal capacity of a natural person and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing has power:
(a) to grant a floating charge on property of the Association;
(b) to arrange for the Association to be registered or otherwise recognised as a corporate body in a place outside the Territory; and
(c) to do any act that it is authorised to do by law, as is necessary, incidental or conducive to the attainment of the objects of the Association.
(1) The income and property of the Association, however derived, must be applied solely towards the promotion of the objects of the Association and no portion thereof shall be paid or transferred, directly or indirectly, by dividend, bonus, or otherwise, to any member of the Association.
(2) Sub-rule (1) does not prevent the payment in good faith to an officer, member or employee of the Association of:
(a) remuneration in return for services actually rendered to the Association by the officer, member or employee for goods supplied to the Association by the officer, member or employee in the ordinary course of business; or
(b) interest at current bank overdraft rate on money lent; or
(c) a reasonable and proper sum by way of rent for premises let to the Association by the officer, member or employee.
(1) Any person interested in and supportive of the objects of the Association may apply for membership of the Association.
(2) Classes of membership of the Aassociation shall be:
a)
Ordinary Mmembership which is open to any person who supports the objectives
of the Association and pays the annual subscription.
b)
Family Mmembership is open to up to two adults, and their
dependants who supports the
objectives of the Association and pays the annual subscription.
c)
Group mMembership is open to any organisation or group of persons which
supports the objects of the Association and pays the annual subscription.
d)
Concessional Mmembership is open to any student or pensioner, or any other person as
agreed by the Committee [MS4]who supports the objects of the Association and pays the
annual subscription.
e)
Life Mmembership. The committee may nominate persons for election by a Ggeneral Mmeeting to honorary life membership of the
Association.
Note: Family and Group Memberships may include a multiple number of members provided they satisfy the provisions of sub-rule 7(2).
(1) An application for membership of the Association shall be:
(a) made in writing on a form approved by the Committee; and
(b) signed by the person applying for membership; and
(c) lodged with the Secretary of the Association, together with the sum payable as the first year's subscription.
(2) Where the application is
for Family Membership or Group Membership, the application shallmust [MS5]list the names of each person to be covered by that membership.
(3) As soon as practical after the receipt of the application,
the Secretary shall record the membership and enter the applicants name(s) in
the Register of Members, whereupon the applicant(s) becomes a member(s) of the
Association.
(4) As soon as practical after the entry of the
applicants on the Register of Members meeting, the Secretary shall notify the
applicant(s) in writing of their membership status.
(1) The Secretary shall maintain or cause to be maintained a Register of Members of the Association which records:
(a) the name and current address of the member;
(b) their date of admission to, and termination of, membership; and
(c) any periods of office or Committee membership.
(2) The Register of Members shall be available for inspection by members at reasonable times at a place in the Territory nominated by the Committee.
(1) Members
shall be entitled to attend all Ggeneral
Mmeetings of the Association and each membership category shall be entitled to one vote at these
meetings. This means that, although
a Family Membership or Group Membership may entitle two or
more of persons to be registered as Members, as a
group, they are only entitled to
one vote at meetings of the Association.[MS6]
(2) Members shall be eligible for election to any office of the Association, and to the Committee.
(3) A
right, privilege, or obligation of a person by virtue of theirher or his membership of the Association:
(a) is not capable of being transferred or transmitted to another person;
(b) terminates upon the cessation of theirher or his membership.
(1) The liability of members is limited.
(2) A
member of the Association is liable to contribute towards the payment of the
debts of the Association or the costs, charges and expenses of a winding up of
the Association, only to the extent of any arrears in theirhis or her membership subscription.
(1) The
membership subscription shall be thirty twenty dollars[MS7] per annum, or such other sum as the Annual General Meeting shall
from time to time determine.
(2) The membership subscription is payable on 1 July in each year.
A person ceases to be a member of the Association if the person:
(a) dies, or, in the case of a body corporate, is wound up;
(b) resigns from membership of the Association by written notice to the Committee;
(c) is terminatedexpelled
from the Association in accordance with rule 13 or
(d) fails to pay the annual membership subscription within six months of the due date.
(1) The membership of any member may be terminated by special resolution at a General Meeting convened for that purpose upon the grounds that the member:
(a) has persistently refused or neglected to comply with a provision of the rules; or
(b) has persistently and wilfully acted in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the Association.
(2) Subject
to section 50 of the Act which requires compliance with the rules of natural
justice, the person affected shall be given proper notice of the meeting,
including a statement of the grounds of the proposed termination of membership,
and shall be given a fair opportunity to present theirhis or her case to the meeting either orally or
in writing.
(3) Upon
the termination of membership under this rule, the Secretary shall remove, or
cause to be removed, the name of the member from the Register of Members,
whereupon that member ceases to be a member of the Association. The Secretary shall promptly advise the
member by writing addressed to theirhis or
her last known address that theirhis or her membership has been terminated.
(1) The Association shall, once in each calendar year, hold an Annual General Meeting.
(2) The Annual General Meeting shall be held on such day (being within the period of 4 months beginning at the end of the Association's most recently ended financial year) as the Committee may determine.
(3) The
Annual General Meeting shall be in addition to any other Ggeneral Mmeetings that may be held in the same year, and
shall be specified as such in the notice convening it.
(4) The ordinary business of the Annual General Meeting shall be to:
(a) confirm the minutes of the last preceding Annual General Meeting and of any special general meetings held since that meeting;
(b) receive from the Committee reports on the activities of the Association during the last preceding financial year;
(c) receive and consider the audited statement of accounts, the Auditor's Report and the other reports that are required to be submitted to members in accordance with section 73(1) of the Act; and
(d) elect the officer bearers of the Association and the other
Committee Mmembers.;
(5) The Annual General Meeting may transact special business of which notice is given in accordance with these Rules.
(1) The Ggeneral Mmeeting of the Association shall be the
controlling body of the Association.
(2) Only a Ggeneral Mmeeting shall have the power to elect any person
nominated by the committee to honorary life membership of the Association, and
elect any person patron of the Association.
(3) Notice of a motion to be included on the
agenda of a Ggeneral
Mmeeting, including notice of any motion for
amendment of this Cconstitution,
shall be given to the Secretary at least eight weeks before the date appointed
for the meeting.
(4) A member desiring to bring any business
before a Ggeneral
Mmeeting must give notice in writing of that
business to the Secretary at least two (2) weeks before the date appointed for
the meeting.
(5) The Committee may,
whenever it thinks fit, convene a General Meeting of the Association.
(6) A General Meeting of the Association shall be summoned by the Secretary on the written requisition of not fewer than twenty members of the Association.
(7) A requisition for a General Meeting shall state the proposed business of the meeting, shall be signed by the requisitionists, and shall be posted to or delivered to the Secretary of the Association at the business address of the Association. The requisition may consist of several documents in like form, each signed by one or more of the requisitionists.
(8) If the Secretary does not cause a General Meeting to be held within twenty eight days from the date on which a requisition is received, the requisitionists, or any of them, may convene the meeting; but any meeting so convened shall not be held after two months from the date of receipt of the requisition.
(9) A General Meeting convened by requisitionists in accordance with these rules shall be convened in the same manner as that in which General Meetings are convened by the Committee.
The Committee shall give at least twenty one (21) days notice in writing to members of the place, day, and time for the holding of a General Meeting, and of the nature of the business to be transacted.
(1) No item of business shall be transacted at a General Meeting unless a quorum of members entitled to vote under these rules is present.
(2) The
quorum for General Meetings shall be twentyfifteen (1520)
members or one half of the membership, whichever is the fewer.[MS8]
(1) The
President, or, in the absence of the President, the Vice President, or a
Committee Mmember
shall chair General Meetings of the Association. If none of these people are present or they
are unwilling to act, or if it has been agreed to by the Committee, the members
present shall appoint one of their number to chair the meeting.
(2) The person chairing a General Meeting at which a quorum is present may, with the consent of the meeting, adjourn from time to time and place to place, but no business shall be transacted at an adjourned meeting other than the business left unfinished at the meeting at which the adjournment took place.
(3) Where a General Meeting is adjourned for twenty one days or more, then like notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given as in the case of the original meeting.
(4) Questions arising at a General Meeting shall be determined by a show of hands of those eligible to vote, or if demanded by not less than three members, by a poll taken in such manner as the person chairing the meeting may determine.
(5) In
accordance with Rule 9(1), eEach membership reperson presented in person
at a General Meeting (including the person chairing the meeting) shall be
entitled to one vote and, in the event of an equality of votes, the motion
shall lapse.[MS9]
(6) To be eligible to vote at a General Meeting members must be in attendance. Proxy voting shall not be available to members who are unable to attend.
(1) The affairs of the Association shall be managed by a Committee of Management (the Committee).
(2) The Committee:
(a) shall control and manage the business and affairs of the Association;
(b) may, subject to these Rules, exercise all such powers and functions as may be exercised by the Association other than those powers and functions that are required by the Rules to be exercised by the Annual General Meeting or General Meetings of the Association;
(c) subject to the Act and these Rules, has power to perform all such acts and things as appear to the Committee to be essential for the proper management of the business and affairs of the Association; and
(d) shall have power to appoint subcommittees for the purposes of carrying out such functions of the Association as the Committee directs. Such subcommittees may include non-members of the Association, but must include at least one Committee member who is responsible for the activities of that subcommittee.
The Committee shall consist of:
(a) The office bearers of the Association;
(b) Four other members elected at the Annual General Meeting from among the members of the Association;
(c) Such other members as may be co-opted from time to time provided always that the members so co-opted shall not at any time exceed four.
(1) The office bearers of the Association shall be:
(a) President
(b) Vice President
(c) Treasurer
(d) Secretary
(e) Newsletter Editor
(f) Huts Maintenance Officer, South (KNP)
(g) Huts Maintenance Officer, North (KNP)
(h) Huts Maintenance Officer, Geehi (KNP)
(i) Huts MaintenanceOfficer, Namadgi