Fact Sheet 4: Voting Rights

Who is eligible to vote at a P&C Association meeting?
All members of an Association are entitled to vote. Membership eligibility is prescribed in the Association's constitution. Membership involves the payment of an annual membership fee, which will be stipulated in the by-laws but must not be less than 50 cents.

All Associations should maintain a current list of members so that any disputes about voting eligibility can be settled immediately and accurately.

Life Members (unless they satisfy an Association's constitutional requirements for membership) and observers do not vote.

Can a principal as an ex officio member vote?
Ex officio members enjoy full voting rights unless an Association's constitution specifically states otherwise.

What is the role of the school principal at Association meetings?
There is much nonsense said about the term "ex officio" but it is simply a Latin term which means "by virtue of his or her office" and refers to the fact that a school principal is automatically a member of an Association because he/she is the school's principal. He or she is not required to pay the normal annual membership fee or to meet other constitutional membership requirements.

An ex officio member is not eligible to stand for election. Consequently, an ex officio member is often asked to act as an Association's Returning Officer.

The role of the principal is addressed in the Department of Education and Training's February 1998 Memorandum to Principals, The Partnership Between Schools and Established Parent Bodies.

Can the Chairperson vote?
A Chairperson possesses normal voting rights. Typically, however, a Chairperson often abstains from voting in order to preserve the impartiality of his/her position. The current prescribed and standard constitutions make no provision for the chair to exercise a casting vote in the event of an equality of voting. Consequently, in the event of an equality of voting the motion should be lost.

Are proxy votes or absentee votes acceptable?
No. Under common law special provision must be made in an Association's constitution to provide for proxies. No provision exists in the prescribed or standard constitutions for proxy votes. Absentee votes are proxy votes by another name and are similarly unacceptable.

Can new members vote?
The voting rights of new members are sometimes vexatious because ongoing members feel that it is unfair for "first timers" to come to a meeting, pay the Association's annual membership fee, and enjoy full and immediate voting rights on all matters, including highly controversial issues. P&C Associations often assert that such an arrangement allows a meeting to be easily and unfairly stacked by single-issue one-night stand members. The prescribed and standard constitutions both insist that the register of members "shall be updated after each general meeting by the Secretary or the Secretary's nominee." This constitutional clause was calculated to stop first nighters from enjoying the benefits of full voting rights immediately.

Who is entitled to vote when family membership is offered?
The question is impossible to answer because of the extremely flexible definition of the term "family". Federation urges all Associations, if a membership fee is to be charged, to list members as individuals, not families. The whole notion of family membership is difficult to reconcile with the democratic process, incompatible with the rights of individual citizens and it is totally without a constitutional basis.

Can the membership of the school parent organisation be incorporated into the school "fees"?
Federation advises against this practice. So called "school fees" are not compulsory in government schools and those who choose not to pay the fee or are unable to do so may still wish to become members of the school parent organisation. Membership through the payment of a school fee gives no clear indication of the payee's intention to be an active member of the parent organisation. It may mean that an organisation has problems, at times, getting a quorum at meetings given the prescribed and standard constitutions' requirement which states that, "Where the Association has a current membership of 50 or more, the quorum at all meetings of that Association shall be 11 members".