Australian Institute of Project Management


2009 Election

The 2009 elections for the National President and three National Directors operated under the following guidelines.  These guidelines and electoral practices are in place to ensure fairness and equity for all candidates.  We would like to share with you these practices to ensure transparency and set AIPM's expectations of good electoral process. 

 

Introduction

The 2009 Elections for National President and three National Directors will operate under these guidelines. The following guidelines and electoral practices are put in place to ensure fairness and equity for all candidates. We would like to share with you these practices to ensure transparency and set AIPM’s expectations of good electoral process.

 

As moderator of the election process, the Returning Officer is available to all candidates to discuss our electoral guidelines and rules.Any discussion will be confidential and non prejudicial in nature.Other sources of advice are ASIC and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

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Matters and Timeframes

The table below sets out the matters and timings for completion of National Director Elections.

Notice

Date

Appointment of Returning Officer

Completed

Board Accepts Ballot Procedures of the Institute

Completed

Call for Nomination issued

7 August 2009


Nominations close

4.00pm AEST, 21 August 2009 

Nominations validated

21 August2009

Candidate Statements received

21 August2009

Voting Determinations

24 August2009

Determine Ballot papers

24 August2009

Appointment of scrutineers

31 August2009

Send ballot details

Candidate Statements

7 September 2009

 

Notification of AGM

14 September 2009

Close of ballot

4.00pm AEST, 22 September 2009

Vote Counting

22 September 2009 (after close of ballot)

Final voting Report

22 September 2009

Candidate Notification

2 October 2009

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Procedures outside those set in the Constitution

Variation to 5.5 – Election by ballot

The ballot details will be sent to members on 7 September 2009.

Variation to 5.7 - Close of ballot

Closing Date for voting will be 4pm AEST Tuesday, 22 September 2009.

Variation to 5.9.5 – Outstanding AGM Nominations Procedure

  1. Outstanding positions should be included on the AGM Agenda
  2. Nomination for outstanding positions must be called for, proposed and seconded
  3. Selection will be by poll
  4. If results are tied occupant will be decided by lot

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Electoral Rules and Practices

Follows are electoral rules that will ensure a smooth process, any candidate in breach of the electoral rules may face elimination from the election process:

  • Use of AIPM resources to support or oppose candidates
  • No communication in relation to the support or opposition of any candidate should be under AIPM's name or distributed using AIPM's resources.This would include all chapter newsletters, chapter events, forums held in AIPM's name, AIPM magazine or our web site.It would be allowable to mention the election and to encourage our membership to vote.I have asked all State Chapter Coordinators to forward to any communication for approval prior to distribution.
  • There can be no promotion of any candidate in a chapter event or public forum, although this would not restrict potential candidates or their supporters having informal discussions with attendees on a one-on-one basis.
  • No candidate will have access to public speaking or media opportunities as a representative of AIPM from now until the election is complete
  • Use of any AIPM database or technology to distribute messaging is not allowed.This extends to any lists/databases obtained at any time in the past
  • There will be no broadcasting of messaging to members of AIPM outside the candidates statements.

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Conduct of Ballot

Voting for the 2009 elections for National President and National Directors will be managed by the Australian Election Company, ABN 58635903913.

The ballot will be conducted using an on-line voting system, with members having the option for a paper based ballot.

Details of the Australian Election Company’s voting systems can be found at http://www.austelect.com/index.php

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Counting of Votes

The votes will be counted by the Australian Election Company.Counting will be supervised by the Returning Officer and witnessed by two Scrutineers appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.

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Grievance procedure

Any issues with the results by any candidate will firstly be raised with the Returning Officer and the representative of the Governance Council before any public statements are made to the Board of Directors or membership at large.

All issues must be documented in writing clearly stating the perceived errors in the outcome ideally immediately a perceived error is known and before announcement of the results of the election.

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Policy statements/Candidate Statements

All candidates will receive an equal opportunity to speak to the membership through the candidate statements. AIPM practice has been to limit this to a single A4 page in black and white, the format and content to be provided by the candidate. Candidate statements received by our deadline, will be circulated with the ballot information.

Candidate Statements should include any perceived or potential Conflicts of Interest.All Directors of AIPM are required to inform the Board of conflicts of interest.As a candidate for AIPM’s Board, each candidate should declare an actual or perceived conflict of interest.

The candidate’s statements are provided to support a candidate’s position and cannot be used to oppose any other candidate.Potentially libellous statements will not be included

All candidate statements will be reviewed before distribution.Please send your candidate statement in either Word or Adobe (.pdf) format via email to ibaxter@aipm.com.au

Candidate statements will only be circulated if the Candidate Statement is signed and delivered to AIPM prior to deadline.

Candidate statements should be received by 4pm AEST Friday, 21 August 2009.

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Guidance to Potential Directors

The AICD offer the following advice to individuals considering becoming a Director.When preparing your candidate statement we ask you to support your candidacy by considering what attributes, skills and vision the Members of AIPM may be seeking from their Directors.

Core skills

While the specific skills required by each board differ, there are some core skills that should be represented on a board. These include:

  • strategic expertise – the ability to review the strategy through constructive questioning and suggestion 
  • accounting and finance – the ability to read and comprehend the company’s accounts, financial material presented to the board, financial reporting requirements and some understanding of corporate finance
  • legal – the board’s responsibility involves overseeing compliance with numerous laws as well as understanding an individual director’s legal duties and responsibilities
  • managing risk – experience in managing areas of major risk to the organisation
  • managing people and achieving change
  • experience with financial markets
  • industry knowledge – experience in similar organisations or industries.

Additionally, if an organisation has special needs or exposure to a particular stakeholder group, it makes sense to include a director who has experience in that area. For example, a company that spends a great deal of time doing business with government may need someone with first hand experience of the political process.

In addition, for listed companies, the ASX Corporate Governance Council recommends that the majority of the Board should be independent.

Questions to ask when considering a candidate for directorship

  • Does the prospective director have skills that would add value to the board?
  • Does he or she understand the organisation’s business?
  • Can the director work as part of the group?
  • Does he or she have sound business instincts and judgement?
  • Is the candidate genuinely interested in the company, its business and people?
  • Is the prospective director honest and a person of integrity?
  • What other directorships and commitments does the prospective director have?

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Forms

2009 Candidate Statement Declaration
2009 Election Candidate Nomination Form
2009 Capacity and Consent to act as a Director of AIPM

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