To stay current and to reflect changes that have taken place at AgForce in recent years, a Constitutional Review Committee has nominated a series of changes to AgForce's constitution.
Our Annual General Meeting in November will be your chance to say if you agree with these proposed changes, or if you don't, when a special resolution is considered to pass these changes.
If you can't attend the AGM yourself, you can appoint someone else to act as your 'proxy' and the proxy can vote on the resolution on your behalf.
These proposed changes to AgForce's existing constitution have been rigorously examined, both at the Board level and independently by BDO Australia and their consultants, to ensure we maintain our current not-for-profit status.
This process - like others we're undergoing this year, including our recent strategic plan review - is about ensuring your organisation retains the strongest foundations possible to allow us to continue to provide the level of service and persuasive advocacy you've come to expect from us.
The proposed changes to AgForce's constitution can be viewed in table format here and include:
- Voting at general meetings (clause 42)
- Proposal to reword to make it clearer that, for good governance, a mere 20 per cent of voting members present (in person, by representative, or by proxy) at an AgForce general meeting can demand a secret ballot on any resolution.
- Quorum at Board meetings (clause 63)
- In further recognition of the importance of broad representation of members' interests on the Board, proposal to mandate a quorum for Board meetings of 75 per cent of current Board members, removing the Board's discretion to change that threshold from time to time.
- Regional meetings (clause 76)
- Proposal to remove the requirement for each region to hold an annual general meeting and to keep records related to regional meetings, to reflect that the regions are not separate legal entities under AgForce's structure. The ability for members to convene meetings of their region though has been maintained, and the good governance of the regions can be addressed in AgForce's governance manual.
- Commodity Councils (clause 77)
- Proposal to expressly recognise 'cane' in the AgForce constitution.
- Young Producers' Council (clause 78)
- Proposal to enshrine the role of the Young Producers' Council in the constitution.
- Finance, Audit and Risk Committee (clause 79)
- Proposal to change name to Finance Risk and Audit Committee.
- Nominations and Remunerations Committee (clause 80)
- Proposal to change name to Nomination, Remuneration and Culture Committee.
- Election procedures for AgForce office bearers (clauses 83.2 and 93.1)
- Proposal to shorten the time frame for nominations: to at least 14 days after notice is given calling for nominations.
- Proposal to shorten the time frame for a subsequent ballot (if required): a ballot must remain open for least 14 days and no longer than 49 days.
Remember, AgForce is your organisation, and we are considering making changes to its very foundations, so if you only get involved in one aspect of AgForce this year, make sure it's this!
