Constitution

Incorporation number: IA00930
Document number: 3863590

At a Special General Meeting of Members held on 1st June 2019 a vote was carried to amend the current constitution to cover the following changes which were approved and registered by the Office of Fair Trading on 24th July 2019:

• The key changes to the Management Committee’s term of office can be found in Rule 16 and relate to a desire to ensure continuity of and succession within the Committee. Under the present terms under the Act it had proven difficult to sustain longer term projects with a Committee that potentially is replaced every twelve months. No sooner than a project begins or is partially completed when the key sponsors are out of office. Our Management Committee has been mindful of the intention of the Act and sought advice on appropriate outcomes. Hence, the amendments enable the following to occur:
• R: 16.1 Increases the Management Committee from President, Vice President and Treasurer and a minimum of two (2) other members [Committee of 5] and a maximum of six (6) other members [Committee of 9]. Such a change enables shared workload and engagement through our volunteer members;
• R: 16.2 Increases the term of service from one year to three years with eligibility for re-election after 3 years;
• R: 16.3 & 4 Maximises the terms of service from one to three terms following which the retiring member shall not be eligible for re-election until a period of twelve months has passed. This amendment enables succession and continuity without the loss of corporate knowledge;
• R: 16.5 Addresses the retirement of members to meet the intent of the Act where we have proposed that at each General Meeting at least two (2) but not more than one third of the Management Committee must retire. Sub-rules (a) – (c) describe the process involved.

The proposed amendments discussed in Rule 5 rationalise the existing categories of membership some of which have become obsolete through time.

• Rule 5. (f) is intended to create a new, non-voting, category of ‘Associate’ member. Such a category will encourage those people living with Parkinson’s and advocates across the State who attend support group meetings but are who not members of PQI to join the organisational fold albeit as non-voting members, at a discounted fee.

These ‘Associates’ would then be eligible for cover under PQI’s public liability insurance whenever they attend meetings or participate in authorised events. This new category will also enable access to the broader Parkinson’s diagnosed community of Queensland.

Our belief these amendments will ensure the intent of the Act while ensuring continued good governance, while enabling succession, continuity, sustainability while ensuring engagement with a broader pool of people living with Parkinson’s in our service delivery and programs. All are important to the future well-being of the Queensland Parkinson’s community.

Parkinson’s Queensland is about to celebrate its 35th Year of service in Queensland and is poised to make improved service delivery in support of the 18,500 Queenslanders diagnosed with Parkinson’s and en excess of 100,000 people living with Parkinson’s. Lurching from one twelve-month election cycle to the next does not enable close engagement with those we serve.