COMMITTEE
The committee (sometimes referred to as the ‘management committee’ or ‘board’) looks after the association’s affairs and has legal duties under the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 (the Act).
Committee members are appointed according to your association’s rules. Depending on the rules, their duties may include:
- maintaining the association’s financial viability
- ensuring the association’s purposes are being achieved
- keeping up to date with legal requirements
- signing contracts on the association’s behalf.
Specifically, committee members’ functions under the Act include:
- ensuring an annual general meeting is held within five months after the end of the association’s financial year
- submitting a financial statement that covers the full financial year, which gives a ‘true and fair’ view of the association’s financial affairs, to members at the annual general meeting
- overseeing the association’s financial affairs. This includes making sure the association does not continue to operate if it is insolvent
- appointing a new secretary within 14 days, if the position becomes vacant
- returning all documents that belong to the association within 28 days of ceasing to be a committee member.
A committee is a group of members of the incorporated association who are chosen to make decisions on specific matters on behalf of it.
Committee meetings are usually less formal than general meetings and the notice requirements to attend are also less formal. However, it is important to comply with the rules of your association and to take and store accurate minutes from committee meetings.