Guide to the legal duties of Committee or Board members of not-for-profit community organisations in Victoria

This Guide is about the legal duties that apply to people involved in governing Victorian, not-for-profit (NFP) community organisation - that is, people who sit on a Committee of Management or Board.

This Guide is suitable for all people who are involved in governing a Victorian, NFP community organisations, that is:

• community groups that have not incorporated (‘unincorporated groups’) and are based in Victoria
• Victorian incorporated associations
• Victorian co-operatives
• companies limited by guarantee
• indigenous corporations

The Guide sets out:

• an introduction explaining the context of the Guide - it is important to read this first! (Part A)
• where the legal duties come from, who has to comply with them and why  (Part B)
• details of the four main legal duties all Committee members must comply with (Part C)
• a table of legislative provisions underlying the four main duties (Part D)
• potential consequences of not complying with your legal duties (Part E)
• the possible protections (eg. insurance) that are available for Committee members (Part E)
• some of the other legal duties that Committee members may need to comply with (Part F)