UNSW CSESoc's Constitution; Easily track changes and see who suggested what amendments.
1.1 The official name of the society shall be CSE Society.
1.1.1 The acronym of the society shall be CSESoc.
1.2 The society shall be affiliated to Arc.
1.3 The aims and objectives of the society are:
1.3.1 To fulfil the specific social needs of CSE students;
1.3.2 To promote computing through technical and nontechnical oriented events to all students of UNSW; and
1.3.3 To establish rapport with external organisations/groups that are enthusiastic about computing.
1.4 During the course of affiliation, the society shall comply with any requirements of Arc.
1.5 In all matters not specifically dealt with herein, the procedures set out in Guide for
Meetings and Organizations by N.E.R. Renton (5th Edition) shall apply.
1.6 For the purposes of this Constitution:
1.6.1 The University shall mean the University of New South Wales;
1.6.2 Arc shall mean Arc @ UNSW Limited;
1.6.3 Tharunka and Blitz shall mean the official publications of Arc;
1.6.4 Re-affiliation shall mean re-affiliation with Arc;
1.6.5 Full members shall mean full members of the CSE Society;
1.6.6 Associate members shall mean associate members of the CSE Society;
1.6.7 The Executive shall mean the Executive of the CSE Society;
1.6.8 The Annual General Meeting shall mean the Annual General Meeting of the CSE
Society;
1.6.9 An academic day shall mean a day during the first or second session of the University’s
academic year which is not a Saturday, Sunday, Public Holiday or University Holiday;
1.6.10 A business day shall mean a day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, Public Holiday,
University Holiday or within a University exam period.
1.6.11 The School of CSE or any references to the acronym CSE shall mean Computer
Science and Engineering; and
1.6.12 Subjects shall mean units of study offered by the University in progression to the
award of a degree.
1.7 The society shall be bound by all the clauses in Section 2 to Section 8 of this Constitution.
2.1 The list of full members of CSE Society is maintained by the school of CSE.
All modifications to this list will remain with the Executive. Society lists are not to be given or sold to any other
third party; Arc and the Executive shall have sole access.
2.2 The society will be a Constituent society since it has an agreed association with School of
Computer Science and Engineering, which is ratified by Arc.
2.3 Full membership shall be conferred upon students who are enrolled in Computer Science,
Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Bioinformatics Engineering, or a post-graduate
program administered by CSE (research or coursework). They shall not be required to pay any
society membership fee.
2.3.1 Enrolments shall be defined as current enrolment in an agreed program under section 2.3.
2.3.2 As soon as a member no longer meets the requirements of a full member defined in section 2.3
their membership shall be terminated.
2.4 Associate membership is applicable only to non-full members and shall be automatically conferred with no fee
upon students enrolled in a course administered by the school of CSE. Associate membership is open
to all other persons subject to affiliation requirements of Arc, provided that they pay a membership fee
that is set by the club Executive, and they complete a membership form prepared by the club Executive.
2.4.1 The duration of associate membership shall be until the expiration of their enrollment in that course.
2.4.2 The duration of associate membership for students paying the club membership fee shall be until the end of the calendar year.
2.5 Notwithstanding sections 2.3.1 and 2.4.1, membership shall be terminated when:
2.5.1 The member dies;
2.5.2 The member notifies the executive in writing to request their membership be terminated; or
2.5.3 Their membership is terminated under section 2.7.
2.6 The society shall comply with the Anti-Discrimination Act (1977) in all of its activities or
procedures, including the granting of society membership.
2.7 A member of the society may have their membership terminated after the following
procedure is followed:
2.7.1 A motion is carried by the Executive, or the Executive is petitioned by fifteen (15)
members to instigate impeachment proceedings;
2.7.2 The members of the society are notified of the proceedings formally as a motion on
notice to an Extraordinary General Meeting under Section 4.2;
2.7.3 The member concerned is notified in writing of the procedures and reasons for
proceedings at least five (5) academic days prior to the meeting;
2.7.4 The member concerned is given five (5) minutes to speak against the motion at the
Extraordinary General Meeting; and
2.7.5 The motion is carried by the Extraordinary General Meeting.
2.7.6 Members may only petition for one other member's membership termination at any one time.
2.8 Any member of the society who believes they have been wrongly expelled may appeal to
Arc, who will arrive at the final resolution of the matter.
3.1 The Executive of the CSE Society shall be elected from the online election as set out in
section 8 and shall consist of:
3.1.1 Two (2) Co-presidents;
3.1.2 One (1) Secretary;
3.1.3 One (1) Treasurer; and
3.1.4 One (1) Arc Delegate;
3.2 A member is permitted to hold no more than one (1) Executive position.
3.3 The Executive shall be responsible for the following duties:
3.3.1 Ensuring that through the activities of the Society’s working groups, its aims are
being fulfilled; and
3.3.2 Maintaining the finances of the society; and
3.3.3 Communicating with the membership of the Society.
3.4 The Executive is at all times bound by the decisions of all CSE Society Annual or
Extraordinary General Meetings.
3.5 Any member of the Executive shall have their position declared vacant if they:
3.5.1 Submit a signed resignation letter to all the other members of the Executive.
3.5.2 Cease to be a full member of the society; or
3.5.3 Are removed from the Executive by a two thirds majority vote of the executive, following an
absence from any three (3) Executive Meetings without prior leave or following a failure
to abide by the Society's Constitution.
3.6 Any vacancy on the society Executive must be filled by a candidate selected by the
remaining Executive.
3.6.1 There must be a two thirds majority vote in favour of the selected candidate for the
position.
3.6.2 The candidate must accept the offer of Executive position before they may fill the position.
3.6.3 Any vacancy on the society Executive must be filled within ten (10) business days.
3.7 Duties
3.7.1 DUTIES OF THE CO-PRESIDENTS
a) To chair all society General, Executive, Annual and Extraordinary General
Meetings of the society;
b) To oversee and coordinate the activities and administration of the society;
c) To ensure that the elected officers of the society and head of working groups
perform duties as laid down by the society’s constitution, through regular e-mail
updates, regularly advertised meetings, reports and notices and/or regular
newsletters;
d) To ensure that all other tasks necessary for the running of the activities of the
society are performed properly, either by doing them or delegating the duties;
e) To have a thorough knowledge of the society’s constitution;
f) To plan the coming year’s activities;
g) To act as official spokesperson for the society;
h) To arrive at an associate membership fee;
i) To liaise with fellow office bearers;
j) To acquaint each Executive member with their function, responsibility, duties and
maintain personal contact with them;
k) To liaise with Arc where necessary;
l) To ensure that an “Application for Affiliation” form accompanied by the minutes
of the most recent Annual General Meeting and an updated membership list is
submitted to Arc;
m) To ensure that the Treasurer submits a Financial Report to the society at the
AGM and to Arc and that they have the society’s finances in good order in
preparation for Spot Audits by Arc;
n) To ensure that Arc is informed of changes to the Executive;
o) To pass on their knowledge to their successor; and
p) Other duties as in accordance with the constitution of the society’s guidelines.
3.7.2 DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY
a) To be responsible for receiving and replying to all correspondence on behalf of
the society;
b) To organise meetings, agendas (with consultation with the Co-Presidents), and
minutes;
c) To keep relevant society papers in order;
d) To coordinate elections; and
e) To maintain up-to-date membership lists.
3.7.3 DUTIES OF THE TREASURER
a) To keep and maintain all society financial records;
b) To hold cheque books, petty cash tins etc;
c) To keep the society informed of its financial position (at meetings, through regular
e-mail reports, or regular newsletter);
d) To carry out financial transactions as directed by the Executive;
e) To not lend money of the society under any circumstances;
f) To always ensure that the records are up to date and in good order so that if they
are otherwise unable to continue in that capacity someone else can easily take over;
g) To not put the society in debt that cannot be repaid, but endeavour to match costs
and income as closely as possible;
h) To always insist on a receipt or docket to validate any expenditure by the society;
i) To pay all accounts by cheque or EFT
j) To always enter the payee's name, the amount and a brief explanation of the
payment on the cheque butt or EFT transaction description;
k) To always provide a receipt to a person who gives money to the society upon the person's request immediately;
l) To ensure petty cash is banked within three (3) business days once it exceeds
$500;
m) To ensure you have at least two and not more than three signatories who are
Executive members to the cheque account;
n) To ensure that society funds are not misused at any time; and
o) To ensure that when smaller amounts of money are spent, (petty cash) a receipt
or docket must be obtained. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE ANY EXPENSES TO BE MET WITHOUT DOCUMENTATION.
3.7.4 DUTIES OF THE ARC DELEGATE
a) To be aware of Arc rules and regulations, in particular its funding system and the
possibilities for the society.
b) To communicate with the Executive before and after the each Arc meeting to
pass on information (about grants etc);
c) To liaise with Arc and the society’s Executive;
d) To have a good working knowledge of Arc forms;
e) To clear out the society’s pigeonhole in the Arc Resource Room at least every
two weeks;
f) To attend Arc clubs general meetings or get someone to stand in, or send advance
apologies; and
g) To ensure that grants are filed properly, in particular, within the time period
specified by Arc.
4.1 The Executive shall establish working groups as they see fit.
4.2 A working group shall be a subset of members that have certain tasks of the society
delegated to them by the Executive.
4.3 Working groups shall have a head appointed by the Executive, who must be a member of
the society.
4.4 The head of a working group shall at all times report and be responsible to the Executive,
and be responsible for leading their working group.
4.5 Heads of working groups may be appointed and dismissed by the Executive at an Executive
Meeting.
4.6 Working groups shall have budgets assigned to them as the Executive sees fit, in order to
carry out their delegated tasks.
4.7 Working groups shall dissolve:
4.7.1 Upon the election of a new Executive;
4.7.2 Otherwise at the discretion of the Executive.
5.1 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETINGS
5.1.1 There shall be one Annual General meeting every calendar year.
5.1.2 The Annual General Meeting shall be held on an academic day.
5.1.3 Notice in the form of an agenda for the Annual General Meeting shall be no less than five (5) academic days,
and is to be given in writing, through the CSE email system, to all society members, or upon
approval by Arc, displayed in a way that will guarantee an acceptable level of
exposure among society members.
5.1.4 Quorum for the Annual General Meeting shall be fifteen members or one half of the
society membership, whichever is the lesser.
5.1.5 At an Annual General Meeting:
5.1.5.1 Reports shall be presented by at least the Co-Presidents and the Treasurer;
5.1.5.2 Full financial reports shall be presented and adopted;
5.1.5.3 Constitutional amendments and other motions on notice may be discussed and
voted upon; and
5.1.5.4 Nominations for the Executive elections shall open, pursuant to section 8.1.
5.1.6 Full minutes of this meeting, including a list of the new Executive, written financial
reports, and constitutional amendments, shall be forwarded to Arc within ten (10) business
days of the Handover Meeting; and
5.1.7 Each full member is entitled to one vote.
5.2 EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL MEETINGS
5.2.1 There shall be Extraordinary General Meetings as the Executive sees fit or as petitioned
under section 5.2.4.
5.2.2 Extraordinary General Meetings shall be held on an academic day.
5.2.3 The format, procedures, notice and quorum for an Extraordinary General Meeting shall be
the same as for an Annual General Meeting, except that the Executive nominations shall not
take place unless specifically notified.
5.2.4 To petition Extraordinary General Meeting fifteen (15) members or half of the society
membership, whichever is the lesser, must petition the Executive in writing.
5.2.5 Such a petitioned meeting must be held within twenty-one (21) academic days, but no
sooner than five (5) academic days; and
5.2.6 Each full member is entitled to one vote.
5.3 EXECUTIVE MEETINGS
5.3.1 There shall be Executive Meetings as the Executive sees fit.
5.3.2 All members of the Executive are required to attend Executive Meetings.
5.3.3 Executive Meetings shall be held in confidence, except that the Executive may invite
members of the society or other guests to attend. These observers shall have no vote.
5.3.3.1 Heads of working groups who are invited to Executive Meetings are required to
attend.
5.3.4 The secretary shall send the agenda for the meeting, to all those required to attend, no
later than two (2) days prior to the meeting, notwithstanding 5.5.1.7.
5.4 HANDOVER MEETING
5.4.1 There shall be a Handover Meeting no more than a calendar month after the
pronouncement of election results.
5.4.2 All members of both the current Executive, and the Executive-elect are required to attend
the Handover Meeting.
5.4.3 The Handover Meeting shall be held in confidence.
5.4.4 At the Handover Meeting, the Executive shall pass on all knowledge of, and advice
regarding, the Society to the Executive-elect.
5.4.5 At the conclusion of the Handover Meeting, the Executive is dissolved and the Executive-
elect assume their elected positions.
5.5 GENERAL MEETINGS
5.5.1 General meeting requirements for all meetings are as follows:
5.5.1.1 All voting at meetings shall be with a simple majority required for a resolution to be passed;
5.5.1.2 Notwithstanding sections 5.1.7 and 5.2.6 each member is entitled to one vote;
5.5.1.3 Proxies shall be allowed in meetings and the procedure shall comply with the requirements of Arc;
5.5.1.4 In the case of equality of voting, the motion shall be defeated.
5.5.1.5 Constitutional changes must be in the form of a motion on notice to an Annual or
Extraordinary General Meeting; and
5.5.1.6 Constitutional changes passed at an Annual or Extraordinary General Meeting
will not take effect until ratified by Arc.
5.5.1.7 The Secretary shall send the agenda for the meeting, to all those required to
attend, no later than two (2) business days prior to the meeting.
6.1 The CSE Society shall hold an account with a financial institution on University campus.
6.2 The Executive must approve all accounts for payment.
6.3 All financial transactions shall require two signatures, one of which must be that of the
society Treasurer.
6.3.1 In the case of EFT, the required signatures shall be digital.
6.4 The Co-presidents and the Treasurer shall be the signatories to the society’s account(s).
6.5 The financial records of the society shall be open for inspection by Arc at all times.
7.1 Dissolution of the CSE Society will occur after the following conditions have been met:
7.1.1 An Extraordinary General Meeting is petitioned in writing as set out in 4.11;
7.1.2 Procedures for notification as set out in 4.1.3 are followed, and the reasons for the
proposed dissolution are included with the notification to Arc;
7.1.3 Quorum for the meeting to dissolve the society shall be twenty (20) members or
three-quarters of the society membership, whichever is the lesser;
7.1.4 No other business may be conducted at the meeting to dissolve the society;
7.1.5 After the petitioning body has stated its case any opposition must be given the
opportunity to reply, with at least ten minutes set aside for this purpose;
7.1.6 A vote is taken and the motion to dissolve lapses if opposed by fifteen (15) or more
members of the society; and
7.1.7 If the motion to dissolve is carried, Arc must be notified within ten (10)
academic days.
7.2 Dissolution of the society will also occur if the society has been financially AND
administratively inactive for a period of eighteen (18) months. Financial inactivity shall mean
no recorded and official electronic or manual monetary transaction has occurred.
Administrative inactivity shall mean no recorded and official publicity to the School of
Computer Science and Engineering student body through methods/medium such as email,
posters.
7.3 Arc must give twenty (20) academic days notice in Tharunka and/or Blitz and/or the
Arc website, and in writing to the last known Co-Presidents before dissolving the society in this
way.
7.4 On dissolution of the society, the society is not to distribute assets to members. All assets
are to be distributed to an organisation with similar goals or objectives that also prohibits the
distribution of assets to members. This organisation may be nominated at the dissolution
meeting of the society. If no other legitimate organisation is nominated, Arc will begin
procedures to recover any property, monies or records belonging to the society which it
perceives would be useful to other Arc-affiliated clubs.
8.1 Nominations for the Executive positions shall open at the AGM.
8.2 Nominations must remain open until the later of:
8.2.1 one calendar week after nominations open; or
8.2.2 there are at least two (2) nominees for Co-presidents and one (1) nominee for each
other position, and at least five (5) unique nominees for the positions in total.
8.3 Nominations must be entered and seconded by two (2) full members, one of whom must be
the nominee.
8.4 The Co-Presidents shall maintain the official list of nominees during the nomination period,
and upon its closure, forward the list to the School of CSE, who shall run the official election.
The list of full members who have been removed from the society will be sent to the School of CSE by the Secretary
on this same day.
8.4.1 Only elections run by the School of CSE shall be recognised.
8.4.2 The Exec may choose that the list be made publicly available during the nomination
period. If they choose to do so, it must be on the Society website.
8.4.3 The election will run for at least one calendar week.
8.5 If there is a tie for any Executive position between candidates, the outgoing executives shall
have a casting vote in the election.
8.6 Upon finalising of the election results, they must be pronounced to the membership within
one (1) business day.
8.7 Only full members are entitled to vote for the Executive. Full members may vote for two
(2) candidates for Co-president, and one (1) candidate for each other position.
8.8 Voting is to be confidential and anonymous with the exception of,
8.8.1 In the event of a full member being prevented by the School of CSE from accessing the voting site,
votes shall be submitted to the first executive member not running in the election in the following list;
the Co-Presidents, the Secretary, the Treasurer, the Arc Delegate. If all of the above are running in the election
the vote should be submitted to the Student Development Office.
The executive member will then submit the anonymised vote to the member in charge of maintaing the list of nominees.
8.9 Votes will be counted using the “single transferable vote” electoral system, a variant of the instant-runoff preferential voting system.
8.9.1 Each candidate must reach the quota of votes as determined by the Droop quota for that position.
8.9.2 When electing Co-presidents, all first and second preferences shall be counted as first preferences.