Committee: shared legal duties

This guide is for anyone on a Queensland croquet club committee. It is the one place on ClubHub that sets out the four officer duties in full. The president, treasurer and secretary carry these duties plus the extra jobs of their role.

How clubs do it

1. A member with a personal interest in an agenda item declares it when the item comes up.
2. The member leaves the room while the committee discusses it.
3. The member does not vote on it, and comes back once the decision is made.
4. The minutes record who declared, what the interest was, that they left and did not vote, and the outcome.
5. The interest is declared again at the next general meeting and recorded in those minutes.

These are the conflict-of-interest steps clubs commonly follow, based on ss.70B and 70C of the Act.

Who the duties apply to

The duties cover everyone on the management committee: the president, the treasurer, any vice president and other elected members. A secretary appointed from outside the committee is not a committee member (Model Rules r.15). The secretary's own jobs are in Secretary: records and meetings.

The four officer duties

The duties were added to the Act by the Associations Incorporation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020. They are modelled on the duties of company directors.

1. Care and diligence (s.70E). An officer acts with the care a reasonable person would use in that position. Staying informed and reading the papers are part of this.

2. Good faith (s.70F). Powers are used in good faith, in the club's best interests and for a proper purpose.

3. No misuse of position or information (ss.70G, 70H). An officer does not use the role, or what they learn in it, to gain an advantage or to harm the club or a member.

4. No insolvent trading (s.70I). When an officer has reason to believe the club cannot pay its debts as they fall due, the Act says they do not vote to take on new debts.

Relying on advice (s.70J). Relying in good faith on advice from a qualified person, such as an accountant or lawyer, is a recognised protection. It is not a fifth duty.

Who cannot serve

Under s.61A, a person cannot be on the committee if they:

• have been convicted of an indictable offence, or convicted summarily and jailed (other than for not paying a fine), and the rehabilitation period has not ended;
• are an undischarged bankrupt; or
• have a deed of arrangement or a composition with creditors not yet fully met.

Schedule 2 of the Act sets the rehabilitation period at 5 years, from conviction, release from prison or meeting a court order, whichever ends latest.

Conflict of interest penalties

At 2026/27 rates:

• Not declaring at a committee meeting: up to 60 penalty units ($10,362), s.70B(1).
• Not declaring at a general meeting: up to 60 penalty units ($10,362), s.70B(2).
• Not minuting the disclosure: up to 4 penalty units ($691) per committee member, s.70B(6).

Payments disclosed at the AGM

Since 1 July 2024, s.70D requires the committee to disclose at each AGM any payments and benefits given to committee members, senior staff and their close relatives. The Office of Fair Trading says the disclosure is made even when nothing was paid, and recorded in the AGM minutes. The penalty is up to 10 penalty units ($1,727) per committee member.

A member's grievance

Since 1 July 2024, s.47A requires every association to have a grievance procedure. Under Model Rule 12A:

• The member writes to the other party, and to the committee if the committee is not the other party.
• Both sides try in good faith to settle it.
• If it is not settled within 14 days, the member has a further 21 days to ask the secretary to refer it to mediation. The committee then refers it within 14 days.

Each side gets a fair hearing and the mediator is unbiased (s.47A(4)). If the complaint is against the club, the club takes no disciplinary action against that member until the process ends (s.47A(5)).

The club's money

The whole committee is responsible for keeping financial records (s.59), preparing the financial statements (s.59A) and, for a small association, having the verification statement signed (s.59AB). Failing in records or statements carries up to 20 penalty units ($3,454) per member for a large association, or up to 10 penalty units ($1,727) for a small or medium one.

The treasurer leads this work, but the responsibility stays with the whole committee. Many jobs can be shared with other members. You can read more in Delegation and task sharing.

If you are president

• The care duty (s.70E) covers how meetings are chaired: members get the information and the discussion they need to decide.
• The misuse duties (ss.70G, 70H) cover how the chair and the agenda are used: not to shut down discussion or favour some members.
• When the conflict is the president's own, ss.70B and 70C apply as for anyone. Clubs commonly hand the chair to another member for that item.

If you are treasurer

• The treasurer is often first to see money trouble, and s.70I applies. Many treasurers raise it at committee so it is minuted.
• Signing accounts without understanding them sits poorly with the care duty (s.70E).
• Good-faith reliance on a qualified accountant is a protection under s.70J.

New to the role? See New treasurer? Start here.

What protects committee members

• The law. Under the Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) s.39, a volunteer is not personally liable for acts done in good faith and without recklessness in community work for a community organisation. The protection has limits: criminal acts (s.40), intoxication (s.41), acting outside the activity or against instructions (s.42) and motor vehicles (s.44).
• Records. Signed minutes and recorded conflicts show what was decided and why.
• Insurance. Croquet Australia's National Insurance Program, arranged by V-Insurance Group, covers affiliated clubs. For the 2026 policy year it includes Association Liability (directors and officers) cover. Details and contacts are in What Your Insurance Covers.

A penalty unit is $172.70 for 2026/27. The value changes each 1 July.

Where this comes from

1. Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld), ss.70E to 70J: the four officer duties and reliance on advice (s.70F, s.70G, s.70H, s.70I, s.70J)
2. Act, s.70B and s.70C: conflicts of interest and penalties
3. Act, s.70D: payments disclosed at the AGM
4. Act, s.61A and schedule 2: who cannot serve; rehabilitation period
5. Act, s.47A: grievance procedure
6. Act, s.59, s.59A and s.59AB: financial records, statements and verification
7. Associations Incorporation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (Qld): introduced the officer duties
8. Model Rules r.12A and r.15 (Associations Incorporation Regulation 1999, sch. 4): grievance steps; the secretary
9. Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld), ss.39 to 44: volunteer protection and its limits
10. Penalties and Sentences Regulation 2025 (Qld), s.4: penalty unit value
11. Office of Fair Trading, Changes that started on 1 July 2024
12. V-Insurance Group, Clubs Summary of Cover 2025/2026: who is insured