Register of members
Your association must keep and maintain a register of members. The register must contain the:
- person's name and address
- class of membership, if applicable (for example, voting or non-voting)
- date the person became a member.
If a person ends their membership:
- record the date they stopped being a member in the register within 14 days
- remove all information about that person from the register within 14 days, other than their name and the date they stopped being a member.
Inspecting the register
If asked, your association must allow a member, at a reasonable time, to inspect the register. However, there may be some restrictions. For details, view the Restricting access to personal information section on this page.
Using information from the register
A person may use or disclose information obtained from the register if it is:
- directly related to your association’s management or purposes, and
- allowed in the rules.
In any other case, contact details from the register cannot be used to contact members. For example, a person cannot use details from the register to contact members about a new business they are operating.
Restricting access to personal information
A person may ask the secretary to restrict access to their details in certain circumstances. For example, they:
- have a family violence or personal safety intervention order, or
- belong to an association that includes members with sensitive issues.
The secretary must grant the request if they believe there are special circumstances that justify doing so.
If the secretary refuses the request to restrict access, the member may apply to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) within 28 days for a review.
If the secretary refuses the request, they must notify the member in writing and include the reasons for the decision.
They must also not release the personal information without the member’s consent until at least 28 days have passed since advising them of the decision, and either:
- the member has not asked VCAT to review the decision, or
- VCAT has upheld the secretary's decision to release the information.
If a member wants to send information relating to the association to another member but cannot access the member’s restricted contact details, they should request that the secretary forwards the information on their behalf.