CONSTITUTION OF THE
YOUNG HERITAGE MOTOR CLUB INC.
(a not for profit organisation)
1. NAME
a. The name of the Club shall be the Young Heritage Motor Club Incorporated hereafter referred to as ‘the Club’.
b. The Club colours shall be green and white.
2. OBJECTIVES
The objectives of the Club shall be:-
a. The restoration and preservation of vehicles eligible for the Roads and Maritime Services’ Conditional Registration Scheme (RMS-CRS).
b. The encouragement of interest in such vehicles.
c. To promote and organise activities and events as deemed suitable for the use of such vehicles.
3. DEFINITIONS
a. VETERAN – Any motor vehicle manufactured prior to 31st December, 1918.
b. VINTAGE – Any motor vehicle manufactured between 1st January, 1919 and 31st December, 1930.
c. POST VINTAGE – any vehicle manufactured between 1st January 1931 and 31st December 1949.
d. HISTORIC – Vehicles manufactured after 31st December 1949 be classified to read as Historic 50’s; Historic 60’s; then to continue by decades.
e. HERITAGE shall mean a vehicle in any of the preceding definitions, provided it is in a condition as near as possible to authentic and original.
4. MEMBERSHIP
a. Any person who is the owner of an eligible vehicle, or a person who is interested in the purpose and the aims and objectives of the Club shall be eligible for membership.
b. A register of members shall be kept by the Secretary of the Club, showing the name, address and date of commencement of membership. Provision for noting the date of cessation of membership shall be also contained in the register.
c. There will be two classes of membership:-
i. Single membership, and
ii. Family membership which includes children under 18 years.
d. An unfinancial member will forfeit all rights of Club membership.
5. APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
a. An applicant for membership shall:-
i. Have been nominated and seconded by a financial member of the Club and
ii. Achieve a vote of acceptance at the next general meeting after the application has been received.
6. MEMBERS LIABILITY/RESPONSIBILITIES
a. Members must
i. Voluntarily undertake to abide by and obey the provisions of this Constitution and thus meet the obligations imposed by and through this Constitution.
b. The members of the Club shall have no liability to contribute towards the payment of debts and liabilities of the Club or the costs, charges and expenses of the winding up of the Club, except to the amount of unpaid membership fees.
c. Members are responsible for the necessary registration(s) and insurance of their vehicle(s).
d. Members are responsible for the legal requirements when operating their vehicle(s).
7. MEMBERSHIP FEES
a. Members shall pay a common fee, which shall be determined by the Club at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) or Special General Meeting convened for that purpose.
b. Membership fees shall fall due on the 30 September each year.
c. All new members joining the Club shall pay a joining fee, as determined by the Club at the AGM.
8. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP
Membership shall cease on the following conditions:-
a. Resignation at any time by forwarding written notice to the Secretary or
b. Failure to pay membership fees by the due date or
c. Expulsion.
9. MANAGEMENT
a. The Club shall have its affairs controlled and managed by the Office Bearers and financial Members of the Club.
b. The Office Bearers shall be the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Registration Officer, Magazine Editor, and other officers as the Club may deem necessary for the smooth running of the Club.
c. Each member of the Committee shall be elected at the AGM to hold office for one year, or until the next AGM.
i. Nominations for office positions must be submitted by the member on the appropriate form and include appropriate signatures.
ii. Nominations may be made and accepted from the floor. The nominated member must be present and accept the nomination.
iii. A casual vacancy shall be filled as required at a General meeting.
d. A member of the Committee shall cease to hold office upon resigning in writing, removal as a member of the Club or absence from three successive meetings without approval from the Committee.
10. MEETINGS
a. There shall be an Ordinary Meeting of the Club held monthly and the Annual General Meeting shall be held each year in March.
b. The Committee may convene a Special General Meeting of the Club. At least twenty one (21) days’ notice in writing must be given to members of all
Special General Meetings.
c. All meetings shall be held at such place and time as the Committee and members shall determine.
d. The quorum for all meetings shall be five (5) financial members
e. Financial members shall be entitled to have and exercise one vote at Ordinary Meetings, Annual General Meetings, and Special General Meetings of the Club.
f. Questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by the majority of votes of those present. In the case of tied voting, the person appointed to chair the meeting shall have the casting vote.
g. Notice of a motion to rescind any resolution duly passed at a meeting of the Club shall be given in writing to the Secretary and may be moved at the next meeting.
i. The majority necessary to carry any such resolution shall be 2/3 of financial members present at such a meeting.
h. Special Resolutions:
i. A Special Resolution must be passed by a General Meeting of the Club to affect the following;
01. A change of the Club’s name.
02. A change of the Club’s Constitution.
03. A change of the Clubs objectives/aims or interests.
04. An amalgamation with another Incorporated Association.
05. To voluntarily wind-up the Club and associated activities.
06. To apply for Registration as a Company or Co-operative.
ii. A Special Resolution shall be passed in the following manner.
01. Obtain at lease a two thirds (2/3) majority vote of financial members present.
iii. In a situation where it is not possible or practicable for a resolution to be passed as described above, a request may be made to the Corporate Affairs Commission for permission to pass the resolution in some other way.
11. THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
a. The Annual General Meeting shall be held each year in March.
b. The AGM shall be chaired by a Life Member or a nominated member.
c. The business of the Annual General Meeting shall be:-
i. To receive reports for the preceding year from the President and Treasurer.
ii. To elect Office Bearers and Committee members for the ensuing year.
iii. To receive such other reports and conduct such other business as the meeting may deem necessary.
12. OFFICE BEARERS DUTIES
a. The President, or in the President’s absence, the Vice-President shall act as chairperson at each meeting of the Club.
i. If the President and Vice-President are absent from a meeting or unwilling to act, the members present at the meeting shall elect one of their number to act as chairperson.
ii. The President shall prepare and submit to the AGM a report of the Club’s activities and progress for the preceding twelve months.
b. The Secretary shall keep and be responsible for the records/files of the business of the Club including the Constitution, Minutes of all meetings, and a file of all correspondence.
i. All relevant correspondence shall be submitted to the meeting of the Club immediately following receipt.
ii. The Secretary’s records shall be available for inspection by any member, providing reasonable notice is given.
c. The Treasurer shall ensure that correct books and accounts are kept showing the financial affairs of the Club.
i. The Treasurer shall ensure that all monies received by the Club are deposited into an account in the Club’s name.
ii. Payments shall be made by a cheque signed by two authorised signatories.
iii. All payments must be approved for payment by the Committee.
iv. The Treasurer shall give a report of the financial status of the Club at each monthly meeting and the AGM.
v. The Treasurer will provide the appropriate audit trail and submit all documentation to the Australian Tax Office as appropriate.
vi. The Treasurer’s records shall be available for inspection by any member, providing reasonable notice is given.
d. The President, Secretary and Treasurer are to be signatories for Club correspondence.
13. ADDITIONAL OFFICE MEMBERS
a. The Vehicle Inspection Committee
i. Shall consist of at least three Club members with relevant mechanical knowledge to insure a thorough inspection of each vehicle presented is carried out.
ii. A minimum of two Inspectors is required to carry out a vehicle inspection.
i. Only one Inspector is required to sign the declaration.
iii. A member of the Vehicle Inspection Committee must not sign their own Vehicle Roadworthiness Declaration.
b. Public Officer
i. The Committee shall ensure that a person over the age of 18 years is appointed as public officer
ii. The Committee may at any time remove the public officer and appoint a new public officer provided the person appointed is 18 years of age or older and resident of New South Wales.
iii. The public officer shall be deemed to have vacated his/her position as per the Fair Trading regulations.
c. An Editor may be elected to organise the publication of a regular newsletter or magazine.
d. A Librarian may be elected to take care of any books, magazines, periodicals and general literature the Club may receive.
e. A Publicity Officer may be elected to publicise and promote the Club’s activities.
f. A Property Officer may be elected to be responsible for
i. Caring and maintaining of all Club equipment or delegating persons for maintenance purposes,
ii. Maintaining a list of Club equipment,
iii. Issuing and collecting the Club equipment or delegating this responsibility.
g. A Club Registration Officer may be elected to liaise with the Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) and be responsible for all the Club formalities concerning the processing of members’ vehicle plate numbers and registration permits. This officer shall also be responsible for maintaining an up-to-date register of all member vehicle details and maintaining the movements’ book.
h. An Events Committee may be elected as seen fit by the Members.
17. VISITORS
a. Any member may bring visitor(s) to meetings and events organised by the Club.
i. After the opening of the meeting the Member shall introduce their visitor(s) to the meeting or event organiser.
18. CONDITIONAL REGISTRATION SCHEME
a. Vehicles registered under the RMSCRS must comply with the legislation introduced April 2002, known as the Historic Vehicle Policy, and as updated from time to time.
i. A copy of this policy will be handed out with the Club Constitution.
b. Club Declaration of Roadworthiness must be obtained for each member’s vehicle when the member presents their vehicle for the annual roadworthiness inspection at a time and date determine by the Club, or at a pre-arranged date and time if unable to present their vehicle for the Annual Inspection;
c. The vehicle must pass the Annual Inspection to the satisfaction of the Vehicle Inspection Committee
i. If a defect notice is issued, the defect must be rectified and the vehicle presented for inspection at a suitable time and place as agreed between the owner and the Inspection Committee.
ii. Only one signature needs to be recorded from the inspectors to record the pass or fail of a vehicle’s roadworthiness.
d. The normal RMS pink-slip is acceptable to pass the vehicle for its annual roadworthiness.
c. Voluntary inspectors will not be held responsible for the roadworthiness of any vehicle beyond inspection.
d. All reasonable care will be taken by the Club Inspectors to ensure that all vehicles when presented for inspection are roadworthy at the time of issue of the official Club Declaration of Roadworthiness Certificate.
e. The registered owner/operator of a vehicle on RMS-CRS is responsible for the roadworthiness of the vehicle.
19. DISCIPLINING OF MEMBERS
a. The Club may terminate membership or otherwise punish or penalise any member whose conduct is discreditable or injurious to the character or interests of the Club.
b. Before any membership is terminated, or other action is taken, the member’s conduct shall be investigated by a Committee comprising of at least the President, Vice President and Secretary. Others maybe included at the discretion of the President.
c. The member shall be given the opportunity to respond to the accusation(s) and to justify/explain their conduct.
d. Should the member fail to respond to an enquiry conducted, the Committee’s findings and recommendations will be presented at the next monthly meeting.
e. Provided that a quorum is established and the majority of members present are of the opinion that the member has been found guilty of such conduct, the member may be expelled, suspended or otherwise punished or penalised.
20. MISCELLANEOUS
a. The Club shall carry insurance as is required under the Associations Incorporation Act together with any other insurance which may be required by law or regarded as necessary by the Club.
b. The funds of the Club shall be derived from fees of members, donations, grants and such other sources as approved by the Club.
c. The Common Seal of the Club shall be kept in the custody of the Secretary and shall only be affixed to a document with the approval of the Committee. The stamping of the Common Seal shall be witnessed by the signatures of two members of the Committee.
d. The Club may at any time pass a special resolution determining how surplus property is to be distributed in the event of the Club being wound up. The distribution of surplus property shall be in accordance with section 53 of the Association Incorporation Act of 1984.
e. The Serving of documents on the Club is affected by serving them on the Public Officer or by serving them personally on two members of the Committee.
f. The financial year of the Club shall be from 1st October to 30th September.
g. The annual registration day will be in October and Club inspection day must be held on a nominated day no more than 28 days before the registration day.