Club Directors Duties

Club Governance Explain Your Clubs  Directors Duties

Article by Warren Tapp, one of the trainers in the Club Governance eLearning Program

Whether your Club is a company limited by guarantee or an Incorporated Association and you are a member of the Board or Committee, you have serious legal duties you must fulfill. It makes no difference whether you are paid for the role or you are a volunteer, the law will  chase you if you fail to fulfill these duties that are owed to the members of your Club.

If you are also a registered charity, then the regulator (ACNC) will expect you to meet the 6 Governance Standards as well.

In summary the duties are:

You will act in good faith and honestly at all times.

You will not gain any benefit from being on the Board or Committee (apart from any Board fees the members have approved).

You will avoid or declare any conflict of interest you have with any decisions you will make on the Board at any time. There is to be no personal benefit to you.

You will keep all Board information confidential (even with members) and not use any such information for your personal benefit.

You will act with an appropriate level of care and diligence in your role on the Club Board. They say ignorance is no defence in law.

So, these are serious duties with penalties for those who do not meet them, so I suggest you work out what you don’t know and then find out. Attend all Board meetings, read all the Board papers, ask questions about the reports you get, and make decisions in the best interests of the Club.

It is great you have offered your time to be on your Club Board and have been elected by the members, but they (and the law) will expect you to do your job well, and act for them and not yourself at all times.

There is training on Directors Responsibilities in our online learning platform at https://clubgovernance.com.au/elearning-platform to assist you and your Board.