Seven Committee votes can change the direction of the CFO

BCF Inc. Has a committee made up of 13 members.

Only seven votes are needed to reverse policies like:

• Ostracization
• Concentration of power
• Automatic re-election
• Nepotism

  And introduce:

• Free and fair elections allow congregants, some say.
• Independent assessments of pay conditions for Presbytery.
• Fixed terms and independent performance assessments.

Find out who’s on your committee & ask them to vote for change.

You can find out who’s on your committee by going to the ACNC website. Type in the name of your outreach, click, and go to the ‘People’ page. https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity/charities

If you don’t feel free to talk to your Committee members, ask yourself, ‘why’.

Committee members can be removed by a simple majority vote.

See page 12 of BCF’s Constitution, which says:

‘a Management Committee member may be removed from office at a meeting of the Management Committee if a majority of the Management Committee… vote in favour of removing the member.

See Clause 17(3)

The Incorporated Associations Act requires officers of the CFO to act in ‘good faith for a proper purpose’ and ‘in the best interests of the Association’.

See Section 70F to 70J of the Act: Duties of Officers

This website provides information about many of the actions of the CFO Committees.  Our online survey is used to see if, people who are familiar with the CFO, believe the Committees are acting in good faith and for proper purposes.

The CFO can be forcefully wound up

The Office of Fair Trading has the power to wind up associations which are ‘not acting in the public interest’. 

Section 91: Grounds on which winding up may be ordered

The Supreme Court may order the winding up of an

incorporated association if— 

(e) the association engages in activities inconsistent with its

objects; or 

(f) the affairs of the association are conducted in a way that

is oppressive or unfairly prejudicial to, or unfairly

discriminatory against 1 or more members or in a way

that is contrary to the interests of the members as a

whole; or 

(g) an act or omission, or proposed act or omission, by or on

behalf of the association was or would be oppressive or

unfairly prejudicial to, or unfairly discriminatory

against, 1 or more members or in a way that is contrary

to the interests of the members as a whole; or 

(i) the Supreme Court considers it just and equitable that

the incorporated association be wound up. 

91A By whom application may be made 

An application to the Supreme Court for the winding up of an

incorporated association may be made by—

(a) the incorporated association; or

(b) a member of the incorporated association; or

(c) the chief executive; or

(d) if the application is based on the ground mentioned in

section 91(c)—a creditor.

CFO assets can be transferred to another Church

If an Association is wound up by the Supreme Court, the Association’s assets are distributed to other Associations at the discretion of the Public Trustee.

Section 91: Distribution of Surplus Assets

(a) the chief executive may… vest all or any

of the… assets of the incorporated association in

the public trustee; 

Ask your committee to act before the Government steps in.

The CF organization is at a pivotal time in its history.  An opportunity to change the organization still exists.

The Committee can make these changes before government regulators take the decisions out of their hands.

If investigations by regulators reveal the need for change, the Court may order changes that go further than necessary.

Ask your committee to act before it’s too late.