U3A Network NSW E-Bulletin: May 2019

What a great Conference! What a stimulating three days!

This year's Conference in Tamworth was one of the best yet - excellent presentations, a wonderful venue (and tasty dining) and superb hosts in Tamworth Regional U3A.

With a deliberate focus on what may at first blush have seemed dry topics, the expert presenters cut through the verbiage and provided participants with practical information to take back to their home U3As. The keynote speakers also stimulated discussion (and some laughs), and of course, as with every Conference, it was the opportunity for sharing of ideas and the trials and the tribulations of being part of U3A that really put the icing onto the substantial cake for everyone who attended.

If you were lucky enough to be in Tamworth, you'll want to do it all again. And if you missed it, make sure you don't miss next year's Conference in Shellharbour. Put 29th April to 1st May 2020 in your diary NOW!

Ian Robertson
President

Yee..haaaaa....Some of the delighted participants at the Tamworth U3A Conference.

HATS OFF TO TAMWORTH!

by Laurene Mulcahy, Network Vice President

Congratulations to the Tamworth Regional U3A team, ably led by North West/New England Regional Representative, John Sharkey, for all your hard work in giving the member U3As in U3A Network NSW a very successful conference.
Many glowing complements have been received from attendees. The word will spread that the 2019 conference at Tamworth has set a high benchmark for the future.
It was 3 days packed with inspiring key note speakers incorporating the theme “Defy Expectation”. There were important presentations on Governance, Copyright and Trademark by our Governance Officer Carmen Champion along with valuable workshops covering topics encompassing Resources for Courses, Finding Committee Members, Legalities of Associations and Raising the Profile of you U3A to name a few.
Members who attended enjoyed sumptuous morning teas and tasty lunches and an opportunity to meet and chat with fellow members from the Northern Territory, Queensland and around New South Wales.
Hats off to those members who travelled great distance to attend this conference.

Good Governance, U3A Trade Mark & Copyright

The Australian-registered U3A trade mark is now owned by The Third Age Trust (UK), which means that the U3A Network NSW now has an obligation, as the Trust's licensee for NSW, ACT, NT and Tasmania, to ensure that good governance (i.e. complying with the law) is adhered to by all U3As in its territory. Various presentations at the Tamworth Conference on the topics of Good Governance, Copyright and what it means to have use of the trade mark were offered as part of our efforts to educate our members about these important issues.

The Trade Mark seminar dealt with the changes that must flow from the change in trade mark ownership, and heralds more engagement between the Network and individual U3As. The Third Age Trust and its lawyers are currently working on a Trade Mark User Guide which will be published as soon as it becomes available. Compliance with the Guide will be mandatory.

Other Guides dealing with aspects of good governance that are of significance to the conduct of a U3A association will also be made available. For instance, Guides have been prepared and are being finalised on issues such as the legal duties of committee members, what documents need to be retained by U3As (and for how long and for what purpose), and how to conduct both committee meetings and AGMs in a practical way. These Guides should start to become available from July. Work will also be undertaken over the next few months on a Guide for Tutors on matters both legal and general good practice.

A Guide on the complex issue of copyright and the licences currently available through the Network is already complete and will be available on our website shortly. Once published, all Guides will be reviewed as necessary – for example the Copyright Guide circulated at the Conference has already been amended to deal with a number of issues raised during the copyright seminar.

A template Constitution for U3As was made available to attendees with a detailed Commentary. New U3As will be obliged to adopt that constitution, and existing U3As are encouraged to review their own constitution, especially on the issue of who may become a member. U3A has always been an organisation that was limited to persons in their “Third Age”.

Please note that should you have an issue relating to any of the above topics, the person to contact is the Network’s Governance Officer at u3answ.governance@gmail.com.

SOME CONFERENCE NUMBERS

WHAT GREAT VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY - AND OUR THANKS TO EVERYONE INVOLVED!

NEW INSURANCES FOR YOUR U3A

At the recent Conference, those in attendance were given information about two insurances that the Network recommends every U3A take out. They are Protector/Association Liability (i.e Professional Indemnity) and Volunteer Worker Accident Insurance. The Network highly recommends all U3As take out at least Protector/Association Liability Insurance (even if not through us) as it provides cover for your volunteers (including Committee members) against most legal actions - better than getting sued and risking your house!

The Network has negotiated what we believe are very competitive premiums with our current Public Liability insurance broker, Aon.

Some points to note about the suggested insurances through Aon:

-The coverage provided by Aon's policies is specifically tailored for organisations such as ours (Not-for-Profits with lots of volunteers).

-Wherever mention is made of staff/employees, this includes volunteers (e.g Employee Fraud covers for fraud by the Treasurer etc.)

-Professional Liability cover includes the liability of both the organisation and its volunteers, so your presenters/tutors are also personally covered.

-Covers alleged bullying or harassment, sexual discrimination, unintentional defamation, unfair discipline or dismissal

-There is also free legal advice (up to 2 hours) included on any matter related to the risks insured under the Liability policy

-The Volunteer Accident policy has no age limits (except that the home help benefit is limited to 52 weeks for those over 65).

-The Home Help benefit suits our demographic because most of our volunteers are retired so cannot claim for loss of normal income.

-Volunteers are covered for accidents to and from their place of volunteering, but NOT for motor vehicle accidents (because motor vehicle insurance usually picks up on this).

-Cover at the discounted prices being offered is available to us even if only one U3A takes it up. However, with the Protector/Association Liability insurance once we get sufficient take-up (and can create a "pool" of premiums) Aon will be able to approach the underwriters for better pricing which should see a significant further drop (approx. 20-30%) in premiums.

-To help with establishing a "pool" all policies will have a common renewal date of 1st February. U3As who start their insurance on any other date will pay a pro-rated premium for their first period (subject to a minimum period of 6 months).

Premiums start from $424.60 for Association/Protector Liability, and $159.50 for Volunteer Wroker Accident insurance. If you would like more information on these insurances, please contact the Treasurer, Richard Coggan, at u3answ.treasurer@gmail.com

Who wouldn't be worried about a "brute force attack"? But should you be concerned about a quiet afternoon's "phishing"?

To help you find out, you should read the latest on Cyber Security published by Not-For-Profit Law Centre, part of Justice Connect.
This handy guide not only explains the terminology, but can help you and your U3A understand:

You can access the Guide here now.

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Until the next E-Bulletin,
All the best,

Ian Robertson
President
U3A Network NSW

E-Bulletin : May 2019