Club Rules

NAME
1. The name of the Club shall be the Kew East Basketball Club Inc.

 PURPOSE
2. The purpose of the Club is:
2.1 to give players and coaches the opportunity to develop their basketball skills;
2.2 to instil the importance of teamwork;
2.3 to emphasise the need to show respect to officials, opponents, coaches, team mates and the broader basketball community;
2.4 to encourage improvement every year, every season, every match and every training session;
2.5 to foster a sense of values throughout the Club; and
2.6 by pursuing the above, to create an environment in which players and coaches enjoy their participation in basketball.

 MEMBERSHIP

Eligibility
3. Membership of the club shall comprise the following:
3.1 all currently registered players who are in good financial standing and not under suspension;
3.2 parents and guardians of players defined in clause 3.1;
3.3 coaches and any other officials of the club; and
3.4 any other interested persons at the discretion of the Club Committee.

Membership Register
4. The Club Committee (“The Committee”) shall keep and maintain a
register of members containing members’ names, addresses and any other details necessary for the effective administration of the Club.
5. Any member may inspect her/his own registration details.

Members’ Rights
6. Subject to these Rules, a member of the Club has the right:
6.1 to receive notice of general meetings and of proposed special resolutions;
6.2 to submit items of business for consideration at a general meeting;
6.3 to attend and be heard at general meetings;
6.4 to vote at a general meeting;
6.5 on request and free of charge, to inspect the register of members;
6.6 on request and free of charge, to inspect the minutes of general meetings; and
6.7 on request and free of charge, but subject to clause 7 below, to inspect the minutes of Committee meetings, financial records, books, securities and any other records and other documents, however compiled, recorded or stored, that relate to the incorporation and management of the Club and includes its membership records, its financial statements, its financial records, and the records and documents relating to transactions, dealings, business or property of the Club.

7. The Committee:
7.1 may refuse to permit a member to inspect records of the Club that relate to confidential, personal, employment, commercial or legal matters or where to do so may be prejudicial to the interests of the Club; and
7.2 must on request and free of charge, make copies of these Rules available to members and applicants for membership; and
7.3 must on request, and subject to clauses 7.1 and 7.2 above, allow a member to make a copy of any of the other records of the Club referred to in clause 6 above, and the Club may charge a reasonable fee for the provision of a copy of such a record.

8. A member is entitled to vote if:
8.1 they are included on the register of members;
8.2 they are at least 16 years old at the time of the meeting; and
8.3 their membership rights have not been suspended for any reason.

Cessation of Membership

9. The Committee may:
9.1 suspend, expel or otherwise discipline a member in accordance with the disciplinary procedure set out in these Rules; and
9.2 deny a transfer from the Club to players not in good financial standing, but not for other reasons.

Disciplinary Procedure

10. The Club may take disciplinary action against a member if it is determined that the member:
10.1 has failed to comply with these Rules; or
10.2 refuses to support the purposes of the Club; or
10.3 has engaged in conduct prejudicial to the Club.

11. If the Committee is satisfied that there are sufficient grounds for taking disciplinary action against a member, the Committee must appoint a disciplinary subcommittee to hear the matter and determine what action, if any, to take against the member.

12. The members of the disciplinary subcommittee:
12.1 may be Committee members, members of the Club or anyone else; but
12.2 must not be biased against, or in favour of, the member concerned.

13 Before disciplinary action is taken against a member, the Secretary must give written notice to the member:
13.1 setting out the member’s rights under these Rules; and
13.2 stating that the Club proposes to take disciplinary action against the member; and
13.3 stating the grounds for the proposed disciplinary action; and
13.4 specifying the date, place and time of the meeting at which the disciplinary subcommittee intends to consider the disciplinary action (the disciplinary meeting); and
13.5 advising the member that he or she may attend the disciplinary meeting and address the disciplinary subcommittee at that meeting, or may give a written statement to the disciplinary subcommittee at that meeting.

14 The notice must be given no earlier than 28 days, and no later than 14 days, before the disciplinary meeting is held.

15. At the disciplinary meeting, the disciplinary subcommittee must:
15.1 give the member an opportunity to be heard; and
15.2 consider any written statement submitted by the member.

16. After complying with clause 15, the disciplinary subcommittee may:
16.1 take no further action against the member; or
16.2 reprimand the member.

17. The disciplinary subcommittee may not fine the member.

18. The suspension of membership rights or the expulsion of a member by the disciplinary subcommittee under these Rules takes effect immediately after the vote is passed.

19. A person whose membership rights have been suspended or who has been expelled from the Club may give notice to the effect that he or she wishes to appeal against the suspension or expulsion.

20. The notice must be in writing and given:
20.1 to the disciplinary subcommittee immediately after the vote to suspend or expel the person is taken; or
20.2 to the Secretary not later than 48 hours after the vote.

21. If a person has given a notice of appeal, a disciplinary appeal meeting must be convened by the Committee as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 21 days, after the notice is received.

22. Notice of the disciplinary appeal meeting must be given to each member of the Club who is entitled to vote as soon as practicable and must:
22.1 specify the date, time and place of the meeting; and
22.2 state the name of the person against whom the disciplinary action has been taken, the grounds for taking that action, and that at the disciplinary appeal meeting the members present must vote on whether the decision to suspend or expel the person should be upheld or revoked.

23. At a disciplinary appeal meeting:
23.1 no business other than the question of the appeal may be conducted; and
23.2 the Committee must state the grounds for suspending or expelling the member and the reasons for taking that action; and
23.3 the person whose membership has been suspended or who has been expelled must be given an opportunity to be heard.

24. The members present and entitled to vote at the meeting must vote by secret ballot on the question of whether the decision to suspend or expel the person should be upheld or revoked.

25. A member may not vote by proxy at the meeting.

26. The decision is upheld if not less than three quarters of the members voting at the meeting vote in favour of the decision.

MEMBERSHIP FEES

27. The Committee shall determine members’ fees from time to time according to the following principles:
27.1 the objective is that each of the two playing seasons in the year shall be self-financing. However, some annual expenses will be allocated evenly to each playing season in accordance with normal accrual accounting practice;
27.2 the objective is that the Club be run essentially on a break-even basis. A small operating surplus or deficit for each playing season will be consistent with this objective;
27.3 a moderate operating surplus or deficit in a playing season will be acceptable to restore cash balances to prudentially appropriate levels;
27.4 while the usual rule for individual player fees will be the “user pays” principle, the Committee may, at its discretion, determine reduced fees in exceptional circumstances. These will be limited to financial hardship of the member(s) concerned. Members of the Committee will not qualify for reduced fees in recognition of Committee membership, but are eligible equally with other members on financial hardship grounds. The Committee may delegate its determination powers under this clause to a nominated sub-committee;
27.5 in addition to, or in replacement of, the members’ entry fees for each playing season, the Club may charge an annual subscription fee;
27.6 the Committee may set different entry and/or subscription fees for each class of member set out in clause 3.

CLUB COMMITTEE

Committee Structure, Elections and Appointments

28. The Committee must include:
28.1 a President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer, and
28.2 up to six other members

29 Half of the Committee members will retire at each AGM, with the other half retiring at the following AGM. Retiring Committee members may seek re-election. Following the AGM, the Committee will appoint its members to the positions of President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and all other positions nominated by the Committee.

Casual and Related Committee Vacancies

30 In the event that insufficient nominations are received to fill the vacant positions, or if a Committee position becomes vacant during the year, the Committee shall have the discretion to appoint any member to fill the vacancy either at the annual general meeting or during the year.
31 In addition to the Committee membership in clause 30 above, the Committee may co-opt two additional members to the Committee. Such members shall only serve until the next annual general meeting of members.

Required Vacancy

32 The position of a member of the Committee shall become vacant in the case of:
32.1 death;
32.2 consistent failure to attend Committee meetings;
32.3 resignation; or
32.4 behaviors by the member that is judged prejudicial to the interests of the Club. Such a finding must be made at a specially convened meeting of the Committee and be made by at least a two-thirds majority of Committee members attending that meeting. The rules of natural justice must be applied in such a case.

COMMITTEE MEETINGS

Committee Meeting Quorum and Management

33 A quorum for Committee meetings shall be four Committee members, including at least one of the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer.

34 Committee meetings will be chaired by the President. If he/she is not available, then the chair for that particular meeting will pass progressively to the vice-President, Secretary or Treasurer until one is available.

Ordinary Committee Meetings

35 For ordinary business meetings, the Committee will aim to observe the following practices:
35.1 notice of the meeting should be given at least 7 days in advance. This need not be in writing;
35.2 the meeting agenda should be circulated in advance, particularly if the meeting is to include items of complexity or sensitivity;
35.3 the agenda must include a section for “other business”.

36 Ordinary Committee meetings will normally be open to all members of the Club, but the Committee may, through reasonable exercise of its discretion, exclude non-Committee members for all or part of a meeting.

Special Committee Meetings

37 Any Club member may request the Secretary to arrange a Committee meeting to discuss and resolve special matters. Such a request must be in writing and set out clearly the matter(s) to be resolved. The Secretary shall convene the requested meeting by:
37.1 advising the Committee in writing of the time and place of the meeting with at least 7 days notice, and with a copy of the written request; and
37.2 advising all particular interested parties as in clause 37.1.

38 The Committee must ensure that natural justice is accorded to all people with a particular interest in the matters concerned. Any member who potentially may suffer pecuniary or other loss as a result of the meeting must be given a reasonable opportunity to present her/his case to the meeting.

39 The Committee may, through reasonable exercise of its discretion, exclude non-Committee members for all or part of a special meeting. No business other than that directly related to the matters in the written request may be discussed at a special meeting.

Minutes of Meetings

40 The Committee must ensure that minutes are taken and kept of each Committee meeting and must record the following:
40.1 the names of the members in attendance at the meeting;
40.2 the business considered at the meeting;
40.3 any resolution on which a vote is taken and the result of the vote; and
40.4 any material personal interest disclosed.

SECRETARY

41 The Secretary for the purposes of the Club’s legal obligations under the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 shall be the Committee Secretary or other Committee member determined from time to time by the Committee.

BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL MATTERS

42 The President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer shall conduct the ordinary business and financial matters of the Club according to any policies determined by the Committee.

43 Specific ordinary business matters may be assigned by the Committee to any Committee member(s) to be carried out on an ongoing basis in accordance with any policies determined by the Committee.

MEMBERS’ MEETINGS

General Procedures

44 A members’ meeting shall have supreme power in all Club matters except the discipline of members.

45 Meetings of members shall be called by the Secretary by written notice provided to team managers for distribution to player members.

46 A quorum for members’ meetings shall be 10.

47 An agenda for members’ meetings must be provided in writing to all team managers for distribution to player members and coaches at least 21 days in advance, and shall include any motions proposed.

48 A notice of meeting is validly given to members of a team, the parents or guardians of those players, and the coach of that team, if the Secretary contacts the team manager of that team by email and that email includes a link to the notice of general meeting on the Club’s website. Distribution to members who are not coaches, players or players’ parent(s)/guardian(s) shall be made by the Secretary by mail, email or other means to the member concerned.

49 Members’ meetings shall be chaired by the President. If he/she is not available, then the chair for that particular meeting will pass progressively to the Vice-President, Secretary or Treasurer until one is available: If none of these is available at the meeting, then the members present may elect one of them to preside over the meeting.

50 The President or other member chairing the meeting may allow additional motions to be put during the course of the meeting, provided that these are consistent with the agenda matters discussed at the meeting.

51 Voting on any issue at any members’ meeting may be by such members personally attending that meeting or by written proxy given to the Chairman of the meeting before or at the commencement of the meeting.

52 The Committee must ensure that minutes are taken and kept of each general meeting. The minutes must record the business considered at the meeting, any resolution on which a vote is taken and the result of the vote.

Changes to Club Rules and/or Purpose

53 These Rules may only be altered by a special resolution of a general meeting of the Club.

Annual General Meeting

54 An Annual General Meeting (“AGM”) of members shall be convened by the Secretary each year between the first day of October and the last day of November.

55 The ordinary business of the AGM shall be to:

55.1 confirm the minutes of the previous AGM and of any other members’ meetings held since that prior AGM;

55.2 endorse the financial statement(s) of the Club’s operations and transactions during the past financial year; and

55.3 elect members to the Committee vacancies. Nominations for all vacant Committee positions must be lodged with the Secretary at least 7 days prior to the AGM. Such nominations must be signed by the Proposer, Seconder and Nominee, all of whom must be members of the Club.

56 Other business may be transacted provided that members have prior notification in the AGM agenda.

57 The minutes of each AGM must include:

57.1 the names of the members attending the meeting; and

57.2 proxy forms given to the Chairman of the meeting; and

57.3 the financial statements submitted to the members; and

57.4 the certificate signed by two committee members certifying that the financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position and performance of the Club; and

57.5 if required under the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012, any audited accounts and auditor’s report or report of a review accompanying the financial statements.

Other Meetings of Members

58 Other meetings of members shall be called by the Secretary as soon as is practicable to execute a motion passed at a Committee meeting or to execute a written request to the Secretary by at least 10 Club members. Such written request must clearly state the matters to be discussed at the members’ meeting.

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

59 Clauses 60 to 63 below apply to disputes between members, between a member and the Committee, or between a member and the Club. A member must not initiate a grievance procedure in relation to a matter that is the subject of a disciplinary procedure until the disciplinary procedure has been completed.

60 The parties to the dispute must meet and discuss the matter in dispute and, if possible, resolve the dispute within 14 days after the dispute comes to the attention of all parties.

61 If the dispute is between members, and the parties are unable to resolve it at the meeting, then the President of the Club shall appoint a mediator who shall convene a further meeting of the parties within 14 days. Any person, including a member, who is not party to the dispute may be a mediator. If the matter still cannot be resolved then it shall be referred to the Club President for determination.

62 If the dispute is between a member and the Club, then the President or one or more Committee members nominated by the President will represent the Club. If the matter cannot be resolved, then it shall be referred to the President for determination.

63 Any party to the dispute who is dissatisfied with the President’s determination may appeal to the Camberwell District Basketball Association in accordance with the rules of both this Club and that Association.

FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Sources of Funds

64 The funds of the Club may be obtained from subscriptions, games and tournaments conducted by the Club, sponsorships, gifts, sale of Club gear, rebates from other bodies, special events or activities organised by Club members, interest on investments and other such sources as the Committee may determine.

65 The Committee may not borrow funds without prior approval of a general members’ meeting.

Uses of Funds

66 Funds drawn must be used solely for the Club’s business and operational activities as determined by the Committee.

67 All withdrawals from the Club’s bank or other investment accounts must be signed, or otherwise approved using electronic banking services, by two Committee members nominated from time to time by the Committee.

Investments

68 The Committee must maintain bank accounts or other investments approved by the full committee on a minimum risk basis that also provides immediate liquidity. Investments that are speculative or that otherwise may involve significant risk of reduction of capital are precluded.

Financial Reporting

69 A Treasurer’s statement should be provided to all Committee meetings.

70 An annual Treasurer’s statement shall be provided to the Annual General Meeting of members, and shall be consistent with the requirements of the Associations Incorporation Act.

71 The Club’s financial year shall be 1 October to 30 September to align with the two playing seasons.

COMMON SEAL

72 The Common Seal, if any, of the Club shall be kept in the custody of the Public Officer.

73 The Common Seal, if any, shall not be affixed to any instrument except on the authority of the Club Committee. The affixing of any such Common Seal shall be attested by the signature of two members of the Club Committee.

CUSTODY OF BOOKS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS

74 Except as otherwise provided in these Rules or by the Committee, the Secretary shall keep in her/his custody or under her/his control the documents referred to in clause 6.7.

DISPOSITION OF SURPLUS ASSETS

75 In the event of the winding up or the cancellation of the incorporation of the Club, disposition of any surplus assets shall be determined by a general meeting of members called solely for that purpose. That meeting must be advised to members at least 21 days in advance, and all resolutions passed require a vote in favour by at least three quarters of members eligible to vote and who attend the meeting or provide a proxy vote.