Committee — Shared Legal Duties

Every member of a management committee — president, secretary, treasurer, vice president, and any other elected member — carries the same foundational set of legal obligations. These come from the Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld) and apply regardless of title.

Named positions (president, secretary, treasurer) carry these shared obligations plus additional duties specific to their role. This page covers only what everyone shares.

Who this applies to

Anyone elected or appointed to the management committee of a Queensland incorporated association. This includes the president, treasurer, vice president (if your club has one), and any other elected committee member. It includes the secretary too, unless the committee appointed the secretary from outside the committee. A secretary appointed that way is not a committee member (r.15(4), (6)).

It does not matter what your club calls the role. If you are on the management committee, these obligations apply to you.

Eligibility

Under s.61A, you cannot serve on the management committee if you fall into any of the following categories:

• Convicted of an indictable offence — and the rehabilitation period has not yet expired under the Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1992 (Qld)
• Convicted summarily and sentenced to imprisonment — not including default imprisonment for failing to pay a fine — and the rehabilitation period has not yet expired
• An undischarged bankrupt under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth)
• Has executed a deed of arrangement under the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth) and its terms have not been fully complied with
• Had creditors accept a composition and the final payment under the composition has not yet been made

If any of these apply to you, you are disqualified from serving. This is personal — it does not matter who nominated you or what your club's constitution says.

The four officer duties

These duties, set out in ss.70E–70J, were introduced by the Associations Incorporation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020 and apply to every officer of a Queensland incorporated association. They are modelled on the duties imposed on company directors.

Breach carries a penalty of up to 60 penalty units ($10,362 at 2026/27 rates, re-checked each 1 July) per offence.

1. Care and diligence

Under s.70E, act as a reasonable person would in your position. Stay informed about what the club is doing and what decisions are being made. You do not need to be an expert in everything — but you cannot simply not turn up, not read the papers, and not engage.

2. Good faith

Under s.70F, exercise your powers in good faith, in the best interests of the club, and for a proper purpose. This means putting the club first — not your own interests, not the interests of a faction, and not the person who recruited you to the committee.

3. No misuse of position or information

Under ss.70G, 70H, do not use your position to gain personal benefits or cause harm to the club. Do not use information you obtain through your role for personal advantage or to damage the club or another member.

4. No insolvent trading

Under s.70I, if you have reason to believe the club cannot pay its debts as they fall due, do not vote to approve new spending. Raise it formally at a committee meeting and have it recorded in the minutes.

A related protection: reliance on advice

Under s.70J, you are entitled to rely on professional advice (from accountants, lawyers, or other qualified experts) when making decisions. This is not a fifth duty — it is a protection that supports your position under the four duties above if a decision made in good faith on properly obtained expert advice is later questioned.

Conflicts of interest

If you have a material personal interest in a matter the committee is deciding, under ss.70B–70C you must:

1. Declare it at the start of that agenda item — out loud, for the record.
2. Leave the room while the committee discusses the matter.
3. Not vote on it.
4. Return after the decision is made.
5. Ensure it is minuted — who declared, what the interest was, that they left, that they did not vote, the outcome.
6. Declare again at the next general meeting — include it in the agenda, record in those minutes.

Penalties (as at 2026/27 rates, re-checked each 1 July): failing to declare at a committee meeting carries up to 60 penalty units ($10,362, s.70B(1)); failing to declare at a general meeting carries up to 60 penalty units ($10,362, s.70B(2)); failing to record the disclosure in the minutes carries up to 4 penalty units ($691) per committee member (s.70B(6)).

Remuneration disclosure

Since 1 July 2024, under s.70D the committee must disclose at each AGM all payments and benefits provided to committee members, senior staff, and their close relatives during the financial year.

If nothing was paid, the declaration must still be made and recorded in the AGM minutes.

Penalty: up to 10 penalty units ($1,727 as at 2026/27 rates, re-checked each 1 July) per committee member.

Grievance procedure

Since 1 July 2024, under s.47A every Queensland incorporated association must have a formal grievance procedure. Under the Model Rules, the grievance procedure works like this:

• The member with the complaint writes to the other party, and also to the management committee if the committee is not the other party (r.12A(3))
• Both sides must first try, in good faith, to sort it out (r.12A(5))
• If it is not sorted out within 14 days, the member has a further 21 days to ask the secretary to refer it to mediation. The committee must then refer it within 14 days (r.12A(6)–(7))
• Each side must get a chance to be heard, and the mediator must be unbiased (s.47A(4))
• If the complaint is against the club itself, the club cannot take disciplinary action against the member who raised it until the process is finished (s.47A(5))

As a committee member, you may be asked to participate in a grievance panel or investigation. You must approach this impartially — not as an advocate for either side.

Collective financial responsibility

The committee as a whole is responsible for ensuring the club's financial records are kept, its financial statements are prepared, and — for Level 3 clubs — that the annual verification statement is signed (ss.59, 59A, 59AB). The treasurer leads this work — but that does not mean other committee members are off the hook. See Treasurer — Officer Duties for the treasurer's specific exposure, and who can be assigned which day-to-day task is covered in Delegation & Task Sharing.

If you are aware that the club's finances are not being properly managed and you take no action, you share in the liability. The committee's collective obligation cannot be delegated entirely to the treasurer.

Penalties (collective, as at 2026/27 rates, re-checked each 1 July): failure to keep adequate financial records carries up to 20 penalty units ($3,454) per member for large associations, or up to 10 penalty units ($1,727) for small or medium associations; failure to prepare financial statements carries the same penalties (s.59A).

Your protection

Acting honestly, staying informed, declaring conflicts, and keeping good minutes is what activates all three layers of protection.

Sources

Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld) — ss.47A, 59, 59A, 59AB, 61A, 70B, 70C, 70D, 70E, 70F, 70G, 70H, 70I, 70J. Associations Incorporation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (Qld). Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) s.39. Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth). Criminal Law (Rehabilitation of Offenders) Act 1992 (Qld).