The Constitution of the Australian Liberal Students’ Federation (ALSF) is the foundational governing document of the Federation. It serves as the Federation’s formal rulebook—establishing its purpose, defining its structure, and prescribing the powers, responsibilities and conduct of its officers, members, and affiliated Clubs.
Adopted by Federal Council and most recently amended on 13 July 2025, the Constitution is comprised of seventeen Parts and is supplemented by a series of binding Regulations. Together, they outline the processes for membership accreditation, the convening of Federal Council, the conduct of elections, the passage of policy, the management of finances, and the resolution of internal disputes. These rules ensure transparency, consistency, and accountability within the ALSF’s national operations.
The Constitution is a living document. It has evolved through successive amendments ratified by the Federation’s affiliated Clubs and Federal Council, reflecting the Federation’s ongoing commitment to robust democratic practice, organisational clarity, and the advancement of Liberal values across Australia's universities.
Members, delegates, and affiliated Clubs are expected to familiarise themselves with the Constitution and abide by its provisions. Amendments may only be made through a two-stage process: by a two-thirds majority vote at Federal Council, and subsequent ratification by a three-quarters majority of accredited Clubs.
CONSTITUTION OF
THE AUSTRALIAN LIBERAL STUDENTS’ FEDERATION
AS AMENDED – 13 JULY 2025
As adopted by Federal Council on 8 July 2018, 10 July 2022, 8 July 2023 and amended on 13 July 2025.
The table of contents and index were inserted for convenience only. They are not part of this Constitution and are not to be used in its interpretation or construction.
PART II – OBJECTIVES AND POWERS
PART VI: MEETINGS OF FEDERAL COUNCIL
PART VIII: RESOLUTIONS OF COUNCIL
PART IX: HONORARY LIFE MEMBERS’
PART XI: THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE
PART XII: DUTIES OF OFFICERS OF THE FEDERATION
REGULATIONS OF THE AUSTRALIAN LIBERAL STUDENTS’ FEDERATION
REGULATIONS PART 1 – STANDING ORDERS
REGULATIONS PART 4 – PUBLICATIONS
REGULATIONS PART 5 – STANDING COMMITTEES OF THE FEDERATION
EXECUTIVE-CREATED REGULATIONS OF THE FEDERATION
EXECUTIVE-CREATED REGULATIONS PART 1 – ACCREDITATION
1.1 The name of the organisation shall be the Australian Liberal Students’ Federation hereafter referred to as ‘The Federation.’
2.1 The objectives of the Federation shall be:
To promote the Liberal philosophy amongst Australia’s tertiary students; and
To coordinate and support the activities of all University Liberal Clubs affiliated with the Federation; and
To coordinate and support the activities of State-Based Associations of University Liberal Clubs that are recognised by the Federation; and
To initiate such activities as from time to time be deemed desirable, provided that such activities shall not be contrary to any other clause of this Constitution.
To engage with and communicate with the Federal Parliamentary Liberal Party regarding matters of concern to Liberal Students.
2.2 Although the Federation is not affiliated with any political party, it supports in general to the aims and objectives of the Liberal Party of Australia.
2.3 The assets and income of the Federation shall be applied solely in furtherance of its abovementioned objects and no portion shall be distributed directly or indirectly to the members of the Federation except as bona fide compensation for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of the Federation.
2.4 The Federation shall also endeavour to promote, assist and encourage the growth of Liberal Student Clubs and the Liberal Student Movement across Australia.
3.1 Federal Council is required to elect a patron of the Federation at the Annual Meeting of Federal Council. Nothing in this Constitution prevents a patron from being elected in consecutive years.
4.1 The members of the Federation shall be those Schedule A Clubs, Schedule B Clubs and Schedule C Clubs affiliated under Constitution respectively, as well as all voting members of Federal Executive.
4.2 The Federation may admit as members only one Liberal Club from any campus of a university, pursuant to the process laid out in this Constitution.
5.1 The Federation shall hold meetings of Federal Council pursuant to this Constitution.
5.2 The members of Federal Council shall be:
Registered attending delegates of accredited Clubs;
Registered attending members of the Federal Executive;
Registered attending Honorary Life Members;
Any financial student member of an accredited Club; and
Such other persons as the Council shall admit and who shall have registered as attending that meeting of Federal Council.
5.3 Notwithstanding the foregoing, only registered attending delegates and registered attending members of the Federal Executive shall be entitled to vote at meetings of Federal Council.
Ex-Officio members of the Federal Executive can not vote on motions under 5.4 (a), 5.4 (e) and 14.1.
5.4 Subject to this constitution, the Federal Council shall have the power to:
Elect the Officers of the Federation and, subject to this Constitution, shall have the power to direct the Officers of the Federation as to the discharge of their duties, and overrule any decision of the Federal Executive under Part 11.10 by motion of 60% of Delegates present and voting;
Pass Policy Resolutions;
Pass Ordinary Resolutions;
Create Honorary Life Members, following the process outlined in 9.2; and
Create Regulations for the conduct of meetings of Federal Council and for the conduct of the business of the Federation by the Officers and the Federal Executive of the Federation.
5.5 Elected Voting Delegates
Each accredited Schedule A Club shall be entitled to select up to four (4) voting delegates and to select such number of alternate delegates as it sees fit.
Each accredited Schedule B Club shall be entitled to select up to two (2) voting delegates and to select such number of alternate delegates as it sees fit.
Notwithstanding any other provision in this Constitution, for any accredited Club’s registered attending delegates to be entitled to exercise votes at a meeting of the Federal Council, at least one (1) financial student member of the Liberal Club must be registered at that meeting of the Federal Council.
At least fourteen (14) days prior to the first scheduled session of the Annual General Meeting of Federal Council, each accredited Club shall notify the Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary, of its voting and alternate delegates and shall, at that time, provide to the Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary,, the minutes of the executive meeting of the Club at which its voting delegates and alternate delegates were selected.
Where the Accreditation Committee accredits a Schedule A or Schedule B Club from a University with multiple campuses and which is composed of multiple Clubs, the voting delegates and alternate delegates of such Clubs shall be those elected by proportional representation at a joint meeting to which all members of such Clubs shall be given at least seven (7) days notice.
Notwithstanding sub-clause (e) above, if, twenty-one (21) days prior to the first scheduled session of Federal Council, no joint meeting as required by sub-clause (e) has been called, the State or Territorial Representative from the respective state or the Combined Territories shall call such a meeting to be held in exactly seven (7) days time at a venue determined by the State Representative at twelve noon (12:00 pm). Notice for such a meeting shall be in writing to the President and Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary, of each component Club at that institution.
The list of delegates and alternate delegates as submitted by the accredited Clubs to the Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary, for the previous Annual General Meeting of Federal Council shall apply to the following Ordinary Meeting of Federal Council in that membership year.
Notwithstanding sub-clause (f) above, an accredited Club may submit to the Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary, a further list of alternate delegates no less than seven (7) days prior to the first scheduled session of an Ordinary Meeting of Federal Council. Such notice shall be signed by the President and one other Executive Member of that Club or, in the case of multi-campus institutions with several individual component Clubs as part of a single accredited Club, the signatures of the President and one other Executive Member from each of the individual component Clubs, in order for that notice to be valid.
5.6 Proxies and Alternates
Alternate delegates are those persons selected by accredited Clubs who may exercise the votes to which their Club is entitled at Federal Council in the absence of the Club’s elected voting delegates. Alternate delegates shall be entitled to exercise the votes of their Club in preference to any proxy nominated by the elected voting delegate.
The order of alternate delegates as listed on the notice provided to the Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary, shall be the order of priority in which they may claim and exercise the votes in the absence of their respective Club’s selected voting delegate.
Additional alternate delegates appointed by the accredited Clubs pursuant Part V 5.5 (f) of this Constitution shall not be given priority over those submitted to the previous Annual General Meeting of Federal Council.
Subject to the rights of alternate delegates, elected voting delegates may, by written notice, proxy their voting rights to another member of Federal Council who is not already a registered attending delegate. The right to appoint a proxy is restricted to elected voting delegates.
In the case of an Annual General Meeting of Federal Council, no member of Federal Council may exercise more than one (1) vote on any motion or in any election at Federal Council.
In the case of an Ordinary Meeting of Federal Council, no member of Federal Council may exercise more votes than the number of votes to which the Club of which they are a financial student member is entitled.
In the absence of an elected delegate at a meeting of Federal Council, with no proxy provided, the President of the Club from which the delegate is selected may, by written notice to the Federation Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary,, proxy that delegate’s vote to another member of Federal Council who is not already a registered attending delegate. This clause is superseded by any proxies received from the elected delegate.
At an Ordinary Meeting of Federal Council, no member may exercise a vote on behalf of an accredited Club for which they are not a financial student member.
5.7 The Federal Executive may, by resolution, issue an email ballot with seven (7) days notice to Clubs to propose a resolution to be adopted by Federal Council in-absentia. The process for this ballot shall be:
The Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary, of Federal Executive shall be the returning officer for the ballot;
Schedule A Clubs vote shall be worth double of that than a Schedule B Club;
Schedule C Clubs shall not be able to vote.
The vote of a Club shall be verified by the returned ballot with the signature of the President and one other executive member of that Club.
Resolutions shall be carried by a majority of the votes cast.
6.1 The Federal Council shall be required to meet once each year and, if Federal Executive resolves, can meet twice a year, provided that:
The first meeting that is required to take place shall take place during the week of the Universities Australia Common Vacation Week, or equivalent, as scheduled during the vacation at the end of first semester (the Annual General Meeting); and
The second meeting, that is optional to hold, shall take place during the vacation at the end of the second semester of the academic year (the Ordinary Meeting).
6.2 Notice shall be sent to all accredited Clubs not less than ninety (90) days prior to the first scheduled session of the Federal Council.
6.3 The Federal Executive shall appoint a Convenor for the purposes of organising a meeting of Federal Council.
6.4 The agenda shall contain an order of business as determined by the Executive in consultation with the Convenor. The agenda shall be sent to all accredited Clubs and component Clubs not less than twenty-eight (28) days prior to the first scheduled session of Federal Council.
6.5 Each Annual General Meeting and Ordinary Meeting of Federal Council shall determine the site for the next or Ordinary Meeting of Federal Council as the case may be, provided that:
Unless Federal Council otherwise determines by a two-thirds majority of the total of all votes exercisable, the venue for the Annual General Meetings of Federal Council shall be determined by rotation in the following order:
Victoria,
Australian Capital Territory,
Tasmania,
Western Australia,
Northern Territory
Queensland,
New South Wales; and
South Australia
For the avoidance of any doubt, the Federation must select a venue that is located on, or near (within 10kms), a campus of an accredited Club of the Federation.
In the event that the Federation does not have an accredited Club in the State/Territory where the Federation is due to meet, the Federal Executive is to select another State/Territory to hold the next meeting of the Federation in the order of the list in 6.5 (a) insofar as that State/Territory next in line has an accredited Club.
the venue for Ordinary Meetings of Federal Council shall be determined by resolution of the previous Annual General Meeting of Federal Council or by a resolution of the Federal Executive.
6.6 In extraordinary circumstances, the Federal Executive is authorised to alter the selected venue by a three-quarters majority of all Executive members. Nothing in clause 6.5 (c) prevents the Federal Executive from using its powers in this clause.
6.7 In the event of the exercise of the power to alter the selected venue of the Annual General Meeting of Council under clause 6.5 (a) or clause 6.6 (above), the venue of the Annual General Meeting of Council the following year shall be the same as if the exercise of this power had not occurred.
The quorum of an Annual General Meeting of Federal Council Meeting shall be one-third of registered attending delegates, or ten (10) voting delegates, whichever is the greater.
The quorum of an Ordinary Meeting of Federal Council shall be an absolute majority of the total of all votes exercisable at the previous Annual General Meeting of Federal Council.
Should any session of Federal Council not obtain a quorum within thirty (30) minutes of the scheduled starting time, the session shall lapse.
7.1 Clubs shall be invited to seek accreditation to Federal Council by notice in written form from the Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary, to all Clubs listed in Schedules A B and C to this Constitution no less than 90 days prior to the first scheduled session of the Annual General Meeting of Federal Council.
Such notice shall include the contact details of the members of the Accreditation Committee to which the relevant details required by this Constitution must be sent.
The Accreditation Committee may nominate a person who is not a member of the Federal Executive to whom this information must be transmitted.
Accreditation information provided to the Accreditation Committee shall not, subject to the above, be communicated to any person who is not a member of the Accreditation Committee.
Clubs must supply the Accreditation Committee with all relevant information pursuant to Part VII Clause 5 no less than 60 days prior to the first scheduled session of the Annual General Meeting of Federal Council.
Clubs must provide the Accreditation Committee with an email address which, for the purposes of this Constitution, shall be interpreted as the Club’s contact address.
Clubs must submit complete lists to the Accreditation Committee prior, and no additional names may be added to the list following its submission.
7.2 The notice required pursuant to clause 7.1 (above) shall also be sent to recognised State Organisations.
7.3 Subject to this Constitution, where the Accreditation Committee is satisfied of the evidence of twenty financial student members, and the holding of an Annual General Meeting of the applicant Club, the applicant Club shall be accredited to both meetings of Federal Council.
7.4 Accreditation Committee has absolute discretion to take what measures it sees fit to ascertain the validity of financial student members of a Club.
7.5 Where the Accreditation Committee is satisfied that an accredited Club:
has had an accredited delegation to at least two of the previous three Annual General Meetings of Federal Council; and, has had at least forty (40) financial student members during at least two of the previous three years; it shall list the Club on Schedule A to this Constitution and shall otherwise list the Club on Schedule B to this Constitution.
7.6 Evidence of a financial student member shall be constituted by the name, email address, telephone number and student number of the student from the campus at which the Club is based.
7.7 For the purposes of clause 7.7, Life Members of a Club do not constitute financial student members unless a currently enrolled student at that university.
7.8 Where there are multiple Clubs from a multi-campus university seeking accreditation, the Accreditation Committee shall treat the several Clubs’ applications as a single entity when determining their status as Probationary or Constituent Clubs against the stated criteria. The Committee shall then list the combined entity of accredited Clubs from that institution on Schedule A or Schedule B to this Constitution, identifying the several component Clubs which comprise the accredited Club.
7.9 Changes to the component Clubs of an accredited Club from a multi-campus University shall be deemed not to effect determination of whether the accredited Club has had an accredited delegation to at least two (2) of the previous three (3) meetings of Federal Council.
7.10 Where there are multiple Clubs from a multi-campus university, for a student to be counted as a financial student member of a Club, they must be studying at that campus.
7.11 For the purposes of this constitution, Clubs at interstate campuses of the same university shall be treated as distinct and separate Clubs for the purposes of accreditation.
7.12 The Accreditation Committee (or its nominee) shall notify all applicant Clubs of its determinations by notice in writing not less than forty-five (45) days prior to the first scheduled session of the Annual General Meeting of Federal Council. Applicant Clubs who are refused accreditation shall receive reasons for the rejection of their applications.
7.13 Under no circumstances may the delegation of an accredited Club from any multi-campus university exercise more votes at any meeting of Federal Council than the maximum number of votes that may be exercised by any single Constituent Club, nor may such a Club’s votes be given a greater weight in any postal ballot conducted by the Federation (including constitutional ratification ballots) than that accorded to any single Constituent Club.
7.14 Any two (2) Clubs, whether or not they have been accredited, and provided that they are in different states, may appeal against any determination of the Accreditation Committee by notice in writing to the Appeals Committee not less than twenty-eight (28) days prior to the first scheduled session of the Annual General Meeting of Federal Council.
7.15 The Accreditation Committee shall have the power to allow any applicant Club to correct and defects regarding their application and the Accreditation Committee can accept that additional information after the time period in Section 7.1 (d) elapses.
Developmental “Schedule C” Clubs
7.16 Clubs that do not meet the requirements for Affiliation in Schedule A or Schedule B, as described in Part VII of this Constitution, shall be listed as “Developmental Clubs” in Schedule C.
7.17 Developmental Clubs are recognised as affiliated with the Federation and are entitled to participate and receive notice of meetings of Federal Council.
7.18 Developmental Clubs shall not have voting rights at any session of Federal Council or in any elections under this Constitution.
7.19 The Federal Executive shall have the power to affiliate with the Federation Developmental Clubs at any time, following an application from that Club to the Federal Executive for affiliation:
An application under 7.19 must be to the Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary, or President of the Federation.
7.20 A Club shall be automatically listed in Schedule C if the Accreditation Committee determines that the Club shall not be listed in Schedule A or Schedule B during the normal affiliation process as described in Part VII of this Constitution.
7.21 Given that the purpose of Developmental Clubs is to develop those Clubs so that they can attain full affiliation, the Federal Executive has the power to appoint any affiliated Club listed in Schedule A or Schedule B as the “Mentor Club” for a Developmental Club. So long as such factors as geographic proximity, Club size, and willingness to participate are taken into account; and:
The Mentor Club, when asked to do so by the President, must report to the Federal Executive as to the progress in the development of the Developmental Club.
Mentor Clubs shall be responsible for providing assistance and guidance to their paired Developmental Club in areas such as membership recruitment, Club management, and event planning.
Mentor Clubs shall be encouraged to provide ongoing support and communication to their paired Developmental Club throughout the affiliation period.
7.22 The Federal Executive shall regularly review the progress of Developmental Clubs and Mentor Clubs and has the power to reassign pairings of Mentor and Developmental Clubs or terminate any pairings at any time.
7.23 The Accreditation Committee shall consist of Senator Slade Brockman.
7.24 Should any member of the Accreditation Committee be unable or unwilling to serve on the committee the Executive must, by unanimous resolution, appoint a member of the Federal Parliamentary Liberal Party as a member of the Committee; and
a. That member will only serve on the committee until the completion of the next Annual General Meeting following the appointment.
7.25 Any decision of the Accreditation Committee, against which no appeal is made, shall be final and binding on the Federation and its members.
7.26 The Appeals Committee shall be the Federal Director of the Liberal Party of Australia and the Disputes Resolution Officer of the Federation.
7.27 The Appeals Committee shall have the power to overturn any decision of the Accreditation Committee which has been appealed against, and its decision on such matters shall be final and binding on the Federation and its members.
7.28 Following the completion of the Accreditation process, the Accreditation Committee shall send to the Federal Director, and President of the Federation a list of the first name, last name and email address of every student that was submitted to the Accreditation Committee from Clubs that were accredited.
7.29 When the Accreditation Committee provides the list to the Federal Directorand President, the list must not in any way identify what Club each student belongs to.
7.30 The Federal Directorand President are prohibited to share the list with any person.
7.31 The Federal Director and President must only use the list for Federation communication with Liberal Students.
8.1 Standing Policy Resolutions shall be binding for a period of three (3) years, unless earlier repealed or amended, provided that:
the resolution is passed by an absolute majority of the total of all votes exercisable at an Annual General Meeting of Federal Council;
at least seven (7) days’ notice is provided to all accredited Clubs and component Clubs of such a motion being moved as a proposed Policy Resolution;
Once notice has been given of such a motion being moved as a Policy Resolution, it may not be submitted as an Ordinary Resolution of Council without a motion to that effect supported by two-thirds of the total of all votes exercisable;
Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution, a motion moved to create a Standing Policy Resolution may not be re-committed without a motion to that effect being supported by a two-thirds majority of the total of all votes exercisable;
Amendment of a Standing Policy Resolution before the expiration of three (3) years from the date it was most recently passed shall only occur upon a motion to that effect being carried by a two-thirds majority of the total of all votes exercisable. Any such amendment shall not extend the original life of such a Standing Policy Resolution; and
Revocation of a Standing Policy Resolution before the expiration of three (3) years from the date in which it was most recently passed shall only occur on a motion to that effect being carried by a two-thirds majority of the total of all votes exercisable.
Ordinary Resolutions may be passed by a simple majority of the Council but shall not have the status of Standing Policy of the Federation.
9.1 Honorary Life Members may be elected by Federal Council by a two-thirds majority of the total of all votes exercisable.
9.2 A motion to create Honorary Life Members may only be moved provided that seven (7) clear days’ notice in writing is given to all accredited Clubs and component Clubs of such a motion being moved.
10.1 Regulations shall be binding on the Federal Executive and the Federal Council and shall remain in force until repealed or amended by the Federal Council.
10.2 The establishment, repeal or amendment of Regulations shall require a two-thirds majority of the total of all votes exercisable on a motion to that effect, except for regulations created in 10.5.
10.3 Meetings of the Federal Council shall be conducted pursuant to Regulations which shall, subject to amendments made pursuant to this Constitution, be those in force during the previous Council.
10.4 Federal Council is empowered to create Regulations for the purposes of dispute resolution between individual students.
10.5 Federal Executive can create regulation(s) to assist with the effective administration of the Federation. Only if:
That the proposed regulation doesn’t conflict with any Regulations passed by Federal Council or a provision of the Constitution.
10.6 Federal Council has the right, by a majority vote, either at an Annual General Meeting or an Ordinary Meeting of Federal Council to repeal a regulation created by the Federal Executive.
A Regulation that is deleted by an Ordinary or Annual General Meeting of Federal Council cannot be re-introduced by the Federal Executive for a period of 2 years.
The Federal Director is to keep and maintain a register of Regulations, including Regulations that are no longer in force.
10.7 Regulations created by the Federal Executive are to be kept in the Regulations section of this Constitution following the Federal Council created Regulations under the title “EXECUTIVE CREATED REGULATIONS OF THE FEDERATION” and subheadings shall be listed as Part 1, Part 2, etc.; and
That these regulations be made available upon request to any affiliate Club through communication with the Federation’s Federal Director.
11.1 The Federal Executive shall be the Officers of the Federation and the State and Territorial Representatives.
11.2 Election of Officers:
Subject to this Constitution, the Annual General Meeting of the Federal Council shall, on the last scheduled day of that meeting, elect Officers of the Federation to hold office until the next election.
The Officers of the Federation are:
President
Vice President
Secretary
Treasurer
Policy Director
Publications Officer
Club Development Officer
Immediate Past President
Nominations shall be submitted to the Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary, seven (7) days before the commencement of the last scheduled day of the Annual General Meeting of Federal Council, in the manner prescribed by the Federal Executive.
All nominated persons must be a student at an accredited university at the time of their nomination.
11.3 Casual Vacancies of Officers:
In the event of a vacancy occurring in any Office, the Federal Executive shall appoint the Federal Director as the Returning Officer to conduct an election.
The Returning Officer shall, within fourteen (14) days, post a notice to all accredited Clubs and component Clubs calling for nominations in writing.
Nominations shall remain open for fourteen (14) days.
In the event of only one (1) nomination being received, that person shall be declared elected.
In the event of an election being required, the Returning Officer shall advise each Schedule A and Schedule B Club of the names of the candidates within seven (7) days of the close of nominations.
The Clubs shall, within fourteen (14) days of such notice being posted, advise the Returning Officer of the name(s) of the candidate(s) of their choice in writing with the signatures of the President and one other of the Club’s Executive members authorising the vote. In the case of those multi-campus universities or institutes of technology which have more than one component Liberal Club, such advice shall contain the signatures of the President and one other Executive member from a majority of the component Clubs from that institution in order for the vote to be valid.
For the purposes of such an election, the vote of a Schedule A Club shall carry double the value of the vote of a Schedule B Club. Schedule C Clubs shall have no voting rights.
11.4 State and Territorial Representatives:
Subject to this Constitution, every State and Territory which has at least one (1) accredited Club shall be entitled to elect an ex officio member to the Federal Executive on the condition that at least two (2) registered attending delegates from an accredited Club of that State or Territory are present and voting at the Annual General Meeting of Federal Council.
Subject to (a) above, that ex officio office bearer shall only be entitled to hold office if they are a financial student member of an accredited Liberal Club based in that State or Territory at the time of their election.
The registered attending delegates from all States and Territories shall, on the last day of the Annual General Meeting of Federal Council and immediately following the election of the officers of the Federation, elect a representative to the Federal Executive to hold office in an ex officio capacity until the next election.
If any State or Territory has eight (8) or more registered attending delegates at the Annual General Meeting of Federal Council that State or Territory’s ex-officio representative to the Federal Executive will automatically become a full voting member of the Federal Executive.
11.5 Casual Vacancies of State or Territorial Representatives
In the event of a vacancy occurring for the office of any State or Territory Representative, the Federal Executive shall within fourteen (14) days of that vacancy occurring appoint a Returning Officer to conduct an election.
The Returning Officer shall, within seven (7) days of appointment, post notice to all accredited Clubs and component Clubs of the State or Territory where that vacancy occurs calling for nominations to fill that vacancy. The date and time for the close of nominations shall be included on this notice.
The Returning Officer shall close nominations at 5:00 pm (Canberra Time) fourteen (14) days from the notification of the casual vacancy being posted to all accredited Clubs and component Clubs in the said State or Territory.
In the event of only one (1) nomination being received that person shall be declared elected at the close of nominations.
In the event of an election being required the Returning Officer shall, within seven (7) days of the close of nominations, post to all accredited Clubs and component Clubs a ballot paper including the names of all the nominees and the Liberal Clubs to which they belong.
The accredited Clubs shall, within twenty-one (21) days from the close of nominations, post to the Returning Officer the completed ballot paper, signalling their choice of candidates in preferential order, with the signatures of the President and one other of the Club’s executive members thereby authorising the vote. In the case of a multi-campus university, the component Clubs shall, within twenty-one (21) days from the close of nominations, post to the Returning Officer the completed ballot paper, signalling their choice of candidates in preferential order, with the signatures of both the President and one other executive member from the majority of the component Clubs comprising the accredited Club thereby authorising the vote.
For the purpose of such an election, the vote of a Schedule A Club shall carry double the value of the vote of a Schedule B Club. Schedule C Clubs shall have no voting rights.
The candidate elected to fill the casual vacancy shall be declared elected no more than twenty-four (24) days from the close of nominations. The Returning Officer shall report to the Federal Executive as to the result of the election on declaration of the ballot.
11.6 A member of the Federal Executive shall cease to be a member upon:
The acceptance by the Federal Executive of a written letter of resignation signed by the member;
Absence from two consecutive Federal Executive meetings without leave being granted by the Federal Executive;
In the case of an Officer of the Federation only, a postal ballot of accredited Clubs, carried by a three-quarters majority of votes cast by accredited Clubs.
A postal ballot shall be conducted upon a resolution of the Federal Executive or upon receipt of a petition signed by the President and one other Executive member of at least one-quarter of the total number of accredited Clubs. In the case of those multi-campus universities or institutes of technology which have more than one component Liberal Club, the petition shall contain the signatures of the President and one other Executive member from a majority of the component Clubs from that institution.
The procedure for the conduct of such a ballot shall be:
The postal ballot shall be conducted by a Returning Officer elected by the Federal Executive. The Officer who is the subject of the dismissal motion shall not be entitled to be elected Returning Officer;
The Returning Officer shall within fourteen (14) days, post a notice to each accredited Club, putting the question:
“That *insert name of member] be removed from office as an Officer of the Australian Liberal Students’ Federation.”;
The Clubs shall, within twenty-eight (28) days of the notice being posted, advise the Returning Officer of the Club’s decision in writing with the signatures of the President and one other of the Club’s Executive member authorising the vote. In the case of those multi-campus universities or institutes of technology which have more than one component Liberal Club, such advice shall contain the signatures of the President and one other Executive member from a majority of the component Clubs from that institution in order for the vote to be valid; and,
For the purposes of a dismissal motion, a vote of a Schedule A Club shall carry double the value of the vote of a Schedule B Club. Schedule C Clubs shall have no voting rights
A State or Territory Representative shall cease to be a member of the Federal Executive upon:
The acceptance by the Federal Executive of a written letter of resignation signed by the member; or
Absence from two consecutive Federal Executive meetings without leave being granted by the Federal Executive; or
A postal ballot ratifying a motion of dismissal, proceeding receipt of a petition signed by the Presidents of at least two (2) accredited Clubs and at least two (2) other executive members from those same Clubs.
In the case of a State or Territory having only one accredited Club, a postal ballot ratifying a motion of dismissal, proceeding receipt of a petition signed by the absolute majority of executive members of that Club.
The Federal Executive shall, within seven (7) days of receipt of a petition to dismiss a State or Territory Representative appoint a Returning Officer to conduct the postal ballot to determine a motion of dismissal.
The Returning Officer shall, within seven (7) days of appointment, post a ballot to all accredited Clubs and component Clubs of the State or Territory where the Representative is the subject of the dismissal motion putting the question:
“That *insert name of member* be removed from the office of [insert State or Territory] Representative to the Federal Executive of the Australian Liberal Students’ Federation.”
The accredited Clubs shall, within fourteen (14) days of the ballot being posted, advise the Returning Officer of the Club’s decision in writing with the signatures of the President and one other of the Club’s executive member thereby authorising the vote. In the case of a multi-campus university, the component Clubs shall, within fourteen (14) days of the ballot being posted, advise the Returning Officer of the Club’s intention in writing, with the signatures of both the President and one other executive member from the majority of the component Clubs comprising the accredited Club thereby authorising the vote.
For the purpose of such an election, the vote of a Schedule A Club shall carry double the value of the vote of a Schedule B Club. Schedule C Clubs shall have no voting rights.
The Returning Officer shall declare the outcome of the ballot no more than twenty-one (21) days from the day of the ballot being posted.
11.7 Meetings of the Federal Executive
Meetings of the Federal Executive may be called by:
the President;
the Federal Director; or,
any majority of members of the Federal Executive, excluding ex-officio members.
There shall be seven (7) clear days’ notice of any normal meeting of the Federal Executive.
Emergency meetings of the Federal Executive may be conducted on less than seven (7) clear days’ notice, provided that:
All members have been notified of said meeting no less than twenty-four (24) hours before the scheduled commencement of said meeting;
A written agenda detailing the urgent business to be transacted at said meeting shall be sent to all members of the Executive by mail, email or facsimile transmission so that it is received no less than six (6) hours before the scheduled commencement of said meeting;
Only that business outlined in said agenda is transacted at the meeting; and,
An absolute majority of members of the Federal Executive support a motion that the business detailed in the agenda is of an urgent nature before any business may be transacted.
Quorum for meetings of the Federal Executive shall be a majority of voting members of the Executive.
There shall be at least three (3) meetings of the Federal Executive between Annual General Meetings of Federal Council.
Meetings of the Federal Executive need not be conducted by all members of the Executive meeting in one place.
Resolutions of the Federal Executive may be carried out via email-ballot from the President of Federal Executive.
11.8 Federal Executive can create temporary ex-officio members of the Executive in-between meetings of Federal Council; and
These temporary ex-officio members of the Executive can be set to hold office for any period of time that the Executive wishes, so long as that time does not pass over the next Annual General Meeting of Federal Council from the creation of that office; and
Can also be removed from office by the executive at any time without the requirement for the Executive to treat the removal as a casual vacancy.
11.9 Subject to this Constitution the powers of the Federal Executive shall be to:
manage the affairs of the Federation;
exercise the powers and functions conferred upon it by Federal Council;
may delegate and revoke the delegation of any of its powers (other than this power to delegate) to any person or body for any period and on any conditions by motion of not less than 75% of those present and voting;
may constitute committees that may consist of any persons whether or not Liberal students;
11.10 If the Federal Executive determines that past, present, or anticipated future compliance with, or rectification of a past, present, or future failure to comply with, any decision-making mechanism, or any formal or procedural requirement prescribed in this Constitution would:
damage the reputation of the Federation;
materially reduce the Federation’s effectiveness in achieving its constitutional objectives;
result in a significant waste of resources;
then the Federal Executive may, by unanimous resolution of all members present and voting, waive such requirement and substitute any other mechanism or requirement it considers appropriate in the circumstances.
The Federal President must report the terms of any such resolution to the next meeting of Federal Council.
This clause must not be exercised for the purpose of altering, waiving, or substituting any provision, process or requirement contained in Part 7 or Part 17 of this Constitution.
12.1 President;
to chair all meetings of Federal Council and the Federal Executive if present;
to speak on behalf of the Federation to media sources where necessary; and
to carry out such other duties as the Constitution, the Federal Council or Federal Executive may, from time to time, require.
12.2 Vice President
to carry out the duties of the President if the President is unable to act of the office of President is vacant;
to coordinate national issues- based campaigns that the Federal Executive may, from time to time, elect to undertake; and
to coordinate the organisation of functions for the Federation outside meetings of Federal Council.
12.3 Secretary
It shall be the duty of the Secretary to support the work of the Federal Director in the maintenance of the Federation’s Secretariat.
12.4 Treasurer
to table at the Annual General Meeting of Federal Council an audited balance sheet and income statement for the preceding year;
to bank the monies of the Federation;
to develop and oversee fundraising initiatives for the Federation;
to be generally responsible for the management of the financial affairs of the Federation; and
to collect the affiliation fees from accredited Clubs.
12.5 Policy Director
to maintain the policy volume of the Federation; and
to chair the Federation’s Policy Committee.
12.6 Publications Officer
to compile and edit any official publication of the Federation; and
to coordinate any marketing and publicity for the Federation, including social media.
12.7 Club Development Officer
Oversee the Schedule C Clubs and aid them in their growth and development; and
To coordinate activities between mentor Clubs and Developmental Clubs; and
To seek out and encourage Liberal Student Clubs to affiliate with the Federation.
13.1 Income
Each accredited Club of the Federation shall pay to the Treasurer the affiliation fee due from that Club each financial year. The affiliation fee shall be a sum determined by the Federal Executive from time to time.
13.2 Affiliation Fees
Affiliation Fees are due at the commencement of the financial year of the Federation. No Club shall have voting rights at Federal Council, or in any ballot, unless the affiliation fees due from that Club for the coming year have been paid.
13.3 Expenditure
The Federal Executive shall make arrangements from time to time as to how the finances of the Federation shall be managed.
13.4 Financial Year
The financial year of the Federation shall end on June 30.
13.5 Auditors
The Federal Executive shall appoint an independent Auditor.
13.6 Dissolution
Upon dissolution, the assets of the Federation shall devolve upon the Liberal Students’ Foundation Incorporated in trust for payment to a future organisation with similar aims and objectives as the Federation.
14.1 Amendments to this Constitution shall be adopted on a two-thirds majority of the total of all votes exercisable at Federal Council.
14.2 Amendments adopted by Federal Council shall not be effective until ratified by a three-quarters majority vote by the accredited Clubs, as outlined below.
14.3 The procedure for ratification of Constitutional amendments shall be as follows:
The Federal Director shall be the Returning Officer for the purposes of ratification.
The Returning Officer shall, within fourteen (14) days of the conclusion of the relevant meeting of Federal Council, post notice to all Schedule A and Schedule B Club of the proposed amendments.
The Clubs shall, within twenty-eight (28) days of such notice being posted, advise the Returning Officer of their vote in writing with the signatures of the President and one other of the Club’s Executive members authorising the vote. In the case of those multi-campus universities or institutes of technology which have more than one component Liberal Club, such advice shall contain the signatures of the President and one other Executive member from a majority of the component Clubs from that institution for the vote to be valid.
For the purposes of ratifying adopted constitutional amendments, the vote of a Schedule A Club shall carry double the value of the vote of a Schedule B Club. Schedule C Clubs shall have no voting rights with regard to constitutional amendments.
14.4 This constitution shall be published on the Federation’s website.
15.1 The power to interpret this Constitution shall rest with the Federal Council, when meeting, and with the Federal Executive between meetings of Federal Council.
Save that questions relating to the interpretation of Part VII shall be determined by Federal Council, when meeting, and the Accreditation Committee between meetings of Federal Council.
15.2 Any ruling of the Executive that relates to a meeting of Federal Council may be referred to the Disputes Panel.
16.1 The total of all votes exercisable shall be defined as the sum total of all votes (including proxies and alternate delegates when exercising a vote, and registered attending members of the Federal Executive) exercisable on the floor of Federal Council. For the purposes of this clause, the registration of a financial student member of a Liberal Club shall be deemed to constitute the registration of all votes that may be exercised by that Club at Council.
16.2 Registered attending delegates shall mean elected voting delegates of the accredited Clubs, and shall include alternate delegates, and any other persons holding a proxy vote, in the absence of the elected voting delegates.
16.3 Recognised State Organisations are those associations of Liberal Clubs within in any one State or the Combined Territories of the Commonwealth that are listed herein.
Those State Organisations recognised by the Federation are
the Victorian Liberal Students’ Coalition;
the Western Australian Union of Liberal Students;
The Federal Executive may by a two-thirds vote, accredit a State Organisation with a temporary status, that must be ratified by Federal Council at its next meeting. Following ratification, the name of the State Organisation will be included in the Constitution.
16.4 University means those tertiary institutions empowered to award degrees.
16.5 Financial student member means a financial member of an accredited Liberal Club who is an enrolled student of the university at which the Liberal Club is based.
16.6 Accredited Club shall include all Clubs listed on Schedule A, Schedule B and Schedule C.
16.7 Component Clubs shall be those individual Liberal Clubs from different campuses of any single university that have been accredited to a meeting of Federal Council as a single entity pursuant to Part VII of this Constitution.
16.8 A person shall register at a meeting of Federal Council by personally attending to sign the Council registration book kept by the Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary, or the Convenor for that purpose and by paying the fee set by the Federal Executive for that meeting of Federal Council. Registered shall have a corresponding meaning.
16.9 Unless otherwise specified, email is to be considered as fulfilling the requirements of notice and correspondence for the purposes of this Constitution
17.1 A Disputes Panel is to be established to resolve disputes between Liberal Students.
17.2 The purpose of the Disputes Panel is to provide a mechanism for:
the resolution of disputes about decisions made under this Constitution flowing from disputation about the facts of a decision;
Except for decisions made under Part VII of this Constitution.
the interpretation of this Constitution relevant to the resolution of disputes; and
deciding the constitutional or administrative consequences of decisions reviewed by the Disputes Panel.
17.3 Appointments to the Disputes Panel shall be made in the following manner:
The Federal Executive must appoint members of the Disputes Panel by motion carried by not less that 75% of those present and voting.
An appointment to the Disputes Panel is for a term of 4 years commencing on a day set by Federal Executive.
Any person appointed by Federal Executive must not be:
A member of Federal Executive; or
A member of the Accreditation Committee.
17.4 Meetings of the Disputes Panel are to be chaired by the Disputes Resolution Officer. And the Disputes Resolution Officer is to be responsible for the administration of the Disputes Panel with the assistance of the Federal Director of the Federation.
17.5 The Federal Director, of Federation is to take confidential minutes of meetings of the Disputes Panel, however is not entitled to a vote. The Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary, of Federal Executive must also keep and maintain a register of all applications and decisions made to and by the Disputes Panel.
17.6 The Disputes Panel shall comprise of the following persons:
The Disputes Resolution Officer; (as the Chairperson)
The Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary, of Federal Executive (as an ex-officio member);
Four other persons appointed by Section 17.3 of this section.
17.7 A member of Disputes Panel can only be removed before their term of office expires by:
The resignation of the member; or
A motion of Federal Executive carried by not less than 90% of those present and voting.
17.8 Any person elected to fill a casual vacancy on Disputes Panel, as described in Section 17.7 of this section, must only be appointed for the balance of the term applying to the casual vacancy.
17.9 The definition of a dispute that can be brought to the Disputes Panel shall be:
Decisions of the Federal Executive or Federal Director;
Decisions of the Returning Officer in his capacity for the Elections of the Officers of the Federation; such as:
a member’s right to stand for election;
a member’s right to vote in an election;
the validity of an election or selection.
Interpretation of this Constitution, except for Part VII.
17.10 The Disputes Resolution Officer of the Federation shall be elected by the Federal Executive by motion carried by not less that 75% of those present and voting.
17.11 In the event of any member of Disputes Panel being the subject of a complaint, they may not participate as a Member of the Committee nor appoint a proxy.
17.12 How a Dispute comes to Disputes Panel shall be:
Clubs or their Delegates to Federal Council shall be able to make application to the Disputes Panel in relation to a dispute;
The Federal Executive shall be able to refer a dispute to the Disputes Panel even if there has not been an application to the Disputes Panel in relation to that dispute;
A member of the Federal Executive (including ex-officio members) shall be able to make application to the Disputes Panel in relation to a dispute.
If the Chairperson of the Disputes Panel considers that there is more than one application made to the Disputes Panel relating to substantially the same dispute, the Chairperson my direct that those applications be dealt with together;
An application must be delivered to the Chairperson of the Disputes Panel in the manner prescribed by the Disputes Panel, and the Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary, of the Federation shall provide receipt to the applicant.
17.13 There shall be time limits for applications to be made, under Section 17.12 (a) of this section, to the Disputes Panel, those time limits shall be:
For matters relating to the actions of the Returning Officer, 10 days from the decision being made;
For all other disputes, 21 days.
17.14 How a dispute shall be dealt with by the Disputes Panel is as follows:
Once an application is received there shall be a “First Review” of the application; that shall be dealt with by:
The Chairperson shall appoint two members of the Disputes Panel to conduct the First Review;
The First Review is to be completed within no more than 30 days with respect to applications that deal with the decisions of the Returning Officer; and
No more than 60 days for all other disputes.
The First Review shall make rulings in reply to the applications; and
The effect of those rulings shall take immediate effect.
If the applicant or affected parties to the dispute apply for a “Second Review” the Disputes Panel shall deal with that application by:
The entire Disputes Panel shall hear the application.
The rulings made in the First Review shall continue to have effect until a ruling is made on the Second Review.
17.15 In determining a dispute, the Dispute Panel may get any information that it considers relevant. If the Disputes Panel gets such information, the Disputes Panel must:
Make that information known to the applicant to the dispute; and
Have regard to that information in making a decision about the dispute.
17.16 The Disputes Panel shall have the following powers and may:
Mediate any dispute referred to it;
Request and receive written submissions from any person relevant to a dispute;
Request and receive written reports and submissions from Federal Executive;
Request and receive written reports and submissions from any member of Federal Executive individually and the Federal Director;
Conduct interviews with any person relevant to a dispute;
Order the Federal Executive or any Affiliated Club to produce to the Disputes Panel any document in the power, custody and control of those persons;
Make other findings of fact as it sees fit;
Make findings of fact relevant to the dispute;
Interpret those parts of this Constitution that are relevant to the dispute, expect Part VII;
Request opinion from the President of Federal Executive about the interpretation of this Constitution;
Uphold or dismiss an application;
Declare the effect under this Constitution of any findings of fact;
Make recommendations to the President of Federal Executive or the Federal Executive; and
Make recommendations for amendments to this Constitution or Regulations under this Constitution.
17.17 The decisions of the Disputes Panel shall be final and binding on the Federation, there is no appeal to any other body of the Federation. Federal Council shall not have the power to change or reverse a decision of the Disputes Panel.
17.18 The Disputes Panel must notify an applicant and any other person it considers to be an interested party of its findings and decision. The Disputes Panel need not but may give reasons for a decision. The Disputes Panel must also notify the Federal Executive of its decision.
17.19 The Chairperson, after consulting the members of the Disputes Panel, in a First or Second Review may dismiss an application without consideration or without further consideration if the Disputes Panel considers that:
The application has been withdrawn or abandoned;
The application has been made out of time;
The applicant has not made reasonable efforts to resolve the matter that is the subject of the application;
The subject matter has already been dealt with by the Disputes Panel;
The application is frivolous, vexatious, misconceived or lacking in substance or not made in good faith.
If the Disputes Panel dismisses a complaint under this clause, it must give each applicant written notice of the dismissal setting out its reasons for dismissing the application.
17.18 If an application has been dismissed early by the Disputes Panel in a First Review, a applicant may make an application for a Second Review; and the Disputes Panel in a Second Review may dismiss an application under the provisions for early dismissal.
17.19 The Disputes Panel must report annually, in August each year, to the Federal Executive, the Federal Director is to assist the Chairperson in the production of the report.
18.1 There shall be a permanent administrative office of the Federation known as “the Secretariat.”
The Secretariat exists to provide continuity, record-keeping and professional support to the Federal Council and the Federal Executive during and in the periods between their meetings.
Except where this Constitution expressly provides otherwise, the Secretariat shall act under the direction of the Federal Executive.
18.2 The Secretariat shall comprise:
the Federal Director, who shall be the head of the Secretariat; and
such additional officers, employees or volunteers as the Federal Director may from time to time appoint.
All persons engaged by the Secretariat shall serve in accordance with any policies on engagement, remuneration and conduct adopted by the Federal Executive and Federal Director.
18.3 The Federal Director shall only be appointed by a motion of the Federal Executive which may be on a full-time, part-time or honorary basis, as the Federal Executive determines.
A casual vacancy in the office of Federal Director shall be filled by the Federal Executive as soon as practicable.
18.4 The Federal Director duties are to:manage the day-to-day affairs of the Federation consistent with the budget and directions of the Federal Executive;
maintain the Federation’s registers, correspondence, archives, financial records and electronic platforms;
administer any employees, contractors or volunteers engaged by the Secretariat;
ensure that all bodies of the Federation are acting in compliance with their constitutional obligations;
to be the first instance of adjudication of any disputes that may arise concerning the management of the Federation;
present to each Annual General Meeting of Federal Council a written Annual Report detailing activities, staffing and compliance matters of the Federation for the preceding year;
the Federal Executive may, by resolution, delegate specific administrative or financial functions to the Federal Director;
The Federal Director may sub-delegate day-to-day tasks to Secretariat staff, remaining accountable to the Federal Executive for their execution.
18.5 The Secretariat shall be allocated a budget line in each annual budget prepared the Federal Executive.
18.6 The Federal Executive may adopt policies governing the operation of the Secretariat including, but not limited to, human-resources policies, privacy and data-protection policies, and a records-management policy and the Federal Director shall ensure compliance therewith.
18.7 Upon the commencement of this Part, the person holding the office of Federal Director (if any) immediately before its adoption shall be deemed to have been appointed under Part 18.3.
SCOPE
1.01 These Standing Orders are created pursuant to Part X of the Constitution, anything which conflicts with any part of the Constitution shall be null and void.
1.02 These Standing Orders shall apply to all sessions of Federal Council unless varied or suspended under Standing Orders 1.48 or 1.49.
INTERPRETATION
1.03 In these Standing Orders, “member” shall include all members of Federal Council.
AGENDA
1.04 The agenda, as determined by the Federal Executive, shall only be varied by a two-thirds majority of the total of all votes exercisable on a motion to that effect.
MOTIONS AND AMENDMENTS
1.05 All business shall be by way of motions and amendments thereto.
1.06 All motions shall be affirmative in character.
1.07 All motions and amendments, except purely formal motions, shall be put in writing and handed to the Chairman.
1.08 All motions and amendments must be moved and seconded. If no seconder is found, the motion or amendment not seconded shall not be debated or recorded in the minutes.
MOTIONS ON NOTICE
1.09 A motion on notice shall be moved by a member of the Club (or the individual member) in whose name it stands. If no such member wishes to do so, moving rights may be taken up by any other member present.
1.10 A motion on notice may be amended by the mover at any time before the commencement of debate on it and the motion as amended shall then be deemed to be the original motion.
AMENDMENTS
1.11 An amendment may be moved to any substantive motion; an amendment shall be relevant to the motion and shall not be a negation of the motion.
1.12 Only one amendment at a time shall be debated and voted on, but further amendments may be foreshadowed.
1.13 After an amendment is disposed of, the motion shall again be open to amendment and all amendments shall be disposed of before the substantive motion is voted upon.
1.14 An amendment may be accepted by the mover and seconder of the substantive motion, in which case the motion as amended shall become the new substantive motion; but this shall not apply to an amendment which would affect a previous amendment to the same motion already debated and carried.
DEBATE
1.15 A member seconding a motion or amendment without speaking to it may reserve his or her right to speak to it subsequently.
1.16 Any member desiring to speak shall address himself or herself to the Chair. The Chairman shall, as far as practicable, call on speakers for and against a motion or amendment alternately subject to the right of the seconder to speak immediately after the mover. If two consecutive speakers have argued on one side and there is no member wishing to argue the opposite view or move an amendment, the motion or amendment shall (subject to the mover of the motion’s right of reply) be put without further debate.
1.17 All speakers shall be heard in silence and without interruption except for points of order and motions under Standing Orders 23 or 24. Relevant questions and personal explanations may be heard at the discretion of the Chairman, but not so as to interrupt a member speaking.
TIME LIMITS
1.18
No member shall speak for more than three minutes at a time on a motion unless to move a motion in which case he or she may speak for five minutes.
Council may by simple majority vote an extension of time to any speaker but only one extension may be granted per speaker.
1.19
No motion shall be debated for more than half an hour, after which time the motion shall be put.
Council may by simple majority vote an extension of time to debate on any motion, but only one such extension of time may be granted to any debate.
RIGHT OF REPLY
1.20 The mover of a motion shall have a right of reply before the motion is put, during which time no new material shall be introduced. The right of reply may be exercised either immediately before the motion is put or immediately before any one amendment to the motion is put.
1.21 No question or personal explanation shall be heard after the right of reply until such time as the vote is declared.
1.22
Notwithstanding Standing Order 20, if there have been no speakers in opposition to a motion, there shall be no right of reply.
The mover of an amendment shall have no right of reply.
FORMAL MOTIONS
1.23 A motion “That the question be now put” may be moved at any time by a member who has not already spoken in the debate. The Chairman shall have a discretion to refuse to put the motion if he or she feels that there has been inadequate debate but if accepted, it shall be put immediately without amendment or debate. If carried, the motion or amendment under consideration shall immediately be put to the vote, subject only to the mover of a motion’s right of reply.
1.24 A motion “That the speaker be not further heard” may be moved at any time. The Chairman shall have a discretion to refuse to put the motion but if accepted it shall be put immediately without amendment or debate.
1.25 Any business may be superseded by a motion “That Council proceed to the next business” being carried. The motion may be moved at any time but not so as to interrupt a member speaking. The motion shall be put without amendment but debate may be allowed at the discretion of the Chairman.
1.26 A motion may be deferred by a motion “That the motion lie on the table” or “That the debate be adjourned” being carried. These motions may be moved at any time but not so as to interrupt a member speaking. The motions may be amended only as to the date, time and circumstances of the resumption of debate and debate may be allowed at the discretion of the Chairman.
WITHDRAWAL
1.27 The mover or seconder of a motion or amendment may withdraw his or her moving or seconding at any time before it is voted on, whereupon any other member may take up the moving or seconding rights. If no other member has done so, the motion or amendment shall then lapse.
FORESHADOWED MOTIONS
1.28 When two or more mutually inconsistent motions dealing with the same subject matter have been moved, the Chairman may move that the first motion shall be deemed substantive and the other(s) foreshadowed and they shall then be debated together. The order of debate shall be:
mover and seconder of the substantive motion;
mover(s) and seconder(s) of the foreshadowed motion(s) (in the order in which they were moved);
speakers for and against the substantive and foreshadowed motions;
rights of reply for the foreshadowed motion(s) in the reverse order to which they were moved;
right of reply for the substantive motion; and,
The substantive motion shall then be put, if carried then the foreshadowed motion(s) shall lapse. If the substantive motion is lost, the foreshadowed motion(s) shall then be put. When there is more than one foreshadowed motion, the more extreme motion(s) shall be put first and upon one foreshadowed motion being carried, the remainder shall lapse.
COGNATE DEBATE
1.29 When two or more motions dealing with the same subject matter (but not being mutually inconsistent) have been moved, the Chairman may rule that they be debated together provided that at the conclusion of debate the motions shall be put separately in the order in which they were moved.
RECISSION AND RECOMMITTAL
1.30 No motion or amendment which has been voted on shall again be considered at the same Council, provided that Council by two thirds majority of the total of all votes exercisable may resolve that a motion be reconsidered or recommitted.
1.31 No motion or amendment shall be moved which contradicts a motion or amendment previously carried at Council unless to propose to rescind it.
VOTING
1.32 Unless otherwise specified, a vote in the Constitution or these Standing Orders shall be determined by a simple majority of delegates present and voting. The Chairman shall have a deliberative vote only.
1.33 Voting shall be by a show of voting tickets. In case of doubt, the Chairman may conduct a recount, but no more than 2 recounts may be made.
1.34 In the case of a recount, a tally of the votes shall be recorded in the minutes.
1.35 Any member of Council exercising a vote on request shall have his or her dissent from a decision recorded in the minutes.
1.36 Subject to Standing Order 40, any ten delegates may, before the vote is called by the Chairman, call for a count of all delegates to be recorded in the minutes.
ELECTIONS
1.37 Before proceeding to elections, Council shall appoint a Returning Officer who shall be responsible for the conduct of the elections.
Nominations shall be moved and seconded from the floor and recorded by the Returning Officer.
Nominees may make policy speeches lasting up to 5 minutes in duration.
Candidates may be asked questions from the floor for a further 5 minutes.
1.38 All voting shall be by an optional-preferential system.
1.39 Each candidate may appoint one scrutineer for the counting of the votes.
1.40 All voting on elections shall be by secret ballot.
CHAIRMAN
1.41 The President or Vice-President of the Federation shall Chair each session of Council, provided that in their absence the Council may appoint another member as Chairman.
QUORUM
1.42 It shall be the duty of the Chairman to ensure that a quorum is present at all times. If the quorum lapses, business shall be suspended until a quorum is present. If a quorum is not the present within thirty minutes, that session shall lapse.
1.43 If any session of Council fails to obtain a quorum within thirty minutes of the advertised starting time, that session shall lapse.
POINTS OF ORDER
1.44 Any member may raise a point of order to any irregularity in the proceedings. The point must be raised at the time the alleged irregularity occurs and shall take precedence over all other business. The Chairman shall take submissions and shall rule on the matter.
1.45 An explanation or contradiction shall not constitute a point of order.
DISSENT
1.46 When the Chairman has made a ruling on a point of order or exercise of a discretionary power, a motion may be moved “That the Chairman’s ruling be dissented from”. The Chairman shall thereupon hand the Chair to another member for debate on the dissent motion.
1.47 The order of debate on a dissent motions shall be:
Mover of the dissent;
Chairman’s defence; and,
The motion shall then immediately be put to the vote, after which the Chairman shall resume the Chair. Dissent shall only be carried by an absolute majority of those present and voting.
LEAVE
1.48 Procedures specified in these Standing Orders may varied at any time by unanimous leave being granted by Council.
SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS
1.49 Any of these Standing Orders or any part of a Standing Order may be suspended or varied for a specified purpose or a limited time by an absolute majority of those present and voting on a motion to that effect, provided that Standing Orders 1-4, 17, 32, 38-40,42-52 shall not be suspended or varied by this means.
MAINTENANCE OF ORDER
1.50 Any member behaving in a disorderly manner, after being warned, may be “named” by the Chairman. A member who has been named three times in one session may be suspended from Council, for a maximum of two sessions, upon a motion to that effect being moved and carried.
1.51 The Chairman acting bona fide may, as a matter of right, adjourn any genuinely disorderly session of Council for such time as he or she thinks fit.
1.52 Any person may be excluded from Council, for whatever reason, by a two-thirds majority vote of Council. Such exclusion shall be for whatever period of time Council may determine.
MATTERS NOT COVERED
1.53 Matters not covered by the above Standing Orders shall be dealt with in accordance with customary meeting procedure, which in case of dispute shall be settled by rulings from the Chairman from time to time.
Any such ruling from the Chairman may be appealed to the Disputes Panel.
AUTHORITY
2.1 These Regulations are created pursuant to Part X of the Constitution, anything which conflicts with any part of the Constitution shall be null and void.
GENERAL
2.2 Pursuant to Part XIII (13.3) of the Constitution, the Federal Executive shall make arrangements from time to time as to how the finances of the Federation shall be managed.
2.3 At Ordinary Meetings of Council, the Treasurer shall present a brief report on the status of the finances and budget of the Federation.
2.4 At each Annual General Meeting of Federal Council, the Treasurer, in consultation with the Federal Director, shall present a annual report of the Federation’s finances along with a statement from the Federation’s auditor regarding those finances.
BUDGET
2.4 No later than one month after Annual General Meeting of the Federation, the Treasurer, in consultation with the Federal Director, shall present a proposed budget to a meeting of the Federal Executive for consideration.
The proposed and final budgets shall include specific breakdowns of line items and take into account the requirements of these and other Regulations and the Constitution.
2.5 The approved budget may only be amended on a motion to that effect being carried by the Federal Executive.
2.6 No monies shall be disbursed by the Federation without the specific, prior authorisation of the Federal Executive or pursuant to a line of funding authorised by the Federal Executive as part of the Annual Budget.
FUNDING
2.11 The Federal Executive may set aside funds for distribution to affiliated Clubs for the purposes of campaigns and for the development of Clubs.
2.12 If the Federal Executive decides to set aside funds, it must ensure that all affiliated Clubs be made aware of this allocation, and the Federation must seek grant applications from all affiliated Clubs before dispensing funds.
EXECUTIVE EXPENSES
2.13 The Federation shall incur any cost of meetings of the Federal Executive held via telephone conference.
2.14 The Federal Executive can by a motion of 60% present and voting authorise the reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred with performing the duties of the Federation.
AUTHORITY
3.1 These Regulations are created pursuant to Part X of the Constitution, anything which conflicts with any part of the Constitution shall be null and void.
POLICY AND AGENDA FORMULATION
3.2 All motions dealing with Policy Resolutions or ordinary resolutions shall be submitted to the Convenor of the Meeting of Council or the Federal Director, at least twenty-one (21) days before the first scheduled session of Council.
3.3 Motions shall be submitted as either proposed Policy Resolutions or proposed Ordinary Resolutions of Council.
Proposed Policy Resolutions shall begin thus:
“That the following be adopted as Standing Policy of the Federation...”; and,
Proposed ordinary resolutions shall begin thus:
“That this Council resolves...”
3.4 In formulating the agenda and order of debate, neither proposed Policy Resolutions nor proposed ordinary resolutions shall take precedence over the other.
POLICY VOLUME
3.5 The Federation shall have a Policy Volume which shall comprise all Policy Resolutions passed by meetings of Council, within the previous three years, pursuant to Part VIII (8.1) of the Constitution. This volume shall be entitled ‘Standing Policy of the Australian Liberal Students’ Federation,’ hereafter referred to as the Policy Volume.
Education;
Student Unionism;
National Affairs;
Economic Affairs;
Foreign Affairs;
Environment; and,
Youth Affairs.
3.6 All policies in the volume shall also contain the month and year in which the Policy Resolution was most recently passed by Council by the required majority.
3.7 Eight (8) weeks after the conclusion of meeting of Council, the Federal Director, shall transmit a complete and up-to-date copy of the Policy Volume to all accredited Clubs and members of the Federal Executive. In addition, updated Policy Volumes should be sent to the head office of each State Division of the Liberal Party of Australia.
3.8 Pursuant to Part VIII(1) of the Constitution, all Policy Resolutions that have not been debated and passed by Council will automatically be removed from the policy volume after the expiration of three (3) years from the date of their original passing.
3.9 For the purposes of this section, if a meeting of the Council is scheduled to take place within one (1) month after the scheduled expiration of any policy, that policy shall be deemed to remain as Federation policy until the conclusion of said meeting of Federal Council.
3.10 At any time before the expiration of three (3) years, a Standing Policy Resolution of the Federation may be again be debated by Council.
For a motion to be reaffirmed by Federal Council, it must be resubmitted in its entirety as a proposed Policy Resolution. If reaffirmed by the required absolute majority of registered attending delegates, the policy shall stand for three years, unless amended or revoked, and the Policy Volume amended to reflect the most recent date in which the motion has been passed.
In the instance where a motion proposing revocation of a standing Policy Resolution fails to achieve the support of an absolute majority of registered attending delegates, the policy concerned shall remain part of the Policy Volume until it is either reaffirmed, or until the expiration of three (3) years from the most recent date it was passed by Council. Pursuant to the Constitution, failure to revoke a standing policy shall not constitute reaffirmation.
If a standing policy is amended at a meeting of Federal Council, such amendment shall be incorporated into the Policy Volume, along with the date the amendment was made.
AUTHORITY
4.1 These Standing Orders are created pursuant to Part X of the Constitution, anything which conflicts with any part of the Constitution shall be null and void.
MAGAZINE
4.2. The Publications Officer shall produce and edit a magazine on behalf of the Federation for internal circulation and wider distribution within the Liberal Party of Australia.
4.3 The title of this magazine shall be Protégé, unless otherwise determined by Federal Council or the Federal Executive.
4.4 The Federal Director, or if no Federal Director is appointed the Secretary, shall be the official publisher of the magazine.
PRODUCTION AND APPROVAL
4.5. The Publications Officer shall present the final draft of the magazine to the Federal Director, for approval, in writing, before it is printed or circulated to the Federal Executive for approval.
CONTENT
4.6 All Liberal Clubs and recognised State Organisations shall be given the opportunity to submit a brief report on the activities they have undertaken for each edition of the magazine.
SOCIAL MEDIA
4.7 The Federal Director shall maintain a Facebook Page, and any other social media accounts as determined by Federal Council or the Federal Executive, on behalf of the Federation.
4.8 The Federal Director, when elected or appointed, must not use these social media accounts to make any statement on behalf of the Federation unless authorised to do so in writing by the President or by resolution of Federal Council or the Federal Executive.
4.9 Any social media accounts of the Federation shall be administered by:
The President;
the Vice-President;
the Federal Director; and
Any other member of the Federal Executive, as determined by Federal Council of the Federal Executive.
AUTHORITY
5.1 These Standing Orders are created pursuant to Part X of the Constitution, anything which conflicts with any part of the Constitution shall be null and void.
STANDING COMMITTEES
5.2 There shall be the following Standing Committees of the Federation:
Policy Committee; and
Audit and Governance Committee.
POLICY COMMITTEE
5.3 The Policy Committee shall be responsible for the development of the Federation’s Policy in between meetings of Federal Council.
5.4 The Policy Committee shall be chaired by the Federation’s Policy Director.
5.5 The functions of the Policy Committee, subject to the direction of the Federal Executive, include:
soliciting policy contributions from member Clubs and Liberal students;
drafting, reviewing, and publishing policy papers and discussion documents;
organising policy forums, workshops, and consultations; and
presenting policy proposals for adoption by the Federal Executive or the Federal Council.
5.6 At the first meeting of Federal Executive following the Annual General Meeting of Federal Council the Federal Executive must appoint other persons to serve on the Policy Committee until the next Annual General Meeting of Federal Council.
AUDIT AND GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE
5.8 The Audit and Governance Committee shall, subject to the direction of the Federal Executive, be responsible for maintaining a continuing oversight of the Federation’s procedures and systems, including but not limited to accounting, administrative, organisational, and regulatory practices, protocols, and regulations, for the purpose of identifying, to the extent practicable, whether such procedures and systems are in accordance with the Constitution of the Federation.
5.9 Subject to the direction of the Federal Executive, the Committee shall keep a watching brief over the internal operations of the Federation and may, from time to time, provide advice to the Federal Executive on matters relating to governance, probity, and integrity.
5.10 From time to time, the Federal Executive may appoint or remove members of the Audit and Governance Committee at its discretion and set other terms and conditions to the Committee’s operations.
5.11 The Committee may recommend to the President of the Federation and the Federal Director that it undertake an inquiry into a specified area of the Federation’s operations. Any such recommendation must include:
a summary of the issue proposed to be investigated;
the reasons for the proposed inquiry;
the proposed scope of the inquiry; and
an estimate of the time and resources required to complete the inquiry.
5.12 The Committee may only conduct an inquiry where the Federal Director has authorised it in writing. Any such written authorisation must include the approved scope, objectives, timeframes, and resources allocated for the conduct of the inquiry.
5.13 Upon completion of an inquiry, the Committee must deliver a written report containing its findings, conclusions, and any recommendations to the President of the Federation and the Federal Director. The Federal Executive must be informed as soon as practicable that a report has been delivered in accordance with this clause.
5.14 The Committee may also provide advice, from time to time, on the appointment or continued engagement of the Federation’s external auditors, including terms of engagement and any matters arising from auditor reports.
5.15 The Committee shall report at least annually to the Federal Executive on its activities since the previous report, including:a summary of each inquiry conducted during the reporting period;
the Committee’s findings, conclusions, and recommendations; and
any advice or oversight provided with respect to the Federation’s governance and systems.
AUTHORITY
1.1 This Regulation is created by the Federal Executive pursuant to Part X of the Constitution. Nothing in this Regulation shall be construed to override or conflict with any provision of the Constitution or any Regulation passed by Federal Council.
PURPOSE
1.1. The purpose of this Regulation is to establish an efficient, professional and transparent mechanism for Clubs seeking accreditation under Part VII of the Constitution.
1.2. It also prescribes the documents and information required from applicant Clubs, as well as the process for transmitting applications to the Chairman of the Accreditation Committee.
SUBMISSION OF ACCREDITATION APPLICATIONS
2.1. All accreditation applications must be submitted by email to: accreditation@alsf.org.au
2.2. The Federal Director shall act as the initial receiving officer for these applications on behalf of the Accreditation Committee.
REQUIRED MATERIALS FOR A VALID APPLICATION
3.1. Each applicant Club must provide the following materials when submitting its accreditation application:
(a) In particular, evidence of financial student membership as set out in Part 7.6 of the Constitution, including each member’s name, email address, telephone number, and student number.
(b) A current and up-to-date copy of the Club’s own constitution.
(c) A complete list of the Club’s current Executive members, including names, positions held, email addresses and telephone numbers.
(d) A single, generalised email address for the Club (the “registered Club address”) for the purpose of receiving formal notices and official communications.
(e) Evidence (meeting minutes) that the Club has held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in accordance with Part 7.3 of the Constitution.
3.2. The Accreditation Committee (or its nominee) may request additional information consistent with the Constitution if there is any doubt as to the validity of membership lists or the completeness of submitted materials.
COMPILATION AND FORWARDING OF APPLICATIONS
4.1. The Federal Director shall compile all accreditation applications and verify that the material required in Section 3 has been included.
4.2. After verifying completeness, the Federal Director shall provide a written recommendation regarding each application, attached to the full set of materials submitted by the applicant Club.
4.3. The Federal Director shall then promptly forward the entire application package, including the written recommendation, to the Chairman of the Federation’s Accreditation Committee (Senator Slade Brockman) for review and determination under Part VII of the Constitution.
REVIEW BY THE ACCREDITATION COMMITTEE
5.1. The Accreditation Committee retains all powers under Part VII of the Constitution to accept or reject accreditation applications.
5.2. Nothing in this Regulation restricts the Committee from taking additional steps to verify the accuracy or authenticity of any submitted materials, as contemplated by Part VII of the Constitution.
COMMENCEMENT
6.1. This Regulation takes effect immediately upon adoption by the Federal Executive.
Authorised by Cooper Bates, Australian Liberal Students' Federation, RG Menzies House, Cnr Blackall and Macquarie Streets, Barton ACT 2600.
Authorised by Cooper Bates, Australian Liberal Students' Federation, RG Menzies House, Cnr Blackall and Macquarie Streets, Barton ACT 2600.
