The Jewellers Association of Australia is proposing a number of changes to its Constitution – including a dramatic reduction in the number of directors on its Board.
Under the JAA’s current constitution, the Board can be made up of 5-14 directors compared with just 5-6 under the proposed constitution.
Announcing the proposed changes in a statement, JAA’s newly appointed executive director Amanda Hunt said the reduction in board members “reflects good governance and general practice in the not-for-profit sector”.
“The proposed changes will improve the governance of the JAA and create a board structure which is more reflective of the membership.
“The changes also update the Constitution to reflect recent changes to the law relating to changes arising from the introduction of the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission.”
The proposed Board structure will include:
(a) two members elected as directors;
(b) three national councillors, elected as directors (including at least one general retail member;, at least one general supplier member, and one co-opted director).
With the exception of co-opted directors, directors must all be general members or representatives of general members, and no more than one elected director shall be a representative of a buying group entity.
JAA president Selwyn Brandt added “we have worked rigorously on the changes and believe the smaller Board, combined with the introduction of the National Council will result in an improved structure for the JAA, ensuring that it can meet the challenges ahead, on behalf of the industry.”
JAA members will be asked to support the proposed changes to the Constitution at the JAA’s annual general meeting on September 1.