Australian Intervarsity Choral Societies Association

AICSA Constitution

PREAMBLE

The Association is constituted:

1. to enable the fulfilment of its objects as set out in the Constitution.
2. to enable a common approach to be made to Commonwealth, State and otherbodies.
3. to fulfil the functions previously carried out by meetings of TheAustralian Intervarsity Choral Council.
4. to ensure the continued holding of the Intervarsity Choral Festival asan annual event.

DEFINITIONS

These apply throughout the Constitution.

• Association - the Australian Intervarsity Choral Societies' Association.
• Council - the Australian Intervarsity Choral Council.
• Festival - the Intervarsity Choral Festival.
• Executive - the Executive Committee of the Association.
• Constituent member - a society which is a full member of the Association, as defined by the Constitution.
• Members - Constituent and Associate member societies.
• Delegate - a person who is representing a Constituent member society at a meeting of the Council as a full voting member, or the President of the Association.
• General Meeting - a general meeting of the financial members of aConstituent member society, as defined by its own Constitution.
• Referendum - a postal vote taken among Constituent members of theAssociation, as defined by this Constitution.
• Year - September 1st of one year to August 31st of the next, except where"calendar year" is specified.

CONSTITUTION

1. NAME:
   The name of the Association shall be the Australian Intervarsity Choral Societies' Association.
2. OBJECTS:
   The objects of the Association shall be:
   1. to encourage and promote co-operation between choral and musicalsocieties of Australian institutions of tertiary education through:
      1. the regular publication of a newsletter,
      2. the holding of an annual Intervarsity Chord Festival,
      3. the maintenance of a catalogue of the choral music in thepossession of the Association and its Constituent members,
      4. meetings of the Australian Intervarsity Choral Council;
   2. to generally encourage and further the performance of, and interest inchoral music by Australian tertiary students, through an interchange ofideas and music, and through the discussion of mutual problems.
3. MEMBERSHIP:
   
   1. CONSTITUENT MEMBERSHIP:
      Constituent membership of the Association shall be open to any musicalsociety at an institution of tertiary education within Australia, which hasas one of its prime objects the performance of choral music;
   2. ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP:
      Associate membership of the Association shall be open to any musicalsociety at an institution of tertiary education outside Australia, whichhas as one of its prime objects the performance of choral music;
   3. APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS:
      
      1. Any application for Constituent membership of the Association shall beplaced before the Council for approval at its next meeting after theapplication has been received by the Executive. Except that a freshapplication for membership, following termination of membership due to non-payment of membership fees, as provided bythis Constitution, shall not be considered by the Council until such timeas fees currently due have been received by the Treasurer.
      2. An application from any society which wishes to become an Associate memberof the Association shall be endorsed by any two Constituent members. Anysuch application shall be placed before the Council for approval, whichshall be by a majority of delegates, or submitted to a Referendum, prior to any of the rights orprivileges of Associate membership being conferred on such society.Associate membership shall be for a period of TWO YEARS, after which timeit may be reviewed.
   4. TERMINATIONOF MEMBERSHIP:
      Membership of the Association shall be deemed to have terminated where:
      
      1. notice inwriting to the effect that a member wishes membership to cease shall navebeen received by the Secretary not less than fourteen days prior to ameeting of the Council,
      2. membership fees have not been paid by the due date.
4. AUSTRALIAN INTERVARSITY CHORAL COUNCIL:
   The decision-making body of the Association shall be the Council.
   
   
   1. The following shall be full voting members of the Council:
      
      1. The Chairman, who shall be the President of the Association,
      2. The President of each Constituent member society, or his representative (whether a financial member of the society or not), subject to his being in possession of written authority to act as such;
   2. The following may attend meetings of the Council with the right to speak and propose motions, but not to vote:
      
      1. The Secretary of the Association,
      2. The Treasurer of the Association,
      3. The Editor of "Erato",
      4. The Librarian of the Association,
      5. The Archivist of the Association,
      6. The person who last held the position of President of the Association.
      7. A maximum of one representative of each Constituent or Associatemember society, being in possession of written authority to act as suchfrom the President of such society.
      8. Up to two representatives of any currently constituted planningor organising committee for an Intervarsity Choral Festival.
      9. Such other persons as may be granted such rights by a simplemajority of delegates, for that meeting only.
   3. Subject to the Constitution, the Council shall be responsible for the making of all decisions concerning the Association, and for fulfilling the functions and objects of the Association, as laid down in this Constitution.
5. MEETINGS OF THE COUNCIL:
   
   1. At least one ordinary meeting of the Councilshall be held in every year. There shall be an ordinary meeting of theCouncil held to coincide with every Intervarsity Choral Festival, which mayor may not be the meeting required to be held in every year. The date ofthe following ordinary meeting shall be determined by the Council at its previous ordinary meeting;
   2. A special meeting of the Council shall be called by the Secretaryat the request of not less than three Constituent members, withinthirty-five days of the request being received. The business to be discussed must be stated on the notice paper, and the businessfor which the meeting was called shall take priority over any otherbusiness. No motions may be entertained save those relating to the businessstated on the notice paper;
   3. At least twenty-eight days notice in writing of each ordinary orspecial meeting of the Council shall be given to all members, together witha provisional agenda;
   4. The quorum for all meetings of the Council shall be a number ofdelegates excluding the Chairman equal to two-thirds of the totalConstituent membership at the time of the start of the meeting;
   5. The procedure at all meetings of the Council shall be in accordancewith the Standing Orders of the Association. In the absence of suchStanding Orders, procedure shall be determined by a simple majority ofdelegates;
   6. The Chairman shall preside at every meeting of the Council, andshall have a casting vote in the event of a tie in voting, in addition tohis ordinary vote. If he is not present within ten minutes of the time fixed for the opening of the meeting, the delegatesshall choose one among themselves to take the chair for the duration ofthat meeting or until such time as the Chairman is present;
   7. At any meeting of the Council, a motion shall be decided by show ofhands, unless a poll is demanded by at least three delegates or by the Chairman.
6. FINANCE:
   
   1. Every Constituent and Associate member society shall pay to the Treasurer of the Association such annual subscription as shall be determined by the Council, to be calculated on the basis of that society's total financial membership at May 1st in any year, or, in the event of their being no financial membership, on the basis of that society's membership rolls at that date;
   2. Membership fees, determined as in the previous subsection, shall be payable in their entirely by JULY 1st each year, provided that the Executive at itsdiscretion, may allow an additional period of up to two months for paymentof all or part of such membership fees;
      
      
   3. The Association shall cause to be kept proper records relating to finance in such manner and form as the Executive shall approve. An audit shall be carried out at least once in each year;
   4. The Association shall maintain a bank account at such bank as the Executive shall select, which shall be used for such purposes as may be decided by the Council or by Referendum from time to time, subject to this Constitution;
   5. Financial statements prepared by the Executive in accordance with this Constitution shall be deemed to be accepted, unless an objection is registered with theExecutive by a Constituent member within fourteen days of any suchstatement being received;
   6. The annual budget of the Association shall be prepared by the Executive and considered by the Council at or before the last ordinary meeting preceding the year in question.
7. THE EXECUTIVE:
   
   1. The day to day running of the Association shall be in the hands of an Executive committee, comprising: the President of the Association, the Secretary of the Association, and the Treasurer of the Association;
   2. The methods of operation of the Executive shall be defined in by-laws as and when required;
   3. The Executive shall hold office as such in accordance within the period of office of their positions in the Association;
   4. Any two members of the Executive shall be empowered to sign cheques or make withdrawals on behalf of the Association;
   5. A statement of the Association's financial position shall be presented by the Executive at every ordinary meeting of the Council, published every six months in "Erato" and circularised to all member societies.
   6. The Executive shall have the power to spend the Association's funds within the limits budgeted in any area of expenditure which is subject to the Executive's control. Any expenditure in excess of the amount budgeted must be authorised by the Council by way of a Referendum;
   7. The duties of the Executive shall be:
      
      1. to implement the policies of the Association on a day to day basis, subject to this Constitution;
      2. to recommend policy, ideas for new projects and budgets to the Council;
      3. to administer the funds of the Association, subject to this Constitution;
      4. to receive applications for membership on behalf of the Association, subject to this Constitution;
      5. to carry out such other duties as may be required by the Council from time to time, subject always to this Constitution;
   8. The Executive shall at all times be strictly responsible to the Council for all its actions.
8. ELECTION OF OFFICERS:
   
   1. All officers of the Association shall be elected for a term of one year, commencing on the first day of the year. The elections shall be held at the last ordinary meeting of the Council preceding the commencement of the year in question;
   2. Unless otherwise stated in this Constitution, all candidates for election must, at the date on which they stand for election for a given position, in which election they are successful, be financial members of a Constituent member society or, where there is no financial membership, be listed on the membership rolls of such a society; except that any officer shall be eligible for re-election for a second consecutive year, even though he shall have ceased to be such a member as required at the time of his previous election. No officer shall be eligible for a third consecutive year in the same position;
   3. Nominations for all positions must be made and seconded by a financial member of a Constituent society, or, where there is no financial membership, a person who is on the membership rolls of such a society. Nominations for all executive positions shall close with the Secretary seven days before the meeting for which such election is scheduled. All other nominations shall close immediately prior to the election being held, at the meeting for which any such election is scheduled;
   4. All elections shall be preferential and held by secret ballot. The Council shall appoint a returning officer for each election;
   5. In the event of any officer, with the exception of the President of the Association, ceasing to hold office for any reason during his term of office, the Executive, or, where the person ceasing to hold office was a member of the Executive, the remaining members of the Executive shall appoint a person to act in such a position for the remainder of the year and inform all members of their action. If any Constituent member society, in committee or in general meeting, shall lodge written objection to such appointment with the Secretary within fourteen days of it being informed of such appointment, the position shall be declared vacant, advertised as such, nominations called in accordance with this Constitution, and an election held within twenty eight days of nominations being called, at a meeting of the Council or by means of a Referendum, in accordance with this Constitution.
9. OFFICERS OF THE ASSOCIATION:
   
   1. The following shall be the officers of the Association:
      
      1. The President of the Association
      2. The Secretary of the Association
      3. The Treasurer of the Association
      4. The Patrons for the time being of the Association
      5. The Editor of "Erato"
      6. The Librarian of the Association
      7. The Archivist of the Association;
   2. PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION:
      
      1. The President shall be Chairman of the Executive Committee and of the Council. He shall generally represent the Association in his capacity as President; he shall be responsible for signing all documents on behalf of the Association, and for supervising its work and that of the Council and of the Executive; he shall prepare an annual report, which shall be laid before the Council, and, on its acceptance, published in "Erato"; he shall, in addition, fulfil such other duties as are laid down in this Constitution:
      2. In the event of the President ceasing to hold that position for any reason, the Secretary shall act as President of the Association for the remainder of the year, the position of Secretary of the Association being filled in accordance with this Constitution;
   3. SECRETARY OF THE ASSOCIATION:
      
      1. The Secretary shall, at the time of his election, reside within such distance of the President of the Association as shall make it possible forthe Executive to fulfil its functions properly on a day to day basis;
      2. The Secretary shall be secretary to the Council and keep proper record of all meetings in a minutes book provided for the purpose; he shall conduct all correspondence on behalf of the Association, the Council and the Executive; he shall give notice of all meetings and motions of which notice has been given, in accordance with this Constitution, and shall be responsible for the distribution of reports, minutes, and agendas to all members; he shall, in addition, fulfil such other duties as are laid down in this Constitution;
      3. The Secretary shall generally assist the President of the Association, and shall act in such a position in the event of the President's absence or temporary inability to carry out his duties, except that he shall not fulfil the duties of Chairman of the Council.
   4. TREASURER OF THE ASSOCIATION:
      
      1. The Treasurer shall, at the time of his election, reside within such a distance of the President and the Secretary of the Association as shall make it possible for the Executive to fulfil its functions properly on aday to day basis;
      2. The Treasurer shall keep proper financial records of the Association's dealings and shall receive moneys on its behalf, in accordance with this Constitution; he shall assist the Secretary of the Association with all financial correspondence; he shall, in addition, fulfil such other duties as are laid down in this Constitution;
      3. The Treasurer shall generally assist the Secretary of the Association, and shall act in such a position in the event of the Secretary's absence or temporary inability to carry out his duties.
   5. PATRONS OFTHE ASSOCIATION:
      The Council may, at its discretion, elect one or more Patrons of the Association in any year. Such Patrons need not be active or financial members of any member society, nor shall there be any limit tothe number of times on which such Patrons may be re-elected. There shall be no duties involved in the position of Patron of the Association;
      
   6. EDITOR OF "ERATO":
      The Editor of "Erato" shall be responsible for the publication of the newsletter of the Association, known as "Erato", which newsletter shall be supplied to all Constituent and Associate member societies in sufficient numbers to meet their requirements; in addition, "Erato" shall be supplied to all officers and to suchi other persons as the Council may decide from time to time; "Erato" shall be published a minimum of three times per year, and, as faras possible, it shall include: news of member societies, results of referenda, reports of officers of the Association and other articles ofi nterest to its readers; however, such material shall not fall outside thescope of the objects of the Association. The Editor's decision on material for inclusion shall be final, except inasmuch as this Constitution requires otherwise. There may in anyone year be a budgetary allocation made to "Erato", which shall be subject to the Editor's control;
   7. LIBRARIAN OF THE ASSOCIATION:
      The Librarian shall be responsible for the housing and maintenance of the Association's collection of choral music scores, and for maintaining an up to date catalogue of music in the possession of the Association and its Constituent members. Copies of such a catalogue shall be sent to each member society, together with updated supplements when they become necessary, but not less than once in each year. The Council shall decide when a new edition ofthe catalogue becomes necessary, and this shall then be the responsibility of the Librarian. There may in any year be a budgetary allocation made to the Librarian, which shall be subject to his control;
   8. ARCHIVIST OF THE ASSOCIATION:
      The Archivist shall be responsible for the housing and maintenance of the Association's records and documents, and of the records of the Intervarsity Choral Festivals. There may be a budgetary allocation made to the Archivist in any year, which shall be subject to his control.
10. REFERENDA:
    
    1. A Referendum may be conducted by the Executive: to seek anamendment to this Constitution or in accordance with this Constitution, or to seek authorisation for an action wished to be taken by the Executive, or to settle anyother point of issue, subject to this Constitution. Except in the case of are ferendum held to attempt an amendment to this Constitution, a request from any three Constituent members that a referendum be held on any issue must be complied with by the Secretary within twenty-one days of its being received by him. The day on which the Secretary sends out the ballot papers shall be deemed to be the day on which the referendum is held;
    2. Every Constituent member society shall be entitled to one vote in each referendum, which shall be that of its Committee or a general meeting. The President of the Association shall have a casting vote only. Interested parties may communicate their views. The votes shall be counted by an independent scrutineer chosen bythe Executive on the twenty-eighth day following the day on which the Referendum was held, and the results sent out immediately to all member societies, giving the names of those voting each way and those abstaining, except in the case of an election, which shall be by secret ballot.
       
       
    3. A referendum, other than a referendum to change the Constitution, shall be carried if a simple majority of the votes cast are in favour and if at least 50 per cent of Constituent members have replied by the due date.
    4. If there is no objection from a member society in committee or in general meeting received by the Secretary within fourteen days of the result being sent out, the result of the Referendum shall take effect immediately. In the event of an objection to the way in which the result was obtained, or to the manner in which the Referendum was conducted the matter shall be referred to Council at its next meeting.
11. COMMITTEES:
    The Council may form such committees as may appear necessary from time to time. Such committees shall present a report on their findings and activities to each ordinary meeting of the Council. Such committees shall cease to exist when they have completed the business for which they were set up, or when they are dissolved by the Council, whichever is the sooner. The Chairman and members of all committees shall be appointed initially by the Council, but shall have the power of co option. The President of the Association shall be a member ex officio of all such committees during his term of office. Decisions of all committees shall take the form of recommendations to the Council only.
12. INTERVARSITY CHORAL FESTIVAL:
    
    1. The Intervarsity Choral Festival shall be a non-competitive festival held once in each calendar year at a place determined by the Council and open to all financial members or, where there is no financial membership, to all persons listed on the membership rolls of any Constituent or Associate member society, also to officers of the Association, and tosuch other persons as the Festival Organising Committee sees fit. As far as possible a cycle of venues shall operate. The host societies of each Festival shall be those Constituent members whose institution of tertiary education is situated in the town or city chosen as the venue, and who wish to be host societies. All details of planning shall lie with the Festival Organising Committee, which shall be constituted from representatives of each of the host societies at least eighteen months prior to the Festival being held. The Organising Committee shall be under an obligation to consider, though not necessarily to implement, all recommendations made to it by the Council. The Organising Committee shall be responsible for keeping members informed of progress in organisation of the Festival through "Erato". After every Festival, the Organising Committee shall submit a report and an audited copy of its financial statement to the Association for discussion and placing in the Association's archives;
    2. The Organising Committee shall cause to be kept proper records relating to finance, which shall be open to inspection by the Executive. An audit shall be carried out within the twelve months following the completion of the Festival, unless the Council shall otherwise determine;
    3. The Association shall support the aims and ideals of the Festival, and shall lend such practical aid to individual Festivals as seems necessary from time to time;
    4. The Association shall budget for each Festival a conditional grant as determined by the Council. Such grant, if accepted by the Organising Committee, shall be repayable to the Association if the Festival's final financial statement shows a credit balance of the determined amount or more. If there is a lesser credit balance, that amount shall be repayable to the Association;
    5. Where the final credit balance on a Festival's final financial statement exceeds the amount of the grant, fifty per cent of the amount of that excess shall be paid to the Association. In addition, the Council may agree with any Organising Committee that the Association accept shared financial responsibility for a forthcoming Festival;
    6. In any year a grant may be supplied by the "AICSA TRUST FUND" and in such a case, conditions of the grant shall be determined by the Trustees.
13. BY-LAWS:
    The Council may make and alter by laws for the better management of the Association. Such by laws shall continue in force until repealed or amended.
14. CLAUSE PARAMOUNT:
    A by law cannot amend or repeal the Constitution, and all by laws are subject to the Constitution.
15. AMENDMENT OF THIS CONSTITUTION:
    Notice of proposed amendments to this Constitution, moved and seconded by Constituent member societies in committee or in general meeting shall be given to the Secretary of the Association, who shall then ask the Executive to conduct a referendum, which shall be held within twenty one days from the day on which the notice of amendment was received by the Secretary, in accordance with the procedure laid down inthis Constitution. A two thirds majority of votes in favour is required for any amendment to this Constitution to be approved.
16. DISSOLUTION OF THE ASSOCIATION
    The Association shall be dissolved with the consent of two thirds or more of the Constituent member societies in general meeting, after twenty eight days notice of intention to move as such has been given by three ormore Constituent members. If upon dissolution of the Association there remains after satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities any property whatsoever the same shall not be paid to or distributed among the members of the Association but shall be given or transferred to some other institution or institutions having objects similar to the objects of the Association and which shall prohibit the distribution of its or their income and property among its or their members to an extent at least as great as is imposed on the Association under or by virtue of Clause 6.7 hereof such institution or institutions to be determined by the Council at or before the time of dissolution and if and so far as effect cannot be given to the aforesaid provision then to the A.I.C.S.A. Trust Fund.
17. INTERPRETATION:
    This Constitution shall be subject to the Interpretation of the President of the Association, which may be overruled by a two thirds majority at a meeting of the Council or by Referendum.

[Adopted on 26 August 1974]

Back to top...