Club AGMs

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) is essentially the official yearly meeting where the club reports to its members, makes key decisions, and elects leadership for the coming year. An AGM is a meeting of all the members of an incorporated association. The AGM must be held after the end of the financial year so that the financial statements can be presented to members. It must take place within 5 months of the end of your association’s financial year. A new association must hold its first AGM within 18 months of becoming incorporated.

The AGM must be run using the procedures in the association’s rules (aka constitution). Find more information about incorporated association rules.

Purpose of an AGM

A club AGM exists to review the past year, confirm the financials, elect leaders, make official decisions, and keep the organisation legally compliant and democratic. An incorporated club is required by law to run a yearly AGM.

After the AGM, a committee member must certify that they attended the AGM and that the financial statements were presented, using the Submission of financial statements to annual general meeting (Word, 24KB) form.

Information can also be found on the Consumer Affairs Victoria website - https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/clubs-and-fundraising/incorporated-associations.

Before the AGM

Set the date of your AGM well in advance, ensuring you leave adequet time to provide notification to your club membership.
Prepare the meeting agenda, nomination forms (can be done digitally), proxy voting forms (check your club's rules to see if applicable) and make any updates to position descriptions if needed.
Determine timeline for opening and closing of nominations and proxy voting (if applicable).
Determine the voting method in advance (show of hands, secret ballot, online poll), appoint an independent returning officer if appropriate.
Ensure that you know the constitution and meeting rules in advance, including confirming what your quorum is before you begin.
Provide notice of the upcoming meeting to all members as per the timelines indicated in your club's rules. This notice should also include all documentation that needs to be distributed prior to the meeting. Example wording:

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Our 2026 Annual General Meeting (AGM) will take place on Tuesday 1st December 2026 at the studio at 7:30pm.

Nominations are now open for 2027 Executive Committee. All nominations will be considered and confirmed at the AGM.

In accordance with our Rules of Association; Division 2 - 44 each year the Committee must consist of -

a) a President; and

b) a Secretary; and

c) a Treasurer; and

d) a Member Protection Information Officer; and

e) ordinary members (if any)

Following the Term of office schedule 51.2.a the following positions are declared vacant and are open to nominations for a two-year term.

- Treasurer

- Member Protection Information Officer

We welcome nominations from all who want to positively contribute to the whole club, ensuring stability and continued success on and off the stage.

Items of business will include:

- Confirmation of minutes from the 2025 AGM;

- Presentation of the club's annual reports; and

- Election and confirmation of 2027 committee members and other volunteer roles.

Please see attached:

- 2026 AGM agenda

- 2027 Position descriptions,

- nominations forms,

- 2025 AGM minutes

All club members welcome.

At the AGM

Open and close the meeting on time (no more than two hours is preferable).
The meeting chair should set the scene for respectful dialogue.
Make sure someone is responsible for taking accurate minutes, these should include who was in attendance, any decisions made and any actions arising.
Confirm minutes of the prior AGM
Present the club's annual reports including the financial report
Elect and confirm committee members and other volunteer roles for the next year (Check your club's rules to ensure that you are aware of when you can and can't accept nominations from the floor etc, when positions need to be voted on or approved via majority).
Keep things clear and concise. An AGM is not the place for long speeches; focus on key achievements, challenges and goals.

After the AGM

Make sure that the minutes are written up shortly after the meeting.
Ensure that you send any necessary documentation, for example the audited statement and change of public officer, to Consumer Affairs Victoria within 30 days.
Handover - Retiring committee members must hand over the operations to the new person, together with all documents, bank details, etc. Retiring committee members should also give their successors briefings describing key processes and current priorities and challenges.
Banking - If any retiring committee members are signatories to the club’s bank account, try to have the necessary forms on hand so that the new signatories can be authorised after the meeting.