Notice of General Meeting

Notice is hereby given that Broadband Alliance Inc (Trading as Australian Smart Communities Association) is calling a 'General Meeting' of members on:

• Wednesday 30th October at 4pm AEDT.

• Meeting to take place online via Teams

Purpose of Meeting:
This meeting is being called after a review of the existing Charter/Model Rules which were adopted in 2016, found them to be out of date and not aligned with the current activities of the organisation.  The current ASCA board have engaged a consultant (Right Source) to assist with the process of updating the rules and the purpose of this general meeting is to put forward the following motion:

• That the updated model rules be adopted and come into immediate effect as the guiding rules for operation of Broadband Alliance Inc (trading as Australian Smart Communities Association)

All current members of ASCA are welcome to attend and have the opportunity to vote on this motion.

There are 4 attachments accompanying this meeting invitation.

• Summary of Proposed Changes to ASCA Rules – Right Source 

• ASCA Charter_Model Rules 2016 

• Proposed Change to ASCA Charter_Model Rules 2016 (Aug 2024) - Changes Tracked 

• Proposed Change to ASCA Charter_Model Rules 2016 (Aug 2024) - Clean Version 

Key Changes in the updated rules:

• Updating the 'Objects':  The 'Objects' or 'Objectives' of the organisation were established when the main purpose was to advocate for the roll out of high speed broadband internet across Australia.  This section of the rules been changed extensively to reflect the role that ASCA currently plays in supporting and promoting best practice activities in the establishment of digitally enabled smart communities.

• Updating of the 'Classes of Members':  These updates simplify the ASCA membership types with all members considered as 'Ordinary Members' with the same voting rights.  It also establishes a process for the board to be able to establish membership tiers that offer 'packages' of individual memberships to organisations without needed to update the model rules each time a change is made.  (Eg, Gold & Silver)

• Extensions of Board Member Terms:  Under the existing rules, board members are only elected on 1 year terms with all positions on the board vacated every 12 months.  The updated rules changes this to 2 year terms which will enable the board to have more stability and aim towards a rotation where only half the board up will be up for election/re-election each year.

There are some additional comments about minor rule changes in the 'Summary of Proposed Changes to ASCA Rules - Right Source' document.

To confirm your attendance at the General Meeting please register via Humanitix and a link for the meeting will be forwarded to you by email a day before the meeting.