E-Bulletin : Governance Special
This special E-Bulletin contains links to various presentations made at the Tamworth Conference, plus links to a series of Guides produced by our Governance Officer, Carmen Champion. All information should also be uploaded to our website by the end of the month.
Enjoy!
Ian Robertson
President
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Incorporated Associations
The Department of Fair Trading presented a workshop at the Tamworth Conference which provided an overview of the benefits and requirements of Incorporation, as well as the paperwork and reporting required to ensure continuing compliance with the Act.
There was also an offer of free Guest speakers for U3As on various topics.
To download the Incorporated Associations presentation click here.
For information on the Free Guest Speakers program click here.
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Constitution Template for U3As
A template for U3As to use as a Constitution (i.e. a Model Constitution) was presented at the Conference. It is specifically designed to comply with the NSW Associations Incorporation Act and Regulations (as amended) and so can be used either to replace an outdated Constitution or as a guide for amending an existing Constitution. Any new U3As will also be required to adopt this Constitution.
Every U3A must operate in accordance with its Constitution at all times and that it complies with the requirements outlined in the Commentary to the Constitution Template. It must also (through its Public Officer) make sure that its current Constitution and any subsequent amendments are recorded with NSW Department of Fair Trading.
If you are a Network member in Tasmania, WA, the ACT or the NT then this template is not for you. Please contact our Governance Officer, Carmen Champion, for further advice.
The Constitution Template can be downloaded here.
The accompanying Commentary can be downloaded here.
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Guide to Legal Duties of Committee Members
Carmen Champion's workshop at the Tamworth Conference was titled "What Makes a Successful Committee". The paper she distributed to those who attended has now been extended and is now called "Guide to Legal Duties of Committee Members".
The Guide to Legal Duties of Committee Members can be downloaded here.
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Guide to Necessary Documents and their Retention
The Guide to Necessary Documents and their Retention can be downloaded here
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Copyright and Your U3A
"THE COMPLEXITIES OF COPYRIGHT"
by Carmen Champion
I own the copyright in both the Copyright Guide and the summary you are reading! Without my specific permission neither may be copied (including by being emailed out).
The point is that there are very few things created by an individual these days that does not attract copyright. For copyright to subsist all that is required is that the work originated with the author and is not just a copy of an existing work, and that the author exercised some labour, skill and experience in its creation. The necessary labour, skill and experience is always a question of degree. In a great many cases it is minimal.
The starting point should always be to assume that what you are reading, looking at or listening to is protected by copyright (that includes works created overseas). The Copyright Guide sets out the duration of copyright in various types of works. In the case of many works the copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years so that determining whether copyright has expired is anything but easy. Many works such as films contain a variety of copyright works. Many of those copyrights may also be protected by moral rights.
As copyright is a form of property, the Government has made a number of collecting agencies responsible for ensuring that copyright owners receive royalties for the use of their works. They collect millions of dollars each year. Without the licence of one or more of these collecting agencies, the doing of any of the acts comprised in the copyright of a work is unlawful. It is a form of theft as each such act deprives the copyright owner of part of the monetary fruits of his/her labour.
Importantly, just because you own a DVD, CD or or subscribe to a service such as Spotify does not mean you can play or view the content in public (and a group of U3A members meeting together is considered to be in public). Neither does the ownership of a book or music score allow you to make copies of their content for distribution to your U3A class without the consent of the copyright owner or the relevant collecting agency.
U3As have the benefit of being treated as "educational" institutions for the purposes of of the licences granted by some of the collecting agencies. That fact alone provides significant scope for the use of copyright works for the purposes of U3As.
The Copyright Guide is simply an overview of some of the issues raised by copyright law in the context of the activities of U3As. All of the collecting agencies are more than happy to advise you on any issue that falls within their respective purview.
Carmen Champion
Governance Officer
U3A Network NSW Inc.
The Copyright Guide may be downloaded here.
(Editor's note - Carmen has given permission for this Guide to be emailed to you!)
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Presenting to a Group
A representative from the Tamworth Community College gave an excellent workshop on how to put a presentation together and deliver it to a group.
To access a copy of the Handout provided to participants in this session click here.
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Finding Committee Members: A New Approach
Bob Birrer, current Network Secretary, presented a session of finding new Committee members.
A copy of his presentation Finding Committee Members: A New Approach can be downloaded here.
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U3A Today - and Tomorrow
Ian Robertson, the Network President, gave an overview of where the U3A movement is today, along with a little bit of crystal ball gazing about the future and its challenges.
U3A Today - and Tomorrow can be downloaded here.
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Our Trademarks - What's it all about?
One session at the Conference was devoted to updating attendees on progress with protecting the U3A name, and the background to the benefits and reasoning behind Trademark registration.
For a copy of the presentation U3A: Past Present and Future (which includes the history of U3A and general information on Trademarks) click here.
For background Notes on this presentation, click here.
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