The Annual General Meeting of the Melbourne Cricket Club will be held on Monday August 17, 2020 commencing at 7.30pm.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this will be a virtual AGM conducted online.View: Notice of Annual General Meeting
View: MCC 2019/20 Annual Report
View: Minutes of Annual General Meeting 2019
HOW TO JOIN
While all members can attend the Annual General Meeting of the Melbourne Cricket Club, only Full members are eligible to vote.You will be able to login to the virtual AGM from 7.00pm via this link.
Joining as a Full member
Step 1: Select 'Full member'
Step 2: Enter your membership credentials:
- Membership number
- Date of birth (DDMMYYYY)
View: AGM Participation Guide for Full members
Joining as a Restricted or Provisional member
Step 1: Select 'Restricted/Provisional member'
Step 2: Complete the relevant fields to register your attendance
View: AGM Participation Guide for Restricted and Provisional members
PROPOSED RULE AMENDMENTS DESIGNED TO IMPROVE THE CLUB’S DISCIPLINARY PROCESS
An amendment to the Club’s Rules, designed to clarify and streamline the existing member disciplinary process, will be put to a vote at the upcoming Annual General Meeting on August 17.View: Proposal to amend the Rules of the Club
Overview:
In late 2019 the MCC Committee undertook a review of the Club’s disciplinary processes, with the aim of ensuring that the Club is able to provide a safe, respectful and pleasant environment for all members and their guests, as well as staff and contractors.
In addition to revealing areas of particular behavioural concern and the importance of ongoing, proactive engagement with membership regarding the standards of the Club, the review also highlighted opportunities to improve the efficiency, quality and consistency of the existing disciplinary process.
The Club is therefore proposing a revised approach to the disciplinary process.
Under the proposal, a new role of ‘Member Disciplinary Officer’ would be established to lead the investigation into alleged misconduct – from initial enquiries and notification of the member to facilitating the process of appeal.
Currently these responsibilities are split across a number of roles, resulting in a prolonged process for members. The new role would allow incidents to be progressed in a timely and focussed manner.
The Member Disciplinary Officer would not be involved in the decision making process – ensuring the separation of the investigation of the alleged misconduct from the outcome.
In addition, to further support the efficiency and timeliness of the process, the existing Discipline Sub-Committee will be replaced by a ‘Member Disciplinary Committee’.
Comprising the CEO or CEO’s delegate and two other individuals who must either be a Full member of the Club or a member of the Club’s management team (or MCC Committee member(s) when the CEO considers it appropriate), the Committee will review cases of alleged member misconduct and determine member penalties in the first instance.
In the three years from 2016 to 2019 there were 198 cases of alleged misconduct and card misuse, 176 of which were deemed to warrant suspension or expulsion from the Club.
It is intended that the Member Disciplinary Committee will be better able to manage such a volume, whilst also providing improved quality and consistency in proceedings.
Members will only be able to provide a written representation to be considered by the Member Disciplinary Committee as part of the initial decision making process, and also request an appeal following the determination.
All appeals will be heard by the Appeal Sub-Committee, which will be constituted by three Full members, including at least two MCC Committee members. Members who lodge an appeal will have the right to appear in person.
This process affords members two separate opportunities to respond to the allegations, consistent with the current system.
The review of disciplinary process also found that approximately 80 per cent of members facing allegations made their initial representation in writing, further supporting the logic in the proposed approach.
The Committee hopes that by drawing attention to disciplinary issues and improving the process for their management, we may see fewer incidents arising, resulting in improved event day experience and amenity for MCC members and their guests.
The Club will continue to educate and inform members about the disciplinary process, including reminding members of the expected standards and providing insight into the penalties members may face as a result of card misuse or misbehaviour by themselves or their guests, and will also publish a summary of the outcomes of cases dealt with.
As required, the MCG Trust has been provided the proposed changes to the MCC Rules and has provided its consent for the matter to be put to a vote at the Annual General Meeting.
For further enquiries about the proposal members are encouraged to email membership@mcc.org.au
Summary:
- Introduction of the role of ‘Member Disciplinary Officer’ to investigate alleged misconduct and card misuse. This role will be supported by a dedicated match day resource to assist with investigations, including assisting match day staff with quality of reporting, reviewing CCTV footage and obtaining witness statements
- Establishment of ‘Member Disciplinary Committee’ to replace the existing Disciplinary Sub-Committee
- Members given the opportunity to provide a written representation to be considered by the Member Disciplinary Committee as part of their initial decision
- Members able to appeal the decision and present in person to a revised Appeal Sub-Committee
- Penalty Guide used as reference point for Members Disciplinary Committee in setting out expected range of sanctions for various offences to be shared with members
- Overall changes designed to improve the consistency, timeliness and efficiency in the handling of disciplinary matters
- Full members to vote on proposal at Annual General Meeting on Monday August 17, 2020.
An electronic copy of the Rules marked-up showing the proposed changes to the Rules is available here.