The Melbourne Cricket Club’s 188th Annual General Meeting (AGM) was held last night, on Tuesday August 12, 2025 in the Members’ Dining Room.
The meeting was once again hosted in both an online format, via the CorpVote platform, and in-person at the MCG.With 470 in attendance, President Fred Oldfield, Treasurer Geoff Roberts and Chief Executive Stuart Fox delivered their reports on the 2024/25 financial year in relation to the latest Annual Report.
Mr Oldfield acknowledged the past financial year has been a highly successful period, noting high attendances, exceptional events and positive feedback from members.
He focused on the treasured membership pillar of the Club's current Strategic Plan, highlighting the Club's unique ability to unite generations of sporting fans.
Mr Oldfield emphasised that members remain at the forefront of every decision that is made by the Club, with significant upgrades to various hospitality spaces and new dining options introduced to benefit the member experience on an event day.
In addition to this, Mr Oldfield highlighted new member engagement events that have been introduced in the past year including Cup Day at the 'G and New Year's Eve at the 'G. Speaking more broadly about Club life, Mr Oldfield spoke about various overseas tours that allow members to experience other major sporting events and venues all over the world.
With affordability always front of mind, Mr Oldfield discussed the Club's ability to keep membership fee increases to a reasonable figure in line with inflation.
In acknowledging one of the Club's main roles, managing the MCG, Mr Oldfield reinforced the MCC's commitment to maintain a world-class stadium while preparing for future redevelopment.
Reinforcing the importance of treasured membership, Mr Oldfield discussed an increase to disciplinary cases in the past year. Members were reminded to adhere to the Club's Code of Conduct to ensure the Members' Reserve remains a safe, inclusive and welcoming environment for everyone.
Mr Oldfield closed by thanking former Committee members Sally Macindoe, Alice Robinson and Ted Baillieu for their service and commitment to improving Club life. Each retired from their positions in the last 12 months. Respected sports administrator James Sutherland was also welcomed after joining the Committee in early 2025.
Committee and Office Bearer Elections
The meeting detailed the elections of Committee members and office bearers, with Mr Oldfield re-elected unopposed as President.Vice-President Christian Johnston and Treasurer Geoff Roberts were again elected to their respective roles. Mr Johnston and Mr Adrian Anderson both hold the positions of Vice-Presidents of the Club.
There were three vacancies on the Committee due to retiring members who were eligible for re-election and the result of a members vote was announced at this meeting. Six members nominated for Committee selection in the three vacant positions, current Committee members, Ms Annabel Brebner, Ms Paula Dwyer and Ms Kalpana Ramani and Mr Anthony (Tony) Burns, Mr James Duncan and Mr John Kavanagh OAM.
Ms Brebner, Ms Dwyer and Ms Ramani were all re-elected to their positions on the Committee.
A total of 9,204 eligible members voted with each required to cast three votes. The results were as follows:
- Annabel Brebner - 5,662
- Anthony (Tony) Burns - 4,240
- James Duncan - 3,223
- Paula Dwyer - 5,584
- John Kavanagh OAM - 4,152
- Kalpana Ramani - 4,751
Proposed Motions to update the Club Rules
One of the outcomes of the membership review was to update the Club Rules, the constitution which governs the MCC, to bring them in line with contemporary practices.The first set of Club Rules were drafted in 1846 and has evolved and been amended over time in instances like the introduction of Provisional membership. The current Club Rules referred to outdated practices and wording references, and to correct those, the Committee proposed a series of changes throughout the document which were categorised into three themes:
- Administration
- Governance
- Integrity
As part of Motion 1 – Administration Updates, the President advised members during the meeting that the proposed wording of Rule 18(c)(ii), of ‘no later than 15 April if that date is a Business Day, or otherwise on the next Business Day’ would not be included in the motion being voted on. Instead, the existing wording of ‘at least one month before the General Meeting’ would remain.
Each motion was presented to members attending the meeting with eligible Full members entitled to vote for or against the proposed changes. As per the current Club Rules, two thirds of those eligible members in attendance and voting during the meeting were required to vote in favour to enshrine the changes into the Club Rules.
The results were as follows:
Motion 1 - Administrative Updates
- For - 85%
- Against - 15%
Motion 2 - Governance Updates
- For - 68%
- Against - 32%
Motion 3 - Integrity Updates
- For - 84%
- Against - 16%
All motions were supported to be adopted into the Club Rules.
However, as outlined in Rule 10.4(c) and Rule 18(b)(ii), 30 eligible voting members or more can request a ballot be held to determine if the motion is passed. This occurred during the meeting in relation to Motion 2 – Governance Updates and the Club will now facilitate a ballot process in accordance with Rule 10.6. The Committee has appointed Tim Jones from independent voting and election service provider, CorpVote, as the Returning Officer to conduct the ballot.
Voting on Motion 2 – Governance Updates motion opens on Friday August 22, 2025 at 12.01am AEST and will close at 5.00pm AEST on Friday September 5, 2025. The closing date is in line with the Club Rules which outline the ballot must close within one month of the Annual General Meeting, having been held on Tuesday August 12, 2025.
More details on the ballot process will be emailed to eligible voting members in the coming week.
The Melbourne Cricket Club Rules with Motions 1 and 3 enshrined can be viewed here.