arc club handbook

Arc Clubs and Societies Handbook Version 1 13/02/13

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1 ABOUT US ........................................................................................................................................................... 3

About This Document......................................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 About Arc @ UNSW ............................................................................................................................................ 3 1.2 About the Arc Student Development Department ............................................................................................ 4 1.3 About the Student Development Committee (SDC) .......................................................................................... 4 1.4 Clubs & Student Development Staff .................................................................................................................. 4 1.5 Definitions and Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ 5 1.6

2 AFFILIATION ....................................................................................................................................................... 6

What is Affiliation? ............................................................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Why Affiliate with Arc? ...................................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 How to Affiliate .................................................................................................................................................. 7 2.3 Holding a General Meeting for Your Club ........................................................................................................ 12 2.4 Club Constitutions ............................................................................................................................................ 14 2.5 Club Membership ............................................................................................................................................. 15 2.6 Clubs General Meetings ................................................................................................................................... 18 2.7 Suspensions ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 2.8 Financial Reviews ............................................................................................................................................. 19 2.9

3 HOW TO OPERATE YOUR CLUB SUCCESSFULLY ................................................................................................. 21

Club Executives ................................................................................................................................................ 21 3.1 Communication & the Clubs Newsletter .......................................................................................................... 26 3.2 Good Financial Management ........................................................................................................................... 27 3.3 Handover .......................................................................................................................................................... 31 3.4 Promoting Your Club ........................................................................................................................................ 32 3.5 Planning for a Club Event ................................................................................................................................. 35 3.6 Fundraising Ideas ............................................................................................................................................. 36 3.7 Work Health and Safety (WHS) ........................................................................................................................ 37 3.8 Club Awards ..................................................................................................................................................... 38 3.9

4 ARCS SUPPORT FOR CLUBS .............................................................................................................................. 40

Funding & Grants ............................................................................................................................................. 40 4.1 Resources ......................................................................................................................................................... 53 4.2 Facilities & Room Bookings .............................................................................................................................. 57 4.3 Arc Events O-Week, O-Day, Welcome Back Day and Foundation Day .......................................................... 60 4.4 Arc Staff Consultation ...................................................................................................................................... 61 4.5

5 CONTACT INFORMATION .................................................................................................................................. 62

Useful Contacts ................................................................................................................................................ 62 5.1 Website Information ........................................................................................................................................ 63 5.2

6 INDEX ............................................................................................................................................................... 65

7 APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................................................... 66

Appendix A. Example Affiliation Application ............................................................................................................... 66

Appendix B. Example Re-Affiliation Application .......................................................................................................... 66

Appendix C. Example EGM Form ............................................................................................................................... 66

Appendix D. Example Membership Audit List .............................................................................................................. 66

Appendix E. Example Club Financial Records .............................................................................................................. 66

Appendix F. Poster Glue Instructions ......................................................................................................................... 66

Appendix G. Example Activity Grant Application .......................................................................................................... 67

Appendix H. Example EMP Grant Application .............................................................................................................. 67

Appendix I. Example SCDG Application ..................................................................................................................... 67

Appendix J. Example Innovation Grant Application ..................................................................................................... 67

Appendix K. Example Clubs Loan Scheme Application .................................................................................................. 67

Appendix L. Example Alcohol Pre-Compliance Application ........................................................................................... 67

Appendix M. Example Arc Room Booking Application ................................................................................................... 68

Appendix N. Example CATS Room Booking Application ................................................................................................ 68

Appendix O. Example Outdoor Booking Application ..................................................................................................... 68


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1 About Us

About This Document......................................................................................................................................... 3 1.1 About Arc @ UNSW ............................................................................................................................................ 3 1.2 About the Arc Student Development Department ............................................................................................ 4 1.3 About the Student Development Committee (SDC) .......................................................................................... 4 1.4 Clubs & Student Development Staff .................................................................................................................. 4 1.5 Definitions and Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ 5 1.6

About This Document 1.1

This document is the go-to guide for all your Club needs and should be your first stop for information and answers. It

is a comprehensive instruction manual containing everything that you need to know to run your Club from affiliation

to funding and support, from running meetings to holding events, it can all be found here! Although it is extensive, we

have tried to break it up into sections so that you can look over it as you need. See the contents page for each

individual section and the index at the back to find the information that youre looking for.

The document should be read in conjunction with the Arc Clubs Procedures and other relevant policies1. Please ensure

that you have the latest version of this handbook which is available on the Clubs Resources page1.

About Arc @ UNSW 1.2

Arc is the University of New South Wales Student Organisation. Our ultimate goal is to create a supportive, enriching

and fun community environment at UNSW. We endeavour to have all students take part in a life-changing university

experience. Arc provides a whole range of services and facilities to its members, including:

facilitating student development and volunteer programs

supporting student representation

providing an internship program

providing student advocacy services

running on-campus venues (including the Roundhouse and Whitehouse)

providing O-Week activities

hosting entertainment and parties (including Foundation Day and session parties)

running the Graduation & Gift Store

producing free publications such as Tharunka, Blitz and Ism

supporting over 200 Clubs and Societies

Best of all, students oversee the direction of Arc; there is a student majority on Arcs Board of Directors, as well as a

Student Representative Council (SRC) and a Post Graduate Council (PGC) comprised entirely of students. Students

employed by Student Development (SD) also manage and support Clubs and volunteer programs, and there is a

majority of student representatives on SDs governing body, the Student Development Committee (see section 1.4).

Joining Arc is free and comes with heaps of benefits. Head to the Arc website2 for more information on how to sign

up.

1 Arc Clubs resources: www.arc.unsw.edu.au/clubresources

2 Arc membership: http://www.arc.unsw.edu.au/membership


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About the Arc Student Development Department 1.3

The Student Development (SD) Department is focused on providing development opportunities to students at UNSW.

SD provides a whole range of activities and opportunities to students. We oversee all Arc volunteer programs there

are over a dozen including the Yellow Shirts, Global Village, the Duke of Edinburgh Award, and the UNSWeetened

Literary Journal. We also coordinate events such as Flea Markets and most importantly for you, we oversee and

support over 200 affiliated Clubs at UNSW.

The SD Office is located on the first floor of the Roundhouse and we are always more than happy to have a chat to you

about any issues or ideas that you might have (see section 0 to find out about making an appointment). This is also

where you will find the Arc Clubs Resources Room and the Clubs Storeroom.

About the Student Development Committee (SDC) 1.4

The Student Development Committee (SDC) is the student body responsible for overseeing the support provided by

Arc to affiliated Clubs, volunteer programs, courses, grants and relevant student events. Representatives are elected

from several constituencies: Clubs (three representatives), volunteer programs (two representatives) and COFA

students (one representative). These representatives ensure that Arcs support of Clubs remains relevant and useful.

The Committee meets approximately once every month and makes determinations and recommendations on a range

of issues including applications for affiliation, Innovation Grants, Student Community and Development Grants (SCDG)

and the Clubs Loans Scheme. The SDC also reviews relevant Arc policies and is always looking for ways to improve

Arcs support for Clubs.

The SDC website has details about the current members of the SDC, as well as other important information about the

Committee3.

The SDC is chaired by the Student Development Committee Convenor, whose contact details can be found in section

5.1.3. The Convenor is open to feedback and suggestions from Clubs about how best to support them. Make sure to

get in touch with the Convenor or the Student Development Administrator (SDA) if you have any ideas or feedback. If

you want to be involved with the SDC, nominations and elections for representative positions happen around July

each year.

Clubs & Student Development Staff 1.5

There are a range of staff who are tasked with supporting Arc affiliated Clubs. If you cant find the answers youre

looking for in this handbook, your first point of call for all general enquiries should be the Student Development

Administrator (SDA). They are responsible for resources, bookings, processing affiliation documents for the SDC and

answering enquiries.

The Student Development Officers (SDOs) are tasked with processing all of your Activity, EMP and Constituent Grants,

as well as offering general administrative assistance and support for Clubs. This includes membership audits, financial

reviews, sending newsletters, managing the storeroom as well as assisting with enquiries.

The Student Development Coordinators oversee these staff members and are available to assist you should you have

any concerns.

3 SDC: http://arc.unsw.edu.au/sdc


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The SDC Convenor, as the head of the SDC, deals with enquiries about policies and procedures. The Convenor is also

responsible for processing Innovation Grants, SCDG and Clubs Loan Scheme applications before they are submitted to

the SDC for assessment.

See section 5.1 for SD Staff contact details.

Definitions and Abbreviations 1.6

Term Definition

Affiliation Official association with Arc

Arc Arc @ UNSW Limited

Associate members Associate members of the Club (see section 2.6.1)

Clubs Clubs and Societies

EMP Equipment, Merchandise and Publication (grant)

Exec The executive of the Club as defined by the Clubs constitution

Members Full members of the Club (see section 2.6.1)

SD Arcs Student Development Department, responsible for Clubs (see section 1.3)

SDA Student Development Administrator (see section 1.5)

SDC The Student Development Committee (see section 1.4)

SDOs Student Development Officers (see section 1.5)

Suspension The suspension of a Clubs affiliation with Arc (see section 2.8)

University University of New South Wales (UNSW)


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2 Affiliation

What is Affiliation? ............................................................................................................................................. 6 2.1 Why Affiliate with Arc? ...................................................................................................................................... 7 2.2 How to Affiliate .................................................................................................................................................. 7 2.3

2.3.1 Club Categories .............................................................................................................................................. 7

2.3.2 Applying for Affiliation ................................................................................................................................... 7

2.3.3 Applying for Re-Affiliation ............................................................................................................................. 9

2.3.4 The Process of Affiliation ............................................................................................................................. 11

Holding a General Meeting for Your Club ........................................................................................................ 12 2.42.4.1 Requirements of an Annual General Meeting ............................................................................................. 12

2.4.2 Requirements of an Extraordinary General Meeting ................................................................................... 13

Club Constitutions ............................................................................................................................................ 14 2.5 Club Membership ............................................................................................................................................. 15 2.6

2.6.1 Defining Membership .................................................................................................................................. 15

Regular Clubs .......................................................................................................................................................................... 15 Constituent Clubs ................................................................................................................................................................... 15

2.6.2 Signing Up Members .................................................................................................................................... 15

2.6.3 Membership Fees ......................................................................................................................................... 16

2.6.4 Membership Audits ...................................................................................................................................... 16

2.6.5 Terminating Membership ............................................................................................................................ 17

Clubs General Meetings ................................................................................................................................... 18 2.7 Suspensions ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 2.8 Financial Reviews ............................................................................................................................................. 19 2.9

What is Affiliation? 2.1

Affiliation is the process of becoming officially associated with Arc. We require that Clubs meet certain criteria before

we are able to accept them as an affiliate. Once these procedural and administrative requirements are met and the

Club has been approved by Student Developments governing body (the SDC), the Club will be deemed to be affiliated

with Arc. This gives Clubs access to Club resources and also means that the Club is covered by Arcs Products and

Public Liability Insurance (see section 4.2.4).

In general, Arc stipulates a minimum standard that Clubs must meet, including (but not limited to):

that your Club is run in a democratic fashion

that Club finances are being used solely for the benefit of all Club members

the aims and objectives of your Club must contribute to UNSW student life

there are no other existing Clubs which have similar aims and objectives currently affiliated with Arc

The affiliation process involves the Club demonstrating to Arc that they meet all of the minimum requirements. This

process is detailed in section 2.3.

Affiliation is valid for one of the following, whichever is sooner:

a period of twelve months (12) and two (2) weeks, commencing from the date of the Clubs most recent

AGM, or

two (2) weeks past the Clubs next AGM

Please be aware that affiliation with Arc can be suspended in this period if a Club fails to meet requirements such as

submitting documents for the semesterly membership audits. See section 2.8 for more information about

suspensions.


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Why Affil iate with Arc? 2.2

There are a whole range of reasons that make affiliating with Arc worthwhile. We supply affiliated Clubs with a variety

of resources. These include grants and funding, printing and secretarial supplies, training and support for executives,

room and space bookings (Arc rooms, CATS rooms and outdoor spaces), limited on-campus storage for Club

equipment, access to stalls at events (such as Foundation Day, O-Week, Welcome Back Day, International Night

Markets), fee-free bank accounts, as well as limited third-party Public Liability Insurance, administrative support and

publicity.

In general, we provide an organisational and administrative framework to allow you to successfully operate your Club.

We work to ensure that student life is vibrant, dynamic and exciting and a major aspect of this is Clubs. As such, we

aim to do as much as we can to ensure your Club is successful!

How to Affiliate 2.3

2.3.1 Club Categories

Clubs are divided into two categories:

Constituent Clubs: All UNSW Students enrolled in a particular Program, School, Faculty or College are

automatically members of your Club and you have the approval of the appropriate authority of the relevant

Program, School, Faculty or College (e.g. School or College management).

OR

Regular Clubs: A Club comprised of at least five (5) UNSW students, usually related to a special interest.

Please note: in 2012, the Small Club category was abolished. If your Club still runs under the Model Small Club

Constitution, you must update your Constitution to meet the requirements of Regular Clubs. Contact

[email protected] for more information.

2.3.2 Applying for Affiliation

Applying for affiliation can be a long process, but the SD Staff are here to make it as easy as possible! When you are

completing an Affiliation Application it is important to ensure that you meet each requirement, otherwise your

application may take longer to be assessed, or you may be asked to repeat parts of the affiliation process.

Your first steps in creating a Club should be:

1. Thinking of an idea for a Club. Make sure your idea is something that you are passionate about and willing to

commit your time to. It should be enriching, rewarding, intellectually stimulating or just plain fun. Make sure

that it is something that other UNSW students would be interested in joining. You should also think about

your Clubs aims and objectives.

2. Checking that a Club with significantly similar aims and objectives does not already exist (see the affiliated

Clubs list on the Arc website4).

4 Arc affiliated Clubs list: http://www.arc.unsw.edu.au/get-involved/clubs-and-societies/arc-affiliated-clubs-list


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3. Finding out about the affiliation process. You can do so by reading this handbook, but we also recommend

that you talk to a representative from SD. We will be able to explain the process to you clearly and help you

out along the way.

Once you are ready to start the affiliation process, you will need to:

1. Pick up an Affiliation Pack. These are available online5 or from the SD Office. Remember, there are different

packs for Regular and Constituent Clubs (see section 2.3.1 for information on Club types). Read over the

package and make sure you understand what is required.

2. Plan your Annual General Meeting (AGM). This requires at least five (5) UNSW students who agree to be part

of your Club. It is best that you book a room for your meeting (see section 4.3 for details on room bookings).

3. Give notice to Arc as well as your new members at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting. Its best to email

all your Club members and send a copy to Student Development ([email protected]).

4. Hold your AGM! Make sure that you are aware of all requirements and follow the correct procedure as per

the Affiliation Pack. The main things to keep in mind are:

Make sure that everyone signs the Attendance Form.

Take minutes of all the decisions made at the meeting.

Democratically adopt your Clubs Constitution which is in line with the Arc minimum requirements

(as defined by the Arc Clubs Model Constitutions). You are welcome to use the model constitution if

you wish, but remember to vote on and include your Clubs aims and objectives.

Democratically elect your executive members. Remember, all executive members must be Arc

members. They can become members after being elected, but make sure they sign up (for free)

before you submit your Affiliation Application.

See section 2.4 for further details on holding a General Meeting.

5. Complete the Affiliation Application, including all of the necessary documents, and submit it to the Student

Development Office within two (2) weeks of your AGM. Make sure that everything is complete and all

documents are included, as incomplete applications cannot be processed. Make sure that all members of

your executive sign the WHS agreement. Remember, some documents will need to be emailed to

[email protected], including:

an Excel version of your Club membership and executive lists (in the format stipulated in the

Affiliation Pack)

a digital copy of your Clubs Constitution

6. Once your complete application is submitted, it will be referred to the SDC for assessment. The SDC meets

once a month, so it takes some time for applications to be processed. SD Staff will keep you posted on how

your application is progressing.

7. If the SDC approves your affiliation, you will be issued with a Bank Letter to set up a fee-free Club account at

any bank approved by Arc (including all banks on campus). See section 3.3.1 for more information about Club

bank accounts. You will also be issued with details about your Secretarial Allowance (see section 4.1.10) and

how you can access other benefits from Arc.

8. If the SDC does not approve your affiliation, you will be given details of the issues that prevented your

affiliation, as well as information on possible solutions.

9. Affiliation is valid for one of the following, whichever is sooner:

a period of twelve months (12) and two (2) weeks, commencing from the date of the Clubs most recent

AGM, or


During this time, you can access Arc resources and funding to help you run your Club and organise activities.

See section 2.3.3 for details on re-affiliation.

5 Arc Clubs resources: http://arc.unsw.edu.au/clubresources


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Although there is a lot involved in becoming affiliated, remember that SD Staff are here to help. If you have any

questions feel free to email [email protected]. You can also arrange an appointment to discuss Club any issues

with SD Staff (see section 0).

See Appendix A for an example of a correctly completed New Club Affiliation Application.

2.3.3 Applying for Re-Affiliation

All Clubs are required to re-affiliate with Arc every twelve (12) months in order to continue to access to Arcs funding,

resources and support. You are required to submit your completed Re-Affiliation Application to Arc before your

affiliation expires.

If your documents are submitted on time and complete, your Club will be considered to be in application, which is

essentially provisional affiliation status. This means that you will continue to have full access to all Clubs resources

unless your affiliation is rejected, at which time your access to resources will be suspended.

If your application is not submitted within this timeframe or has been submitted but is incomplete, your Clubs

affiliation with Arc will expire. This will result in the suspension of your Clubs access to all Arc Clubs resources. Once

your Clubs affiliation with Arc has expired, access to resources will not be reinstated until your re-affiliation has been

approved.

For your Club to re-affiliate with Arc, you will need to complete the following steps:

1. Pick up a Re-Affiliation Pack from the SD Office or find it online6 . Remember, there are different packs for

Regular and Constituent Clubs (see section 2.3.1 for information on Club types). Read over the package and

make sure you understand what is required.

2. Plan your Annual General Meeting. Make sure you book a room for your meeting (see section 4.3 for details

on room bookings).

3. Give notice to Arc as well as all your members at least seven (7) days prior to the meeting. Its best to email

all your Club members and send a copy to Student Development ([email protected]).

4. Hold your AGM! Make sure you know what you need to do and that you follow the correct procedure as per

your constitution and Arcs requirements. The main things to keep in mind are:

Make sure that everyone signs the Attendance Form.

Take minutes of all the decisions made at the meeting.

Democratically vote on any proposed changes to your Clubs Constitution.

Democratically elect your executive members. Remember, all executive members must be Arc

members. They can become members after being elected, but make sure they sign up (for free)

before you submit your Re-Affiliation Application.

See section 2.4 for further details on holding a General Meeting.

5. Complete the Re-Affiliation Application, including all of the necessary documents, and submit it to the

Student Development Office within two (2) weeks of your AGM. Make sure that everything is complete and

all documents are included as incomplete applications cannot be processed. Make sure that all members of

your executive sign the WHS agreement. Remember, some documents will need to be emailed to

[email protected], including:

an Excel version of your Club membership and executive lists (in the format stipulated in the

Affiliation Pack)

a digital copy of your Clubs Constitution

6. You will be issued with a Bank Letter (see section 3.3.1 for further details) and details about your Secretarial

Allowance (see section 4.1.10) and how you can access other benefits from Arc.



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7. If you have not made constitutional changes, your application will be referred to the SDC Convenor for review

and will then be signed off by the Convenor and the SD Manager. This will take one to four (1-4) weeks.

8. If you have made changes to your Constitution, it will be referred to the SDC for assessment. The SDC meets

once a month, so it takes some time for applications to be processed. SD Staff will keep you posted on how

your application is progressing.

9. Your affiliation can be approved either by the SDC Convenor and SD Manager or by the SDC. If it is not

approved you will be given details of the issues that prevented your re-affiliation and information on what

you will need to do to re-affiliate successfully.

10. Affiliation is valid for one of the following, whichever is sooner:

a period of twelve (12) months and two (2) weeks, commencing from the date of the Clubs most recent

AGM, or


During this time, you can access Arc resources and funding to help you run your Club and organise activities.

While there is a lot involved in the re-affiliation process, remember that SD Staff are here to help (see section 0 for

consultation procedures).

See Appendix B for an example of a correctly completed Re-Affiliation Application.


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2.3.4 The Process of Affiliation

Figure 1 Process of applying for affiliation or re-affiliation


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Holding a General Meeting for Your Club 2.4

As per the Arc Clubs Model Constitution, there are some matters that can only be dealt with at a general meeting (an

Annual General Meeting or Extraordinary General Meeting) of your Club. These include:

changing your Constitution.

removing an executive.

removing people from your Club.

anything else specified in your Constitution that can only be done at a general meeting.

Regular Clubs can only elect executives at a general meeting. Constituent Clubs may have an election at the AGM or at

another time on UNSW campus as stipulated by their constitution. These elections must be open for all full members

of the Club to be nominated and to vote.

As per the Arc Clubs Model Constitution, general meetings have some specific requirements that should be kept in

mind. These refer to the Model Constitution and may vary slightly from your Club Constitution so make sure you check

for any differences:

For your meeting to be legitimate, you must make quorum. Quorum is the minimum number of members

that must be present for your meeting to be valid. As per the Model Constitution, quorum is fifteen (15)

members or half the Club membership, whichever is the lesser.

All voting at meetings shall be by simple majority.

Each full member is entitled to vote.

Members entitled to vote who are unable to attend the meeting are entitled to vote by proxy (one (1)

member delegates their vote to another member to vote in their absence)

The President has the casting vote where votes are tied.

All executive elections are conducted in first-past-the-post system (the nominee with the most votes wins).

Any changes to the Clubs Constitution must be presented as a motion on notice to a general meeting (AGM

or EGM) and adopted by a majority vote.

Any constitutional amendments must be ratified by Arc for the Club to remain affiliated (see section 2.5 for

more details).

The required procedure for general meetings is detailed in the upcoming sections. If your general meeting deviates

from this procedure, it may be declared invalid and you may be required to hold the meeting again.

2.4.1 Requirements of an Annual General Meeting

An Annual General Meeting, as the name suggests, is a meeting held at the same time once each year. Once you have

held an AGM, you should apply for re-affiliation within two (2) weeks. The main things to keep in mind include:

1. You must give at least seven (7) days notice of your AGM. To ensure you meet this requirement, it is best to

email all your Club members and send a copy to Student Development ([email protected]). In addition

to email, you may wish to promote your meeting through other channels (such as Facebook) to ensure your

meeting reaches quorum. Your AGM notice must include:

Date, time and location of the meeting

Details of elections and nomination procedure (as per your Constitution)

Anything else on your meeting agenda (such as adopting or changing your Constitution)

Details of who gets to vote (all Club members)

2. You must prepare an agenda for your meeting. It is a good idea to circulate a draft agenda with your notice of

AGM. This should detail exactly what is going to happen at the meeting and should follow this order:


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Apologies (prior notice that a member is unable to attend the meeting, especially Club executives)

Acceptance of, or amendments to, your Constitution

Election of executive

General business

i. Presidents Report

ii. Treasurers Report

Business without notice

3. Youre now prepared to hold your meeting. If youre forming a new Club, you should nominate someone to

chair the meeting. For an existing Club, the current President generally chairs the meetings. If the President is

absent, it should be chaired by another nominated executive such as the Vice President or Secretary.

4. For your meeting to be valid, you must make quorum (as per your Clubs Constitution).

5. You must take minutes of the meeting. These should detail exactly what occurred during the meeting as a

record for your Club as well as for Arc to check over. Most importantly, the minutes should contain any

resolutions passed at the meeting including the acceptance of apologies, elections (nominations and results)

and resolutions passing any constitutional changes.

6. At minimum, the President and the Treasurer must each present a report for the Clubs acceptance. The

Presidents report should include details of the Club, highlights of the year, and ongoing issues. The

Treasurers report must include full financial records of the preceding twelve (12) month period.

7. Elections for executive are conducted using a first-past-the-post system (i.e. the candidate with the most

votes wins), unless your Constitution stipulates otherwise. At every AGM, all executive positions are vacant

and free to be contested. Any full member of the Club is entitled to run for a position.

8. For any constitutional changes, notice of any proposed constitutional change/s must be given (usually with

the notice of AGM) and sufficient time allocated at the meeting to discuss changes. Each change must be

passed by a simple majority unless your Constitution stipulates otherwise.

9. After the meeting, it is constitutionally required that all Clubs forward the full minutes of the meeting, a list

of new executives, written financial reports and constitutional amendments to Arc within fourteen (14) days.

These details should be submitted with your Affiliation Application.

See relevant sections of Appendix B for examples of correctly completed AGM documents.

2.4.2 Requirements of an Extraordinary General Meeting

An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) is a meeting held between AGMs in order to determine issues that are too

important to wait for an AGM. Most often EGMs are called by the Club executives in order to make changes to the

Constitution or to fill a vacant executive position. Club members can also petition the executive to hold an EGM by

providing signatures from fifteen (15) Club members, or from half the Club membership, whichever is lesser (unless

otherwise specified in your Clubs Constitution).

Whilst similar, the requirements for an EGM are slightly different to those of an AGM:

1. You must give at least seven (7) days notice of your EGM. To ensure you meet this requirement, it is best to

email all your Club members and send a copy to Student Development ([email protected]). In addition

to email, you may wish to promote your meeting through other channels (such as Facebook), to ensure your

meeting reaches quorum. Your EGM notice must include:

Date, time and location of the meeting

If applicable, details of elections and nomination procedure (as per your Constitution)

Anything else on your meeting agenda (such as adopting or changing your Constitution)

Details of who gets to vote (all full members of the Club)


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2. You must prepare an agenda for your meeting. It is a good idea to circulate a draft agenda with your notice of

EGM. This should detail exactly what is going to happen at the meeting and should follow this order:

Apologies (prior notice that a member is unable to attend the meeting, especially Club executives)

Acceptance of, or amendments to, your Constitution

Election of executive (if applicable)

General business

Business without notice

3. Your meeting should be chaired by the President. If the President is absent or the position is vacant, it should

be chaired by another nominated executive such as the Vice President or Secretary.

4. For your meeting to be valid, you must make quorum (as per your Constitution).

5. You must take minutes of the meeting. These should details exactly what occurred during the meeting as a

record for your Club as well as for Arc to check over. Most importantly, the minutes should contain any

resolutions passed at the meeting including the acceptance of apologies, and resolutions passing any

constitutional changes.

6. If applicable, elections for executive are conducted using a first-past-the-post system (i.e. the candidate with

the most votes wins), unless your Constitution stipulates otherwise. At an EGM, elections are only conducted

for vacant positions, not the whole executive.

7. If applicable, notice of any proposed constitutional change/s must be given (usually with the notice of EGM)

and sufficient time allocated at the meeting to discuss changes. Each change must be passed by a simple

majority unless your Constitution stipulates otherwise.

8. After the meeting, it is constitutionally required that all Clubs forward the full minutes of the meeting, a list

of new executives (if applicable), written financial reports and constitutional amendments (if applicable) to

Arc within fourteen (14) days of the meeting. It is recommended, to ensure that you meet Arcs

requirements, that this is submitted with an EGM form available on the Arc Clubs Resources webpage7 or

from the SD Office.

Remember, any new executives will be required to sign the WHS agreement for their Club, which is included in the

EGM form.

See Appendix C for an example of a correctly completed EGM Form.

Club Constitutions 2.5

Your Club Constitution is essentially the policy that governs your Club. It is a reference for executives to know how to

run the Club and what must be done throughout the year. Requirements stipulated in a Clubs Constitution must be

adhered to. Further, as mentioned in section 2.4, your Club Constitution can only be changed at a general meeting of

your Club. Any change that you make will be reviewed by the Student Development Committee to ensure that your

Constitution is in line with the minimum requirements as defined by the Arc Clubs Model Constitution. As such, the

Model Constitution provides a guide as to what will be acceptable for your Constitution. This does not mean that your

Club cannot make changes, just that any changes must not violate the minimum parameters set out by the model. For

example, the minimum requirements stipulate a first-past-the-post voting system where all members have one (1)

vote for electing executives. If you were to introduce a preferential voting system it would most likely also be ratified,

however if you were to restrict some members their ability to vote, this would be rejected by the SDC.

It is always advisable that Clubs consult Clubs Staff before holding a general meeting to vote on proposed

constitutional changes. This provides the opportunity for your proposed changes to be checked over and can

hopefully prevent you having to hold another meeting in the event that the SDC rejects your changes. Obviously, SD



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Staff cannot speak for the SDC, but they should be able to give you some idea of whether your constitutional changes

are likely to pass.

You Club executive should always retain an up-to-date copy of your Constitution. Further, whenever changes are

made, or when you re-affiliate, you must supply a digital copy of your Constitution to Arc to be stored on our

database. If ever you lose your Constitution, or have any questions about potential changes, contact

[email protected].

Club Membership 2.6

2.6.1 Defining Membership

Membership is defined differently depending on the type of Club. See section 2.3.1 for more details on Club types. The

duration of membership is from the time a member signs up until the Clubs next AGM or the end of Week 1,

Semester 1 after they sign up, whichever is later. These membership structures are stipulated in the Regular Model

Constitution and any changes to this structure would require the Clubs Constitution to be changed at an AGM. No

UNSW student that is eligible to become a member of your Club may be denied membership if they are willing to pay

the membership fee.

Regular Clubs

Membership for Regular Clubs may fall under the following categories:

Full Membership: full membership of the Club is open to all UNSW students and they will be required to pay a

membership fee of at least $0 and fill in a membership form devised by the executive.

Associate Membership: associate membership is open to all persons who are not UNSW students and will be

required to pay a membership fee (as determined by the Club executive) and complete a membership form

devised by the executive.

Constituent Clubs

Membership in Constituent Clubs may fall under the following categories:

Full Membership: open to all UNSW students subject to the affiliation requirements of Arc who are enrolled

in subjects under the jurisdiction of the agreed College, Program, School or Faculty of UNSW. Full members

dont pay a fee, but do need to sign up to the Club each year through a membership form devised by the Club

executive.

Associate Membership: open to non-UNSW students or people outside the relevant agreed College, Program,

School or Faculty. Associate members will be required to pay a fee (determined by the executive) and

complete a membership from (devised by the executive).

See section 2.6.3 for details on membership fees.

2.6.2 Signing Up Members

As mentioned above, all members are required to complete a membership form. This is your opportunity to get any

details that you might need as well as other information that you might find helpful when running your Club. At a

minimum, you should get the following information:


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first name

last name

student number

contact number

email

Arc membership status

It might also be handy to find out things like:

their degree and year

how they found out about your Club

what events they would like to participate in

For your records, you should also keep track of:

date of membership (to determine when membership expires)

whether the membership fee has been paid (if applicable)

Members can sign up using a paper form or online (e.g. using Google Forms). By having a computer available at

events, Clubs can more easily facilitate sign ups. This data will then be easily transferable for the semesterly

membership audit (see section 2.6.4 below for details).

As stipulated in the Model Constitution, Club membership lists are to be held only by the Club executive, and the only

external body that they can be distributed to is Arc. Information attained in a membership form should never be

distributed to a third party unless the specific written consent of the Club members has been given.

2.6.3 Membership Fees

As indicated in section 2.6.1 above, there are some membership models which allow the executive to determine a

membership fee. This includes full and associate membership of Regular Clubs and associate membership of

Constituent Clubs. This does not include full membership of a Constituent Club (which must be free).

Club membership fees are a great way to raise funds for your Club, especially for new Clubs, and can be used to help

fund events and pay for the ongoing running costs of your Club. Please keep in mind that large or exorbitant

membership fees may deter people from joining your Club.

The membership fees can be determined by the Club executive, the only proviso being that the membership fee

charged to non-Arc members must be at least double that charged to Arc members. For example, if Arc members are

charged $10, non-Arc members must be charged at least $20. As Clubs are supported by Arc, this is to ensure benefits

for Arc members. Remember, Arc membership is free.

Always make sure to keep accurate records of who has paid their membership fee and you should also issue a cash

receipt for proof of payment for the individual paying. Arc membership should be verified by sighting a 2013 Arc

sticker on their student card.

2.6.4 Membership Audits

Club membership audits are conducted at the start of each semester to ensure that Clubs are meeting our

membership requirements and to assess funding levels (including determining Secretarial Allowances).


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There are two types of Club membership lists which may be required for a Club membership audit:

General membership list: membership lists must be formatted so that first name, last name and student

numbers are in separate columns. These lists will be audited to check how many of your members are active

Arc members. Your Clubs funding level will then be set as Gold, Silver or Bronze based on this number (see

section 4.1.1 for more details on funding levels). Clubs will also be allocated a Secretarial Allowance for the

semester of $0.50 per Arc member up to $200 (see section 4.1.10).

Executive list: executive lists must be formatted with first name, last name, student number, email address and executive position as separate columns. These lists will be checked to ensure that all executive members

are active Arc members.

Both of these lists should be maintained and kept up-to-date by the Club Secretary.

What information must be submitted varies depending on your Club types.

Regular Clubs:

membership list

executive list

Constituent Clubs:

executive list

membership list (optional submit if you wish to be assessed to see if you have enough Arc members to increase your funding level (see 4.1.1 for more information on funding levels).

Membership Audits will be due on the following dates:

Semester 1: Friday of Week 2 (15th

March), 5pm

Semester 2: Friday of Week 2 (9th

August ), 5pm

Further details of the membership audit will be distributed via the Clubs Newsletter at the beginning of each

semester. Audit lists must be submitted as an Excel document in the correct format, with the Club name and list type

(membership or executive list) included in the file name and emailed to [email protected]. Please ensure that

student numbers are correctly recorded as these are used to conduct the audit.

If your Club fails to submit the required membership lists or the membership audit shows that not all of your

executive members are Arc members, your Clubs affiliation will be suspended. The suspension will only be lifted

when the issues are resolved and all required lists are resubmitted following the above procedure.

See Appendix D for an example of a correctly completed membership audit list.

2.6.5 Terminating Membership

In some circumstances, it is possible to terminate an individuals Club membership, although this must be for a valid

reason (such as misconduct, harassment or bullying) and must be approved by a general meeting of your Club. Under

no circumstances does the Club executive (independently or as a group) have the right to terminate an individuals

Club membership. To terminate membership, the following procedure must be followed:


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1. A motion must be passed by the executive or the executive are petitioned by at least fifteen (15) members to

initiate proceedings.

2. All Club members must be notified of the proceedings by a motion on notice at an Extraordinary General

Meeting.

3. The member/s concerned must be notified in writing of the proceedings as well as the reasons at least seven

(7) days before the meeting.

4. The member concerned is given at least five (5) minutes to speak against the motion at the EGM.

5. For termination to be accepted, the motion must be carried by a majority at the EGM.

If any Club member or executive feels that they have had their membership wrongfully terminated, they have the

right to appeal to the SDC, who will arrive at the final resolution of the matter at their absolute discretion. Please

email [email protected] if you have any issues.

Clubs General Meetings 2.7

Clubs General Meetings (CGM) are held monthly during semester and are a vital source of information for Club

executives. They provide an opportunity for Clubs Staff to meet and discuss issues with all Clubs. These meetings are

used to discuss any policy and procedural changes and provide Clubs with an opportunity to ask SD Staff and the SDC

Convenor questions.

Dates will be circulated via the Clubs Newsletter and the minutes will be available online after the meeting.

It is a requirement of Club affiliation that at least one (1) Club representative attend CGMs. Attendance is taken, and

failure to send a representative to three meetings without apology will result in the suspension of your Club. If your

Club is unable to send a representative, please submit your apologies to [email protected] at least twenty-four

(24) hours before the meeting is scheduled.

Suspensions 2.8

If your Clubs affiliation with Arc is suspended, the Club executive will be notified by email. Please remember, this is

different to issues with affiliation and being suspended does not mean that your Clubs affiliation expired or that you

need to re-apply for affiliation. For the most part, a Clubs affiliation is suspended because Arc has identified some

issue with the management of the Club which needs to be addressed. If your Clubs affiliation is suspended, you will

not have access to Club resources, including grants, printing and copying services, room and space hire, as well as

equipment. Suspensions are at the discretion of the Student Development Coordinators, SDC Convenor and SDC, and

there are a variety of reasons why a Clubs affiliation might be suspended. This is a brief list of issues that Clubs

regularly face, and the solution to restore your affiliation:

Issue Example Solution

Failed membership audit Failure to provide required lists, all

executive members not active Arc

members.

Submit your updated and complete

membership audit to [email protected].

Incorrect use of Clubs

resources

Taking resources without correct

booking, damage, non-return of

equipment, missing return deadline,

personal use of Secretarial

Allowance.

Club executives attend a meeting with the

Student Development Coordinator to discuss

Club operations and strategies for meeting

minimum requirements.

Failure to attend Club

General Meetings

Club representative fails to attend

three CGMs without submitting an

apology.

Club exec attends a meeting with the Student

Development Coordinator to discuss Club

operations and strategies for meeting



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Issue Example Solution

Incorrect bookings Holding events in spaces (CATS,

Outdoor, Roundhouse) without a

booking, misuse of a booked space

or violation of booking agreements.





Misuse of Club funds Failing to acknowledge income

(including sponsorship) in grants,

unnecessary spending, spending that

is not for the whole Club, spending

without the approval of Club exec.

Club will face disciplinary action by the SDC

before affiliation can be reinstated.

Conduct that reflects

poorly on Arc or brings Arc

into disrepute

Holding events in violation of Arc

policies (including alcohol policies),

events where police or legal action is

involved, events that are reflected

poorly in the general student body

or wider community.




minimum requirements. Serious issues will be

referred to the SDC.

Failure to supply

information or complete

actions requested by Arc

Financial documents, membership

information, Club records and

meeting minutes.

Submit required records to Arc. If you fail to

submit your records on time, your affiliation

may not be restored until Arc has reviewed

your records.

Abuse of executive

privileges

Disproportionate spending on Club

executive, pursuit of events etc. that

have an undisclosed benefit to an

executive member (i.e. exec member

has a business interest).



Repeated failure to follow

the Clubs

chalking/postering policy

Chalking on main walkway or

undercover, postering outside of

designated poster boards etc.





Any criminal or illegal

activity conducted by the

Club

Fraud, embezzlement, irresponsible

service of alcohol, illicit drugs,

vandalism etc.



Failure to comply with Arcs

WHS policy

Failure to follow safe working

practices or holding dangerous/risky

events.




minimum requirements. Serious breaches may

be referred to the SDC.

Bullying or harassment Inflammatory or derogatory

statements directed at specific Club

members or groups. Discrimination

against individuals or groups.

Club will face disciplinary action by the SDC or

SDC Convenor before affiliation can be

reinstated.

The table above only provides a guide, and issues that result in suspension or the method required to reverse this

suspension may vary. Any issue may be referred to the SDC or SDC Convenor for determination.

Financial Reviews 2.9

Clubs may be asked to undergo a financial review which will be conducted by the team of Student Development

Officers. Your Club may be reviewed at random to check that your Club is being operated fairly and effectively, or you

may be audited because we suspect some level of financial mismanagement.

If you are asked to undergo a financial review, your Club will be notified by email (to the Club general email, President

and Treasurer)and be asked to provide the following information within fourteen (14) days:


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banking transactions from the past twelve (12) months (bank statements or account print-out)

list of transactions made without your bank account (such as cash purchases/petty cash register)

income and expenditure statements that indicate what each transaction links to

If everything is supplied and is in good order, the SDOs will have fourteen (14) days to review your finances and notify

the Club of the outcome of the review.

If you supply all of the required documentation and information that we need by the deadline, there will be no

practical effect on the operation of your Club, other than grant processing. While your Club should continue to submit

grant applications, we will hold off processing them until your review is complete.

If you fail to supply all of the required documentation and information that we need by the deadline or you are

deemed to have failed your audit, your Clubs affiliation with Arc will be suspended until the issue has been resolved.

If you fail your review, you will need to arrange a time to meet with the SDO responsible for your audit, the SDC

Convenor and/or the Student Development Coordinator to discuss your Clubs financial management.


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3 How to Operate your Club Successfully

Club Executives ................................................................................................................................................ 21 3.13.1.1 Being a Successful President ........................................................................................................................ 22

3.1.2 Being a Successful Vice President ................................................................................................................ 23

3.1.3 Being a Successful Treasurer........................................................................................................................ 23

3.1.4 Being a Successful Secretary ........................................................................................................................ 24

3.1.5 Being a Successful Arc Delegate .................................................................................................................. 25

3.1.6 Running a Successful Committee ................................................................................................................. 26

Communication & the Clubs Newsletter .......................................................................................................... 26 3.2 Good Financial Management ........................................................................................................................... 27 3.3

3.3.1 Club Bank Accounts...................................................................................................................................... 27

3.3.2 Maintaining Club Financial Records............................................................................................................. 28

3.3.3 Making a Payment or Purchase ................................................................................................................... 28

3.3.4 Receiving Payments ..................................................................................................................................... 29

3.3.5 Budgeting..................................................................................................................................................... 30

3.3.6 General Financial Good Governance ........................................................................................................... 31

Handover .......................................................................................................................................................... 31 3.43.4.1 How to Perform the Role ............................................................................................................................. 31

3.4.2 What Happened This Year ........................................................................................................................... 32

3.4.3 Suggestions for Next Year ............................................................................................................................ 32

Promoting Your Club ........................................................................................................................................ 32 3.53.5.1 On-Campus .................................................................................................................................................. 32

3.5.2 Online ........................................................................................................................................................... 34

Planning for a Club Event ................................................................................................................................. 35 3.6 Fundraising Ideas ............................................................................................................................................. 36 3.7 Work Health and Safety (WHS) ........................................................................................................................ 37 3.8

3.8.1 What is WHS? .............................................................................................................................................. 37

3.8.2 Impact of WHS on Clubs .............................................................................................................................. 37

3.8.3 Further Assistance With WHS ...................................................................................................................... 38

Club Awards ..................................................................................................................................................... 38 3.9

Club Executives 3.1

A Club executive is comprised of members who are elected at a general meeting, to fill constitutionally mandated

roles. Each of these roles must have a role description in the Clubs Constitution. This means that your executive may

only consist of the positions in your Constitution and must have a member elected to each role that is defined.

Each member of the Club executive takes on different but important roles in the running of a Club. It is vital that all

executive members are aware of the requirements and responsibilities of their office.

The responsibilities indicated below are those stipulated by the Arc Clubs Model Constitution. Depending on the Club,

there may be other responsibilities placed upon executives, or responsibilities may be allocated differently.

Remember, if you need assistance, we are here to help. Shoot us an email, call us or drop into the SD Office for advice

and assistance.


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3.1.1 Being a Successful President

Overview

The Club President is the leader of the Club. They are ultimately responsible for ensuring that the Club is run

effectively, democratically and for its members. They provide strategic direction and have the ability to achieve a great

deal during their term.

Responsibilities

According to the Arc Clubs Model Constitution, the President has the following responsibilities:

To chair all Club, Committee, General and Annual General Meetings (held during their term) of the Club or

Society;

To oversee and coordinate the activities and administration of the Club;

To ensure that the elected officers of the Club or Society perform duties as laid down by the Clubs

Constitution, through regular e-mail updates, regularly advertised meetings, reports and notices and/or

regular newsletters;

To ensure that all other tasks necessary for the running of the activities of the Society are performed,

properly either by doing them or delegating the duties;

To have a thorough knowledge of the Clubs or Societys Constitution;

To plan the coming years activities;

To act as official spokesperson for the Club;

To arrive at a membership fee with the executive;

To liaise with fellow office bearers;

To acquaint each committee member with their function, responsibility, duties and maintain personal contact

with them;

To liaise with Arc and departments of the University where necessary;

To ensure that an Application for Affiliation form accompanied by the minutes of the most recent Annual

General Meeting and an updated membership list is submitted to Arc;

To ensure that the Treasurer submits a Financial Report to the Club at the AGM and to Arc and that they have

the Clubs finances in good order in preparation for Spot Audits by Arc;

To ensure that Arc is informed of changes to the executive;

To pass on their knowledge to their successor; and

Other duties as in accordance with the Constitution of the Club.

Doing a Good Job

There are a few things to keep in mind that may help you function more effectively as a President.

Firstly, you must manage your time effectively. Running a Club can be quite a bit of work, so make sure that when you

take it on you are going to have the time you need to commit to it around your university and work schedule. There is

always great value in planning and organisation. Set some time aside at the start of your term to plan what you wish

to achieve and how you would like to go about it.

Have a read of the Arc Clubs Policy and Procedures, as well as looking over things like re-affiliation documents, grant

applications and, if you are lucky, any hand-over information that your predecessors left you. Always make sure you

have read and understand your Clubs Constitution.

You cant run the Club on your own, thats why you have a team around you. Make sure you delegate where you can.

You may be in a position where you have to pick up the slack from some other members of the team, but be aware of


Page 23

your limits and only do what you can. On a similar note, it is really important to work as a team. Make sure you work

closely with the other exec and that they are aware of their roles and what is required of them. Be open and

accessible to the members of your team to try and establish a two-way relationship so that you feel comfortable

approaching your exec to help you get things done and they feel comfortable approaching you when they need

assistance.

3.1.2 Being a Successful Vice President

Overview

The Vice President (VP) is all about support. Vice Presidents take on an important leadership role in the Club, and are

there to help out wherever they are needed. While VPs often have specific tasks assigned them, they must work

closely with the President and other executives to ensure that the Club runs smoothly

Responsibilities

According to the Arc Clubs Model Constitution, the Vice President has the following responsibilities:

In the absence of the President, to chair all Club Committee, General and Annual General Meetings (held

during their term) of the Club or Society;

To assist the President in coordinating the activities and administration of the Club;

To have a thorough knowledge of the Clubs or Societys Constitution;

To ensure that changes made to the Constitution at an EGM or AGM are in line with Arc requirements;

To ensure that any motions made at any Meeting of the Club or Society are reflective of the Constitution;

To ensure that Arc is informed of any changes to the executive;

To liaise with fellow office bearers; and

To assist the President in their duties wherever practical.

Doing a Good Job

The most important thing for a Vice President is to be accessible. VPs need to be available to the President but also

other portfolios to be able to lend a hand wherever possible. This means that communication is particularly important

as an important role of the VP is to maintain and develop these channels of communication between the President,

the rest of the executives and the rest of the Club. As with the President, it is important that you manage your time

effectively, have strong planning and organisation skills and the ability to work effectively as a team.

3.1.3 Being a Successful Treasurer

Overview

Treasurers are all about the money. The Treasurer is tasked with managing Club funds and ensuring that they are used

in an appropriate way. Treasurers have the important responsibility of paying bills, holding petty cash, banking income

and ensuring the all necessary Club financial records are maintained and kept up to date.


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Responsibilities

According to the Arc Clubs Model Constitution, the Treasurer has the following responsibilities:

To keep and maintain all Club financial records;

To hold cheque books, petty cash tins etc.;

To keep the Club informed of its financial position (at meetings, through regular e-mail reports, or regular

newsletters);

To carry out financial transactions as directed by the Club management;

To not lend money, under any circumstances to yourself, Club members or other Clubs;

To always ensure that the records are up-to-date and in good order so that if they are otherwise unable to

continue in that capacity someone else can easily take over;

To not put the Club in debt that cannot be repaid, but should endeavour to match costs and income as

closely as possible;

To always insist on a receipt or docket to validate any expenditure by the Club;

To pay all accounts by cheque;

To always enter the payees name, the cheque amount and a brief explanation of the payment on the cheque

butt;

To always provide a receipt to a person who gives money to the Club for any reason and bank all money

received immediately;

To ensure you have at least two (2) and not more than three (3) signatories who are Executive members to

the cheque account;

To ensure that Club funds are not misused at any time; and

To ensure that when smaller amounts of money are spent (petty cash) a receipt or docket must be obtained.

Under no circumstances are any expenses to be met without documentation.

Doing a Good Job

One of the most important things for the Treasurer is keeping up-to-date. It is really important that all accounts are

settled in a timely fashion and that records are maintained and up-to-date to ensure that everything is accounted for

and that, if necessary, someone else from the Club could come in and take over from the Treasurer. It is advisable that

you allocate some time at least weekly to update the Club records. As such, good time management is particularly

important. It is also crucial that the Treasurer is intimately aware of what records need to be kept as well as the

requirements set out by Arc for financial management (see section 3.3 for more details). The Treasurer needs to work

as part of a team to ensure that the entire exec is kept updated on the treasury and the funds available for running

activities and buying items for Club use.

The Treasurer is also responsible for budgeting both overall and for specific events, especially if the organisers have

limited skills with budgeting and finances. As part of this, it is also advisable that the Treasurer assist the Arc Delegate

or event organiser in completing grant applications.

3.1.4 Being a Successful Secretary

Overview

The Secretary is tasked with keeping the Club records and ensuring that the meetings and the general management

of the Club runs smoothly. The Secretary is the first point of contact for correspondence and is responsible for

ensuring that tasks are completed.


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Responsibilities

According to the Arc Clubs Model Constitution, the Secretary has the following responsibilities:

To be responsible for receiving and replying to all correspondence on behalf of the Club;

To organise meetings, agendas (in consultation with the President), and minutes;

To keep relevant Club papers in order;

To coordinate elections; and

To maintain the membership list, updating when changes are made.

Doing a Good Job

Effective time management is one of the most important traits of a good Secretary. The Secretary needs to ensure

that all records are kept up-to-date, meeting agendas go out on time and minutes are typed and distributed promptly.

Obviously, communication skills are important as the Secretary is required to communicate closely with the executive

as well as dealing with external correspondence. Further, organisational skills are important to ensure that meetings

run smoothly and records are kept up-to-date.

3.1.5 Being a Successful Arc Delegate

Overview

The Arc Delegate is responsible for liaising with Arc to ensure that your Club meets the administrative requirements

set out by SD. Arc Delegates are responsible for ensuring that the Club executives are aware of Arc Clubs policies and

procedures, especially in regard to affiliation and applying for grants. The Arc Delegate should also have a good

working knowledge of this handbook. Arc Delegates have an important responsibility to develop a close working

relationship with Arc, to make sure that all requirements are met, ensure forms are complete and submitted on time,

and to make executives aware of any changed policy or procedures that impacts their Club.

Responsibilities

According to the Arc Clubs Model Constitution, the Arc Delegate has the following responsibilities:

To be aware of the Arc funding system, its requirements and its possibilities for the Club;

To communicate with the executive before and after each Arc Clubs General Meeting to pass on information

(about grants etc.);

To liaise with Arc and the Clubs executive;

To have a good working knowledge of Arc forms;

To clear out the Clubs pigeonhole in the Arc Resource Centre at least every two (2) weeks; and

To attend Arc Clubs General Meetings or nominate a fellow Club member to attend on your behalf, or send

advance apologies (taking the form of a written note detailing your name, Club, and the date of the meeting

you cannot attend).

Doing a Good Job

A good Arc Delegate is one with strong communication skills, ensuring that they remain abreast of issues at Arc and

everything that might affect their Club. The Arc Delegate needs to be diligent, making sure that they are kept regularly


Page 26

updated of issues. If there is something that the Arc Delegate does not understand, or if there is some particular issue

facing your Club which Arc may be able to assist with, it is important that the Arc Delegate communicate with Arc. As

meeting Arcs administrative requirements are vital to the successful functioning of the Club, it is important that the

Arc Delegate has strong teamwork skills to effectively work with other executive members to ensure all requirements

are met and run the Club smoothly and effectively.

3.1.6 Running a Successful Committee

Some executives choose to appoint a committee to assist with the running of the Club. A Club can have a whole range

of committee members to suit their needs. This can be for general purposes (like an events officer tasked with putting

on regular and consistent events) or for specific functions (like a Ball Director tasked with organising the Clubs annual

ball).You can have as many or as few as you determine but keep in mind that if there are too many, you might have

trouble filling the positions or encouraging active involvement. Committee positions (non-executive) dont have to be

defined in your Constitution, but doing so would be a good way to give the Club long-term direction and provide

stability and consistency form year to year. If these positions are not constitutionally mandated, positions can be

appointed by the executive.

Whilst these positions dont need to be defined in the Constitution, it is a good idea to have some record of the roles

and responsibilities of each committee member. This may be something you can negotiate with your committee

members and pass to future years in your handover. See section 3.4 for more details about handovers.

Running a successful committee is all about teamwork and motivation. When a committee shares the work load

effectively and works together to achieve their goals, Clubs are able to achieve much more. This requires strong

leadership from the executive, particularly the President, to make sure that everyone is working together and getting

their jobs done. But remember, your committee are essentially volunteers, so there is only so much that you can

expect of them and it is the responsibility of the executive to keep them motivated. Your committee needs to be

flexible and have the ability to delegate tasks.

Possible Committee Positions

Event Coordinators (for generally organising events or for major events, such as a Ball Director)

Social Directors

Membership Officer

Publicity Officer

Web and IT Officer

Sponsorship & Fundraising Officer

Welfare Officer

Communication & the Clubs Newsletter 3.2

Running a successful Club relies largely on keeping up to date with news and important information from Student

Development.

The official method of communication between SD and Clubs is via email in the form of the Clubs Newsletter. This

newsletter is sent weekly (during semester), and is sent to your:

1. Clubs general email

2. Presidents email


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3. Secretarys email

4. Arc Delegates email

The reason this newsletter is sent out to all of these emails is to ensure all relevant executives are made aware of all

important information pertinent to Clubs. It is therefore essential to make sure your contact details with SD are

correct and up-to-date.

The Clubs Newsletter may include information such as details about applying for a stall at O-Week, ordering your Club

a banner, grant deadlines, membership audit reminders, changes to policy and other important dates.

Importantly, in the bottom right-hand corner of the newsletter, you will find regularly updated information about your

Club including: your affiliation status, when your Re-Affiliation Application is due, as well as how much funding you

can still claim from Activity and EMP grants.

Good Financial Management 3.3

Whether your Club has an annual turnover of $200 or $200,000, one of the biggest responsibilities of your Club

executive and the Treasurer (in particular) is to ensure that your Club funds are effectively managed. Good financial

governance is an expectation of Arc and (no doubt) your Club members and there are certain things that need to be in

place to ensure good financial governance. Requirements include dual authorisation on all Club bank accounts,

transparent Club Financial Reports presented at AGMs and documents provided promptly for Club financial reviews

(see section 2.9 for details). For the day-to-day financial management of your Club, there are a few main things that

you should keep in mind:

3.3.1 Club Bank Accounts

Each time new executives are elected (at an AGM or EGM), make sure to update the signatories on the Club bank

account so that you dont lose access to your Club funds. We recommend that you change your signatories at a bank

branch on UNSWs Kensington Campus, as they are most familiar with the relationship between Arc & Clubs. You

should alwa

arc club handbook

Documents