2. Feedback at and after the 2017 AGM
• The new constitution was put to members at the
AGM in November 2017
– The vote fell just short of the required 75%
• The Board wants to build on this momentum and
continue the reform process for Members
• We conducted a survey in November
– 100% of respondents wanted a new constitution
• Affiliates also wrote to us with suggestions
• The Board signed off a new draft in July 2018
Strengthening community control2
3. What Members wanted in a modern
constitution
Plain language
Easy to find what
you need
Modern
governance
ShortClear purpose
3 Strengthening community control
4. The composition of the Board
Feedback received
Who?
One from
each
State
How
many?
8-9
How to
elect?
Direct
election
How
long?
4 years
Strengthening community control4
5. Most were happy with the 2018 draft –
but some elements kept coming up
1. Do we allow Affiliates to be members of NACCHO?
No – we are a national voice for members
2. Do we allow Affiliate directors to be NACCHO directors?
Yes – manage this through a conflicts of interest policy
3. Do we require all members to be Affiliate members first?
No – we should manage our own members
4. Should members directly elect the Chair and Deputy Chair? –
Yes – this maintains community control
Many of these are resolved when you think of NACCHO as a members’
organisation
Strengthening community control5
7. End benefit:
a stronger national voice for the sector
• The Board is more accountable to its members.
• The Constitution gives members powers to nominate,
elect and, if required, dismiss Board members
7 Strengthening community control
8. Strengthening community control
Timeframe
9
• New draft out now
• Please check it out
• Special resolution by 12 October
• Vote at 2 November AGM in Brisbane
• If passed, then we hold a special
general meeting in June 2019 to elect
a new Board
Introduction of speakers – Donnella Mills and Kieran Chilcott
Thanks for coming along
As you probably know we are running some consultations for members about the new NACCHO constitution
The former NACCHO Board signed-off on a new constitution in September 2017.
The vote at the AGM last year fell just short of the required 75 per cent for it to be adopted.
As the interest in a new constitution remains strong, the new Board has moved ahead with the reform process.
Feedback was received through direct correspondence from Members and Affiliates as well as in a national electronic survey and in face-to-face consultation sessions in a number of jurisdictions.
Through this process, 42 specific recommendations were put forward to the new NACCHO Board.
The resulting version of the new constitution accommodates much of this feedback.
What has been produced balances our legal requirements with the need for reform and what Members have requested.
The revised new constitution will be put to Members formerly through a special resolution at the AGM in Brisbane on 2 November 2018.
In the feedback we have received since the AGM in 2017, there are elements of reform that almost everyone seems to want.
A modern constitution in plain English that is easy for Members to use.
A shorter document
A clearer purpose
Up-to-date governance arrangements.
The different points of view come when you start asking questions about the composition of the Board and how NACCHO should relate to its Members and to the Affiliates
The preferred model for the composition of the new Board and the election of Chair and Deputy Chair was agreed as follows.
Eight directors (one for each state/territory) elected directly by members in each state and territory at the AGM (serving four-year terms).
Chair and Deputy Chair elected by all members from candidates nominating from among the eight elected directors, also at the AGM (serving two-year terms).
In the new constitution there is also provision, as required, for one Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander independent director, who could be appointed by the elected Board to fill a specific needs gap for a specific period of time.
As set out in the draft of the new constitution, it was agreed that candidates for each jurisdiction be identified through a nomination process before the AGM run by NACCHO for its members.
What would be different is that then – at the AGM – a state/territory-level vote would be taken to elect the eight directors (one from each jurisdiction).
After these votes, the nominees for Chair and Deputy Chair (not mutually exclusive) will come forward from the eight elected directors and all NACCHO members will vote for the Chair and Deputy Chair from these eight candidates, also at the AGM.
Members would have one vote each in a secret ballot.
Directors would only be permitted to serve two consecutive terms (8 years) as directors but could then serve another two terms after a full term’s break. This precludes three consecutive terms (12 years) being served.
A new constitution also gives us the opportunity to clarify our role and our relationships within the sector.
The new constitution has been drafted in the light of NACCHO’s role as a national peak for its 145 ACCHSs.
The relationship with members is direct, in terms of governance and advocacy.
The relationship with Affiliates is administrative and managed largely through the Network Funding Agreement.
Conflicts of interest can be managed through the relevant policies
If we are a Members’ organsiation, Affiliates should not be a member of NACCHO in the new constitution and we should manage our own membership lists and processes.
Freeing up the Affiliate membership requirement also protects NACCHO in the event that an Affiliate is lost.
It was also agreed by the Board that the proposed constitution would accept all current members and apply the new membership conditions to new member applications only.
As a members’ organisation, members should elect the NACCHO Board directly rather than it being appointed through the Affiliates.
This position also helps resolve questions concerning the issue of national representation versus jurisdictional interests and, therefore, Affiliate influence and/or control.
This diagram was prepared to show – as simply as possibly – how NACCHO has a direct relationship with its members and how the relationship with the Affiliates is largely administrative
The Board unanimously signed off this new version of the constitution at its July meeting.
It believes that if the Members vote to accept it in November at the AGM, we will have better arrangements in which we are more accountable to our members and our communities.
The constitution and supporting material should have been distributed to all our members
Please let us know if you need a copy
A formal special resolution will be distributed by 12 October 2018
Then comes the vote at the AGM on the last day of our next national conference in Brisbane on 2 November
If the constitution is passed it comes into effect immediately, but transitional arrangements are built in
The old Board will stay in place until a special general meeting no later than June 2019
