The Special General Meeting of September 19 this year adopted a vastly amended constitution for Ausdance National.
The main purpose of the changes is to implement a skills-based board and governance structure. The board of the National Council before the changes was the Ausdance National Executive (president, two vice presidents and treasurer) with the president of each Ausdance state and territory organisation a director on the board.
This structure has served the organisation well over the decades, maintaining a formal network between the Ausdance state and territory organisations and Ausdance National. That said, given the changes to Ausdance National’s financial situation, the Ausdance National Council (together with an advisory group) decided that a restructure of the governance would assist in revitalising the organisation. A skills-based board whose main responsibility is to Ausdance National gives us all an opportunity to recruit the people who can see the organisation through this difficult period.
The role of the Ausdance network remains a vital part of Ausdance National’s activities, and this is recognised in the new constitution through the National Advisory Committee. This committee comprises each state and territory Ausdance (normally through its president) which will nominate one of its members to be on the Ausdance National Council.
Ausdance National is an Incorporated Association. This corporate structure has its members as its base. Changes to its constitution have provided the opportunity to clarify who can become a member of Ausdance National. This has also allowed the organisation to broaden its membership. We see this as a positive step. In essence, it means any individual member of an Ausdance state or territory organisation is recognised as a member of Ausdance National. Each of those members will receive notification of this from their state or territory Ausdance including a comprehensive list of what rights they have as a member of Ausdance National via their state or territory. Importantly, it will allow each member the right to attend and vote at the AGM, or any Special General Meeting.
The new constitution also broadens the scope of membership to include other organisations who may align themselves with Ausdance National. Importantly, individuals who do not have a state or territory Ausdance may now join Ausdance National.
To be clear, the servicing of state and territory Ausdance members remains the responsibility of the Ausdance the member has joined.
Read the 2017 Ausdance National Council—call for nominations to learn about the recruiting process for the new Ausdance National Board including the range of skills we seek for the board. Their task will be challenging, but we know they will have the support of the entire network in refining and revitalising Ausdance National.
Paul Summers
Interim National Vice President