Members of BEING Mental Health Consumers Ltd (BEING) may now offer themselves up for election to the board of directors at the upcoming AGM on Thursday 7 November 2024.
As a skills-based board, we are particularly interested to hear from members who have experience in major donor management, membership management, and human resources to enhance the skills of the BEING board. However, we will not preclude people who do not have these skills from proposing themselves for election.
Directors are not paid – it is a voluntary role. There are 7 board positions up for election at this year’s AGM (with some current board members re-standing for election).
The provisions dealing with eligibility set out in BEING’s Constitution, include:
A person is eligible for election as a director of the company if they:
(a) are a member of the company, or a representative of a member of the company
(b) are nominated by two members or representatives of members entitled to vote (unless the person was previously elected as a director at a general meeting and has been a director since that meeting) and the nominations are delivered to the company at least 7 days before the date fixed for the holding of the general meeting at which the election is to take place,
(c) have appropriate qualifications, skills and experience to discharge the functions of a director as determined by the directors from time to time including but not limited to the appropriate skills and expertise as is required to:
- govern the company;
- address the challenges and opportunities facing the company;
- iii. better ensure the ability of the company to achieve its objects; and
- create a sustainable future for the Company,
and are not disqualified by law or by this Constitution from being appointed.
(d) give the company their signed consent to act as a director of the company,
(e) are eligible to be a director under the Corporations Act or the ACNC Act
(f) do not hold a position or any other role on any other board, committee or organisation which poses a potential or actual conflict of interest with the Company.
All directors are required to have a thorough understanding of BEING’s Constitution, understand your legal and governance responsibilities, and be able to commit the time to read papers and contribute to board meetings. The time required varies each month however, at an absolute minimum, directors should be available for five hours per month to prepare for board meetings and engage fully with other directors at meetings.
Board meetings are held on Thursdays from 5:15pm online.
How to apply
Your application should be a one-page, single-sided A4 document that explains to the membership why they should vote for you to be on BEING’s board. The following points are suggestions and none of them are mandatory:
- A statement describing your understanding about BEING’s Constitution and operations and your legal and governance responsibilities as a director.
- If you have major donor management, membership management, and/or human resources expertise, please outline your experience in these areas if relevant.
- Any formal qualifications relevant to being a director on BEING’s board, particularly governance qualifications.
- Any experience you have had on other boards or steering committees.
- Your leadership experience in the lived experience movement, including any lived experience committees or roles.
- Your motivation for becoming a director.
- A photo.
These materials will be made available to all members attending the AGM so please do not include private or personal information such as contact details in your application.
If you want to be considered to join BEING’s board, we must receive your application by midday on 31 October 2024. Please send your application to us at info@being.org.au.
If you are successfully elected to the board, you will also need a Director Identification Number, which is a unique identifier given to directors who have verified their identity with the Australian Business Registry Services.
Any questions? Please contact us at info@being.org.au for more information.