Governance
Purpose of NFAW
From its inception NFAW has had two major purposes:
- ensuring that the aims and ideals of the women’s movement and its collective wisdom are handed on to new generations of women; and
- advancing and protecting the interests of Australian women in all spheres, including intellectual, cultural, political, social, economic, legal, industrial and domestic spheres.
The purposes of NFAW are set out more fully in Clause 1 of the Constitution of NFAW Ltd.
NFAW founders envisaged a feminist organisation, which would be independent of party politics, and able to function in a broadly based way forming partnerships with other women’s organisations.
Legal Structure
NFAW comprises an Association of members, and a Company limited by guarantee.
Membership of the Association is open to anyone interested and willing to pay the annual membership fee. Association members have the right to nominate 4 members to the Board of the Company. Membership of the Association is strongest in NSW, Victoria and the ACT, with small numbers in the other states and the NT.
The Company, NFAW Ltd was incorporated in 1990. The Company manages the finances and administration of NFAW, and company members comprise the Board Directors of the day, plus some founding members and previous Directors who have been invited to remain members of the company.
At its inception, there were 2 Trusts established: the Pamela Denoon Trust and the Education and Research Trust. The Pamela Denoon Trust made many grants over the 15 years of its existence to fund research, educational projects and other activities of NFAW such as the Australian women’s Archives Project. That Trust was wound up in 2005. The Education and Research Trust continues in existence, NFAW Ltd being the Trustee.
Donations to NFAW are tax deductible. NFAW Ltd is not exempt from income tax, although the Education and Research Trust is.
NFAW’s Constitution sets out its objectives (Clause 1.1, Purpose of Company); it provides for the appointment of Directors (Clause 8) and their powers and duties (Clause 9).
The Annual General meeting of NFAW Ltd is usually held in November of each year.
The Board of NFAW Ltd.
Currently the Constitution provides for not less than 3 nor more than 12 Directors. 8 Directors are elected by the company, and 4 nominated by the Association.
At each AGM one third of Elected Directors, and any other Director who has held office for 3 years or more since last being elected, must retire from office. Elected Directors can stand for re-election two times consecutively, but not more than two times unless the Company at a general meeting first approves the further term.
Nominated Directors hold office for 3 years and may not be appointed for more than two consecutive terms.
The Board of NFAW usually meets 3 times per year.
Information on current Board members is contained on this website. Efforts are made to have membership from several states, and currently (2006) there are Directors from Queensland, NSW, Victoria, SA and the ACT.
The Management Committee
The Board has appointed a management committee and authorised it to handle certain functions. The Management Committee comprises at least 3 Directors including the Treasurer and Secretary, the editor of the newsletter, representatives from the management committees of projects such as Women’s History Month and the Social Policy group.
The Management Committee oversees administrative matters such as membership, insurance, and production of newsletters. It also has a financial role, including monitoring income and approving expenditure including approving grants from preferred donor funds. It assesses applications for the establishment of preferred donor funds, and makes recommendations to the Board. (See Guidelines for establishing preferred donor funds)
In recent years when NFAW has attracted a number of grants for its projects, the Management Committee has played an important role in overseeing administration of grants.
The Management Committee meets up to 6 times per year.
Projects and their management arrangements
Current projects and main activities of NFAW are:
- Australian Women’s Archives Project (AWAP);
- National History Challenge Women's Prize; and
- Social Policy activity;
More information about each is available from this website.
In all cases, the NFAW Board identifies a management committee for each project, with a Director or former Director/ active NFAW member on each committee. In some cases projects are being undertaken in partnership with other organisations, for example the University of Melbourne is a partner in AWAP. Such partner organisations are represented on the relevant project management committees. The Board considers reports from these committees and the state of play of each project at its meetings. The Management Committee also oversees the financial progress of each project.