Talk:Members

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Minimum number of members (mandatory section)

The Act requires an incorporated society to always have a minimum of 10 members.

A body corporate (such as another incorporated society or a registered company) is treated as equivalent to 3 individual members for the purposes of assessing the number of society members.

Types of members (optional)

Many societies have different classes of membership (with different rights within the society, and different obligations to the society). The most common classes of membership are set out here.

You can adapt this rule to suit your society's particular circumstances.

Becoming a member (mandatory section)

Consent and approval

Under the Act, a person (including a body corporate) must expressly consent to be a society member, and this requirement extends to Honorary and Life Members.

Requiring that the consent be in writing helps to avoid situations where it's not clear or it's disputed whether a person has consented to be a member.

This rule is intended to clarify how a person becomes a member and enables a society's committee to obtain essential information about prospective members.

It also makes it clear that a committee is not obliged to admit an applicant as a society member.

It is good practice (to avoid disputes) to retain every signed written consent to become a society member in a society's membership records.