Generally, sporting structures are pyramidal or hierarchical. This is true of Australian National Sporting Organisations (NSO), State Sporting Organisations (SSO) and Regional Sporting Associations (RSA) and community clubs.
Community clubs generally form the foundation of the pyramid. The traditional role of the community sport club is to provide sport locally and increase participation levels and membership numbers.
Most non-profit community sporting clubs in New South Wales will be incorporated as Associations under the Associations Incorporation Act 1984 (NSW) (the Act) and have adopted the model rules or have modified or replaced the rules with an alternate Constitution.
The Act is administered by the NSW Office of Fair Trading (Department of Commerce). The functions of the Commissioner are contained in the Act and the Associations Incorporation Regulation 1999.
Copies of current approved forms relating to various provisions of the Act are available from the web site (www. fairtrading.nsw.gov.au).
Clubs may also be incorporated as a company under the Corporations Act (C’Wth) 2001.
Under section s.112(1) of the Corporations Act there are two basic types of company, propreitary companies and public companies.
For further information about company structures go to the Australian Securities and Investment Commission web site www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsfwww
Incorporation under the Associations Incorporation Act (1984) (the Act) gives an entity certain legal advantages in return for accepting certain legal responsibilities.
Incorporation provides sports clubs/associations with a simple and inexpensive means of becoming a legal entity and helps to protect members in legal transactions.
The types of associations that may consider incorporation as an incorporated association are: State Sporting Organisations (SSO), Regional Sporting Associations (RSA), community sporting clubs, arts and crafts groups, social groups, ethnic and cultural groups, pensioner associations, musical societies and environmental groups.
Currently under the Act a minimum of 5 members is required for a group to be eligible for incorporation. The steps will vary, depending on whether your group is just starting out or is already an unincorporated Association, a Co-operative or a Company.
An incorporated Association receives recognition as a legal entity separate from its members. An incorporated Association has all the powers of an individual and is legally able to do things in its own name, such as own land, sign a lease, sue or be sued and to continue regardless of changes in membership.
Although there are benefits to be gained from incorporation, there are also obligations. For example, incorporation requires the payment of application fees and obliges the association to maintain proper financial and membership records and registers.
In addition, it imposes certain reporting obligations on the Public Officer and committee members. The decision whether to incorporate as an association or a company under Corporations Law is largely a matter of choice.
Your Constitution should set out how your association or club is run, who runs it and what authority they have and how to solve problems if they arise.
Office Bearers are people that have legal responsibilities and perform certain identified duties for an association or club.
They are persons elected or appointed to the board or committee. The may also include persons who were not elected e.g. immediate past Chairperson/Presidents and other persons who are not on the board or committee but who still exert influence over the club.
The involvement of sport volunteers is the key to the success and long-term sustainability of sport clubs and sport events. Without volunteers, the sport system could not operate and there is growing cognisance of the need to better manage and nurture volunteers.
Volunteer committee members are Office Bearers and are required to understand the needs of your club and their legal responsibilities.
Typically, club Office Bearers have higher levels of involvement in managing your sporting club. Office Bearers have legal obligations as Directors and are often given titles such as President, Chairperson, Treasurer, Secretary, Public Officer, and Member Protection Information Officer or may be referred to as a Committee Member or Administrator.
According to the Australian Tax Office, a non-profit is any organisation, which is not operating for the profit or gain of its individual members, whether these gains would have been direct or indirect. This applies both while the organisation is operating and when it winds up.
Any profit made by the organisation goes back into the operation of the organisation to carry out its purposes as per its Constitution and is not distributed to any of its members. A non-profit sporting club can still make a profit, but this profit must be used to carry out its purposes and must not be distributed to owners, members or other private people.