CLUB GENERAL MEETINGS & change of office bearers 

General meetings are conducted for the purpose of providing an update on club's activties and finances as well as providing members with an opportunity to interact and be a positive part of the future of any club.  It is during a general meeting that club office bearers are elected. 

There are a number of important tasks that must be considered when preparing for and conducting a club general meeting and further information can be found below.  

BEFORE a club general meeting

Below is a basic list of the steps required when preparing for a general meeting.  Further detailed information can be found within the General Meeting Preparation Checklist (see Documents for more information). 

steps required

Step 1:  After determing the date, time and location of the general meeting, submit to C&S the Club General Meeting - Notice of Intent Google form (see Documents for more information).  This notification lets C&S know that the club is intending to hold a General Meeting and we can provide assistance if need be.  A link to the General Meeting Attendance template (which C&S strongly recommendeds all clubs use) can also be found within this Google Form. 

Step 2:  If there are elections to be held during the general meeting, a suitable Returning Officer should be appointed.  Further details regarding this appointment can be found within the club's Constitution. 
Should your club wish to request the assistance of a C&S Executive member to act as a Returning Officer, a request can be made when submitting the Club General Meeting - Notice of Intent form or by completing the Request for Returning Officer Google form (see Documents for more information).

Step 3:  Provide notice to all club members advising that a general meeting will be held.  This advice is to be sent by email from the club's @monashclubs.org account to all members and between 14 - 21 calendar days' notice must be provided (see your club Constitution for guidance on the required number of days).  It is recommended that an agenda for the meeting is provided as part of this notice including advising of any elections that will be held. 

Helpful Document: A Notice of General Meeting template can be found here. 

after a club general meeting 
Change of Office Bearers and Club Bank Signatories

Following the conduct of a General Meeting which involves a Top Four election, to update your clubs list of office bearers please read the instructions below thoroughly and complete the requested tasks in a timely manner.  It is important to remember that C&S must be informed of your clubs 'Top Four' at all times.  If your club holds a by-election for any of the 'Top Four' positions outside of an AGM, your club must re-submit the Club Office Bearer List and Change of Bank Signatories Form for processing including the details of all Top Four members, not just those recently elected.  

The below requested information should be submitted within 2 weeks of the election of your incoming office bearers.   

STEPS REQUIRED

Step 1:  Review the Change of Club Office Bearers/Elections Pack (see Documents for more information), making note of the handy checklist that has been included within this particular document. 

Step 2:  Complete the Club Office Bearer List and Change of Bank Signatories Form (see Documents for more information). This form can be found at the end of the Change of Club Office Bearers/Elections Pack document and is used to update the C&S records related to the Club Executives.  

Step 3: Gather together the following supporting documentation: 

  • The completed Club Office Bearer List and Change of Bank Signatories Form. 
  • Minutes from your quorate Annual General Meeting (or General Meeting where by-elections have occurred for your Pres/VP/Sec/Treas). Ensure that all elections are held in accordance with your clubs constitution and requirements outlined by C&S. The minutes should include:

    a) a motion in the minutes of the AGM / OGM / EGM authorising the new signatories (Pres/Sec/Treas or Pres/VP/Treas) of the club bank account: 
    Example Motion
    'That Lilly Smith (President), James Xu (Secretary) and Nat Miller (Treasurer) be the new authorised signatories of the club bank account.'
    Moved:  Kristin Brown                  Seconded:  Susie Tassie 
    Motion CARRIED Unanimously
    Important:     in accordance with 2.2.3 of the C&S Finance Regulations, the club bank acocunt must have atleast 3 and no more than 4 sigantories registered, two of whom must be the club President and club Treasurer.  The remaining signatory(ies) must be either the club Secretary or Vice President. 

    b) a motion in the minutes of the AGM / OGM / EGM naming the new Authorised Contact Person for the club (usually the Treasurer) to the Australian Tax Office. The C&S Coordinator is usually a second contact person for every club. If your committee has a problem with this, please speak to a member of the C&S Staff.
    Example Motion
    'That Nat Miller be the new Authorised Contact Person for the Australian Tax Office'
    Moved:  Kristin Brown                  Seconded:  Suse Tassie
    Motion CARRIED Unanimously
     
  • Attendance list indicating those who were present during the meeting and their eligibility to attend and vote during the meeting. It is strongly recommended that the C&S General Meeting Attendance template (Google Sheet) is used. 

Step 4: Submit the above requested information to C&S by completing this Google Form - Change of Office Bearer Submissions. 

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

A member of the C&S staff will review the club's submission and process the details internally. They will then be in touch to provide further information to all club Executives, including advice regarding the changing of bank signatories.  Please be patient regarding further advice, particularly during peak General Meeting periods (March - May, August - October). 

Following advice from a C&S staff member that the processing has been completed, an appointment should be made with your club's applicable bank, Monash Clayton (suburb) branch, to change the signatores for your club bank account.  Before attending this bank appointment, please make a further booking with C&S staff member to sign and collect the bank letter.  All signatories will need to be present at this appointment as C&S cannot provide the letter until all signatures have been sighted and authorised.
Important to Note: The bank letter provided by C&S will override any previous documents held by the bank.  As a result, ALL club signatories must attend an appointment with C&S and re-sign the bank letter, even if there is only one new signatory being added.   

Further information regarding this process can be found in the Change of Office Bearers/Election Pack document.

important Things to consider

General Meeting Notice

It is important that proper notice is given for all General Meetings in accordance with the club's Constitution.  A minimum of 21 or 14 calendar days notice should be served to all members (see your club Constitution for guidance on the required number of days) and the meeting must be scheduled on an academic day.  It is also recommended that clubs include further information regarding the appointment of proxies. 

For further details regarding providing a General Meeting Notice click here. 

Quorum

This is the minimum amount of Ordinary Members (Clayton Students) that must attend a General Meeting so it can make decisions, such as electing a new club committee.  For any General Meeting, quorum will be 10 Ordinary Members or 10% of Ordinary Members (capped at 50), which ever is greater.  The Secretary is able to determine what the quorum requirement is by using the General Meeting Attendance Template (linked below) or by downloading the Membership List via the C&S Membership Platform.  Please see your clubs constitution regarding running a General Meeting for more information or contact a C&S staff member for assistance. 

YOU MUST ADJOURN THE AGM / OGM / EGM UNDER RULE 38(3)(b) IF YOU FAIL TO ACHIEVE QUORUM AND CONTACT C&S ASAP. 

Meeting Minutes 

For most clubs the recording of meeting minutes is the responsibility of the club Secretary.  If the Secretary will also be acting as the Returning Officer during the meeting, it is appropriate for another member present to take over this responsibility for a short amount of time.  Those present can move a motion that allows for this appointment to take place. 

Important: if a club is seeking the assistance of a C&S Executive member to act as the Returning Officer, it is not the responsibility of the Executive member to also minute the meeting. Prior to the meeting commencing the club should make arrangements for someone else present to take on this responsibility.

When documenting the meeting conduct and noting those members involved in motions/elections etc, C&S asks that the members full name, as per the C&S Attendance Template, is included in the minutes.  This will allow for the results to be verified without any issues. 

Appointed Top Four

If your club appoints (previously known as co-opt) a committee member outside of an AGM / OGM please contact C&S for further information on the steps required. 

DOCUMENTS

Club General Meeting - Notice of Intent (Google Form)

Request for Returning Officer (Google Form)
Only complete if a request for Returning Officer has NOT been made via the Notice Intent.  There is no need to request a Returning Officer twice. 

Change of Office Bearer Submissions (Google Form)
Submissions to C&S following the conduct of a General Meeting and Top 4 Elections should be made using this form. A copy of the General Meeting Attendance Template, a completed Change of Club Office Bearers/Election Pack and the club's General Meeting Minutes oulining the conduct of the meeting will need to be provided in this submission. 

General Meeting Attendance Template (Google Sheet)
Please follow the instructions as noted on Tab 1 of this worksheet. 

Change of Club Office Bearers/Election Pack (PDF)
This includes Club Office Bearer List and Change of Bank Signatories Form.  Submission of this form should be included as an uploaded document within the Change of Office Bearer Submissions form.  

New Committee Checklist (PDF)
To assist in the smooth transition between new and outgoing committee members, this checklist includes a number of key areas that clubs should pay attention to.