Meetings at a Club, Branch and State level for the Executive and Management Committee or Board of Directors are a must to ensure that all of the necessary governance requirements are being met. It is a legislative requirement for incorporated organisations that the Management Committee/Board meet at least four times in a year, however ideally this would be monthly. Committees other than the Executive and Management Committees only need to meet on a yearly basis, or as otherwise stated in the organisations constitution.
It is important that meetings that are being held are done so in an effective manner to ensure that relevant topics are being discussed, items are being actioned and all legislative requirements are being met. SLSQ has developed an Agenda and Minutes protocol providing information on items that should be covered in an agenda and minutes to ensure the meeting is effective.
Refer to SLSQ Governance Manual for further information and templates.
Conducting an effective meeting
An effective meeting is conducted by ensuring all reports have been submitted in writing prior to the meeting, all Committee members have been issued with the agenda, reports and relevant materials prior to the meeting and the Chair manages the time and conducts the meeting as per the agenda. The point of the meeting should be to discuss the prominent issues that are occurring within the organisation, tabling reports, and reviewing the financials with a resolution for each item.
Meeting Agenda
The meeting agenda is the most important document when it comes to assisting in conducting an effective meeting. The agenda for a meeting is in place to record the items that will be discussed with a brief overview of each topic and the proposed resolution that will be reached for each agenda item. There are three items that must be included in every meeting these are:
- Minutes of previous meeting
This is to ensure that all Committee members agree to what has been produced is an accurate record of the discussions and resolutions from the meeting.
- Disclosure of interest
This is to allow any Committee members that may have a personal conflict with items that will be discussed at the meeting – e.g. the beach coach has a child in the Under 11 age group and there will be a discussion on selection of the State team. If a committee member notes that they have a disclosure of interest a process should be set up within the meeting to work around this – e.g. the beach coach will provide input for the beach competition, however, will abstain from voting or providing input on the Under 11 age group selection.
- Reports
This allows all Committee members to understand what each Committee member working on and the issues that they may be encountering and to do the work before the meeting and not in it to make the meeting more effective.
Executive/ Management Committees should also include financial reports in each meeting.
The purpose of the meeting agenda is to guide the meeting by providing an outline of information with a brief attached that will give members of the Committee an understanding of the topic that will be discussed. The purpose for including the resolutions prior to the actual meeting is again a measure to assist in the direction of the meeting and define what is being sort. The inclusion of all attachments including minutes of the previous meeting, action matrix and reports is to provide Committee members with as much information as possible prior to the meeting so they can be well informed on the items that will be discussed. The meeting agenda and all attachments should be distributed to Committee members 1 week prior to the meeting.
Surf Life Saving Queensland has developed an agenda template for Committee and AGM Meetings for Club and Branch level. Clubs/ Branches that wish to have the templates altered to suit the associations constitution contact the State Ethical Standards Team.
Refer to SLSQ Governance Manual for further information and templates.
Meeting Minutes
The minutes of the meeting are important documentation that a Committee must maintain as they are a legal document. The minutes of a meeting act as a formal record of what occurred at the meeting. The minutes should record and overview of each item, the main discussion points from the item and the resolution – they are in no way a transcript of the meeting!
The best way to view the minutes is by reading them after they are completed and if you think that a member who has not attended the meeting could understand what the item was, the discussion that was held and how the resolution was achieved then the minutes are correct.
Minutes of the meeting should be distributed to all Committee members and visitors and additional attendees within one week of the meeting being held.
The minutes of the meeting may be provided to any member of the association that wishes to view them; however this should be done through a pre-arranged meeting with the Administrator/ Secretary with the minutes remaining on the premises.
Minutes of a meeting may be obtained by the Government departments or legal practitioners for a review into the association, or if illegal activity has been suspected or convicted of. This is why it is important to ensure that the minutes are an accurate recording of the meeting including discussions.
Surf Life Saving Queensland has developed a minutes template for Committee and AGM Meetings for Club and Branch level. Clubs/ Branches that wish to have the templates altered to suit the associations constitution contact the State Ethical Standards Team.
Refer to SLSQ Governance Manual for further information and templates.
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