Clubs have various meetings, each with its own purpose. As incorporated associations, UQ Sporting clubs are required to hold certain meetings and follow rules set out in your constitution.
Did you know? Your constitution is your guide! It will provide your club with a meeting framework that is specific to your needs.
Clubs are run by committees, not just one person. This is why clubs need meetings and it’s at these meetings where the management committee, or members, make decisions based on the best interests of the club.
Meeting rules quick guide
Your constitution sets out the ‘rules’ for the frequency and types of meetings you must hold or choose to hold. The ‘quick guide’ that follows shows typical meeting rules. You’ll need to check your constitution to see exactly what applies to your club.
| Management Committee Meeting | Annual General Meeting (AGM) | Special General Meeting (SGM) – called by committee | Special General Meeting (SGM) – called by members | Subcommittee Meeting | Informal Member Forum |
|
When |
|||||
| Minimum once every four months | Once per year
Within six months of the end of your financial year |
As needed to seek member input for important decisions (e.g. change constitution, change club name, dissolve the club) | As needed, often to review decisions or actions of management committee (e.g. change bylaws, remove management committee members) | As determined by the respective subcommittee (usually a few times per year) | A few times per year, for meaningful engagement with members (e.g. quarterly) |
|
Quorum |
|||||
| Usually more than half of the members of the committee* | Usually more than the number of members on the committee* | Usually more than the number of members on the committee* | Usually more than the number of members on the committee* | Usually more than half of the members of the subcommittee | NA |
|
Who can vote |
|||||
| Only members of the management committee | All eligible voting members* | All eligible voting members* | All eligible voting members* | Members of the respective subcommittee | NA – all members can contribute to ideas, then the management committee decides how to implement them |
|
Notice |
|||||
| Whatever the committee decides is reasonable (e.g. seven days) | 14 days | Usually 14 days* | Usually 14 days* | Whatever the subcommittee decides is reasonable (e.g. seven days) | Whatever members feel is reasonable (e.g. 14 days) |
* Check your constitution for rules specific to your club
Did you know? ‘Notice’ means how long before the meeting you need to let everyone know that the meeting has been scheduled.
Did you know? ‘Quorum’ means the minimum number of members who must be present for the meeting to be formally opened and to be able to make any decisions.
Meeting types
Management committee meeting
The management committee needs to meet regularly enough to make timely decisions on behalf of the club’s membership, allocate tasks to keep your club running and track progress against the club’s plans.
UQ Sport requires clubs’ management committees to meet at least once every four months, which is the same as your minimum meeting frequency as an incorporated association. A quorum for a management committee meeting is typically more than half of the members who are on the committee – your required quorum is specified in your constitution.
Only those members who were elected to the committee can vote at these meetings.
The management committee can choose to schedule meetings on a regular frequency (e.g. the third Wednesday of the month). At least seven days notice should be given for changes to meeting dates.
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Your AGM is a formal meeting open to all members. It must be held within six months of the end of the club’s financial year.
UQ clubs must give 14 days written (email or direct mail) notice of their AGM.
The quorum for your AGM may be a defined number of members, but is typically set as more than the number of members on your management committee.
Any member who has voting rights at general meetings in your constitution can vote at the AGM, as well as any other general meeting (e.g. SGM). Proxy votes must be in writing. While the votes cast using proxies will contribute to the number of votes cast for a motion or election, as a UQ club, any proxies submitted for a meeting do not count towards achieving a quorum for that meeting.
As a UQ club, your AGM must be held at a neutral venue (i.e. not a private dwelling). UQ Sport can arrange a meeting room.
AGM Agenda
The business conducted at your AGM should include:
Post AGM
Lodge your annual return with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) within a month after the AGM. The annual return must include a copy of the financial statement presented at the AGM, signed and dated by either the president or the treasurer, including:
Provide UQ Sport with the following information within two weeks of your AGM:
Refer to the section: Your AGM and beyond for more information on how to prepare for your AGM.
Special General Meeting (SGM)
Major club decisions, such as updating the constitution or merging with another club, must be made by members at a general meeting.
If these decisions can’t wait until the AGM, the management committee can call a special general meeting. There’s no set frequency for SGMs and clubs may never need to call one.
There may be times when a club’s members want to have a general meeting, but the management committee doesn’t. An SGM allows members to hold the management committee accountable for their decisions. In these cases, members can petition the secretary to call an SGM, including the reason that members are requesting the SGM.
Your constitution will spell out how many members need to sign the petition to call the meeting.
Some clubs fall into the trap of holding frequent general meetings, instead of management committee meetings. It’s best to reserve general meetings for big decisions and your AGM, and let the management committee get on with its job.
Did you know? Both your AGM and SGM are General Meetings, which means they are open to all your members. Your constitution may define rules for a General Meetings. These rules apply to your AGM and SGM.
Subcommittee meeting
Clubs sometimes appoint subcommittees for specific tasks, such as planning for carnivals, special events or new facilities.
When the management committee appoints a subcommittee, it delegates certain levels of authority to that subcommittee.
Subcommittees will typically meet a few times per year depending on their purpose. For example, meetings of an events subcommittee will be more frequent leading up to an event.
The subcommittee convenor will generally submit a report at management committee meetings.
If your constitution doesn’t include much detail about the rules for subcommittee meetings, simply apply the same rules as you do for management committee meetings for things like setting a quorum and minute taking.
Member forums
Member forums are a great way to engage with your members and seek their input, without being too formal.
Member forums can be held on a semi-regular basis, e.g. once per quarter, as a way for the management committee to collect ideas from members, to put those ideas into action and then to report back on progress at the next forum.
As they are informal, you don’t need to achieve a quorum, you can notify members as you see fit and you can have nice, broad discussions. The best member forums are where members attend because they want to, not just to make up the numbers. So keep forums interesting and engaging, and make sure the management committee follows through on the good ideas generated.
You might even take the opportunity to host a social gathering, such as a sausage sizzle, following your member forum, to add to the positivity of the event and to create further opportunities for member engagement.
UQ Sport reinvests all profits into services, facilities, and programs, and is supported by funding from the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) to benefit UQ students.
UQ Sport Ltd is a division of UQ Holdings.
