What type of Club are we? How are our members classified?
Membership is defined differently depending on the type of Club.
An “UNSW student” will specifically refer to anyone that UNSW considers a current student.
This includes students that are, with UNSW approval, completing an exchange program for a term, taking a term off for an internship, or deferring studies for a short time part way through their degree. At the end of a student’s degree, they will cease to be considered a student upon release of the final results of the last courses required to complete their degree.
Regular Clubs
Membership for Regular Clubs falls under the following categories:
(Full) Membership: (Full) Membership of the Club must be open to all UNSW students.
Associate Membership: Associate Membership is open to persons who are not UNSW students.
- Clubs do not need to have Associate Members.
- Where a Club does have Associate Membership, this must be specified in the constitution, including eligibility. Clubs can restrict Associate Membership to specific groups (e.g. UNSW staff or alumni), as long as these restrictions don't contravene Anti-Discrimination legislation.
All members must agree to be a member of the Club by filling in a membership form and paying a membership fee (if the Club collects membership fees). See below for requirements about membership fees.
Constituent Clubs
Membership in Constituent Clubs falls under the following categories:
- (Full) Membership: (Full) Membership of the Club must be open to all UNSW students within the agreed Residence, Program, School or Faculty of UNSW.
- The Club's constitution will specify the agreed Residence, Program, School or Faculty.
- Full members must not be charged a membership fee.
Associate Membership: Associate Membership is open to non-UNSW students or people outside of the agreed Residence, Program, School or Faculty.
- Associate members can be required to pay a fee
- Clubs do not need to have Associate Members.
- Where a Club does have Associate Membership, this must be specified in the constitution, including eligibility. Clubs can restrict Associate Membership to specific groups (e.g. UNSW students, staff or alumni), as long as these restrictions don't contravene Anti-Discrimination legislation.
All members must agree to be a member of the Club, in general by filling in a membership form and, for associate members, paying a membership fee (if the Club collects membership fees). See below for requirements about membership fees.
Membership Benefits & Rights
Clubs are run for the (full) members of the Club. This means that while all members (full and associate) members can be eligible for member benefits including discounts, freebies, event entry and activity involvement, only full members can count towards minimum attendance requirements at a General Meeting of a Club (AGM, EGM or IGM) and vote at these meetings, as well participate in Executive elections (nominating, running for a position and voting).
Membership Duration
For all Clubs, it is a requirement that all (full) memberships expire annually, as no student is obligated to be a member of a Club unless they choose to be. This also applies for Constituent Clubs. In general, (i.e. in the model constitution) duration of (full) membership is from the time a member signs up until the Club’s next AGM or the end of Week 1, Term 1 after they sign up, whichever is later.
Signing Up Members
Each Club's funding level is based on the number of its members that are on the Club’s membership list on SpArc, who are also activated Arc members for the year. Arc members can join a club directly through SpArc, and a SpArc admin may need to approve their membership depending on your club’s SpArc settings.
You may also choose to keep a separate membership list to gather any other details you may need that would be helpful to running your Club e.g. email address, degree studied, what events they'd like to participate in, whether membership has been paid. However, Arc calculates membership based on your membership list held on SpArc, so encourage all of your members to join you through SpArc.
No UNSW student that is eligible to become a member of your Club may be denied membership if they are willing to complete the membership form and pay the membership fee (if there is one).
Signing up members on SpArc
Your Club's SpArc profile will be created automatically once your Club is affiliated. As part of the affiliation/reaffiliation process you will nominate 2 of your Club Executives to perform tasks on behalf of your Club. Among other things, these Executives will be able to make changes to your Club’s profile and manage your Club’s membership list.
Privacy of Member's Details
All Arc-Affiliated Clubs must keep their membership databases confidential. Contact details for its members are to remain with the Club Executive and Arc to have sole access. Contact details are never to be given or sold to any other person without the written permission of the individual members(s). Find more information about privacy (including legal requirements) in Section 13.
Membership Fees
Clubs may charge membership fees (except to become a (full) member of a Constituent Club, which must be free). A Club's constitution will usually say that the Executive will determine the membership fee each year, however in some cases the constitution may specify the membership fee.
Club membership fees are a great way to raise funds, especially for new Clubs, and can be used to help fund events and pay for the ongoing running costs of your Club. Please keep in mind however that large or exorbitant membership fees may deter people (especially students) from joining your Club, so make sure to strike a balance between the two.
Whether the membership fee is determined by the Executive or stated in the constitution, Arc requires a specific fee structure if membership fees are charged to ensure benefits for Arc members:
- The Club's membership fee charged to non-Arc members must be at least double that charged to Arc members;
- Associate Membership to your Club costs at least as much as Full Membership for non-Arc members.
The best way to meet this requirement is:
- Set your Club's baseline (full) membership fee assuming that all Club members will be Arc members (Arc membership is free!);
- Charge non-Arc members at least double the baseline fee to become a member of your Club;
- For Club associate membership, charge the same fee as for a non-Arc member to become a Club member.
For example:
- If Arc members are charged $10 for Full Membership of your Club, non-Arc members must be charged at least $20 for Full Membership of your Club and Associate Membership for your Club must also be at least $20.
- If Arc members are charged $10 for Full Membership of your Club but non-Arc members are charged $40 for Full Membership of your Club, Associate Membership of your Club must also be at least $40.
Always make sure to keep accurate records of who has paid their membership fee and issue a receipt for proof of payment for the individual paying. If you're charging for membership, make sure to check for a current Arc membership sticker on their UNSW student card before charging the baseline price.
Terminating Membership
In some circumstances, it is possible for a Club to terminate an individual’s Club membership, although this must be for a valid reason (such as misconduct, harassment or bullying) and must be approved by a General Meeting of your Club. Under no circumstances does the Club Executive (independently or as a group) have the right to terminate an individual’s Club membership. To terminate membership, the following procedure must be followed:
- A motion must be passed by the Executive or the Executive are petitioned by at least fifteen (15) members to initiate proceedings.
- All Club members must be notified of the proceedings by a motion on notice at an Extraordinary General Meeting.
- The member/s concerned must be notified in writing of the proceedings as well as the reasons at least seven (7) days before the meeting.
- The member concerned is given at least five (5) minutes to speak against the motion at the EGM.
- For termination to be accepted, the motion must be carried by a majority at the EGM.
If any Club member or Executive feels that they have had their membership wrongfully terminated, they have the right to appeal to the Student Development Committee (SDC, a subcommittee of the Arc Board), who will arrive at the final resolution of the matter at their absolute discretion. Please email clubs@arc.unsw.edu.au if you have any issues.
An individual member can also decide to terminate their membership to the Club on their own. This should be communicated in writing to the Club's general email and/or the Club Executive responsible for the membership database (usually the Secretary) to ensure that there are records should any disputes arise.
For more information about Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Cultural Sensitivity, check out Section 22 (EDI) of the Clubs Handbook.
FAQs
What is the difference between a Full Club member and an Associate member?
This depends on the type of Club that you are (Regular or Constituent) and eligibility requirements specified in your constitution. For Regular Clubs, all UNSW students must be eligible to be Full members of your Club, while for Constituent Clubs, students within the agreed Residence, Program, School or Faculty of UNSW are eligible for Full membership. Your Club can allow anyone that is not eligible for Full membership to become an Associate member, however you don’t need to have Associate membership at all. You can also restrict eligibility for Associate membership to a subset of these individuals, as long as these don’t contravene Anti-Discrimination legislation (e.g. you can restrict this to only UNSW students, UNSW staff or UNSW alumni).
The rights of Full and Associate members and requirements of membership fees are also different. Please refer to the Membership Fees and Membership Benefits & Rights sections above.
Can we sign up non-Arc members or non-UNSW students?
Yes, however the membership fee requirements for these are different. Refer to the Membership Fees section above. Non-UNSW students will also be Associate members rather than Full members, and have different rights. Refer to the Membership Benefits & Rights section above.
Do members need to log in and sign up with the Club on SpArc?
Your Club can use whatever method/s it likes to register members, however at minimum there must be at all of the Executives of your Club registered as members through SpArc. Arc funding is determined by the number of active Arc members for that year that are also on your Club’s membership list on SpArc. Arc members can directly request to join a Club through SpArc.
Can my charge Club set the membership fees to be anything we want?
The Club’s membership fees are decided by the Executives of the Club unless they are prescribed in the Club’s constitution. Arc has requirements regarding membership fee structures in order to maintain your Club’s affiliation. Refer to the Membership Fees section above.
Does my Club need to charge membership fees?
No. This is a good way to raise funds for your Club that you will eventually spend back on members, but you can offer membership for free.
Can we terminate the membership of our Club members?
Club membership can be terminated, but only voluntarily by the member or through a process that includes a vote of the Club members at a General Meeting of your Club. Refer to the Terminating Membership section above. Club Executives cannot decide to terminate membership on their own (this includes if the Executive, as a whole, agree that they would like to terminate membership).
