Articles - The Avicultural Society of South Australia

THE AVICULTURAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA INC.

CONSTITUTION

OBJECTS

1. The study of Australian and foreign birds.

2. The promotion of hygienic and scientific methods for the keeping, feeding and breeding of aviary birds.

3. The development of avicultural techniques, which may be used directly or indirectly to assist the conservation of birds in their natural habitat.

4. The establishment of viable captive breeding populations of all suitable species of aviary birds, especially rare and endangered species, to assist the conservation of birds in their natural habitat.

5. The dissemination of avicultural information by all methods.

6. The cultivation of affiliations and friendly relations with societies and clubs with similar objectives, throughout Australia and the rest of the world.

7. The provision of education regarding birds, conservation and management.

RULES

A. Name of the Society.

1. The Society shall be an Incorporated Association as per the provisions of the Associations Incorporation Act, 1985, and any amendments thereto.

2. The name of the Incorporated Association shall be THE AVICULTURAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA INCORPORATED referred to herein as “the Society”.

3. The day to day business and promotion of the Society shall be conducted under the name of BIRD KEEPING IN AUSTRALIA.

B. Definitions.

In these rules, unless the contrary intention appears –

Branch means a Regional or Specialist Group of members, who operate automously unless otherwise stated within these Objects and Rules;

The Committee means the Management Committee of the Society;

General Meeting means a general meeting (Monthly, Annual, Special, Extraordinary) of members of the Society convened in accordance with these Rules;

Member means a member of the Society;

Society includes its Branches.

C. Membership of the Society.

1. The Society shall consist of Patron(s), Life, Honorary, Full, Associate, Junior, Junior Associate, Branch Social, and On-line members.

2. Every applicant for new membership (except Life or Honorary membership) shall apply in writing and pay the appropriate fees, other than On-line members who may join via the Society website and pay the appropriate fee electronically.

3. A maximum of three (3) Patrons may be recommended by the Committee each January, for resolution at the Annual General Meeting. The term of office of such Patrons shall commence from the end of the Annual General Meeting and shall terminate at the end of the Annual General Meeting of the following year.

4. Full members shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of membership.

5. Associate members shall reside at the same address as a Full member of the Society. Associate members shall be entitled to all benefits and privileges of membership, with the exception of receipt of the Society's magazine, Bird Keeping In Australia.

6. Junior members shall be under the age of 16 years when subscriptions become due and payable. Junior members shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of membership, except the right to vote for Office-bearers or Committee persons, or to serve on the Committee.

7. Junior Associate members shall be under the age of 16 years when subscriptions become due and payable. A Junior Associate member shall reside at the same address as a Full member of the Society. Junior Associate members shall be entitled to all benefits and privileges of membership, with the exception of receipt of the Society's magazine, Bird Keeping In Australia, and the right to vote for Office-bearers or Committee persons, or to serve on the Committee.

8. A Branch Social member (hereafter called Social member) may only belong to one Branch and must be nominated by the Committee of the Branch concerned. Social members shall not be entitled to receipt of the Society’s magazine, Bird Keeping in Australia, nor any supplement thereto; shall not be entitled to vote on any matter what-so-ever, other than matters solely pertaining to the internal affairs of their Branch; and shall not hold any office, either at Society or Branch level. However, Social members shall be entitled to all other rights and privileges of membership. Total Social membership of a Branch shall not be greater than 25% (rounded to the nearest higher full number) of the total number of members, other than Social members, of the Branch on the 31st December of the previous calendar year. The total number of Social members shall not be greater than 30% (rounded to the nearest higher full number) of the total number of members, other than Social members, of the Society in its entirety on the 31st December of the previous calendar year.

9. On-line members shall be able to access the ‘On-line member only’ section of the Society website, but will not be entitled to receive a hardcopy of the Society's magazine, Bird Keeping In Australia, nor have the right to vote for Office-bearers or Committee persons, or to serve on the Committee. An On-line member may purchase products, at member price, via the Society website.

10. A Family concession shall be available to family members residing at the same address, and will allow one (1) Full, one (1) Associate, and any number of Junior Associate members. The cost of this concession shall be equivalent to the combined cost of one (1) Full, one (1) Associate and one (1) Junior Associate membership.

11. The Committee shall have the power to grant Honorary membership to any person for such period as the Committee deems fit, but not exceeding the life of that Committee. Honorary members shall be entitled to all benefits and privileges of membership, except the right to vote for Office-bearers or Committee persons, or to serve on the Committee.

12. Life membership of the Society may be awarded, by resolution of a General Meeting of the Society, to a member in recognition of outstanding service rendered to the Society, which may include service to a Branch. A nomination for Life membership shall be submitted in writing, signed by the nominator, to the Committee, who may recommend that the nomination be submitted, within three (3) months, to a General Meeting of the Society. Life members of the Society shall be exempt from payment of annual subscription fees, but shall be entitled to all the benefits and privileges of a Full member.

13. Cancellation of membership shall be considered if a member is convicted in a court of law of any charge laid under the provisions of the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1972, or any other relevant Act, or any amendments thereto. In each instance a decision regarding cancellation of membership shall be in accordance with the nature of the offence. Such member shall have the right to appear before the Committee within two (2) months or present a written submission to the Committee within the same time frame, prior to a decision being made by the Committee. The decision of the Committee shall be final.

14. Any member who acts in a manner detrimental to the interests of the members of the Society may be reprimanded, suspended or expelled from the Society. However, no such action shall be taken without such member being given the opportunity to appear firstly before the Committee and, if not resolved, before a Special General Meeting of the Society to explain such conduct, and then only by resolution of members carried by two-thirds majority of financial members exercising the right to vote.

15. The annual subscription fees, which are due and payable on the anniversary of the date of joining, shall be set by the Committee in September of each year. Notification of these fees, which shall apply from the following November 1st, shall be published in the November issue of Bird Keeping In Australia and on the Society website.

16. Any person whose subscription is in arrears shall automatically cease to be a member of the Society. Only members shall be eligible to vote on matters requiring resolution.

17. Any member resigning from the Society or ceasing to be a member thereof from any cause whatsoever, shall not be entitled to, nor have any claim upon the property of the Society or any part thereof.

18. All successful applicants for membership shall, upon written request to the Secretary, receive a copy of the Society's Objects and Rules and/or the Guideline documents mentioned in the Objects and Rules.

D. Administration of the Society.

1. The Society shall be governed by these Objects and Rules, and the day-to-day interpretation of these Objects and Rules shall be vested in the Committee.

2. The Society shall be administered by a Committee consisting of the following Office-bearers: President, two (2) Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Treasurer. The Committee shall also include seven (7) other Committee persons. If not all positions are filled at election, or a vacancy occurs during the year, the Committee can continue to function until such vacancy, or vacancies, are filled.

The duties of each of the Officer-bearers listed above are further described in ‘Guidelines for Society Office-Bearers and other Positions’.

3. The President shall be Chairperson.

4. The Secretary shall be the Society's official Public Officer and as such shall hold the Society's Common Seal. The Common Seal shall not be used without the express authorisation of the Committee, and every use of the Common Seal shall be recorded in the Committee Minutes of the Society. The affixing of the Common Seal shall be witnessed by the President and the Secretary.

5. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the Society's financial affairs, excluding the financial affairs of the Branches. All cheques are to be signed by any two (2) of the approved Officers whose signatures are registered with a, Committee approved, financial institution.

6. The Committee may appoint from within the Committee, a Program Coordinator, Social Coordinator, Conservation Officer and Promotion and Liaison Officer. The duties of these appointees are described in ‘Terms of Reference for Society Sub-Committees’.

7. The Committee may appoint from within the Society's membership an Editor(s), Membership Steward, Exchange Steward, Book Steward, Raffle Steward, Service Items Officer(s), Librarian, WebMaster and other officers as may be required.

8. The Committee may appoint persons to serve on such Sub-Committees as the Committee shall, from time to time, deem necessary to assist in the efficient administration of the Society (refer to ‘Terms of Reference for Society Sub-Committees’). Such Sub-Committees shall be subordinate and responsible to the Committee. The term of office for any such Sub-Committee shall not exceed that of the Committee.

9. The Committee shall be responsible for the general management of the Society's affairs, excluding the affairs of a Branch operating within the requirements of the document ‘Guidelines for the Formation and Regulation of Branches’, and shall regulate and decide all matters not specifically provided for by these Rules. Matters requiring immediate attention may be dealt with by the President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer in conjunction. All such decisions shall be ratified at the following meeting of the Committee.

10. A meeting of the Committee shall be held monthly, except December, at such time and place as may be arranged by the Secretary.

11. A Special meeting of the Committee may be convened at any time on the request of any three (3) Committee Office-Bearers and/or Committee persons.

12. Committee meetings shall only be attended by elected and appointed Committee members. Other persons may only attend upon invitation of the Committee, but will have no voting rights.

13. The Committee shall, in November of each year, nominate an Auditor for recommendation to the members at the next Annual General Meeting, for appointment (for Auditor’s duties see ‘Guidelines for Society Office-Bearers and other Positions’).

14. The Committee may, on the request in writing of three (3) or more members, authorise the formation of a Branch of the Society. Branches shall function in accordance with the Objects and Rules of the Society and within the requirements of the document ‘Guidelines for the Formation and Regulation of Branches’. Any amendments to such document shall be subject to ratification at an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting of the Society.

15. At Committee meetings every duly seconded motion shall be put to a vote, the result of which shall be determined by a simple majority. Voting shall be by a show of hands unless a secret ballot is requested by a Committee member and this request is moved, seconded and carried by the majority of the Committee members.

16. A member of any Committee, or Sub-Committee, who has a direct or indirect pecuniary or personal interest in a matter under consideration by such Committee, must disclose the nature of the interest to that Committee.

E. Quorums

1. The quorum for the transaction of business at a meeting of the Committee, or it’s Sub-Committees, shall be determined by dividing the number of actually elected and/or appointed members by two, rounding down to a full number, then adding one.

2. The quorum for the transaction of business at a General Meeting, Special General Meeting or Annual General Meeting shall be 20 members.

F. Election of Committee.

1. All positions (Office-Bearers and Committee persons) shall become vacant at the commencement of each Annual General Meeting and new Office-Bearers and Committee persons elected for the following year. The outgoing Committee will act in a caretaker role until the end of the Annual General Meeting.

2. Nominations for Office-Bearers and Committee positions, for the ensuing year, shall be submitted in writing, signed by the nominator and endorsed by the nominee, and lodged with the Secretary by the 15th December. Only Life, Full and Associate members shall be eligible for election. Retiring Office-Bearers and Committee persons shall be eligible for nomination.

3. In the event that nominations are received for less than 5 positions prior to December 15th, those nominations will stand. The Committee shall convene an Extraordinary General Meeting to be held immediately prior to the Annual General Meeting when nominations will be received from the floor for those positions for which nominations were not received. If elections are necessary they will be conducted at the Annual General Meeting and voting will be by secret ballot.

4. In the case of an insufficiency of nominees for any Office or other position on the Committee, or in the case of a vacancy occurring in any office, the Committee shall have the power to fill such vacancy/vacancies for the remainder of the Society's year.

5. If only one nomination is received or, alternatively, the required number of nominations are received for each Committee Office or other position, such nomination/s shall be put to the Annual General Meeting for resolution. Upon such resolution, that person or persons shall be duly elected to such Office or other position and shall take up the Office or other position at the conclusion of the Annual General Meeting.

6. If more than the required number of nominations are received for an Office or other position on the Committee, a secret ballot of members shall determine the person(s) elected.

7. When an election is required, a Returning Officer shall be appointed and one ballot paper shall be prepared for each Office or other position for which an election is required. Each ballot paper shall contain:

a. the name of one Office or other position for which an election is required;

b. the names in alphabetical order of the candidates for that Office or other position;

c. a blank square opposite to the name of each candidate;

d. a clear instruction to the member to place a cross in one square opposite to the name of the candidate(s) for which the member desires to vote; and

e. a clear instruction to the member to return that copy, duly completed, to reach the Returning Officer not later than the next following Annual General Meeting.

8. The Committee shall appoint four (4) Life and/or Full members to act as scrutineers. Such persons shall not hold, nor be seeking election to, any Committee position at the time of their appointment as a scrutineer.

9. With the January issue of Bird Keeping in Australia, members shall receive candidate profiles and instructions that Life, Full and Associate members may request an absentee ballot paper by contacting the Returning Officer. On receipt of a request, the Returning Officer shall post a ballot paper and notice of instruction to that member. Each ballot paper sent out shall be initialled on the reverse by the Returning Officer.

10. The notice of instructions shall direct the member to complete each enclosed ballot paper copy as instructed therein, place it inside an envelope marked 'BALLOT PAPERS' and to post it inside a second envelope, with the member's name and address on the reverse, to reach the Returning Officer not later than the start of the Annual General Meeting next following. The Returning Officer shall confirm that member’s eligibility to vote before removing the inner envelope and keep it unopened until the vote is counted in the presence of the scrutineers.

11. On arrival at the Annual General Meeting members wishing to vote shall receive a ballot paper (initialled on the reverse by the Returning Officer or a scrutineer) providing their name appears on the official list of eligible members. Any Life, Full or Associate member who has not returned an absentee vote shall be eligible to vote at the Annual General Meeting.

12. The scrutineers shall disregard any copy of a ballot paper that is not initialled on the reverse side by the Returning Officer or by one of the scrutineers.

13. Voting shall close at the commencement of the Annual General Meeting and the scrutineers shall, pursuant to the provisions of this clause and clause F.l2, count the valid votes. If any question arises as to the validity of any vote, it shall be determined by the scrutineers and their decision shall be final.

14. No election shall be held to be invalid by reason of the non-receipt of any ballot paper by any member.

15. The candidate with the highest number of valid votes shall be declared the winner. Should the highest number of valid votes be obtained by two or more candidates, the successful candidate shall be chosen by lot, in a manner determined by the Returning Officer.

16. The results of the ballot of members shall be announced by the end of the Annual General Meeting and the successful candidate(s) shall take up their Office or other position at the conclusion of that meeting.

G. Removal of Committee Member(s) and any other Office-bearer(s).

1. In the event of any member of the Committee being absent for three (3) consecutive meetings of the Committee, without leave of absence being applied for and granted by the Committee, that person shall automatically cease to be a member of the Committee.

2. Any member of the Committee who acts in a disorderly manner, or acts in any manner detrimental to the interests of the members of the Society, or acts in breach of these Rules, may be suspended from the Committee by a two-thirds majority vote of the Committee, for such a period as may be decided by the Committee. However, no such action shall be taken without such Committee member being given the opportunity to explain such conduct to the Committee.

H. Society Meetings/Activities.

1 . A General Meeting of the Society shall be held monthly at such time and place as may be arranged by the Committee. Details of the General Meeting shall be advised to members through the Society's magazine, Bird Keeping In Australia. If, within thirty (30) minutes of the time appointed for such a meeting, a quorum is not available the meeting shall proceed but no formal business shall be transacted.

2. A Special General Meeting may be called at any time by the Committee or by requisition in writing stating the object of the proposed meeting and signed by ten (10) or more financial members. A notice of any Special General Meeting, stating the business to be transacted, and specifying the day, hour and place of meeting as determined by the Committee shall be sent to each member at their last known address at least seven (7) days prior to the proposed time of holding such meeting. At a Special General Meeting no business shall be transacted other than that of which notice has been given. If within thirty (30) minutes of the time appointed for such Special General Meeting, a quorum is not available, the meeting, if convened on a requisition of members, shall stand dissolved. In any other case the meeting shall stand adjourned to a time and place appointed by the Committee.

3. An Extraordinary General Meeting may be called by the Committee from time to time, for the purpose of members being addressed by visiting aviculturists, ornithologists, naturalists or other persons. Notification of such meetings shall be published in the Society’s magazine Bird Keeping In Australia, if time permits. If not, details shall be published in the daily press.

4. The Annual General Meeting shall be held in the month of February each year. Notification of the Annual General Meeting shall be published in the January issue of the Society's magazine Bird Keeping In Australia. At this meeting all positions shall become vacant (see Rule F.1). The Secretary shall submit the Annual General Report, covering the Society's activities during the previous year. The Treasurer shall present the Society's financial statement, subject to audit, for the year ended the previous December 31st.

5. At all General Meetings, every duly seconded motion shall be voted on by the general membership. Voting shall take place by a show of hands with a simple majority deciding the motion. In the event of a tied vote, the Chairperson shall have a casting vote.

I. Awards.

The Committee may from time to time present awards in keeping with guidelines described in the document ‘Guidelines for Presentation of Awards’.

J. Financial Responsibilities of the Society.

1. The assets and income of the Society shall be applied solely in furtherance of its Objects, or in accordance of its Rules, and no portion shall be distributed directly or indirectly to its members except as bona fide compensation for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of the Society.

K. Amendments to the Objects, Rules and Guidelines Documents.

1. Notice in writing shall be given to the Secretary of any proposed amendment, repeal or addition to these Objects, Rules, and Guidelines. Members shall be given no less than twenty-eight (28) days notice of the convening of any meeting at which a resolution to alter these Objects, Rules, and Guidelines shall be put. Such notice shall be placed in the Society's magazine Bird Keeping In Australia.

3. These Objects, Rules, and Guidelines shall only be added to, altered or rescinded by resolution of members, passed at a Special or Annual General Meeting and carried by a two-thirds majority of financial members present and exercising their right to vote.

L. Dissolution of the Society.

1. A decision to dissolve the Society shall only be taken by a two-thirds majority of members present and exercising their right to vote at a Special General Meeting called for this purpose. Should the Society be dissolved, the same Special General Meeting shall determine the distribution of the Society’s assets/funds to non-profit organisations.

2. In the event of the Society being dissolved, the amount which remains after such dissolution, and the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities, shall be paid and applied by the Committee in accordance with their powers to any fund, institution or authority which is a non-profit organisation, in accordance with the resolutions of the Special General Meeting referred to in Rule L.1.