Principle 1: Structure for Sport

There should be one state sporting organisation responsible for leading the administration and management of a sport across Tasmania.

Having one organisation will ensure participation programs are delivered consistently across regions through affiliated branches, clubs or associations.

One organisation provides a single and unified voice for a sport and a central contact for the affiliated national sporting organisation.

The national sporting organisation should provide the overarching objectives, purpose and strategic direction for a sport. This will influence the state sporting organisation, regional bodies and clubs.

The constitutions of these organisations (national, state, regional and clubs) should be aligned and contain the same shared objectives and purposes.

The strategic plans should also contain the same goals and priorities and be delivered consistently.

All governing documents should be developed with input and agreement from all organisations and key stakeholders within a sport.

The majority of Tasmanian state sporting organisations are incorporated associations. This is appropriate for organisations with a turnover of less than $1 000 000 per annum.

Incorporation is done in accordance with the Associations Incorporation Act 1964 (Tas).

State sporting organisations with a turnover of more than $1 000 000 per annum are encouraged to investigate registering as a company limited by guarantee in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

The board of every state sporting organisation must understand the requirements and obligations of the legislation relevant to them.

• Further information is available from Consumer Affairs and Fair Trading

A state sporting organisation’s constitution should be easy to read and understand.

It should not include information that needs to be updated regularly. Information about processes or rules that are expected to change from time to time should be included in by-laws or policy documents.

The constitution should be reviewed regularly.

• Communities, Sport and Recreation’s template State Sporting Organisation constitution (Word)

All state sporting organisations have a board. Some may also have paid staff. These organisations may also have a number of sub-committees reporting to the board.

The board may decide to allow others to make decisions on their behalf by delegating authority (see information on delegations policy below). The authority to approve decisions and the responsibility for outcomes will always remain with the board.

It is important for state sporting organisations with paid staff or sub-committees to ensure everyone has a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities.

Documents that assist include:

a. Position descriptions

Every paid and voluntary position should have a position description detailing key roles, responsibilities and expectations.

• Further information is available from the Australian Sports Commission
• Leisure Network’s ClubHelp template position descriptions

b. Delegations policy

A delegations policy identifies who can make decisions and what decisions they can make. The policy will also detail how much money they can spend. If a board authorises others in the state sporting organisation to make decisions on their behalf, it should detail this authorisation in a delegations policy.

It is common for a chief executive officer or general manager to be delegated significant authority to make decisions.

The delegations policy should not outline every potential decision that could occur. It should explain the maximum amount of money that can be spent, and clearly explain which types of decisions can and cannot be made on behalf of the board.

The policy should be regularly reviewed and updated.

• Institute of Community Directors Australia’s template Delegations Policy (Word)

c. Organisational structure chart

An organisational structure chart will list the different roles within the state sporting organisation, the responsibilities of each role and how the roles work together.

The chart should include both paid and volunteer positions.

A state sporting organisation’s constitution should clearly outline who the members of the organisation are, and how they vote. Categories of membership vary but typically include Life Members, Regions, Clubs and Individual Members.

It is recommended that Clubs be recognised as the Voting Members. Life Members, Individual Members, and Regions are recognised as members  bound by the constitution but with no voting rights at general meetings of the organisation.

Proportional voting (where members may be allocated more than one vote) is discouraged because it can provide individuals (or a minority of members) an opportunity to influence election results.

The fairest and simplest voting system is one which allows a maximum of one vote per Voting Member.