The roles and responsibilities of board members

President

  • chairs all general and executive committee meetings of the association ·
  • provides leadership ·
  • acts as a spokesperson for the association ·
  • reports to microboard meetings about the activities of the microboard (the president’s report) ·
  • exercises some supervision over the functions of other office bearers ·
  • ensures adequate and efficient communication exists between the members of the association and any staff

Vice President

  • presides as chair at meetings where the president is absent ·
  • should be familiar with the operation of the microboard and the duties of president ·
  • needs a working understanding of meeting rules and procedure · undertakes tasks to reduce the burden of the president

Secretary

  • draws up, in consultation with president, the meeting agendas ·
  • keeps full and correct minutes of proceedings and meetings ·
  • acts upon decisions as directed by the meeting ·
  • attends to the correspondence of the association, checking incoming mail regularly ·
  • looks after the association’s documents ·
  • maintains a register of members (unless otherwise stated in the constitution)

Treasurer

  • is responsible for all funds received and spent
  • prepares regular reports to microboard meetings ·
  • prepares the association’s account for an annual audit

Public Officer

  • is the point of contact between the microboard and government department responsible for the management of associations in your state.
  • must be a resident of the state and over 18 years of age ·
  • this position is a requirement of the Associations Act, but is a minor role in the running of the microboard and is often held by the secretary or another office bearer

Eligibility for Office Bearer Role

Certain people are not eligible to be office bearers on a board.  For example those facing insolvency or with a serious criminal conviction.  To manage this

  • ask all nominees for office bearer positions to sign a short declaration form asserting their suitability for the role and declaring that they have no serious criminal convictions or insolvent.
  • Conduct a search of the records held by the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) at www.afsa.gov.au
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