Club Compliance
All Clubs must ensure that they continue to meet their basic regulatory compliance obligations under Consumer Affairs Victoria ("CAV") or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ("ASIC") as required. Clubs are also subject to FV By-Law 12 Club Compliance Policy.
Clubs' obligations include, but are not limited to, notifying FV of any proposed changes to the Constitution (see below), or proposed amalgamations with other Clubs.
FV Approved Constitutions
At the outset, Clubs must be incorporated under either the Associations Incorporation (Reform) Act 2012 (Vic) or as a company limited by guarantee under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).
Clubs are free to govern themselves in any manner they see fit, and accordingly have any Constitution and By-Laws they see fit. FV has no wish to interfere in that. However, there are some minimum clauses that must be included in a club's Constitution for it to successfully become registered to compete in FV-administered competitions. The FV does not mandate where they appear in the Constitution. They are below.
Please note the exact text is required – except for the numbering (which means the reference (in rule 2) below to ‘rule 4’ will be a reference to the actual rule number in your Constitution), and you may also refer to us as "Football Victoria" instead of "FV".
Please note also that, although the below text states that Clubs must submit to the FV any changes to their Constitutions and By-laws, this does not change the basic premise that you are free to govern your Club in any way you see fit. The FV will approve all changes that do not affect the fundamental idea that your Club is a community organisation that fields local football teams in FV competitions.
The required text is:
(In the definitions section:)
FFA means Football Federation Australia Limited (ABN 28 106 478 068) or its successor;
FV means Football Federation Victoria Inc (ABN 97 592 993 965) or its successor;
Laws of the Game means rules of the sport of football referred to in the Statutes and Regulations;
Statutes and Regulations means the statutes and regulations of Federation Internationale de Football Association in force from time to time; and
(In the main body of the document:)
1. The purposes for which the Club is established are to:
a. be the Football organisation's formal legal entity recognised by FFA and/or FV, and to comply with the constitution and by-laws of FFA and FV; and
b. organise teams to participate in competitions sanctioned by FV and/or FFA; and
c. prevent infringement of the constitution and by-laws of FFA and FV, and protect Football from abuse; and
d. co-operate with FFA, FV, and other bodies in the promotion and development of, or otherwise in relation to, football, the Statutes, the Regulations, and the Laws of the Game.
2. The Club is bound by and will observe, and must procure that each person admitted to membership agrees to be bound by and observe:
a. this Constitution; and
b. the Laws of the Game; and
c. the Statutes and Regulations and those of the By-Laws expressed to apply to or in relation to members; and
d. the Statutes and Regulations and the constitutions and by-laws of FFA and FV as enforced from time to time; and
e. the FV Codes of Behaviour and Rules of Competition, as amended from time to time; and
f. the FFA Code of Conduct, as amended from time to time,
subject always to the application of the established order of precedence set out in rule 4.
3. All members of Club teams are entitled to:
a. Club membership; and
b. vote in an election for any Club officeholders (through his or her parent or guardian if under 18).
4. In this Constitution, in the event of inconsistency between any statutes, rules, regulations, laws, policy or other governing document of a relevant body or bodies, the relevant governing document of the relevant body applies in accordance with the established order of precedence within the sport of football, from international, national, state and regional, down to local level.
5. The Club must not strike or impose any fee, subscription, or other amount on any member:
a. which relates solely or principally to the right to vote for any Club officeholder; or
b. in addition to the Club's regular membership fee, for the right of a member to vote for any Club officeholder; or
c. in any other ways disassociates the right to vote for Club officeholders from the usual rights of members whether they participate in the Club as players, administrators, official, or otherwise.
6. The Club must:
a. amend this Constitution and/or its By-laws to promptly adopt changes in the constitutions and by-laws of FFA and/or FV made from time to time to the extent that they are applicable to the Club; and
b. not otherwise amend or vary this Constitution and/or any of its By-laws without the prior written consent of FV and in accordance with the Associations Incorporation (Reform) Act 2012 (Vic).
7. Subject to applicable law, the Club must:
a. promulgate and comply with, and do everything within its power to enforce compliance with, the Statutes and Regulations and the Laws of the Game; and
b. co-operate with FFA and FV in all matters relating to the organisation of competitions, the Club's own competitions and Football in general.
If you are a Victorian Incorporated Association and wish to simply use the Model Rules contained within the Associations Incorporation Reform Regulations 2012, then for your convenience FV has put the above required clauses into the Model Rules for you. Click here to download the document. FV makes no warranties that a Victorian Incorporated Association is the right entity for your club, or that the document (other than our required clauses above) are fit for purpose. We have created this document for you as a courtesy.
National Club Accreditation Scheme (NCAS)
All Clubs must be at least 1 Star NCAS accredited prior to taking part in FV or affiliated competitions.
FFA has released a Level 2 application form for clubs seeking to be 2 Star Accredited. The form is available here: NCAS Level 2 Application Form
Resources about NCAS, including how to apply for 2 Star Accreditation, are available here: www.myfootballclub.com.au/index.php?id=52
Please contact Anuhari Mallawarachchi on 9474 1859 for more information.
Helpful Links
Consumer Affairs Victoria | www.consumer.vic.gov.au
VicSport | www.vicsport.asn.au/Association-Club-Support/Incorporation/
Not-for-Profit Law Information Hub | www.nfplaw.org.au
ASIC | www.asic.gov.au