Northey Street City Farm (NSCF) is an Incorporated Association. The Constitution of Northey Street City Farm Association Inc. is the overarching document that defines the responsibilities and organisational authority of the Management Committee (MC).
As a community based, not for profit organisation, the Farm relies on members of the community to become members. Members elect the MC to govern the organisation. Without MC members, and paid and unpaid staff, NSCF could not sustain its activities.
Becoming part of the MC is a rewarding experience, and provides great benefit to the City Farm and through it to the community in general. However, MC members have a wide range of duties and responsibilities to meet, and becoming a MC member is not for everyone. The purpose of this page is to provide an overview of the roles and responsibilities of MC members.
Please note that this information is not legal advice, and Northey Street City Farm will not be held liable for the correctness of any information contained herein. If you have any specific questions, you should seek professional legal advice.
Role of the Management Committee
NSCF’s Management Committee is a team responsible for the financial and legal accountability of the City Farm. This means ensuring that its funds are spent efficiently, ethically and in compliance with all relevant laws. It also means ensuring that the City Farm is sustainable, and will continue to deliver services in the years to come, through the development of strategies and assessment of the performance of City Farm in meeting its goals.
What does a Member of the Management Committee do?
It is the Management Committee’s responsibility to monitor the City Farm’s broad direction and goals (which are set in collaboration with City Farm Teams), and it is the responsibility of Teams to decide how to achieve those goals. The Management Committee works to:
- approve the annual budget
- review & monitor the performance of City Farm according to its medium and long term goals
- approve major financial decisions
- evaluate performance of key staff
- ensure major risks are identified and managed
- ensure there is accurate financial reporting
- ensure that NSCF complies with the law (for example, incorporation, insurance, permits, licenses, occupational health and safety, awards, taxation)
- appoint and monitor the performance of Team Managers
- are made collectively by the MC, with guidance from Team Reps, and all MC members share equal responsibility for those decisions.
Is the Management Committee the same as the committee of any other not for profit community organisation?
In relation to the relevant state government legislation, the Management Committee fulfills the same required function as the committee or board of any other incorporated association. Beyond this, the Management Committee is charged by the Farm’s members with performing functions that are more specific to the Farm’s purpose, policies and organisational structure.
The committee supports NSCF to be an organisation that is professional, accountable, effective and fully compliant with the law. Most day to day operational decisions, on the other hand, are made by the Team Representatives meeting. The existence of Teams and the Team Reps meetings with responsibility for day to day operations has worked extremely well and it is important that the management/operational distinction is clearly understood by everyone involved with decision-making at the Farm.
What are the legal duties of a Management Committee Member?
Management Committee members have a duty to:
- represent the interests of all members
- act in good faith, in the best interests of the City Farm
- avoid conflict of interests
- not use inside knowledge they gain from being on the MC for personal gain
- act with care and diligence
- not allow City Farm to enter into any debts that it may not be able to pay.
Do I receive any remuneration as a member of the Management Committee?
No. MC membership is an entirely voluntary position.
What core skills are important to NSCF’s Management Committee?
Potential MC members should be able to contribute in one or more of the following areas:
- Strategic expertise – the ability to constructively review the strategy developed by NSCF
- Accounting skill – the ability to read and comprehend City Farm’s accounts and the financial material presented to the MC, and to understand financial reporting requirements.
- Legal skill – the MC’s responsibility involves overseeing compliance with many laws.
- Managing risk – the Board must be able to manage areas of major risk to the Farm
- Managing people and achieving change – facilitation and communication skills; conflict management skills
- Knowledge of community organisations and/or sustainable business models
- Understanding of permaculture principles and practices
- Fundraising savvy to ensure the long term sustainability of the Farm
- Policy development – experience with writing and updating policy and procedures
What personal qualities should a MC member possess?
The following personal qualities are valued in City Farm MC people:
- Honesty and integrity – the MC only operates effectively if there is openness and trust between the members. MC members need to be able to raise and discuss matters in confidence in order to explore issues thoroughly and resolve them
- Courage – an MC member must have the courage to question or speak up if they believe something is not right regarding an important decision
- Respect – MC members communicate respectfully but directly
- Genuine interest in City Farm and its purpose & operations
- Be an active contributor and a team player – enjoy working with others to achieve common goals
What commitment is required of me as an MC member?
Each MC member is expected to:
- Prepare fully for MC meetings by reading all MC papers prior to the meeting.
- Attend, and actively participate in, monthly MC meetings
- Represent MC in at least one Team meeting and at least one working group per year
- Attend major NSCF events (e.g.Solstice Festivals)
- Deal with “out of session” issues, usually by email
- Apply individual skills for the benefit of NSCF as required
- Represent the City Farm to the broader community
- Actively encourage membership of NSCF
Who is eligible to become a member of the MC?
The rules for eligibility for membership of the MC are set out in Northey Street City Farm’s Constitution and the Associations Incorporations Act 1991 (ACT).
In general, the requirements are that a nominee for membership of the MC:
- Be a financial member of NSCF
- Not be bankrupt
- Not be convicted of a crime, for which the maximum punishment is imprisonment for three months or more, in the past five years
- Not have any conflicts of interest that would prevent the nominee from performing his or her duties as a member of the MC
- And of course, a nominee must have sufficient time and energy to devote to the duties and commitments of the office
How do I become a Management Committee member?
There are two ways to become a MC member:
- Be elected at the Annual General Meeting by the membership of Northey Street City Farm.
- Fill a casual vacancy at the invitation of the MC.
The MC encourages potential new members to become familiar with the membership and operation of the City Farm and its MC, in order to gain an appreciation of the duties and responsibilities of an MC member, and to understand the level of commitment involved prior to nominating for a position on the MC. Current MC members are happy to talk to potential new members about MC duties.
How do I cease being a Management Committee member?
There are several ways to cease being a member of the MC:
- Resignation
- Retirement at an Annual General Meeting
- Become ineligible by virtue of the Constitution or the Associations Incorporation Act 1991(ACT) (for example, becoming bankrupt or ceasing membership of the Association).
- The Constitution provides that any member absent from three consecutive scheduled MC meetings without leave will be deemed to have vacated his or her office.
Management Committee Role Descriptions
Coordinator
- Set agenda with secretary 1 week before meeting.
- Chair MC meetings
- Call monthly meeting or special General Meeting.
- Facilitate meetings
- Allocate time to agenda items.
- Sign documents.
- Attend monthly MC meetings and extra executive committee meetings.
- Ascertain meeting time suitable to all members.
- Induction for new MC members/ collect and distribute appropriate information.
- Receive induction from old MC coordinator
Assistant Coordinator
- Assist Coordinator as required
- Fill in if coordinator not available to do any of their responsibilities
- Assist in collection of data for induction of new MC members.
- Attend monthly MC meetings and extra executive committee meetings.
Treasurer
- Liaise with Finance Officer and Team Managers for budgets/ report from all areas.
- Help Finance Officer and Teams with allocating funds to appropriate projects.
- Financial report monthly to MC.
- Assist in preparing financial statements/ reports for auditor.
- Attend monthly MC meetings and extra executive committee meetings.
Secretary
- Draw up agenda from items submitted by members.
- Send out notice of meeting/ agenda/ meeting place/ time to all MC members a week before meeting and reports and last meetings minutes.
- Record minutes of MC meetings and extra executive committee meetings.
- Arrange for someone to take minutes if unavailable.
- Attend monthly MC meetings and extra executive committee meetings.
All Members
- Attend monthly MC meetings and any extra meetings when possible.
- Attendance of Team meetings when possible
- Prior to meeting:
- Attend your team meetings/working group meetings
- Read previous MC meeting minutes
- Notify secretary of any agenda items
- If cannot attend – notify Secretary and submit notes and comments for discussion
- Be available for inclusion on working groups / sub-committees with reports when applicable.
- Employment, personnel responsibilities:
- Assist and support the staff and performance review process
- Assist with HR requirements such as recruitment, training etc
- Provide assistance in dispute resolution
- Ensure Occupational health and safety is being addressed
- Development of employment policies.
- Finance – assist treasurer as required
- Planning:
- Attend & input into planning cycle meetings and forums
- Monitoring of business/sustainability plan & performance
- Funding:
- Source relevant grants
- Proof read / assist with applications
- Provide assistance to the Grants, Partnerships and Sponsors Group
- Policy and Constitution:
- Ensure familiarity with all policies and procedures and the constitution
- Assist with review of existing policies
- Assist with creation of new policies
Decision Making
The MC uses a number of documents to help guide its decision making processes:
- NSCF Constitution
- NSCF Business Overview
- NSCF 5 Year Plan and Strategic Plan
- Policies and Procedures Manual
- Team Operational Plans and monthly status reports
- Ethics and Principles of Permaculture – David Holmgren
Northey Street City Farm Inc. Constitution
nscf-rules-of-incorporation-2015vers (right-click to download)
NSCF MC Code of Conduct
code-of-conduct-for-mc (right-click to download)