Page 1884 - Week 05 - Thursday, 5 May 2011
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purpose. Typically, these entities play a significant role in the governance of a club and assist in protecting a club’s original purpose and objects. Due to the influence of an associated organisation in a club’s operations the government acknowledges that there need to be some further safeguards to ensure that associated organisations continue to be a benefit to the relevant club and do not have an undue influence.
For this reason, the bill proposes that at least 25 per cent of a club’s board must be elected by members; associated organisations can appoint directors but they are not allowed to remove directors on a club board; and associated organisations can have their status as an associated organisation suspended or revoked by the commission if they cease to satisfy the requirements that had to be met for their initial declaration.
The bill also requires club directors to act in the best interests of the club when exercising their duties. While this fundamental duty is already codified in Corporations Law and exists in common law it does not exist in the current Gaming Machine Act and therefore is not subject to local regulatory scrutiny. As noted in the commission’s review report, up until now there have been no specific provisions in the act that require individual directors to carry out their duties in accordance with accepted community standards while directors of a club board.
This bill will ensure that all club directors, regardless of whether or not the club is federally incorporated, are bound by this important duty. Its placement in the Gaming Machine Act also ensures that the ACT Gambling and Racing Commission is able to monitor the situation of all clubs and take enforcement action if necessary.
Important amendments are made by this bill to ensure that club constitutions are consistent with the provisions in the gaming laws, including the Gaming Machine Act and the mandatory code of practice. These amendments will provide specific power to the commission to require a change to a club’s constitution where it is inconsistent with the gaming laws, which will assist to prevent a club from inadvertently breaching the legislation.
This bill introduces some enhancements to the club eligibility requirements by adding that a corporation, based on an auditor’s opinion, must be able to pay all its debts as and when they become due and payable. This provision adds a level of consumer protection to ensure that patrons receive winnings when they are payable as well as protecting staff and other businesses that have money owing to them. This amendment provides appropriate provisions for the local regulator to take into account when considering club eligibility.
In addition to these more significant amendments the bill makes a number of smaller amendments to clarify and enhance existing governance provisions, including some of the disclosure requirements in clubs’ annual reports.
Finally, the bill includes some amendments to the community contributions scheme to continue recognition of clubs’ contributions to problem gambling assistance. Following the establishment of the Problem Gambling Assistance Fund under the provisions of the Gaming Machine Act which are due to commence on 1 July 2011, the industry requested that payments to the fund be recognised as community contributions. The proposed amendment will allow licensees to claim payments to the
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