Constitution of the Australian Go Association, as adopted by the 32nd Annual General Meeting

Title and Aims

  1. The Association shall be called the Australian Go Association (hereinafter abbreviated the AGA).
  2. The aims of the AGA shall be:
    1. to promote the game of Go in Australia;
    2. to co-ordinate Go activities in Australia, in particular to arrange National Tournaments and confer National Titles and individual rankings;
    3. to represent Australia in International Go affairs, in particular by membership of the International Go Federation, and to select Australian representatives for international events such as the World Amateur Go Championships;
    4. to promote mutual understanding and friendly relations with Go players throughout the world in association with foreign national Go associations.

Membership

  1. 3.1 The AGA is an association for go players resident in Australia. Membership shall be open to any person.
    3.2 Classes of Membership with full voting rights shall include:
    1. Ordinary and Sustaining memberships;
    2. Life membership.
    3.3 Classes of membership with no voting rights shall include:
    1. Associate membership;
    2. Honorary membership.
    3.4 Other classes of Membership may be created at an Annual General Meeting.
(Members with full voting rights will herein be termed Full Members.)

Management

  1. 4.1 The activities of the Association shall be controlled by a Committee subject to any resolutions of the Annual General Meeting and Extraordinary General Meetings.
    4.2 The Committee shall be comprised of the following officers: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer and three Ordinary Committee members. Further, in the event of incorporation of the Association or if otherwise legally required, the Committee shall contain, if necessary by the addition of a further member, a Public Officer.
    4.3 All positions shall be Honorary, and all Committee members must be Full Members.
    4.4 The Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Meeting and hold office until the next Annual General Meeting. In the event of a vacancy occurring, the Committee may appoint temporary Committee members to act until the next Annual General Meeting.
    4.5 The Committee shall be responsible for executing the wishes of the Members as expressed in resolutions of General Meetings, maintaining the financial accounts and Membership Registry of the Association, meeting legal requirements of agreements entered into by the AGA, supervising the arrangement of National Tournaments, selection of Australian representatives for international tournaments, liaising with foreign Go associations, and otherwise advancing the aims of the Association. The Committee's procedures for conducting its business shall be a matter for the Committee alone, but the Committee shall report to the AGA on its actions at the Annual General Meeting. This report shall include a financial statement and budget, the current numbers of Members and the names of Honorary and Life Members admitted during the year.
    4.6 Committee members shall not be liable for debts incurred properly and with due care on behalf of the AGA.

Subscriptions

  1. 5.1 Subscriptions for each category of Membership, other than Life and Honorary Membership, shall be determined by the Committee and announced at the Annual General Meeting; and shall apply from the date of the announcement.
    5.2 Membership other than Life Membership is valid for one year from the date of payment of the subscription fee.
    5.3 There shall be no subscription for Life Members. The Annual General Meeting may admit any person as a Life Member who has been nominated and seconded by two Full Members of the AGA, of whom one must be a committee member.
    5.4 There shall be no subscription for Honorary Members. The Committee may admit any person as an Honorary Member who has been nominated and seconded by two Full Members of the AGA, of whom one must be a committee member.
    5.5 Tournaments and matches arranged by or for the AGA shall be open only to Members of the AGA or members of foreign Go associations, unless prior approval of the Committee has been obtained.

Meetings

  1. 6.1 Annual General Meetings shall be held once each calendar year. The Secretary shall give notice of the Meeting at least one month in advance, including the Agenda and Notice of Motions.
    6.2 The business of the Annual General Meeting shall include but not be limited to:
    1. reports of the President and Secretary, and the financial statement of the Treasurer;
    2. Election of the Committee;
    3. selection of the Tournament Director and venue for the next National Tournament;
    4. motions notified in advance.
    Motions not notified by the Secretary in advance of the Meeting may be proposed at an Annual General Meeting except proposals to change the Constitution, wind up the Association, or rescind a resolution of a previous General Meeting.
    6.3 An Extraordinary General Meeting shall be held if called by the Committee, or by a majority of Full Members; and shall be held within 3 months of written notice being received by the Secretary. At least one month notice shall be given to members. No business shall be conducted at an Extraordinary General Meeting other than that for which notice has been given.
    6.4 Voting at General Meetings shall be by simple majority, except for changes to this Constitution which requires a two-thirds majority. Each Full Member present at the meeting has one vote. Full Members not present may vote on those Motions notified in advance by written notification to the Secretary or by internet poll, and/or may designate another Member to exercise their vote at the Meeting by proxy. Proxy votes are not transferable, and may not be exercised on behalf of a Member who is present at the Meeting.
    6.5 The quorum for a General Meeting shall be 15 Full Members. In the event that a quorum is not present for an Annual General Meeting, the existing Committee shall continue in office while the Secretary conducts a postal and internet vote of all Full Members on the substantive matters in clause (6.2).

Tournaments

  1. 7.1 The AGA shall arrange that a National Tournament or Tournaments be held each year to select an Australian Open Go Champion and an Australian Go Champion.
    7.2 The Australian Go Champion must be an Australian citizen at the time of the commencement of the Tournament. The Australian Open Go Champion may be of any nationality.
    7.3 The venue for the tournament and Tournament Director shall be selected at the Annual General Meeting. The type of tournament and the rules for the tournament shall be determined by the Committee in consultation with the Tournament Director.

Duties and right of Members

  1. 8.1 A member may resign from the association by giving a written notice of resignation to the Secretary.
    8.2 The Committee may terminate a member's membership if the member:
    1. is convicted of an indictable offence;
    2. does not comply with any of the provisions of these rules;
    3. has membership fees in arrears for at least 2 months;
    4. conducts himself or herself in a way considered to be injurious or prejudicial to the character or interests of the AGA.
    8.3
    1. Before the Committee terminates a member’s membership, the Committee must give the member a full and fair opportunity to show why the membership should not be terminated.
    2. If, after considering all representations made by the member, the Committee decides to terminate the membership, the Secretary must give the member a written notice of the decision.
    3. A person whose application for membership has been rejected, or whose membership has been terminated, may give the Secretary written notice of the person’s intention to appeal against the decision. A notice of intention to appeal must be given to the Secretary within 1 month after the person receives written notice of the decision.
    4. If the Secretary receives a notice of intention to appeal, the Secretary must, within 1 month after receiving the notice, conduct a vote of all members to decide the appeal by majority of those voting. The vote shall be conducted by post and/or secure internet poll, giving the appellant and the Committee full and fair opportunity to state their respective cases.
    5. The membership fee of a member whose membership has been terminated may or may not be refunded at the discretion of the Committee.

Register of Members

  1. 9.1 The Committee must keep a register of members of the AGA.
    9.2 The register must include the following particulars for each member:
    1. the full name of the member;
    2. the postal or residential address of the member;
    3. the date of admission as a member;
    4. the date of death or time of resignation of the member;
    5. details about the termination or reinstatement of membership;
    6. any other particulars the Committee decide.
    9.3
    1. The register must be open for inspection by members of the AGA at all reasonable times.
    2. A member must contact the Secretary to arrange an inspection of the register.
    3. However, the Committee may, on the application of a member of the AGA, withhold information about that member (other than the member’s full name) from the register available for inspection if the Committee has reasonable grounds for believing the disclosure of the information would put the member at risk of harm.
    9.4 A member must not:
    1. use information obtained from the register of members of the AGA to contact, or send material to, another member for the purpose of advertising for political, religious, charitable or commercial purposes, unless such use or disclosure is approved by the AGA;
    2. disclose information obtained from the register to someone else, knowing that the information is likely to be used to contact, or send material to, another member for the purpose of advertising for political, religious, charitable or commercial purposes.

Miscellaneous

  1. 10.1 The assets and income of the AGA shall be applied solely in furtherance of its aims, as stated in Clause 2, and no portion shall be distributed directly or indirectly to the members of the AGA; except as bona fide compensation for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of the AGA.
    10.2 In the event of the AGA being dissolved, the amount that remains after such dissolution and the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities shall be transferred to another organization with similar purposes which is not carried out for the profit or gain of its individual members.
  2. This Constitution, dated 22 November 2008, and ratified by a two-thirds majority at the 2008 Annual General Meeting, shall take effect from January 1 2009, and supersedes all previous constitutions of the AGA.

Changes