Policies
Education and Training Policy
AGMC December 2019
In furthering the Purposes of the AGMC Inc, any member or committee member who has the skills, expertise and ability to deliver training for the AGMC Inc, may submit or tender a proposal to the committee for approval to deliver training to further the AGMC Inc’s Purposes.
This proposal or tender is to be in the format determined by the AGMC Inc. In order to manage conflicts of interest, before submitting a tender or proposal, members must read and acknowledge the Conflict of Interest policy and declare any conflicts, be they actual, perceived or potential.
If approved by committee to deliver training, a member will be able to receive a percentage of the fees or monies received (if any) from delivering the training. Any amounts up to and including $5,000, members will receive 50% of the fee/monies received by the AGMC. Fees/monies will be paid directly to the AGMC Inc and a member must use their ABN to invoice for 50% of the monies. If the amount for training is over $5,001, the split between AGMC Inc and the member is 40/60 with AGMC Inc retaining 40% of the speaker fee and the member retaining 60% of the speaker fee.
A speaker can choose to donate any amount of fee they are entitled to, back to the AGMC Inc. The committee can, by consensus, decide to choose more than one member to deliver training. The Conflict of Interest policy should be read in conjunction with this document, to ensure the member delivering training is following the rules of good governance, accountability and transparency.
This policy, as all others, is subject to yearly review and can be amended, updated and changed before being passed by voting by the management committee for that financial year. s text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.
Reimbursement policy
AGMC Inc. December 2019
The purpose of this policy is to state when AGMC Inc will reimburse a financial member for pre-approved expenses that have been incurred in the performance of their duties. Reimbursement requests need to be approved by the committee before the expense is made, otherwise, only subject to extenuating and special circumstances will the financial member be reimbursed without prior approval.
Examples of reimbursement requests include but are not limited to, airline, bus, train, tram, Uber, Taxi, Ride share expenses, provided a receipt is produced or any other evidence of payment. The transport must be due to the purpose of performing an AGMC activity such as attending a workshop or delivering a presentation. Other examples of reimbursement may include food, accommodation and any other expense directly related to the purpose of the expense (AGMC Inc work). It is up to the committee to use Tax ruling amounts for reimbursement expenses or negotiate an amount for the expense. In the interests of our not for profit association, committee members are encouraged to look for the most reasonable way to provide the AGMC Inc work.
Reimbursements are not to occur in the course of committee members attending regular meetings as this is a direct expectation of their role. Ordinary members can be reimbursed for an AGMC Inc expense, provided they have received approval before incurring the expense. In the event that a reimbursement is attached to a specific grant (such as research, events and festivals) and has already been budgeted in the grant application, in this scenario, the reimbursement does not require AGMC Inc Committee endorsement/approval. However, if these items were not budgeted as part of the funding agreement, then it requires AGMC Inc Committee to approve it for transparency and accountability as per above. In this context, extenuating and special circumstances are given their ordinary meaning.
This policy, as all others, is subject to yearly review and can be amended, updated and changed before being passed by voting by the management committee for that financial year.
Grievance Policy 2019
as per the AGMC model Rules
Further to the clauses in the Model rules covering Grievance disputes, in addition, the AGMC Inc, encourages grievances to be resolved as quickly as possible and invites affected parties to first try and resolve via informal channels (14 days from the date the dispute has been raised to all involved parties) such as email, phone calls or in the presence of each other. If this is not possible, then formal channels are to be followed including the appointment of an unbiased mediator. All parties must agree to engage in a hearing where the unbiased mediator will attempt to assist the parties to find a solution. All parties will be heard and if the dispute cannot be resolved with the unbiased mediator, then an unbiased decision maker will determine the outcome of the dispute (this can occur at a different date to the time of the hearing). See Model Rules for Grievance clause This policy, as all others, is subject to yearly review and can be amended, updated and changed before being passed by voting by the management committee for that financial year.
AGMC National Committee Position Descriptions
All members of the committee must read, uphold and understand the AGMC’s vision, values, mission statement, objectives, focus, purpose, Constitution and lead by example by embracing this in their actions as a committee member. The Office Bearers of the AGMC are the President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer. They are to be elected at the first Committee Meeting following the AGM each year. If no person is elected, then an ordinary committee member may be appointed in the role until a meeting is called to elect a person into the Office Bearer position. Due to the nature of the Office Bearer’s roles, they must be appointed from the committee and not co-opted from the general membership (unless urgency demands). All committee members are expected to behave in a professional manner and uphold the purposes of the AGMC.
To read more please download PDF:
Sitting Fees Policy
December 2019
Sitting fees occur when an organisation wants the AGMC Inc to be a part of a forum, group, advisory board and therefore pays an ‘attendance fee’ for a representative of the AGMC Inc to attend meetings and discussions. Sitting fees occur because of the reputation of the AGMC Inc itself and therefore are always monies to be received and kept by the AGMC Inc. This doesn’t exclude members from claiming reimbursement for expenses (food, travel, accommodation), subject to the Reimbursement policy.
This policy, as all others, is subject to yearly review and can be amended, updated and changed before being passed by voting by the management committee for that financial year.
Conflict of Interest Policy
December 2019 Actual, Perceived or Potential.
The AGMC Inc places great emphasis on addressing any actual, perceived or potential conflicts of interest for its financial dealings. All such conflicts of interest shall be declared by the member concerned and officially documented in the minutes of the appropriate committee meeting. They will be determined by the committee as to how to manage them.
- An actual conflict of interest involves a direct conflict between your role as a committee member and committee responsibilities and a competing interest or obligation, whether personal or involving a thirdparty.
- A perceived conflict of interest occurs where it could reasonably be perceived, or give the appearance, that a competing interest could improperly influence the performance of your official duties and AGMC Inc responsibilities.
- A potential conflict of interest arises where you have an interest or obligation, whether personal or involving a third-party, that could conflict with your official duties and AGMC Inc responsibilities in the future.
Further to the definitions above,
1. Any business or personal matter which is, or could be, a conflict of interest involving the individual and his/her role and relationship to the AGMC Inc, must be declared and registered in the minutes of the appropriate committee meeting.
2. Where a conflict of interest is identified, the committee member concerned shall not vote on that issue or be a part of the discussions between members. They can present their position but then must leave the room, so the committee can address the conflict and deal with it.
3. When the Office Bearers are aware of an actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest involving one of more committee members, the Chairperson must take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that the conflict is managed in an appropriate manner according to this policy.
4. Individual committee members, aware of an actual, perceived or potential conflict of interest of another committee member, have a responsibility to bring this to the notice of the committee as soon as being made aware.
Examples of conflicts of interest are:
- When a committee member, or his/her immediate family or business interests, stands to gain financially from any business dealings, programmes or services provided to AGMC Inc, this involves requests for training, workshops, presentations and any work that has been offered to an individual based on their relationship with the AGMC Inc
- When a Committee member offers a professional service to AGMC, such as tendering for grant monies or any financial opportunity.
- When a Committee member stands to gain personally or professionally fromany insider knowledge of the AGMC Inc, if that knowledge is used for personal or professional advantage.
Note: Conflicts of interest must be addressed and managed otherwise they bring the AGMC Inc into disrepute and can undermine the integrity of AGMC. They can also harm goodwill and our position in the LGBTIQ and wide community view.
This policy, as all others, is subject to yearly review and can be amended, updated and changed before being passed by voting by the management committee for that financial year.
Code of Conduct for AGMC Inc Committee Members
Prospective Committee Members are expected to have read this document before nominating for committee.
The expectations of being a Committee Member include (but are not limited to):
- Understand that you are a part of the Governance structure for the AGMC Inc and therefore have a legal, moral and ethical responsibility in your professional behaviour as a Committee Member;
- Support and uphold the AGMC Inc’s Model Rules and Statement of Purpose;
- Read and familiarise self with the AGMC Inc’s policies and it’s governance documents;
- Attend all meetings (on time) and if unable to do so, provide a reason to the Secretary of your absence;
- Declare any and all Conflicts of Interest (real or perceived) and remove yourself from any decisions in which you have a personal or financial interest in;
- Respect each other’s opinions and understand that differences of opinions will arise, but you must always be polite and respectful in your language and behaviour;
- If you have responsibility for a task/project/item, ensure you complete it within the due dates and if not able to, inform the Office Bearers of the AGMC Inc.