Oversight, and the duties that come with the title
A president’s job is to keep the club running well: chairing meetings, keeping the committee working together and answering for the club when something goes wrong. Most of the detailed work belongs to the secretary, treasurer and registrar, but the president needs to know it is being done.
In a club recognised for the Conditional Registration Scheme, the president has more than a chairing role. The Code names the president and the secretary, when elected by a vote of the club’s financial members, as the club’s elected officials. Several notices to the Registrar of Motor Vehicles can only come from an elected official, and the club’s recognition depends on them being sent on time.
Your duties as an elected official
These are the Scheme duties the Code gives to an elected official, which you share with the secretary.
| Duty | When | The Code |
|---|---|---|
| Nominate authorised persons, in writing, with the nominee’s full name, address and SA client or licence number | When applying for recognition, or adding one later | Clauses 2.4, 2.9, 2.15 |
| Notify the Registrar when an authorised person leaves the club or resigns the role | Within 14 days | Clause 2.13 |
| Return that person’s certificate of authorisation | Within 14 days | Clause 2.14 |
| Apply to the Registrar to revoke an authorised person who will not step aside | When needed, with reasons | Clause 2.19 |
| Keep the MR334 booklets and monitor their use (shared with authorised persons) | Ongoing | Clause 2.24 |
| Report a lost, destroyed or spoiled MR334 (signed by an authorised person) | When it happens | Clause 2.26 |
None of these happen on a calendar. They are triggered by events, often at awkward moments, so the president needs to know when one has started the 14-day clock.
When an authorised person steps down
An authorised person’s appointment ends when they stop being a member of the club or resign the role (the Code, clause 2.17). The club then has 14 days to notify the Registrar in writing, to DIT.PlateEnquiries@sa.gov.au, and 14 days to return their certificate (clauses 2.13 and 2.14).
This tends to happen at the AGM, when a long-serving member retires from the committee, or quietly, when someone does not renew. The second case is the one clubs miss. If your authorised person lets their membership lapse, their appointment ends with it (clause 2.12), and the 14 days start whether or not anyone has noticed.
MemberCrew helps here because membership status is visible to the committee. A president checking the renewals outstanding can see if an authorised person is among them, and the activity log shows when their status changed. MemberCrew does not send the notice; an elected official does.
If an authorised person should step aside
Sometimes a committee decides an authorised person is no longer suitable. The Code sets out a process, and it starts with a conversation.
- The club asks the person to give up the role voluntarily (the Code, clause 2.18).
- If they decline, the elected officials apply in writing to the Registrar to revoke the appointment, giving reasons (clause 2.19).
- The Registrar gives the person written notice and 14 days to respond, then decides and advises in writing (clauses 2.20 and 2.21).
The grounds the Registrar considers include leaving the club, breaching the Code, giving false or misleading statements, or not being fit and proper or suitable for the role (clause 2.22). The president often leads that conversation, so it helps to know the steps before it starts.
Knowing the club’s numbers
A president should not have to ring three people to find out how the club is going. MemberCrew’s committee overview shows live counts from the club’s records: current members and how many are financial this year, renewals paid and outstanding, the dues still to collect, invoices owing, vehicles and current log books. Every figure updates as the records change.
What the president sees depends on their role. Each committee member sees what their role allows, so the club decides what its president’s role covers. The reports and exports feature covers what the committee can draw from the records, including figures for the AGM.
Changing the committee
When the committee changes at the AGM, the club’s records should stay put while access changes hands. In MemberCrew, each committee member has their own login and a role, so new office holders get access to what their role needs and outgoing members’ roles can be changed or removed.
The activity log records every change, with who did what and when, so a new committee can see what happened before them. The roles and activity log feature explains how access works, and the committee handover checklist lists everything else to hand over, including the 14-day notice if an authorised person is leaving.
If the club winds up
No president wants to plan for it, but the Code has firm deadlines. If the club ceases to operate, it notifies the Registrar in writing within 14 days, and the relevant Federation too (the Code, clauses 2.1i and 2.34). Unused log books and other documents go back to the Issuing Body (clause 2.35), and unused MR334 numbers and details of the club’s Scheme vehicles go to the Registrar within 14 days (clause 2.36).
Members with Scheme vehicles must then join another recognised club, with a new MR334 and log book, or take their vehicles off conditional registration (clause 2.38). Having every Scheme vehicle and its owner in one register, ready to export, makes that list one download instead of a weekend’s work.
The Scheme guide covers the club’s duties in full, and the Scheme compliance checklist puts the ongoing ones on one page.