Governance
SLAQ Executive and Council
The affairs of SLAQ Inc. are governed by the constitution and legislation outlined by the Office of Fair Trading for an Incorporated Body in Queensland. The office bearers of SLAQ who have the responsibility for the conduct of the association on behalf of the members are elected at the Annual General Meeting in March of each year. Any financial member is entitled to nominate for a position as an office bearer or a state councillor.
There are two levels of decision making in the association:
- The day-to-day running of the association is carried out by the Executive who meet on a regular basis, usually two weeks before a scheduled Council meeting.
- The main decision-making body is the Council comprised of the elected Office Bearers and thirteen Councillors from across the state. The Council meets six times per annum by teleconference or email. Any financial member is entitled to attend at a teleconference site as an observer but only the elected Councillor has voting rights at a council meeting.
SLAQ Subcommittees
The Subcommittees are not entities in themselves. They are part of the main body of SLAQ Inc and are subject to the constitution of the state body and to the legislative regulations set out by the Office of Fair Trading.
The formation of a subcommittee is a voluntary action by a group of people who are willing to accept the responsibility for initiating activities that promote the aims and objectives of SLAQ. Subcommittees provide opportunities for professional development to colleagues, appropriate to local needs. There are currently eight subcommittees operating across Queensland.
Subcommittees:
- receive a start-up fund of $500 from the state association
- elect their own decision-making body
- maintain their own financial records that are required to be audited annually and a copy deposited with the state association.
- are required to submit quarterly returns to the state association for GST purposes
- have no assets other than a bank account and return uncommitted surplus funds over $1000 to the state association.
Subcommittee presidents receive Council papers as a matter of courtesy and are welcome to attend Council meetings but do not have a vote on Council. The vote resides with the local elected Councillor.
ASLA - the national association
The Australian School Library Association Inc. (ASLA) is the national authority and the peak forum in the field of teacher librarianship and school library resource services in Australia. It is an incorporated association comprised of member associations and administered by a Council comprised of representatives from each member association. SLAQ is collectively represented on ASLA by three members elected from its own Council.
ASLA is funded by an annual levy on each contributing state or territory of a capitation fee per member based on the financial membership of the state or territory. In addition, an amount for each financial state or territory member is paid for the production of the national journal Access. These amounts are paid from the membership fees collected by the state and territory associations.
Last updated 19 April 2008
