Science Party Constitution

Version accepted at the Science Party Annual General Meeting on 25th November 2021.

1. Party aims and beliefs

The Science Party believes the quality of life of the human race is improved primarily through technological developments, sourced through a scientific approach to knowledge in the context of democracy and peace.

The Science Party believes our economy and our society should be structured so as to maximise the development and adoption of technology wherever it is advantageous and safe to do so.

The Science Party's goal is to help make Australia an advanced, technologically superior country with a high quality of life for all its citizens and residents.

The Science Party aims to achieve this and other secondary goals by influencing the policies of the executive and legislative branches of government in Australia. This will include endorsing candidates for Senate and House of Representatives elections, who will where elected to office work to further the ideas and values of the Science Party.

2. Name

The Party shall be named "Science Party". The Party will have the abbreviation of "Science". It shall also be known as "Science Party of Australia" and "Science Party". In this Constitution, "the Party" will also refer to "Science Party".

3. Members

3.1. Membership definition and eligibility

The Party shall be a voluntary association of people, referred to throughout this Constitution as "members" or "Party members".

Any permanent resident or citizen of Australia who is not a current member of any other federally registered Australian political Party is eligible to become a member of the Party.

3.2. Membership requirements and procedures

Members will be required to have current financial status within the Party. Financial status shall be subject to payment of membership fees and shall last 12 months. The fees for membership shall be determined by the Treasurer, with changes subject to veto by the Executive, and shall be recorded in Schedule A, to be maintained by the Treasurer.&

All memberships (past and future) shall be dated from the date of application for membership. The Secretary shall be responsible for maintaining all records and implementing all procedures pertaining to Party membership.

No further requirements beyond those detailed in this clause and the preceding one shall be put on membership. Currently financial members shall not be required to make further payments when membership rates change.

3.3. Rights of members

Members shall have the rights to:

Receive Party announcements and other non-private internal communications; and,
Have access to Party financial records, and other official documents, including this Constitution; and,
Attend General Meetings, either at the primary venue or, where deemed appropriate by the Executive, from secondary venues via technological means; and,
Put forward motions at Party meetings, and proposals for Party ballots; and,
Act as office bearers of the Party, where so appointed.

Members whose financial status lapses shall cease to be members until such time as they renew their financial status.

3.4. Probationary status

A member joining the Party shall at the time of their joining have probationary status. Such members shall be referred to as "probationary members" while members without such status shall be referred to as "full members".

A Party member shall cease to have probationary status:

When they have been a Party member for eight weeks; or,
Immediately after attending a General Meeting ; or,
If the Executive grants them full membership.

Full members shall have the additional rights to:

Vote at General Meetings and in ballots; and,
Nominate candidates for positions on the Party Executive ("Executive candidates") and the Party's electoral tickets ("electoral candidates"); and,
Run as an Executive or electoral candidate.

3.5. Termination of membership

Members of the Party may voluntarily request at any time in writing that their membership be terminated by the Secretary. Membership shall also be terminated whenever a member ceases to be eligible according to the terms of clause 3.1. Paid members will not have their membership fee refunded in either of these circumstances.

The Executive may decide to expel, permanently or temporarily, any member of the Party, at its sole discretion. Paid members expelled in this fashion shall have their membership fee refunded, calculated as the amount they paid prorated by the remaining period of paid membership, according to a formula described in Schedule A.

Party membership may not be terminated in any way other than those described in this clause.

3.6. Threshold groups

A "threshold group of members" or "threshold group", as referred to elsewhere in this Constitution, shall be defined to be five (5) percent of Party members or 100 Party members, whichever is smaller, with a minimum of 5 people.

Except where otherwise specified, a threshold group must consist exclusively of full members.

3.7. Residence

Members may enjoy certain rights and privileges under this Constitution which depend upon their ordinary place of residence. This shall be taken by Party officers to be the member's address as recorded in the membership roll.

Party members shall make reasonable efforts to update the Secretary of any changes of their address. From time to time, or in the event of any dispute over a member's exercise of a right or privilege based on their residence, the Secretary shall determine a member's address by reference to the Commonwealth Electoral Roll.

A member with no fixed address may choose to nominate a single given address to be their ordinary place of residence for Party purposes, by informing the Secretary of such in writing. Such an address may be chosen arbitrarily by the member, provided only that it corresponds to an actual street address in Australia. Once chosen, the member may not subsequently change the nominated address; their membership record shall only be updated where they come to reside at a fixed address.

4. Voting

4.1. Purpose and function of votes

The Party shall strive to come to a broad consensus in matters of overarching governance, strategy and policy. Where consensus is not clear, key decisions shall be resolved by votes of the membership, or by certain subsets of the membership such as the Executive, as described throughout this Constitution.

Votes may be conducted at Party meetings, on any motion raised at the meeting. Votes at meetings shall be open and by acclamation, unless a member requests a secret ballot, in which case the chair of the meeting shall arrange one. People may vote "yes", "no", or "abstain" on any motion at a meeting. The mechanics of the elections of candidates to positions within the Party are further described in the sections of this Constitution that deal with those elections.

The Party may also conduct votes outside of a meeting, referred to in this Constitution as "ballots". Ballots of the entire membership will be organised by the Party Secretary. Ballots may be conducted by post, or electronically. Voting will not be compulsory. The Secretary shall act as the returning officer or appoint a member of the Party to do so.

Where this Constitution refers to "votes" it will be taken to mean both votes at meetings and ballots, unless otherwise specified. Proxy voting is not allowed for any type of vote.

4.2. Resolution of votes

Votes with binary outcomes will be decided by simple majority of votes cast. Votes with more than two outcomes (for instance, Executive elections that are contested by three or more tickets) shall be decided by a preferential mechanism, to be determined by the Party Executive, and recorded in Schedule C by the Director.

Changes to Schedule C must be published before taking effect. The published version of Schedule C in force at the time of the meeting (for a vote at a meeting) or the formal announcement of the ballot (for a vote by ballot) shall be the one applied for that vote.

4.3. General votes

Votes put to the entire voting membership of the Party are referred to as "general votes". General votes must give all members a reasonable chance to participate.

All general votes conducted by ballot must be formally announced by the Secretary, and a minimum of 7 days, or the minimum required under the law for the motion - whichever is longer - must pass between this announcement and the close of the ballot. Furthermore, prior to the Secretary's formal announcement of the ballot, the proposal must be published and members given a chance to discuss and suggest amendments, for a period no shorter than two days.

Only people who are full members at the time the ballot or the General Meeting is formally announced by the Secretary may participate in the vote.

4.4. Motions

Rules governing various types of motion that may be put to a vote, such as amendments to the Constitution, are detailed throughout this Constitution. Other motions falling outside the types described by the Constitution may be put to a vote; however, such motions have no effect with regards to any matter explicitly governed by the Constitution. For instance, a motion may be passed by general vote to censure the Executive; however, a motion cannot force a change to Party policy due to section 8, nor can a motion force the removal or instalment of a Party office bearer, due to section 9.

Motions may have further conditions attached on their taking effect subsequent to passing a vote. For instance, a motion could include provisos that it may only take effect should a separate motion be passed, or after a certain date.

4.5. Vote outcomes

Where not otherwise specified, votes take effect according to this clause.

Votes passed at meetings take effect immediately.

Ballots take effect when the results are announced by the Secretary, which shall be done within one day after the close of voting for the ballot.

4.6. Conduct of elections

If the Secretary joins a ticket contesting an Executive or candidate election, a member of any other ticket may request that the Secretary recuse themselves from the conduct of the election. In this case the Secretary's role for the purposes of the election shall be performed by the next most senior available office bearer not contesting the election. If no such office bearer is available, the Executive shall appoint a full member of the Party who is not contesting the election to perform the role.

5. The Executive

5.1. Role of the Executive

The Federal Executive of the Party, referred to as "the Federal Executive" or just "the Executive", is the Party's supreme decision making body. The Executive has a wide range of powers, which are described throughout this Constitution.

5.2. Composition of the Executive

The Executive is to be comprised of:

The Party Federal Leader, referred to in this Constitution variously as the "Party Leader", "Federal Leader", or simply "Leader"; and,
The Party Federal Deputy, referred to in this Constitution variously as the "Party Deputy Leader", "Federal Deputy Leader", or simply "Deputy Leader"; and,
Five Regular Members of the Executive (abbreviated as "RME"); and,
Party members who are members of the House of Representatives; and,
Party members who are members of the Senate

RMEs are permitted to additionally hold office bearing positions, as listed in the Constitution, and to be Party candidates for parliamentary office. Where a Regular Member of the Executive is elected as a member of the House of Representatives or the Senate, their position as RME shall become vacant.

5.3. Decisions of the Executive

Decisions of the Executive will be determined by a vote. Votes will require a simple majority to pass, except for matters where this Constitution specifically provides otherwise. Where decisions in the Executive result in a tie for the vote, the Leader, or a member of the Executive they nominate, will decide whether the vote passes or not.

A person who is elected as both a member of the Executive and as a member of parliament only holds a single vote in the Executive.

5.4. Overturning and appealing decisions of the Executive

Any decisions of the Executive may be overturned by a subsequent decision of the Executive.

The Executive may elect to hear any appeal of any Party member against any previous decision. The decisions of the Executive that conform to this Constitution and the laws governing this Constitution may not be overruled or appealed by any means other than those specified in this clause.

5.5. Election of Party Leader, Party Deputy Leader and Regular Members of the Executive

The Party Leader, Party Deputy Leader and RMEs of the Party are elected by a general vote, referred to as an "Executive election." Members vote for their chosen ticket. A ticket is comprised of 7 people standing for the Executive, one of whom is the proposed Leader, one of whom is the proposed Deputy Leader, and the other five of whom are proposed RMEs.

5.6. Casual vacancies in the Executive

If at any time there are one or more RME positions vacant, these positions shall be filled with members chosen by the Executive. However, a new Executive election must be held if:

any RME or the Leader or the Deputy Leader is expelled from the party under clause 3.5; or,
more than three RMEs resign in any 12 month period; or,
the Leader or the Deputy Leader resigns.

Current and former members of the Executive are allowed to run in these elections, providing they are still members of the party.

5.7. Changing the Party leadership

Besides elections triggered under clause 5.6., there are two further ways by which a new Executive election may occur:

If two current members of the Executive endorse a ticket to stand as Executive candidates. This ticket may or may not include the endorsing Executive members; or,
If a threshold group of members endorses a ticket to stand as Executive candidates.

In either case, the members endorsing the ticket must inform the Secretary, who must then organise a new Executive election. The election must be formally announced by the Secretary within one day of being informed by the endorsing members.

5.8. Process of Executive elections conducted by ballot

After the formal announcement of the election, nominations shall be open to additional tickets for one week. Once nominations have closed, the list of tickets shall be published by the Secretary and voting shall commence. Voting shall end one week after the close of nominations. No new elections can be triggered under section 5.7 between the formal announcement of the vote and six weeks after voting closes.

5.9. Caretaker period

At the time the Secretary is informed:

By a member of the Executive or the Party Leader of their resignation that leads to an election clause 5.6.; or,
Of the endorsement of a ticket that leads to an election under clause 5.7,

the Executive shall enter caretaker mode.

While the Executive is in caretaker mode:

No changes may be made to any Schedules of the constitution, except by the Director to update Schedule B to reflect voluntary resignations of serving officers; and,
The Executive may not expel any Party members; and,
All applications to create, merge or split any branches of the Party shall be suspended; and,
The Executive may not change the Party's official policy platform.

The caretaker period ends upon the announcement by the Secretary of the new Executive as determined by the results of the election.

6. Endorsement of Federal parliamentary candidates

6.1. Endorsement of candidates for the House of Representatives

For each House of Representatives seat, the Executive shall determine whether to field a candidate.

The candidate for a seat shall then be preselected by a ballot of all Party members ordinarily resident in that electorate.

6.2. Endorsement of Senate candidates

The Executive is to decide the number of candidates to be endorsed to run on the Party's ticket for any Senate election, for each given state and territory.

The Party's ticket in a state or territory shall then be preselected by a ballot of all Party members ordinarily resident in that state or territory.

6.3. Exceptions to endorsement processes

The Federal Leader of the Party shall in a general federal election either be lead candidate for a state or territory Senate ticket, or a candidate for the House of Representatives – whichever they decide to be most appropriate.

Hence, if the Leader decides to run in the House of Representatives election, there will not be a ballot to elect that seat's candidate. If the Leader decides to run in the Senate election, the number of positions on the ticket to be decided by a vote will be reduced by one position.

If any vote to determine a candidate is participated in by fewer than 50 members, the Executive may choose to substitute the preselected candidate with a candidate appointed by the Executive's choosing. If there are fewer than 50 members eligible to vote in an upcoming preselection, the Executive may opt to instruct the Secretary not to hold a ballot for that position and instead appoint a candidate of the Executive's choosing.

6.4 Special discretionary power to select, override votes and to veto

In endorsements where the selection of candidates and/or tickets requires the vote of the membership as per sections 6.1 and 6.2, the executive may, in a limited number of electorates:

select the candidate without a vote of the membership; or
override a decision of the members resident in that electorate, in selecting a candidate; or
veto particular candidates.

This process should be the exception, and not the rule, and this provision is intended to be used sparingly. In any general federal election, the executive may select the candidate in no more than 25% of seats that must otherwise be selected by a vote of members in the event of multiple candidates nominating.

In the selection of by-election candidates, the executive is not limited in its ability to select the candidate without a vote of the membership, override the decision of a branch or veto particular candidates.

7. Branches and affiliates of the Party

7.1. Branch definition

Within the Party, members may create organised groups composed of a subset of the Party membership. In this Constitution these groups are referred to as "branches". A branch based on non-geographic criteria may alternately be referred to as a "wing", for example a youth wing.

7.2. Branch criterion

A branch must be based on a fixed set of membership criteria.

Examples: a branch may have criteria to include, for instance:

Members who live in a certain area; and/or,
Members who have a certain gender identity; and/or,
Members with a disability.

There may only be one branch for a given set of criteria.

7.3. Branch membership

A person is automatically a member of any Party branch if, and only if, they:

Are a full member of the Party; and,
Meet the branch criteria; and,
Have not chosen to opt out of the branch.

There shall be no other requirements for membership of a branch. Branches shall not have the power to add or remove their own members.

7.4. Membership lists and opting out

The Secretary shall periodically provide the committee of each branch with a list of contact details of party members who meet the criteria for and have not opted out from the branch.

If a member's details have not previously been provided to a branch, the Secretary will first inform the member of their eligibility, that their details will be forwarded, and that they may instead opt out of membership of that branch. The Secretary must wait at least one week from informing a member before forwarding their details.

The Secretary shall maintain records of members who have opted out of branches. A member may exercise their right to opt out of a branch, or opt back in to a branch previously opted out of, at any time, by contacting the Secretary in writing.

The committee of a branch shall be provided with a membership list within three weeks of the branch first being formed, and thereafter with an updated list within four weeks of each previous occasion of the list being provided.

Where a branch's criteria refers to personal details not recorded in membership records - for instance, disability status - the Secretary may contact members to ascertain their eligibility for the branch, and make a record of these details. The Secretary may also take reasonable steps from time to time to verify the accuracy of information provided by members for this purpose.

7.5. Formation

Any group of five or more members may make a written application to the Secretary to form a branch, provided they all meet the membership criteria of the proposed branch.

Once the Secretary has verified that the application is valid, they shall forward the application to the Executive for consideration. The Executive shall vote on whether to endorse the branch; they may choose not to endorse the group if they believe:

The proposed branch criteria are not in keeping with the values of the Party; or,
The proposed branch criteria are too similar to an existing branch; or,
The Party does not have the resources to administer the proposed branch.

The reason for non-endorsement shall be provided to the applicants in writing.

7.6. Record of branches

All current branches shall be listed in Schedule F of this Constitution, to be maintained by the Director. For each branch:

The branch name; and,
The branch membership criteria; and,
The date of endorsement by the Executive,

shall be recorded in the Schedule. For an informal branch, any internal rules or constitution shall also be recorded.

7.7. Governance

A branch may or may not exist as a distinct legal entity to the Party.

Where it does:

It shall be incorporated as a not-for-profit body, under the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia, or one of its states or territories; and,
The constitution of the branch must explicitly be governed by the terms of this Constitution.

A branch that is legally incorporated separately to the Party may be referred to as a "formal" branch, and likewise, all others may be referred to as "informal".

Throughout this section of the Party Constitution, the "rules" of a branch shall refer to the rules or constitution recorded in Schedule F for an informal branch, or the constitution under which the branch is incorporated for a formal branch. In either case, the branch's rules may include additional terms specifying further details of the branch's governance, provided they do not contradict this Constitution.

An application to form a new branch must detail its proposed rules, whether it is proposed to be a formal or informal branch, and, if a formal branch, the legal form in which the branch shall be incorporated.

The committee of an informal branch may move to become a formal branch. Such a motion must be approved by the Executive.

7.8. The committee

A branch shall be governed by a committee of its members. The size of the committee shall be determined by the branch's rules, subject to the requirement that at all times it shall be constituted of at least four people.

The committee shall have analogous powers for the branch as the Executive has for the Party, including the power to appoint officers of the branch for its administration. Copies of the agendas and minutes of meetings of the committee, and other important records of the branch, shall be made available by the committee to the Secretary.

All the decisions of a branch shall be made by its committee, except where the branch's rules specify otherwise - for instance, for some decisions, the branch rules may require an internal vote of branch members. Notwithstanding the means by which a decision is made under the branch's rules, any decision made by a branch may be overruled by the Executive, except where this would not be compatible with relevant legislation.

7.9. Composition of the committee

The committee for a new branch shall be determined by the application to form the branch.

Other clauses of section 7 of this Constitution may specify that members fulfilling certain requirements must be on a given branch's committee - for instance, clause 7.10.

A branch's rules may likewise specify that members fulfilling certain requirements must be on the branch's committee.

After all such requirements have been fulfilled, any additional vacancies arising on the committee must be filled by an internal election of the branch, to be organised by its officers; or by appointment of the Executive, where the Executive determines the branch does not have the capacity to conduct an election.

7.10. Geographic branches

A branch's criteria may refer to residence of a geographic area. For example, the "NSW Branch", or the "Fremantle Branch."

A Party member's eligibility for geographically defined branches shall be based on their ordinary place of residence, as defined elsewhere in this Constitution.

For any state or territory branch of the Party, any members elected to that state or territory's parliament shall sit on the committee of the branch. For any branch created for a region smaller than a state or territory, any members of the Party elected to a local council in that region shall sit on the committee of that branch.

7.11. Merger, separation and dissolution

The committee of two or more branches may each move to be merged into a single group, with branch criteria encompassing all of their current criteria. In this case the Executive shall take a vote to allow or disallow the merger.

The committee of a branch may move to be separated into two or more separate branches. In this case the Executive shall consider each proposed new branch as if it were a separate application. If each of the proposed new branches is endorsed, the separation shall occur; if one or more of the branches is not endorsed, the entire separation is rejected.

The committee of a branch may move to dissolve the branch. A branch's rules may specify further conditions for the branch to be dissolved in addition to the vote of the committee. Once all such conditions are met, The Executive must vote to approve or reject the branch's dissolution.

7.12. Branch policy

A branch may have policies on areas that are:

Not covered by the Party platform; and,
Specifically relevant to the members of that branch.

For instance, a Victorian Branch may have policies specific to Victorian State politics; a women's wing may have policies that pertain specifically to women's rights. Such policies shall not contradict the values or the policy platform of the Party. Wherever a contradiction between the Party's platform and the policies of a branch arises, the latter shall be void.

7.13. Finances

The Executive may at its discretion authorise the transfer of funds from the consolidated accounts of the Party, to any of its branches.

In addition to any requirements under the internal rules of branches, and any applicable legislation, the Executive may choose to place additional restrictions on the financial structure and governance of any Party branches. Any such rules will be recorded by the Treasurer in Schedule G of this Constitution. Schedule G shall be changed only by the Executive.

7.14. Affiliated groups

In addition to party branches, the Executive may decide to allow other groups to affiliate with the party, such as clubs, societies, and so on, referred to hereafter as affiliates. Affiliates shall not be considered party branches, and shall not be subject to the other clauses of this Constitution pertaining to branches.

Affiliates' name, date of affiliation, and relevant contact information where applicable, shall be recorded in Schedule F.

At the time of affiliation, the Executive and affiliate shall agree to:

The terms under which an affiliate may use the Party materials liable to establish the appearance of a connection between the organisations, such as the Party name or logo; and
The privileges, if any, that shall be enjoyed by Party members within the affiliate, and affiliate members within the Party.

and this agreement shall be published by the Director.

Where applicable, copies of the minutes of all meetings of the affiliate, and of its governing body (such as a board, committee, etc), shall be forwarded to the Secretary.

The Executive may decide to end an affiliation agreement at any time.

8. Policy

The policy of the Federal Party is to be determined by the Executive of the Party. The Executive may at its discretion decide to hold membership ballots and general membership meetings to inform policy decisions, and otherwise engage the Party membership in the process of determining Party policy; the outcomes of any such processes are non-binding.

9. Office bearers

9.1. Role of office bearers

The administration of the Party shall be managed by office bearers, also referred to as “office holders”, “officers", or “Party officers”.

The “main office holders” shall be the Party Leader, as described in section 5, and the Secretary, Treasurer and Director, who shall be appointed by the Executive.

9.2. Secretary

The Secretary is responsible for the overall administration of the Party. This includes, but is not limited to:

The Party's correspondence, including all official correspondence with the AEC and with Fair Trading NSW, except where otherwise noted.
Organisation of Party ballots and meetings, as described throughout this constitution
Party membership, including maintenance of the membership roll as well as other duties as described throughout this Constitution.
Management of all matters not assigned to any other officer.

9.3. Treasurer

The Treasurer is responsible for all financial administration within the Party, including but not limited to:

Maintenance of the financial accounts of the Party.
Ensuring that the Party has sufficient funds to pay all outstanding debts and has sufficient funds to continue its operation.
Notifying the Leader and Executive if the Party has insufficient funds to continue.
Maintenance of all tax records, and all correspondence with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), including submission of tax returns.
Creating both recurrent operational budgets and budgets for election campaigns.
Lodging annual financial disclosure returns.

9.4. Director

The Director shall assist the Secretary with the overall administration of the Party, as agreed between the Secretary and Director.

The Director shall be the Party's Registered Officer. As such they shall:

Be the main contact with the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) for the details recorded on the Register of Parties.
Officially nominate candidates for the Party with the AEC.
Correspond with the AEC regarding the Party's official name, logo and abbreviation as it appears on ballot papers and other official materials.
Where appropriate, appoint the Party's Deputy Registered Officers.

9.5. Other office bearers

The main office bearers, with the consent of the Executive, may delegate some of their duties to other office bearers, referred to also as "secondary office bearers", or "auxiliary office bearers". The Executive may also appoint secondary officers, reporting directly to the Executive, to administer other areas as they see fit. All such appointments must be consistent with the Electoral Act 1918 (Commonwealth). The titles, duties and seniority of these offices, and the names of the current holders of all offices, shall be recorded in Schedule B, to be maintained by the Director.

10. Party meetings

10.1. General Meeting

A "General Meeting" means either an Annual General Meeting or Special General Meeting.

10.2. Annual General Meeting

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) must be held every year in the month of November.

10.3. Special General Meeting

A Special General Meeting (SGM) may be called at any time by the Executive.

10.4. Quorum

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) or Special General Meeting (SGM) must be formally announced to all members at least 21 days in advance by the Secretary.

All members who confirm their attendance at least one week in advance must be allowed to attend. A quorum is 4 full members.

10.5 Meeting venues

General Meetings shall take place at venues to be organised by the Secretary. The venues must have sufficient capacity to host all members who wish to attend. Meetings of branches within the Party shall be organised by those groups. A meeting shall be allowed to take place at more than one venue using appropriate technology as determined by the Executive, provided that all attending members have a reasonable chance to participate in the meeting.

10.6. Presiding member

The Secretary is to preside as chairperson, or appoint another officer to do so, at each General Meeting. If the Secretary or appointed officer are unwilling to act, the members present must elect one of their number to preside as chairperson at the meeting.

11. Incorporation

11.1. Incorporated Association

The Party shall be an Incorporated Association, under the terms of the Associations Incorporation Act 2009 (NSW), referred to throughout this section as "The Act".

11.2. Financial year

The party's financial year shall be determined by the Treasurer, with changes subject to to the veto of the Executive, and recorded by the Treasurer in Schedule D of this Constitution.

11.3. Not-for-profit

The Party shall be a not-for-profit organisation.

11.4. Model Constitution

On any matters not dealt with explicitly by this Constitution, the provisions of the Model Constitution, as defined by The Act, shall be applied.

11.5. Clarification of roles under The Act

The Executive shall record and maintain in Schedule E the roles of the Party's officers, rules, branches, mechanisms, and so forth, with respect to The Act. At a minimum, Schedule E shall define the Party's Public Officer and Authorised Signatories for the purposes of The Act.

11.6. Clarification of votes and voting procedures under The Act

The Party shall not use Resolutions or the associated voting mechanisms as specified under The Act to determine Party matters, except to the extent The Act explicitly requires it - for instance, the use of a Special Resolution to modify this Constitution.

Special resolutions may be used to pass the application to the Director-General for registration of a change to the Party's name, objects or Constitution. Special resolutions may be passed at a General Meeting or by ballot. Notice required for a special resolution is determined by The Act.

In all cases the methods for conducting votes in the Party, including special resolutions, shall be governed by section 4 of this Constitution and the associated schedules, to the greatest extent that is compatible with The Act.

12. The Constitution

12.1. Changing this Constitution

Changes to this Constitution can be made by passing a special resolution in accordance with the Associations Incorporation Act 2009 (NSW).

The motion proposed must have a binary outcome - that is, members must vote either for or against the proposed amendments. The full text of the new Constitution, or else a full description of the change to the text, or both, shall be published alongside the motion.

Changes to the Constitution can be proposed for vote by any full member to the Secretary. If the proposed changes are not endorsed by the Executive, the member must seek and attain the endorsement of a threshold group of members. If they seek to have the vote take place at a General Meeting, they must attain endorsement at least 21 days prior to the meeting.

Whenever a new Constitution is registered with the Director-General, an official version of the updated text shall be published by the Party, with copies to be given to the relevant authorities.

12.2. Schedules to this Constitution

This Constitution is supplemented by a number of auxiliary documents, referred to as Schedules. They are to be published alongside the Constitution. Schedules may be changed according to the rules of this Constitution that describe them. Such changes are not considered changes to the Constitution itself and clause 12.1 does not apply to them.

The current Schedules are:

Schedule A - Membership Fees
Schedule B - Office bearers
Schedule C - Preferential voting
Schedule D - Financial Year
Schedule E - Clarification of roles under the Associations Incorporation Act 2009 (NSW)
Schedule F - Listing of branches and affiliates
Schedule G - Financial governance of branches

See Schedules to the Constitution

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