Alan of New South Wales has asked this question and mentioned that a member of his group has pointed out that Robert’s Rules may not be legal in Australia.
The legality is not the issue so much as the appropriateness of Robert’s Rules for Australia and New Zealand.
Robert’s Rules are in a book whose full title is “Robert’s Rules of Order Newly Revised – 11th Edition”. It is often referred to as “RONR”. It is a 700 page book and covers aspects of meetings in minute detail. The level of detail covered is such that in 30 years of consulting in Australia and New Zealand and Singapore, I have very rarely (if ever) come across meetings that require the level of procedural detail which Robert’s uses.
I am conversant with the content of Robert’s Rules as a member of the American Institute of Parliamentarians (AIP) which teaches Robert’s Rules together with other American authorities. I attend workshops in the United States every few years to update my knowledge.
Robert’s is a great book for North American meetings. The terminology used is in many cases specifically North American and is never used in Australia, or more problematic, has a different meaning in Australia.
So while it is not illegal to use Robert’s Rules for meetings in Australia, it is inappropriate. There are much more appropriate books for Australia available such as the following:
General books on meeting procedure
Meeting Procedure Made Easy
By David Julian Price
Published by Cascade Publishing
Available at www.meetingsinstitute.com
Guide for Meetings and Organisations
By N.E. Renton
Published by the Law Book Company
Available at bookshops
Take the Chair
By David Price, Harold Luxton and Bill Smith
Published by Australian Rostrum
Available from Rostrum Western Australia
Books for Company Meetings
Company Meetings, What you need to know
By Greg Bateman
Published by Butterworths
Available at bookshops
Books for more legal and technical information
Joske’s Law and Procedure at Meetings in Australia
By Eilis S Magner
Published by The Law Book Company
Available in bookshops
Horsley’s Meetings. Procedure, Law and Practice
By A.D. Lang
Published by Butterworths
Available in bookshops
Please Note: The author accepts no responsibility for anything which occurs directly or indirectly as a result of using any of the suggestions or procedures detailed in this blog. All suggestions and procedures are provided in good faith as general guidelines only and should be used in conjunction with relevant legislation, constitutions, rules, laws, by-laws, and with reasonable judgement.
David Julian Price
www.davidprice.com
Phone: 041 8888 018
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidjulianpricespeaker/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjulianprice/
