Constitution and By-Laws
The Queensland Family History Society Inc. is governed by its Constitution (Rules).
Where necessary, the Management Committee of your Society approves By-Laws to cover aspects of the Society's activities. The most recent bylaw was approved by the Management Committee on 8 October 2024, regarding the award of Fellowship (Fellow of the Queensland Family History Society Inc.)
Review of Constitution and By-Laws 2023-24
The Queensland Family History Society has been successfully operating as an incorporated association under a set of rules last revised in 1992.
It's wise to ensure that the QFHS constitution aligns with and supports how it operates today. There have been significant amendments to the legislation governing such associations since then, with the most recent taking effect from 22 June 2022 and again from 1 July 2024. There have also been significant changes to the industry within which QFHS operates. More about the need for review can be read here.
Advisors
The management committee has established a constitution review subcommittee to develop a revised constitution and accompanying by-laws for the Queensland Family History Society. The subcommittee consists of Charlotte Sale, Chris Schuetz, Kevin Haley and Graeme Drew.
Law firm Mayes Law was engaged to prepare draft documents and give legal advice.
A constitution advisory group provided advice and feedback on the draft documents prior to distribution to the full membership. This included Ann and Tony Swain, Kevin Haley and Geoff Morgan.
The management committee receives monthly reports from the subcommittee and provides valuable feedback and advice.
Proposed constitution and bylaws
On 13 August 2024 these draft documents were emailed to all members and posted to those without an email address, along with an invitation to attend the consultation meeting about the proposal.
Click each link to access the documents:
Draft proposed QFHS constitution
Comments and comparison of proposed to existing constitution
Member feedback
Members provided feedback, comments, and suggestions for improvement by email or by attending one of several consultation meetings.
Process
The constitution review subcommittee has:
- Reviewed past and existing documents and assessed required changes
- Appointed Mayes Law, a firm that specialises in association law, to advise and assist developing a revised constitution
- Determined that the Model Rules contained in the Queensland Associations Regulation 1999 are not sufficient for QFHS needs
- Drafted the initial proposed constitution and bylaws documents
- Obtained advice and feedback from the constitution advisory group, the Management Committee, and Mayes Law
- Refined the proposed revised constitution and bylaws and developed an explanatory overview of changes
- Held a members consultation meeting on 28 August and on 4 September, 2024
A final draft is in preparation.
Outcome
It's expected that a motion to accept the revised constitution and associated by-laws will be presented to QFHS members at a General Members’ Meeting soon.
Resources
Some resources relevant to this review include:
- Current rules and by-laws
- Current Queensland State Government legislation
- Queensland Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Current as at 3 November 2022)
- Queensland Associations Regulation 1999 (Current as at 1 July 2024) – includes the Model Rules
- relevant advice webpages from Queensland Office of Fair Trading and the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission
- Queensland Office of Fair Trading (OFT) – for example
- Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) – an example
We look forward to members’ participation in this important review.
Please direct questions and make requests, suggestions, and responses to the subcommittee via email: constitution.review@qfhs.org.au