Can our club hold just an email address for each member?

The Model Rules say the member register holds a postal or home address. A PO box counts. What CAQ asked Fair Trading, and its reply.

The Model Rules say the register of members holds "the postal or residential address of the member" (rule 13).

CAQ's reading: an email address alone does not meet that. A PO box does, and a street address is not needed.

The Office of Fair Trading replied to CAQ on 24 September 2026. It does not interpret a club's rules, but said a PO box is a postal address and an email address is "an electronic means of communication".

This guide is for committee members of clubs on the Model Rules who have asked whether an email address is enough for the register.

Ink drawing of a bank of post office boxes with one door open and a letter inside, beside a card on an easel showing a large @ sign.

How clubs do it

The register holds each member's full name and one postal or residential address.
Clubs also hold an email address for contact, alongside the postal address.
The secretary shows the register to a member who asks.

This is how clubs commonly keep member addresses under rule 13.

What the rules say

Model Rule 13 says the committee keeps a register of members with each member's full name, postal or residential address, date of admission, date of death or resignation, and termination or reinstatement details. Members can inspect it at all reasonable times. Under s.69A of the Act, maintaining the register is one of the secretary's functions.

CAQ's own constitution also asks for a postal address for each Registered Player.

What CAQ asked, and the reply

In September 2026 the CAQ committee wanted to hold only an email address for each member. CAQ wrote to the Office of Fair Trading and asked one question: does an email address count as a postal or residential address?

Ink drawing of a letter travelling from a croquet clubhouse to an office building, and a reply travelling back.

Fair Trading replied on 24 September 2026. It said it does not interpret a club's rules; under the Act that is the management committee's job. It did give guidance: a PO box is a postal address, and an email address is "an electronic means of communication". So email is a way to reach a member, not an address.

Why CAQ is not seeking a rule change

Changing the rules takes a special resolution (Act s.48). CAQ's Member Clubs would need to pass one, each club on the Model Rules would need to change its own rules too, and Fair Trading would have to register every change. CAQ judged the effort high and the benefit small. It is looking at technical ways to improve security instead.

Members at risk, and where the register is kept

Under rule 13(5), if a member applies, the committee may withhold that member's details other than the name if showing them would put the member at risk of harm.

The rules do not say where the register is kept. CAQ's reading is that a second register is not needed if myCroquet holds the details and the secretary can show them to a member who asks.

The full story, with CAQ's letter and Fair Trading's reply, is in Member Addresses and the Constitution (PDF, 8 pages). More on the rules in The Model Rules explained and Secretary: Records & Meetings.

Where this comes from

Model Rules r.13 (Associations Incorporation Regulation 1999, sch. 4): the register of members, including r.13(5)
Associations Incorporation Act 1981 (Qld), s.69A: the secretary maintains the register
Act, s.48: changing the rules
CAQ Constitution (registered 3 December 2025): register of Registered Players
CAQ, Member Addresses and the Constitution: full report with the Office of Fair Trading reply of 24 September 2026