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FEBRUARY 2002

SHORTHAND REPORTERS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

CONSTITUTION/RULES

PART I

 

PRELIMINARY

 

OBJECTS

1. (1)  The objects of the Shorthand Reporters Association of Australia (SRAA) are to advance and promote the professions of court reporting, parliamentary reporting and stenocaptioning.

 

INTERPRETATION

 

1. (2) In these rules, except in so far as the context or subject matter otherwise indicates or requires ‑

 

"management committee" means the committee of management of the Association, as defined in Part 111 hereof;

 

"ordinary member" means a member of the management committee who is not an office‑bearer of the Association, as referred to in rule 13(2);

 

"secretary/treasurer" means ‑

 

(a) the person(s) holding office under these ruIes as secretary and/or treasurer of the Association; or

 

(b) where no such person holds that office, the public officer of the Association;

 

"special general meeting" means a general meeting of the Association other than annual general meeting;

 

"the Act" means the Associations Incorporation Act 1984 (New South Wales, as amended from time to time);

 

"the regulation" means the Associations Incorporation Regulations (New South Wales).

 

1.(3) In these rules ‑

 

(a) a reference to a function includes a reference to a power, authority and duty; and

 

(b) a reference to the exercise of a function includes, where the function is a duty, a reference to the performance of the duty.

 

1.(4) The provisions of the Interpretation Act 1987 apply to and in respect of these rules in the same manner as those provisions would so apply if these rules were an instrument made under the Act.

 

PART II

 

MEMBERSHIP

 

MEMBERSHIP QUALIFICATIONS AND CATEGORIES

 

2.         (1)        A person is qualified to be a member of the Association if, but only if ‑

 

(a) the person is a person referred to in section 15(1)(a), (b) or (c) of the Act and has not ceased to be a member of the Association at any time after incorporation of the Association under the Act; or­

 

(b) the person is a natural person who made application for membership of the Association as provided by rule 3.

 

            (2)        Ordinary Membership

 

Any person involved in the production of transcript by means of shorthand, including stenocaptioners, shall be eligible to apply for ordinary membership.

 

(3)        Associate membership may be available to -

 

(a)        any person who would previously have been entitled to ordinary membership, but who, because of retirement or change of employment, is no longer working as a shorthand reporter; or

 

(b)        any person involved in the production of transcript from the spoken word by means other than shorthand; or

 

(c)        any person working as a scopist.

 

An associate member will have no voting rights, nor will an associate member be entitled to nominate for election to a management position.

 

            (4)        Corporate Membership

 

Any entity employing more than ten (10) people who qualify for ordinary or associate membership  shall be entitled to apply for corporate membership coverage of those people.  The corporate membership fee will be ten (10) times the ordinary membership fee.    Only those members who would be eligible for ordinary membership in their own right may vote or seek nomination for election to a management committee position.

 

            (5)        Student membership

 

Any person involved in the study of shorthand shall be eligible to apply for student membership.  A student member will have no voting rights, nor will a student member be entitled to nominate for election to a management position.

 

            (6)        Honorary membership

 

A recipient of a Hall of Fame award shall be automatically awarded honorary life membership of the Association.

 

 

APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP

 

3.         (1) An application of a person for membership of the Association ‑

 

(a) shall be made in writing in the form set out in Appendix 1 to these rules; and

 

(b) shall be lodged with the secretary/treasurer of the Association.

 

(2) The amount of the annual subscription shall accompany the application for    membership form (appendix 1).

           

            (3) The secretary/treasurer shall, on payment by the applicant of the appropriate membership fee, enter the applicant's name in the register of members and, upon the name being so entered, the applicant becomes a member of the Association.

 

 

CESSATION OF MEMBERSHIP

 

4. A person ceases to be a member of the Association if the person ‑

 

(a) dies;

(b) resigns that membership;

(c) is expelled from the Association; or

(d) has not paid dues within 90 days of the due date.

 

 

MEMBERSHIP ENTITLEMENTS NOT TRANSFERABLE

 

5. A right, privilege or obligation which a person has by reason of being a member of the Association ‑

 

(a) is not capable of being transferred or transmitted to another person; and ‑

(b) terminates upon cessation of the person's membership.

 

 

RESIGNATION OF MEMBERSHIP

 

6.         (1) A member of the Association is not entitled to resign that membership except in        accordance with this rule.

 

            (2) A member of the Association who has paid all amounts  payable by the member to the Association in respect of the member's membership may resign from membership of the Association by first giving notice (being not less than one month or not less than such other period as the management committee may determine) in writing to the secretary/treasurer of the member's intention to resign and, upon the expiration of the period of notice, the member  ceases to be a member.

 

            (3) Where a member of the Association ceases to be a member pursuant to clause (2), and in every other case where a member ceases to hold membership, the secretary/treasurer shall make a prompt entry in the register of members recording the date on which the member ceased to be a member.

 

 

REGISTER OF MEMBERS

 

7.         (1) The public officer or secretary/treasurer of the Association shall establish and maintain a register of members of the Association specifying the name and address of each person who is a member of the Association together with the date on which the person became a member.

 

            (2) The register of members shall be kept at the principal place of administration of the Association and shall be open for inspection, free of charge, by any member of the Association at any reasonable hour.

 

 

FEES, SUBSCRIPTIONS, ETC

 

8.         (1) The annual dues for membership shall be in such sum as shall be prescribed from time to time by the management committee.

 

            (2) The annual dues are due and payable within 14 days of the first day of the membership year (as determined by the management committee from time to time) unless application for extension of time for payment is made to and accepted by the management committee.

 

 

MEMBERS LIABILITIES

 

9.         The liability of a member of the Association to contribute towards the payment of the debts and liabilities of the Association or the cost, charges and expenses of the winding up of the Association is limited to the amount, if any, unpaid by the member in respect of membership of the Association as required by rule 8.

 

 

DISCIPLINING OF MEMBERS

 

lO.       (1) Where the management committee is of the opinion that a member of the Association ‑

 

(a) has persistently refused or neglected to comply with a provision or provisions of these rules; or

 

(b) has persistently and wilfully acted in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the Association -

 

 

            the management committee may, by resolution ‑

 

  (c) expel the member from the Association; or

 

  (d) suspend the member from membership of the Association for a specified period.

 

            (2) A resolution of the management committee under clause (1) is of no effect unless that committee, at a meeting held not earlier than 14 days and not later than 28 days after service on the member of a notice under clause (3), confirms the resolution in accordance with this rule.

 

            (3) Where the management committee passes a resolution under clause (1), the secretary/treasurer shall, as soon as practicable, cause a notice in writing to be served on the member -

 

(a) setting out the resolution of the management committee and the grounds on which it is based;

 

(b) stating that the member may address the management committee at a meeting to be held not earlier than 14 days and not later than 28 days after service of the notice;

 

(c) stating the date, place and time of that meeting; and

 

(d) informing the member that the membership may do either or both of the following:­

 

(i) attend and speak at that meeting;

 

(ii) submit to the management committee at or prior to the date of that meeting written representations relating to the resolution.

 

            (4) At a meeting of the management committee held as referred to in clause (3), that committee shall ‑

 

(a) give to the member an opportunity to make oral representations;

 

(b) give due consideration to any written representations submitted to that committee by the member at or prior to the meeting; and

 

(c) by resolution determine whether to confirm or to revoke the resolution.

                       

            (5) Where the management committee confirms a resolution under clause (4), the secretary/treasurer shall, within seven days after that confirmation, by notice in writing inform the member of the fact and of the member's right of appeal under Rule II.

 

            (6) A resolution confirmed by the management committee under clause (4) does not take effect ‑

 

(a) until the expiration of the period within which the member is entitled to appeal against the resolution where the member does not exercise the right of appeal within that period; or

 

(b) where within that period the member exercises the right of appeal, unless and until the Association confirms the resolution pursuant to rule 11 (4).

 

 

RIGHT OF APPEAL OF DISCIPLINED MEMBER

 

ll.          (l) a member may appeal to the Association in general meeting against a resolution of the management committee which is confirmed under rule 10 (4), within seven days after notice of the resolution is served on the member by lodging with the secretary a notice to that effect.

 

            (2) Upon receipt of a notice from a member under clause (l), the secretary/treasurer shall notify the management committee which shall convene a general meeting of the Association to be held within 21 days after the date on which the secretary received the notice.

 

            (3) At a general meeting of the Association convened under clause (2):

 

(a) no business other than the question of the appeal shall be transacted;

 

(b) the management committee and the member shall be given the opportunity to state their respective cases orally or in writing, or both; and

 

(c) the members present shall vote by secret ballot on the question of whether the resolution should be confirmed or revoked.

 

(4) If at the general meeting the Association passes a special resolution in favour of the confirmation of the resolution, the resolution is confirmed.

 

 


PART III

 

THE MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

 

POWERS, ETC, OF MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

 

12.       The management committee shall be called the management committee of the     Association and, subject to the Act, the Regulation and these rules and to any           resolution passed by the Association in general meeting ‑

 

(a) shall control and manage the affairs of the Association;

 

(b) may exercise all such functions as may be exercised by the Association other than those functions that are required by these rules to be exercised by a general meeting of the members of the Association; and

 

(c) has power to perform all such acts and do all such things as appear to the management committee to be necessary or desirable for the proper management of the affairs of the Association.

 

 

CONSTITUTION AND MEMBERSHIP

 

13.       (1) Subject in the case of the first members of the management committee to section 21 of the Act, the management committee shall consist of ‑

 

(a) the office‑bearers of the Association; and

 

(b) six ordinary members, each of whom shall be elected at the annual general meeting of the Association pursuant to rule 14.

 

            (2) The office‑bearers of the Association shall be ‑

 

(a) the president, whose duty it shall be to preside at all meetings of the Association and to perform all duties incident to the office of president and such other duties as may be prescribed from time to time.

 

(b) the vice‑president, whose duty it shall be to perform the duties of the President in his/her absence, or in the event of his/her inability or refusal to act. When thus acting the vice-president shall have the powers of, and be subject to, all restrictions placed upon the president. The vice‑president shall perform such other duties as from time to time may be assigned to him/her by the president or the management committee. The vice‑president shall be the president-elect for the two years following election as vice‑president;

 

(c) the immediate past-president; and

 

(d) the public officer or secretary/treasurer, whose duty it shall be to ensure that ‑

 

(i) all money due to the Association is collected and received and that all payments authorised by the Association are made; and

 

(ii) correct books and accounts are kept showing the financial affairs of the Association including full details of all receipts and expenditure connected with the activities of the Association.

 

            (3) The duties of the public officer or secretary/treasurer shall include -

 

(a) As soon as practicable after being appointed as secretary/treasurer, he/she will lodge notice with the Association of his/her address.

 

(b) It is the duty of the secretary/treasurer to keep minutes of -

 

(i) all appointments of office bearers and members of the management committee; and

 

(ii) the names of members of the management committee present at a management committee meeting or a general meeting; and

 

(iii) all proceedings at management committee meetings and general meetings.

 

            (4) Minutes of proceedings at a meeting shall be signed by the chairperson of the meeting or by the chairperson of the next succeeding meeting.

 

            (5) Each member of the management committee shall, subject to these rules, hold office until the conclusion of the annual general meeting two years following the date of the member's election, but is eligible for re‑election.

 

            (6) In the event of a casual vacancy occurring in the membership of the management committee, the management committee may appoint a member of the Association to fill the vacancy and the member so appointed shall hold office, subject to these rules, until the conclusion of the annual general meeting two years following the date of the appointment.

 

 

ELECTION OF MEMBERS

 

14.       (1) Nominations of candidates for election as office bearers of the Association or as ordinary members of the management committee ‑

 

(a) shall be made in writing signed by two members of the Association and accompanied by the written consent of the candidate (which may be endorsed on the form of nomination); and

 

(b) shall be delivered to the secretary/treasurer of the Association not less than 14 days before the date fixed for the holding of the annual general meeting at which the election is to take place.

 

            (2) If insufficient nominations are received to fill all vacancies on the management committee, the candidates nominated shall be deemed to be elected and further nominations shall be received at the annual general meeting.

 

            (3) If insufficient further nominations are received any vacant positions remaining on the management committee shall be deemed to be casual vacancies.

 

            (4) If the number of nominations received is equal to the number of vacancies to be filled, the persons nominated shall be deemed to be elected.

 

            (5) If the number of nominations received exceeds the number of vacancies to be filled, a ballot shall be held.

 

            (6) The ballot for the election of office bearers and ordinary members of the management committee shall be conducted prior to or at the annual general meeting in such usual and proper manner as the management committee may direct including the use of a proxy vote (refer clause 30 and appendix 2).

 

            (7) A nomination of a candidate for election under this clause is not valid if that candidate has been nominated for election to another office at the same election.

 

 

CASUAL VACANCIES

 

15.       For the purpose of these rules, a casual vacancy in the office of a member of the management committee occurs if the member ‑

 

(a) dies;

 

(b) ceases to be a member of the Association;

 

(c) becomes an insolvent under administration within the meaning of the Companies (New South Wales) Code;

 

(d) resigns office by notice in writing given to the secretary/treasurer; or

 

(e) is excused from office under rule 16.

 

 

EXCLUSION OF MEMBER

 

16.       (1) The Association in a general meeting may by resolution excuse any member of the management committee from the office of member before the expiration of the member's term of office and may, by resolution, appoint another person to hold office until the expiration of the term of office of the members so removed.

 

            (2) Where a member of the management committee to whom a proposed resolution referred to in clause (1) relates makes representations in writing to the secretary/treasurer or president (not exceeding a reasonable length) and requests that the representations be notified to the members of the Association, the secretary/treasurer or the president may send a copy of the representations to each member of the Association or, if they are not so sent the member is entitled to require that the representations be read out at the meeting at which the resolution is considered.

 

 

MEETINGS AND QUORUM

 

17.       (1) The management committee shall meet at least twice in each­ period of 12 months at such place and time or in such manner as the management committee may determine.

 

            (2) Additional meetings of the management committee may be convened by the president, or by any member of the management committee after due consultation with the president or his/her delegate.

 

            (3) Oral or written notice of a meeting of the management committee shall be given by the secretary/treasurer (or his/her delegate) to each member of the management committee at least 48 hours (or such other period as may be unanimously agreed upon by the members of the management committee) before the time appointed for the holding of the meeting.

 

            (4) Notice of a meeting given under clause 17(3) shall specify the general nature of the business to be transacted at the meeting and no business other than that business shall be transacted at the meeting, except business which the management committee members present at the meeting unanimously agree to treat as urgent business.

 

            (5) Any six members of the management committee constitutes a quorum for the transaction of the business of a meeting of the management committee.

 

            (6) No business shall be transacted by the management committee unless a quorum is present and if within half an hour of the time appointed for the meeting a quorum is not present, the meeting stands adjourned to the same place and at the same hour of the same day in the following week.

 

            (7) If at the adjourned meeting a quorum is not present within half an hour of the time appointed for the meeting, the meeting shall be dissolved.

 

            (8) At a meeting of the management committee ‑

 

(a)    the president or, in the president's absence, the vice‑president shall preside;

or ‑

 

(b) if the president and the vice‑president are absent or unwilling to act such one of the remaining members of the management committee as may be chosen by the members present at the meeting shall preside.

 

DELEGATION BY MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE TO SUBCOMMITTEE

 

18.       (1) The management committee may, by instrument in writing, delegate to one or more subcommittees (consisting of such member or members of the Association as the management committee thinks fit) the exercise of such of the functions of the management committee as are specified in the instrument, other than ‑

 

(a) this power of delegation; and

 

(b) a function which is a duty imposed on the management committee by the Act or by any other law.

 

            (2) A function the exercise of which has been delegated to a subcommittee under this rule may, while the delegation remains unrevoked, be exercised from time to time by the subject committee in accordance with the terms of the delegation.

 

            (3) A delegation under this section may be made subject to such conditions or limitations as to the exercise of any function the subject thereof, or as to time or circumstances, as may be specified in the instrument of delegation.

 

            (4) Notwithstanding any delegation under this rule, the committee may continue to exercise any function delegated.

 

            (5) Any account or thing done or suffered by a sub­committee acting in the exercise of a delegation under this rule has the same force and effect as it would have if it had been done or suffered by the management committee.

 

            (6) The management committee may, by instrument in writing, revoke wholly or in part any delegation under this rule.

 

            (7) A subcommittee may meet and adjourn as it thinks proper.

 

 

VOTING AND DECISIONS