VNPA is holding a Special General Meeting to alter our constitution to keep our governance rules updated.

Special General Meeting, Thursday 30 July 5.30–6.30pm  Register here

Information session, Thursday 16 July, 5.30–6.30pm  Register here

The changes proposed to the constitution do not change the fundamental purpose of the association striving for the conservation of Victoria’s natural heritage.  It is a members-based association that grateful to its membership for funding and advocacy support. 

VNPA has been a strong community-based organisation for 73 years, and over that time a number of reviews have refreshed of our governing rules to keep up with legislative changes and contemporary governance practices. 

The last review of our constitution in 2009 has served the organisation well over this time.  Being a set of rules to guide us, it is important for it to keep up with our changing needs and remain compliant with the Associations Incorporation Act, which was updated in 2012. 

Last year Council agreed to review the constitution. The Governance, Policy & Legal Committee took on the responsibility to undertake the review with three specific considerations: 

  1. To update the constitution  
  2. To propose changes to the election of Councillors  
  3. To comply with the updated Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV rules 2023)  

As a not-for-profit organisation, the early days of VNPA saw Councillors taking on volunteer roles across all aspects of its work. Over time, as the organisation grew, much of this volunteer work transferred across to paid staff. Councillors today have a primary role in governance and still take on more active roles on committees.  We propose to change the name of ‘Council’ to ‘Board’, and ‘Councillors’ to ‘Directors’ to reflect this greater emphasis on governance. 

To better meet the governance needs of Council and be more reflective of modern association best practice, we are proposing changes to the election of Councillors:  

  • Reduce the Council from a maximum of 12 elected Councillors to eight. 
  • Each Councillor be elected for a three-year tenure. 
  • Councillors to be permitted a maximum of nine years on Council. 
  • Nominees no longer required to have been VNPA members for 12 months. 
  • Casual vacancies including those arising from a shortfall in nominees to be filled at the discretion of the council and no longer from the floor of the AGM. 
  • Council, rather than members, is responsible for electing its own office bearers.  

Council will create by-laws to transition these Councillor appointments to commence on the 2027 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and to stagger Councillor retirements. 

The updated Consumer Affairs Victoria rules required mandatory strengthening in a number of specific areas: 

  • Conflict of interest provisions of mandatory disclosure, abstention and register as a major governance and compliance improvement. 
  • Director duties of good faith, care, diligence and proper use obligations now better align with director governance expectations. 
  • Membership register now has additional member data and privacy controls for improved administration and privacy compliance. 
  • Special General Meetings and Constitutional amendments now at 5% of voting members (not 30 votes) to be more scalable for future membership growth. 
  • Technology uplift with provisions for electronic meetings, voting, proxies and records to have a more modernised governance framework. 
  • Specific minimum requirements for access to minutes of general meetings and the member register. 

Detailed information is provided below for members to review: 

Use the emailed password to access the following documents.

Current VNPA constitution can be downloaded here: VNPA Constitution original

Tracked and  annotated version of the constitution can be download here: VNPA Constitution annotated

Clean copy of the constitution can be downloaded here: VNPA Constitution Revision

 Proxy voting information

  1. In the event of a Delegate of an Associate Member being unable to act that member may be represented at any general meeting of the Association by a proxy whose credentials shall be certified by either a responsible officer of the Associate Member concerned or its delegate.
  2. Notification of the appointment of proxies shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the Secretary of the Association at least seven (7) days prior to the commencement of the general meeting (For this SGM, please email VNPA by close of business 23 July, 2026, to register your use of a proxy)
  3. A proxy shall not exercise the votes of more than two (2) delegates.
  4. Unless otherwise stated in the written notification the appointment of proxies shall be recognised by the Association only for the next following general meeting to which it relates.