All clubs need an approved Constitution
All Parent Clubs must ensure they have a Ministerially approved constitution, which is consistent with the current Education Regulations .
Old Constitutions are no longer valid
If your Constitution has not been updated since 2019, then it is no longer valid.
We know that there are thriving and well-organised Parent Clubs that are not formally recognised by the Education Department because they have not updated their Constitution since 2019 – see below.
If you’re not sure whether your Club has an approved constitution, contact the Department’s School Operations and Governance Unit via email, or contact the Parents Victoria office.
Why does it matter?
There are many benefits of formal recognition as a Parent Club by the Education Department. See our Toolkit for full details.
2019 Model Constitution
All clubs must adopt the Department’s Model Constitution. A new Model Constitution was published in Term 2, 2019 and supersedes the previous Constitution.
You can download the 2019 Model Constitution from the Education Department’s Policy and Advisory Library, along with supporting documents to guide you through adopting or changing it.
The Model Constitution details the aims and objectives of the club, who can be members, when the AGM is held, how many members are needed for a quorum, how the finances will be managed, which office bearers need to be elected and many other rules that govern how your Parent Club is managed.
Elements of the Model Constitution
This is a summary of some of the elements found in the Model Parents Club Constitution provided by the Education Department.
Objectives
A Parent Club has no formally prescribed powers or duties. In determining its objectives, interim committee members should note that such objectives cannot be inconsistent with the powers accorded to and duties of a school council. Within this context, a parents’ club complements the role of the school council and its subcommittee arrangements.
Membership
All parents and guardians of students at the school, and other interested individuals of the immediate school community, are eligible to become members of the Parent Club.
Membership is on a registration basis, individuals no longer have to pay a registration fee to be members of the Parent Club.
The secretary should maintain a register of the names and addresses of members.
Office bearers
The Model Constitution provides that a club will have as a minimum number of office bearers a president, secretary and treasurer.
It also sets out:
- Who is eligible to stand for an office bearer position
- The procedure for election of office bearers at the club’s AGM
- How to fill a casual vacancy
- The procedure for removal of an office bearer
Meetings
The Model Constitution provides for monthly general meetings of the club, but also states that members can vote to change that schedule.
It also sets out:
- Rules for notifying members of meetings
- Rules for voting at meetings.
- Quorum requirements
- Requirements for the Annual General Meeting
- Requirements for calling an Extraordinary Meeting
Conflict of interest
What to do if a member has a conflict of interest relating to club activities under discussion at a meeting.
Finances and fundraising
Rules relating to financial record keeping and fundraising activities.
Club records
The Model Constitution provides that all minute books, correspondence, annual financial statements, expenditure vouchers and other documents of the club will be the property of the Minister, and will be made available to officers authorised by the Secretary of the Education Department. All such records not in current use will be filed in the school building with other school records.
There are a number of changes to the new Model Constitution introduced in 2019, which aim to support the improved operations of Parent Clubs. These include:
- A change in the method of membership of the Parent Club. The previous Constitution required parents to become Financial Members of the Club. Financial Membership has now been changed to ‘Registered Membership’. The Registration Form is at Schedule 1 of the Constitution
- An additional section addressing Parent Club values. These are in line with the Department’s values
- The requirement for a quorum is now prescribed as ‘a minimum of 3 members’
- Clubs are encouraged to devise their own standing orders, dispute resolution process or code of conduct
- A requirement for Clubs to comply with Victorian privacy law and the Schools’ Privacy Policy
- The stipulation that Parent Clubs are not permitted to incorporate.
Download Constitution and supporting documents
You can download the 2019 Model Constitution from the Department of Education website.
The Department has also provided a Guide to the Constitution and an Instruction Sheet to help you fill in the Constitution and have it approved.
All these documents can be downloaded from the Department’s Policy and Advisory Library.
Adopting the Constitution – new clubs
Adopting the Constitution – existing clubs
- Download the 2019 Model Constitution, the Guide and Instruction Sheet from the Policy and Advisory Library.
- Replace the ‘placeholders’ in the Model Constitution with the date of your AGM and the name of your club (see below for more information on what you can name your club in the Constitution – there are strict rules on this).
- Circulate the Constitution to your membership at least a month in advance of the meeting where you’ll vote to adopt it.
- Vote to adopt the Constitution at a regular meeting of the club or the AGM. The Constitution must be adopted (or rejected) as is – no amendments are permitted.
- Send the Constitution for approval to the Education Department’s School Operations and Governance Unit at community.stakeholders@education.vic.gov.au (Please send in Word format, not PDF.)
See the Department’s Operational Requirements page for more information, (scroll down to heading “Updating the Constitution”.
Naming your club in the Constitution
The formal name of the club, as shown in the Constitution, must follow the pattern {Name of school} Parents’ {Club or Association}. Any other name (such as Friends of {Name of school}) will not be accepted by the Department.
If your club is already known by another name, e.g. Friends of {Name of school}, that’s fine, you can use that as your local name.
If the parent club wanted to formally document the locally known name of the Club, it could do so by developing its own standing orders and including the club local name – see Point 14 in the Guide to the 2019 Model Parent Club Constitution.
Changing your Constitution
If you have already adopted the 2019 Constitution, you can make limited changes to it:
- If your club changes its name, you can update the Constitution to reflect that change. This could only happen if the school changes its name, or you wish to change from Parents’ Club to Parents’ Association, or vice versa. See the section above about naming of clubs.
(a vote to change the club’s name can be taken at a General Meeting). - If your club changes the month of its AGM, you can update the Constitution to reflect that change
(a vote to change the AGM month can be taken at a General Meeting). - If a new Model Constitution is published by the Education Department, all clubs are required to adopt the new version.
Changes to an approved constitution, as specified above:
- May be made at a Club’s AGM or regular (i.e. monthly) General Meeting
- Must be circulated to all registered members at least one month prior to the AGM or General Meeting that the changes will be voted on
- Must be submitted to the Education Department for ministerial approval. Send to the Department’s School Operations and Governance Unit at community.stakeholders@education.vic.gov.au (Please send in Word format, not PDF.)
At the AGM or General Meeting, changes to the constitution must be voted on and accepted or rejected as written – no amendments are permitted.
Parent Clubs are encouraged to review their Constitution annually, and when required, to update their Constitution to ensure consistency with the current Model.
Standing orders
Clubs may choose to create their own standing orders and meeting procedures unique to their club. However, they must not conflict with the Model Constitution. Standing orders may include, for example, a dispute resolution process or a code of conduct.
