vicsport, in conjunction with VicHealth, has developed a Good Governance Tool Kit which is a comprehensive resource that delivers practical information and templates for consideration by Boards, Chairs, CEOs and other key figures responsible for the quality of corporate governance. Whilst developed primarily for sporting organisations this Tool Kit can provide all clubs with a framework to improve governance practices and gender representation at a board and leadership level.
The Tool Kit contains a comprehensive overview of five key components of good governance practice:
Justice Connect is a not-for-profit organisation which is committed to furthering the public interest, by way of provision of pro bono legal services and legal education for community organisations. They have developed a guide to the legal requirements of Committee or Board members for not-for-profit groups.
Guide to the legal duties of Committees and Boards
A Board induction checklist assists newly elected Board Members to be better informed, integrate more readily with existing Board Members and become a proactive contributor towards the governance of the club. Clubs can use tailor this template to suits the needs of your club.
CCV Board Induction Template
One characteristic of a successful club, is the strong working relationship between the Committee/Board and the Manager. This requires ongoing two-way communication, especially between the President and the Manager. Establishing regular reporting channels and defining the frequency and style of communication that suits each party will be key to clear understanding.
Members of Club Committees or Boards of Management are regarded as ‘associates’ of the venue operator and must be approved by the VCGLR to carry out those duties in a club licensed for gaming. Clubs must notify the VCGLR of a change in board/committee member(s) that are Associated Individuals of the Venue Operator Licence by completing the online approval form:
Keep your association’s details up to date; otherwise, you may miss important notifications from Consumer Affairs. https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/clubs-and-fundraising/incorporated-associations/mycav-for-incorporated-associations
The Not-for-Profit Law Guide to legal duties covers the key legal duties of the people who hold a position on the governing body of a not-for-profit community organisation, including Victorian incorporated associations, companies limited by guarantee, cooperatives and indigenous corporations. It also covers the duties that apply to office holders, who may not hold an ‘official’ position, but based on their influence need to comply with the legal duties as well.
It is a plain-language guide which includes case studies based on common situations that arise in the not-for-profit sector, as well as tips to help committee and board members comply with their legal obligations.
The Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 provides that the rules of a club that holds or seeks to hold a club licence must comply with Schedule 1, except as otherwise determined by the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation.
Failure to ensure that the rules of a club continue to comply with the Schedule is a breach of the conditions of licence.
Legislation exists to protect volunteers from the risk of being personally sued. The legislation recognises volunteers’ contribution to the community sector, including sport and recreation organisations, by providing them with legal safeguards.
This means that a volunteer working for an incorporated community organisation cannot be held liable for anything done, or not done, in good faith in that role. Instead the community organisation will be liable to pay the compensation. The following link provides an overview of that legislation.
vicsport is an independent member-based organisation representing Victoria’s sport and active recreation sector. It provides a number of resource guides relevant to good operational controls for clubs.
Play by the rules is a website for sports clubs supported by the Australian and State governments, designed to ensure sports is inclusive, safe and fair. It provides a number of tools around managing risks, complaints handling online training opportunities
Community Clubs Victoria is able to support members with their governance queries.
As clubs continue to prosper, committees and managers need to be ever vigilant that they have effective tools in place to minimise the risk of fraud occurring.
Committees need to ensure that fraud prevention strategies are covered in their risk management strategy, which should be sighted and signed off on an annual basis. Should an incidence of fraud occur at your club, it has the potential to impair the club’s ability to achieve its goals, deliver member services and to damage the club’s reputation – damage that can impact your relationship with sponsors and government funding sources.
It is common for committees to underplay the likelihood of risk, noting the trustworthy staff and good club culture as reasons why it would never happen. That was probably what the 12% of not-for- profits* thought before they suffered fraud in the past two years.
The main factors contributing to fraud in the sector are:
Fraud happens in a variety of ways including cash theft, payroll fraud, credit card fraud, theft of assets and inventory, cheque forgery and online payments.
Protect your club by continuous monitoring and improvement of prevention and detection processes. Processes should include good club governance, strong financial controls including segregation of duties, staff training and awareness and creation of a whistleblower program.
If fraud is suspected, care and caution are needed to make certain that a proper and fair investigation can be undertaken. We suggest you contact CCV to discuss an appropriate course of action for your club.
A club’s rules/constitution will be the final authority on who may be elected to your Committee /Board.
Many club constitutions specifically prohibit employees’ standing for election, some do not. In the strict letter of the law, there is nothing that prevents an eligible member from standing for election. If a clubs rules permit fully paid members to stand for election. Prima facie, this would seem to make members who are not fully paid, ineligible for election.
One issue with having an employee stand for election is that there may come a time to deal with the employee as an employee, and the potential for conflict of interest is clear. The committee has the power to hire and fire, but there is a clear conflict if an elected committee member needs to be moved on. However, a committee can’t simply remove one of its members – a Special Resolution is required.
The potential problems within a club are obvious where an employee who is a committee member was subject to discipline or attempted removal. Such an event might conceivably split a club down the middle.
One way clubs overcome some of these problems, and at the same time engage with senior employees whose knowledge of the business is essential to the running of the committee and club, is to appoint an employee to the committee for a specific period, say, a year. This means the committee has the benefit of the employee’s knowledge of the workings of the business, but that employee sits and acts as a full committee member at the behest of the committee.
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