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Management and Administration

This section covers how ARO’s management structure operates and the roles and responsibilities of each elected position. It also describes ARO’s administrative arrangements.

Documents covered by this section of the Policy Manual include:

This section of the ARRO Policy Manual details how ARRO will communicate with its members and key stakeholders.

Documents covered by this section of the Policy Manual include:

Management Policy

Policy Statement

The Executive of ARRO, as elected by the membership, will ensure an open and transparent governance process is created to manage the business of ARRO.

Definitions

  • Executive – refers to the Executive Management Committee of ARRO as defined in the Rules of Association.

Context

The ARRO Executive has a duty to its members to ensure the affairs of the organisation are managed in a robust and transparent manner. Although the Rules of Association describe much of the mechanisms for ARRO’s management this policy articulates a number of supporting procedures to ensure transparency of the governance process.

Procedures

The following headings, down to and including ‘Responsibility’ set out how this ARRO policy will be implemented.

Committees

The ARRO Executive is made up of all elected members of ARRO. In accordance with the Rules of Association it is responsible for the management of ARRO.

In addition to the Executive Management Committee, the Rules of Association allow the formation of a General Committee. This committee may operate subject to requests from agency members and after consideration by the Executive.

The Technical Committee exists by appointment of the Executive Committee until formally incorporated into the Rules of Association.

Duties of members of the Executive

Each member of the Executive has a portfolio responsibility. The four office bearing positions of the Executive (President, Vice President, Governance & Compliance Officer and Challenge Coordinator) are determined by the general membership at the time of election. The portfolios of the remaining positions on the committee will be determined by the Executive.

Executive and Administrative Support

The Executive may seek expressions of interest from time to time to provide administrative assistance to the Executive Officer or to manage a project on behalf of the ARRO Executive. Any such assistance will be provided on a contractual or casual basis as the Executive deems necessary. The duration of the arrangement, nature of the work undertaken and the remuneration will be determined by the Executive.

Meetings of Committees

The frequency, duration and location of meetings of the committees of ARRO shall be determined by the membership of those committees. They shall be structured in a manner to allow for the availability and other commitments of all committee members.

Financial assistance for committee members attending meetings shall be in accordance with the ARRO Finance Policy.

Agendas and Minutes

The Executive Officer shall call for and prepare agenda items and papers for each meeting of each committee. As a minimum the agenda of each meeting shall consider the following items:

  • Attendance Minutes of the last meeting Action items from the previous meeting Portfolio reports from each of the members of the committee Date of the next meeting

Minutes of all ARRO meetings shall be taken during the meeting. The Executive Officer is responsible for proofing the minutes prior distribution to all members of the committee. Minutes and a summary of action items will be circulated to all committee members within 2 weeks of the conclusion of the meeting.

Each member of the committee assigned an action item is responsible for providing a report back within the agreed timeframe on progress on that action item.

Conduct of meetings

Meetings of ARRO committees will be conducted in a fair and orderly manner, having regard to the generally accepted standards for conduct of meetings and the ARRO Rules of Association. The most senior member of the Executive present will be responsible for ensuring there is a quorum present at all times while the meeting is in progress.

Wherever a policy decision is made by an ARRO committee, this will be put to the committee in the form of a properly constituted motion that is proposed and seconded by members of the committee. Those motions that are carried by the committee which result in a policy decision shall then be recorded in the ARRO policy and procedures manual.

Annual General Meeting and Reports

The process for calling and conducting the ARRO Annual General Meeting (AGM) is set out in the Rules of Association and the ARRO Administration Policy.

In preparation for the AGM each of the portfolio officers on each of the ARRO committees shall prepare a contribution toward the President’s report (or any other stand alone reports that are delivered at the AGM). This shall be coordinated by the Governance & Compliance Officer.

Responsibility

The Governance & Compliance Officer is responsible for ensuring compliance with this policy and for its regular review.

Associated Documents

Record Keeping

Minutes of all meetings of the Executive will be kept in perpetuity by the Secretary in any form deemed appropriate so long as they are retrievable.

The ARRO Policy and Procedures manual shall be maintained in perpetuity by the Governance & Compliance Officer or delegate on the ARRO web site.

Warning – Uncontrolled when printed!

The current version of this document is kept on the ARRO web site.

  • Authorised by: Governance & Compliance Officer Original issue: 8 November 2008 Current version: 15 August 2019. Review no later than: 1 December 2012
Administration Policy

Policy Statement

ARRO will fulfil its requirements to ensure it meets its statutory obligations by creating effective and efficient business practices and systems in relation to its administrative management.

Definitions

  • Public Officer – a nominated financial member of ARRO who resides in Victoria and whose details are registered with the Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV). This person has a legal responsibility for ensuring ARRO complies with all statutory obligations. For details of the person fulfilling the role of Public Officer, contact the ARRO Executive Officer. ARRO financial year – a 12 month period commencing on 1 March and ending on the last day of February each year.

Context

ARRO has obligations under various pieces of legislation in relation to how it reports activity and maintains records. This policy articulates how these obligations will be fulfilled. Specifically ARRO must achieve the following:

  • Statutory obligations – In accordance with the requirements of the Associations Incorporation Act (Vic) 1981 and its Rules of Association, ARRO will prepare and submit to CAV an annual statement from the ‘Public Officer’ within one month following the conduct of the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The AGM must be held within five calendar months of the end of the ARRO financial year. Correspondence – ARRO will maintain a record of all incoming and outgoing correspondence which will be presented at Executive meetings where relevant. Information privacy – ARRO will adhere to the requirements of the Privacy Act, 2000 with respect the management of the personal information of its members. Document design and control – All ARRO documents will be published in accordance with style guide detailed in this policy.

Procedures

The following headings, down to and including ‘Responsibility’ set out how this ARRO policy will be implemented.

Annual Statement

Following the end of each ARRO financial year, CAV will forward to the Executive Officer a copy of the Annual Statement form which must be completed, signed by the Public Officer and returned to CAV with their specified fee within one month of the ARRO AGM. For more information refer to the CAV web site.

Annual General Meetings

AGMs will be held in conjunction with the annual Australasian Rescue Challenge in order to give maximum opportunity for ARRO members to attend. The date of the challenge will vary from year to year depending on local hosting arrangements. In the event that the challenge is conducted more than five months after the end of the ARRO financial year, the Executive Officer must apply to CAV for an extension of time. For more information refer to the CAV web site (address details below). The announcement of the AGM and its agenda shall be carried out by the Executive Officer in accordance with the ARRO Rules of Association.

Correspondence

All inward and out going correspondence shall be recorded in a manner determined by the Executive Officer and tabled at the next suitable Executive meeting for consideration by the committee. All out going correspondence shall be on ARRO letterhead or email template and under the signature of the President or the Executive Officer unless related to a specific committee portfolio or delegated to a specific committee member for a particular project.

Privacy

Only essential information about members shall be retained in ARRO databases. All such databases including member’s address and contact details, assessor training and activity records and registrations for participation in ARRO activities shall be password protected and managed by the specific office bearer and the Executive Officer. Any electronic back ups will be stored in a secure location and also password protected. Printed reports will generally not show personal details and should be destroyed when no longer required.

Document design and control

All ARRO documents will be prepared and maintained in accordance with the ARRO style guide. Documents retention, amendment, distribution and disposal will be in accordance with the document control section of the style guide.

Responsibility

All ARRO members are responsible for complying with this policy. Specifically the Executive Officer and Governance and Compliance Officer are responsible for ensuring all processes associated with this policy are complied with. The Executive Officer will have overall responsibility for regular review of this policy.

Associated Documents

Record Keeping

Compliance with this policy will not generate any forms or records in their own right. Copies of completed Annual Statements will be kept as part of the ARRO Secretary’s records of the business of ARRO.

Warning – Uncontrolled when printed!

The current version of this document is kept on the ARRO web site.

  • Authorised by: Exectuive Officer Original issue: 9 November 2008 Current version: 15 August 2019.  Review no later than: 1 December 2021
Executive position descriptions

ARRO has created duty statements for each of the members of the Executive Committee to clearly articulate what is expected of the incumbent in that role.

Style Guide and Document Control Policy

Policy Statement

ARRO is committed to presenting a professional image in all aspects of its business. One aspect of this is to a consistent style, format and presentation of its printed material. The purpose of this style guide is to set out how ARRO documents are to be presented.

Definitions

  • General documents – any ARRO document that does not fall into one of the categories detailed below. General documents include ARRO produced material that relates to the management of the organisation and is regularly updated, for example Challenge Rules, Challenge Management Guide and Technical Bulletins. Web documents – any document published on the web. Typically this refers to documents published as web pages, not as downloads such as general documents Correspondence – any documents addressed to a specific individual or group which bares the name of the author Minutes – records of meetings of members of ARRO Forms – internal documents used for data collection Special documents – these could be many and varied, but include promotional and membership brochures and sponsorship packages.

Context

To ensure ARRO presents a consistent and professional image at all times, all ARRO documentation will be produced to adhere to this style guide. Documents may include web pages, publications such as newsletters or technical bulletins, correspondence, invoices, forms and brochures including community information.

Procedures

The following headings, down to and including ‘Responsibility’ set out how this ARRO policy will be implemented.

Common style issues

ARRO documentation will not express personal opinions. It will not endorse or give preferences for any one brand of product. ARRO will not purport to represent the interests of another party or organisation and will not express any political views or opinions or make any derogatory or defamatory comments about any sector of the community that may be seen to bias its position as a neutral peak body across Australasia. In general terms all documentation will be expressed in the third person.

Web based documents

All web pages will be developed in a style consistent with the presentation of the remainder of the web site as that may be from time to time. Fonts, headings, layouts, content and images will all be approved by the Executive, or a delegate, prior to publication. Every effort will be made to ensure any links to other web site or uploaded documents are accurate and consistent with the ideals of ARRO and this policy.

General ARRO documentation

All general ARRO documentation shall be produced in a common format as listed in the ‘document format’ section below. Where a document is a regularly updated (e.g. Challenge rules are updated at least annually) adherence to the style requirements of the page footer is mandatory.

ARRO forms

Documents such as invoices, application forms, scoresheets and assessor guides will comply with the document format guidelines as far as is practicable to achieve their purpose, but as minimum will carry the ARRO logo in an approved form and stipulate their purpose in the title (e.g. Tax Invoice’ or ‘Medical Score Sheet’. In addition they will have a date of last review/publication as part of the footer.

Specialised ARRO documentation

All correspondence is to be presented on ARRO letterhead which is to conform to the document format details below. In general terms this is to be signed by the President or the Executive Officer unless related to a specifically delegated portfolio or project.

Format

All ARRO general documentation is to conform to the following standard format and layout wherever practical

  • Page size: A4 Margins: All 2cm, but top and bottom 2cm but this may vary to accommodate headers and footers Font: Arial 12 point Headings in text: bold and may be 14 point

Documents longer than 5 pages to include

  • Table of contents Cover page with ARRO name in full, Association number, ARRO logo, document title, version number, and last amended date. Refer to Challenge Management Guide front page example right Header with a solid black line and the document title on each page Footer to conform with the document footer guide below

Document footers

All general documents with the exception of correspondence and promotional material will be deemed controlled documents, i.e. subject to regular review and updating. As such these documents will include a footer detailing the following:

  • The statement “Warning – Uncontrolled when printed! The current version of this document is kept on the ARRO website.” Authorised by (position on ARRO Executive) Date of original issue Date of current version Date of next review Page number and number of pages (Note not required on free format web pages as the browser will automatically include them when printing)

Correspondence

Example of ARRO letterhead

  • The first page only is to be on ARRO letterhead consisting of the ARRO portrait style colour logo in the left corner ARRO in full, web site, postal address, phone numbers, email address and names of President and Executive Officer other than the first page are to be numbered in the centre of the header All correspondence is to be dated and include a relevant file reference for tracking by the Executive Officer. Signature blocks are to include the name and title of the author

Promotional and sponsorship material

No fixed format is defined for ARRO promotional and sponsorship material. However, final approval for publication rests with the Executive of ARRO.

Minutes of meetings

  • Produced on ARRO letterhead Title to include the date(s) and location of the meeting Format to comply with the general document guidelines, except that footers and table of contents are not required Pages are to be numbered Minutes to record who was present at the meeting, the gist of the overall discussion on each topic and any actions items stemming from the discussion. Action items to record, what, who and by when it is to be completed. Formal motions are to be recorded verbatim and confirmed with the proposer. Proposer, seconder and outcome to be recoded. Headings in the minutes are to reflect the agenda items discussed at the meeting.

Responsibility

Primary responsibility for adherence to this style guide rests with the Executive Officer. However, all members are required to ensure they comply with this policy. Responsibility for design and style development for specialist documentation will rest with the portfolio on the Executive responsible for the documentation).

Approval to produce and publish routine documents (e.g. general correspondence) within a portfolio rests with the member of the Executive responsible, however all new or special documents must be presented to the Executive committee for approval.

Associated Documents

Record Keeping

Compliance with this policy will not generate any forms or records in their own right, however all forms and records generated by ARRO must conform to this policy.

Warning – Uncontrolled when printed!

The current version of this document is kept on the ARRO web site.

  • Authorised by: Governance & Compliance Officer Original issue: 9 November 2008 Current version: 15 August 2019. Review no later than: 1 March 2021