Constitution

Australian Population Association
Constitution

Name

1. The name of the Association shall be the Australian Population Association.

Objects

2. The objects of the Association shall be:

(a) to promote the study of and research into human populations with particular reference to Australia and the Asia and Pacific region;

(b) to provide a forum for the discussion and promotion of understanding of population matters;

(d) to liaise with other organisations having kindred interests.

Membership

3. Applications for membership shall be in writing, in such form as may be specified from time to time by the Council. Applicants may be accepted as members by a decision of two of the office-bearers of the Association, subject only to election or otherwise by the Council at its next meeting. Members shall not be entitled to vote at general meetings before their membership is confirmed by the Council.

4. The Association shall consist of ordinary, student and concessional members.

5. Ordinary membership shall be open to all persons interested in the objects of the Association. Ordinary members, subject to the provisions of rules 8 to 9, and 12 to 13, shall have full rights to attend and vote at meetings, hold office in the Association, receive papers and documents of the Association and participate in the activities of the Association.

6. Student membership shall be open to all bona-fide full-time students interested in the objects of the Association, studying at recognised educational institutions. Student members, subject to the provisions of rules 8 to 9, and 12 to 13, shall have the same rights as those of ordinary members.

7. Concessional membership shall be open to all persons, other than those qualifying for student membership, who are currently not in the full-time paid workforce. Claims for concessional membership will be made in a form as from time to time determined by the Council. Concessional members shall have the same rights as those of ordinary members.

8. Membership may be terminated:

(a) for good and serious reasons by a decision of a majority of members of the Association on a

recommendation of the Council;

(b) by forfeiture on being three months in arrears with payment of subscriptions, but membership may be reinstated on payment of the arrears within the financial year;

(d) if the member dies.

9. Persons whose membership is terminated may re-apply for election to the Association in accordance with the provisions of rule 3.

Disciplining of Members

10. Where the Council is of the opinion that a member:

(a) has persistently refused or neglected to comply with a provision of these rules; or

(b) has persistently and wilfully acted in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the Association the Council may, by resolution—

—expel the member from the Association; or

—suspend the member from such rights and privileges of membership of the Association as the Council may determine for a specified period.

11. Right of appeal of disciplined member

(a) A member may appeal to the Association in general meeting against a resolution of the Council, within 7 days after notice of the resolution is served on the member, by lodging with the secretary a notice to that effect.

(b) Upon receipt of a notice under rule 10, the secretary shall notify the Council which shall convene a general meeting of the Association to be held within 21 days after the date on which the secretary received the notice or as soon as possible after that date.

(c) If the meeting passes a special resolution in favour of the confirmation of the resolution, then that resolution is confirmed.

Subscriptions

12. Annual subscriptions (July to June) shall be payable in advance and election to membership shall not become effective until payment of the appropriate subscription. The full membership fee will apply regardless of the date of application during the year.

13. The annual subscription for each category of membership shall be determined from time to time by the Council and shall thereupon be notified to all members.

Members' Liabilities

14. The liability of a member to contribute towards the payment of the debts and liabilities of the Association or the costs, charges and expenses of the winding up of the Association is limited to the amount, if any, unpaid by the member in respect of membership of the Association as required by rules 12 to 13.

Composition of the Council

15. The business of the Association shall be conducted by the Council consisting of (a) elected members as follows: a President, two Vice Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and five other members; and (b) ex officio members as follows: the Immediate Past President, the Journal Editor; the Patron(s), the Newsletter Editor and (c) no more than two other members as the Council may co-opt.

16. The Association may elect one or more Patrons at a general meeting on the nomination of the Council.

17. Members of the Council shall hold office for two years and be eligible for re-election provided that holders of the office of President or Vice-president or Treasurer or Secretary shall not hold the same office for more than four consecutive years.

18. Members of the Council determined by rule 15 shall be proposed and seconded by a general meeting and shall be elected by ballot.

Functions of the Council

19. The Council shall conduct the affairs of the Association, subject to the directions of general meetings.

20. The Council shall provide recommendations to Springer Science+Business Media about a suitable Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Population Research to replace a retiring Editor-in-Chief.

21. Council shall recruit and select the Editor of the Association Newsletter and ensure that the business of the Newsletter is carried out in a professional and timely fashion.

22. The officers of the Association shall perform such duties as the Council may assign to them.

23. The Secretary shall keep minutes of the general and Council meetings and shall be responsible for the Association's records.

24. The Council shall have the power to fill extraordinary vacancies by co-option. Such co-opted members shall hold office until the next general meeting at which the election of office-bearers is due.

25. The Council shall meet not less frequently than twice in each year.

26. A quorum of a meeting of Council shall be five elected members of whom two must be the President, Vice-president, Secretary or Treasurer.

27. Council meetings shall be chaired by the President or, in the absence of the President, a Vice- president. In the absence of these office-bearers the meeting shall be chaired by a Council member elected by the meeting.

28. Questions arising at a meeting of the Council or of any sub-committee appointed by the Council shall be determined by a majority of the votes of members of the Council or sub-committee present at the meeting.

Vacancies

29. For the purposes of these rules, a vacancy in the office of a member of the Council occurs if the member

(a) dies;

(b) ceases to be a member of the Association;

(d) is removed from office pursuant to rules 48 to 52;

(e) becomes an insolvent under administration within the meaning of the Corporations Law;

(f) suffers from mental or physical incapacity;

(g) is disqualified from office under subsection 63 (1) of the ACT Associations Incorporation Act 1991 ; or

(h) is absent without the consent of the Council from all meetings of the Council held during a period of 12 months.

Meetings

30. Ordinary meetings at which papers may be read or other activities pursued, consistent with the objects of the Association, shall be held as may be decided by the Council or Regional Groups.

31. There shall be general meetings to consider business as soon as practicable after 30 June of each year, and at such other times as Council may determine.

32. The Council shall, on the written request of ten per cent of the membership, convene a general meeting in the ordinary way within two months of receipt of the requisition.

33. The Secretary shall give notice in writing to each member of the Association of the next general meeting at least one month before the meeting date.

34. A quorum at general meetings shall be five per cent of the membership or ten members, whichever is greater, and at least two of whom shall be members of the Council.

35. General meetings shall be chaired by the President or, in the absence of the President, a Vice- President. In the absence of these office-bearers, the meeting shall be chaired by a member elected by the meeting.

36. Persons who are not members of the Association may be invited or, upon their request, permitted to participate in meetings on conditions laid down by the Council, but such persons shall not have the right to vote.

37. Except as otherwise provided by the Constitution all questions before a meeting shall be decided by a majority of the votes of the members present, the Chair having a deliberative, and in the case of equality of voting, a casting vote.

38. Voting shall be by the voices or by show of hands except where a ballot is requested by a member.

39. A member of the Association entitled to vote at a general meeting may appoint another member of the Association as proxy to speak or vote in the place of that member but a proxy vote shall be counted only when voting is conducted by a ballot.

40. A ballot will be considered to have been requested where:

(a) a member requests a ballot from the floor of the meeting; or

(b) an absentee vote is received by the Chair prior to the commencement of the meeting, in the form required under the Constitution; or

(c) notification of the appointment of a proxy is received by the Chair prior to the commencement of the meeting, in the form required under the constitution.

41. An absentee vote will be admitted as a vote at a general meeting where:

(a) the member wishing to vote is not present, and

(b) the member has indicated his or her voting intent to an issue set out in a voting paper supplied by the Council to all members at least one month before a general meeting by marking that voting paper, and

(c) the member indicates his or her name on a separate form for the purposes of noting that an absentee vote has been recorded from that member, and

(d) where the intent of the wording of that issue is not changed by the members present at the meeting.

42. A proxy vote will by admitted as a vote at a general meeting where:

(a) an absent member has indicated in writing both his or her intent to appoint a proxy and the name of that proxy, and

(b) that absent member has not submitted an absentee vote, and

43. Council will be required to supply absentee voting papers which state the wording of the proposed motion and a means of measuring voting intention under the following circumstances:

(a) where an amendment to the Constitution is proposed, or

(b) where Council believes that an issue other than Constitutional amendments should be debated by members at a general meeting, or

44. The Chair will notify members at the commencement of a general meeting of the number of absentee votes and requests for proxy votes received. The general meeting will, under normal meeting procedures, retain the right to suspend voting on a matter until further advice has been received from absent members.

Funds—Source

45. The funds of the Association shall be derived from annual subscriptions of members, donations and, subject to any resolution passed by the Association in general meeting and subject to section 114 of the ACT Associations lncorporation Act 1991, such other sources as the Council determines.

46. All money received by the Association shall be deposited as soon as practicable and without deduction to the credit of the Association's bank or other financial institution account or the Association's financial account as established under rule 51.

47. The Association shall, as soon as practicable after receiving any money, issue an appropriate receipt.

Funds—Management

48. Subject to any resolution passed by the Association in general meeting, the funds of the Association shall be used in pursuance of the objects of the Association and no portion shall be distributed directly or indirectly to the members of the Association except as bona fide compensation for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of the Association.

49. The financial affairs of the Association shall be administered by the Treasurer acting under the direction of the Council.

50. The financial year of the Association shall run from 1 July to 30 June the following year.

51. The funds of the Association shall be deposited in such bank or financial institution as may be determined by the Council. All cheques or withdrawal slips shall be signed by any two of the office-bearers of the Council as the Council may from time to time determine.

52. The general meeting shall appoint an auditor who shall not be a member of the Association and who shall make an annual audit of the books and accounts of the Association each financial year. A properly audited financial statement shall be presented to the first Council meeting following the close of each financial year. After acceptance of the statement by Council it shall be submitted for ratification at the next general meeting.

Alteration of the Constitution

53. Any proposed alteration to the Constitution shall be received by the Secretary in writing signed by two members not less than six weeks before a general meeting together with a statement giving reasons for the proposal. Such a proposal for alteration shall be circulated to all members not less than one month before the meeting.

54. The proposed alteration shall be put before the general meeting as a general resolution in accordance with the Associations Incorporation Act 1991. Members may vote in person at the meeting or may send their votes in writing to be in the hands of the Secretary before such a meeting commences.

55. The proposed alterations shall become operative if approved by at least three-quarters of the votes cast.

Dissolution

56. Any resolution to dissolve the Association shall be received by the Secretary in writing signed by two members not less than six weeks before a general meeting together with a statement giving reasons for the proposal. Such a proposal for alteration shall be circulated to all members not less than one month before the meeting and put before the general meeting as a general resolution in accordance with the Associations Incorporation Act 1991. Members may vote in person at the meeting or may send their votes in writing to be in the hands of the Secretary before such a meeting commences. The resolution to dissolve the Association shall become operative if approved by at least three-quarters of the votes cast.

57. In the event of the Association being dissolved, the amount that remains after such dissolution and the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities shall be transferred to any Association with similar purposes which is not carried on for the profit or gain of its individual members.

Regional Groups

58. The Council shall have the power to establish Regional Groups of the Association and to promote special interest activities of the Association.

59. Such Regional Groups shall operate under terms of reference or constitutions consistent with those of the Association as determined by the Council.

Common Seal

60. The common seal of the Association shall be kept in the custody of the secretary.

61. The common seal shall not be affixed to any instrument except by the authority of the Council and the affixing of the common seal shall be attested by the signatures either of 2 members of the Council or of 1 member of the Council and of the Secretary.

Custody of Books

62. Subject to the ACT Associations of Incorporation Act 1991, the Regulations and these rules, the Secretary and Treasurer shall keep in his or her custody or under his or her control all records, books, and other documents relating to the Association.

Inspection of Books

63. The records, books and other documents of the Association shall be open to inspection at a place in the Territory, free of charge, by a member of the Association at any reasonable hour. Any records held interstate shall be arranged to be made available for inspection in the Territory.