PART I-PRELIMINARY
Part 1. Definitions
1) In these rules:
Member means the Foundation Members, the Associate Members and the Ordinary Members (and their classes).
Secretary means:
a) the person holding office under these rules as secretary of the association, or
b) if no such person holds that office-the public officer of the association.
Special general meeting means a general meeting of the association other than the annual general meeting,
The Board of Management means the management committee (executive and ordinary committee members) and is taken to mean the Board of Management of the Association of Cosmic Ordering Practitioners.

2) The association may be referred to as the Association of Cosmic Ordering Practitioners (AoCOP).

Part 2
1. Name
The name of the association shall be: the Association of Cosmic Ordering Practitioners (AoCOP).

2. Objects
The objects of the association shall be:
a) To promote the development and implementation of Cosmic Ordering to the world society. These include educational, business, personal development and sport.
b) To establish a set of training standards and professional ethics
b) To establish a set of training standards and professional ethics that the
world community can identify with.
c) To establish a set of standards for Cosmic Ordering Practitioners, Master Cosmic Ordering Practitioners and Master Trainers.
d) Recognition of Cosmic Ordering as a therapeutic and life changing intervention.
e) To aid in the development and research into the applications of Cosmic Ordering.
f) To provide support for Cosmic Ordering Practitioners, Master Practitioners & Cosmic Ordering Trainers though opportunities for further education, networking, social functions, resources and regular updates, articles and developments.

3. Membership
a) Subject to these rules the members of the AoCOP  shall be members of the
AoCOP together with such other people and organisations as the Board of Management admits to membership.
b) Membership is open to all individuals and organisations who accept the objects and rules of the association, the code of ethics and fulfil membership criteria.
c) Individuals and organisations wishing to become members of the association shall apply to the AoCOP Board of Management for membership.
d) The Board of Management shall determine whether or not to accept an application for membership. The Board of Management is not required to supply reasons for accepting or rejecting an application for membership.
e) The members are comprised of the following classes of members:
i. Founding members;
ii. Affiliate members;
iii. Associate Cosmic Ordering Practitioner members;
iv. Cosmic Ordering Practitioner members;
v. Master Cosmic Ordering Practitioner members;
vi. Master Trainer Cosmic Ordering Practitioner members;
vii. Trainer members;
viii. Life members.
and the Board of Management will determine the qualifications and annual membership fee necessary for membership in each of the different classes of membership provided that nothing in those qualifications is to be contrary to this Constitution.
f) Founding members are members who have paid an initial membership fee as in the fees listing. A Founding member will be required to pay the annual membership fee depending in which additional class they qualify to be a member.
g) No person will be admitted as a Founding Member after December 2009.
h) An Associate Cosmic Ordering Practitioner member will not have a right to vote or speak at any meeting of the membership and there is no requirement that they be notified of any members meeting. Any provision of this Constitution referring to members having any such right is to be read as excluding Associate Cosmic Ordering Practitioner members.
i) Members shall pay such fees as are determined by the association at a general meeting and different fees may be payable by different classes of members.
j) A register of members shall be kept by the association showing the name, address and date of commencement of membership for each member.
Provision for noting the date of cessation of membership shall also be contained in the register.
k) Membership shall cease upon resignation, expulsion, or failure to pay outstanding membership fees within 3 months of the due date.
l) A person ceases to be a member of the association if the person:
i. dies
ii. resigns membership, or
iii. is expelled from the association.
m)Membership fees shall fall due on the first day of each financial year of the association. The financial year of the association shall run from February 1 to January 31st or such period as is determined by the Board of Management.
n) Membership fees for Founding Membership of the AoCOP Inc are a once only
fee and cease to be available for sale from end of December.
o) Life members may be appointed by the association in recognition of a person’s contribution and commitment to the association and its objects. Once a person is appointed as a life member they will not be obliged to pay an annual membership fee and will continue as a member until they:
i. are removed in accordance with this Constitution;
ii. die or
iii. resign
4. Membership entitlements not transferable
A right, privilege or obligation which a person has by reason of being a member
of the AoCOP:
a) is not capable of being transferred or transmitted to another person, and
b) terminates on cessation of the person’s membership.
5. Resignation of membership
a) A member of the association is not entitled to resign that membership except in
accordance with this rule (5(b)).
b) A member of the association who has paid all amounts payable by the member to the association in respect of the member’s membership may resign from membership of the association by first giving to the secretary written notice of at least one month (or such other period as the Board of Management may determine) of the member’s intention to resign and on the expiration of the period of notice, the member ceases to be a member.
c) If a member of the association ceases to be a member under clause (5b), and in every other case where a member ceases to hold membership, the secretary must make an appropriate entry in the register of members recording the date on which the member ceased to be a member.
6. Fees and subscriptions
a) A member of the association must, on admission to membership, pay to the association the required fee for their level of membership.
b) In addition to any amount payable by the member under clause 6(a) a member of the association must pay the relevant annual membership fee.
c) A Foundation member is not required to pay an annual membership fee to use the title Founding Member.
7. Members liability
The members of the association shall have no liability to contribute towards the payment of debts or liabilities of the association or the costs, charges and expenses of the winding up of the association except to the amount of any unpaid membership fees.
8. Management by committee
a) The association shall have its affairs controlled and managed by the Board of Management. The management committee are referred to as the Board of Management.
b) The office bearers shall be President, Co Vice President (Administration),
Co Vice Chairperson (Finance), Secretary and Treasurer.
c) The Board of Management may exercise all such functions as may be exercised by the association, other than those functions that are required by these rules to be exercised by a general meeting of members of the association, and
d) Has the power to perform all such acts and do all such things as appear to the
Board of Management to be necessary or desirable for the proper management of the affairs of the association.
e) The office bearers shall be elected by the Board of Management.
f) The Founding Board of Management has the same rights and responsibilities as
the Board of Management and no distinction apart from the title is made.
9. Casual vacancies in the Board of Management
a) For the purposes of these rules, a casual vacancy in the office of a member of the Board of Management occurs if the member:
i. Dies, or
ii. Ceases to be a member of the association, or
iii. Becomes insolvent under administration
iv. Resigns office by notice given to the secretary, or
v. Becomes a mentally incapacitated person.
b) Any casual vacancy occurring in the Board of Management may be filled by a member appointed by the Board of Management until the conclusion of the annual general meeting next following the date of appointment.
c) A member of the Board of Management shall cease to hold office upon resignation in writing; removal as a member of the association; or absence from three successive Board of Management meetings without approval by the Board of Management.
10. Board of Management meetings
a) The Board of Management shall meet as often as necessary to conduct the business of the association and not less than once in each 8-week period.
b) Additional meetings of the Board of Management may be convened by the Chairperson or by any member of the Board of Management.
c) Oral or written notice of a meeting of the Board of Management must be given to each Board of Management member at least 14 days (or such other period as may be unanimously agreed on by the members of the Board of Management) before the time appointed for the holding of the meeting.
e) Notice of the meeting must specify the general nature of business to be
transacted.
f) A resolution of the Board of Management will be passed where the resolution is consented to in writing by each member of the Board of Management.
11. Disciplining of members
a) A complaint may be made to the Board of Management by any person that a member of the association:
i. has persistently refused or neglected to comply with a provision or provisions of these rules, or
ii. has persistently and wilfully acted in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the association.
and any such complaint must be in writing.
b) On receiving such a complaint, the Board of Management:
i. must cause notice of the complaint to be served on the member concerned:
and
ii. must give the member at least 14 days from the time the notice is served within which to make submissions to the Board of Management in connection with the complaint, and
iii. must take into consideration any submissions made by the member in connection with the complaint.
c) The Board of Management may, by resolution, expel the member from the association or suspend the member from membership of the association, after considering the complaint and any submissions made in connection with the complaint.
d) A member may be expelled from membership of the association (or otherwise disciplined) by the Board of Management if, in the opinion of the Board of Management after affording the member the opportunity of offering an explanation of his/her conduct, the conduct is regarded as detrimental to the interests of the association.
e) A member who wishes to appeal against a decision expelling or otherwise disciplining him/her may do so by notifying the Secretary in writing that s/he wishes the decision to be reviewed at the next general meeting of the association.
f) If the Board of Management expels or suspends a member, the Secretary must, within 7 days after the action is taken, cause written notice to be given to the member of the action taken, of the reasons given by the Board of Management for having taken that action and of the member’s right of appeal under Rule 12.
g) The expulsion or suspension does not take effect:
i. until the expiration of the period within which the member is entitled to appeal against the resolution concerned, or
ii. if within that period the member exercises the right of appeal, unless and until the association confirms the resolution under rule 12 (d)
whichever is the later.
12. Right of appeal of a disciplined member
a) A member may appeal to the association in a general meeting against a resolution of the Board of Management under rule (11), within 7 days after notice of the resolution is served on the member, by lodging with the Secretary a notice to that effect.
b) The notice may, but need not, be accompanied by a statement of the grounds on which the member intends to rely for the purposes of the appeal.
c) On receipt of a notice from a member under clause (a) the Secretary must notify the
Board of Management, which is to convene a general meeting of the association to be held within 28 days after the date on which the Secretary received the notice.
d) At a general meeting of the association convened under clause (c ):
i. no other business other than the question of the appeal is to be transacted, and
ii. the Board of Management and the member must be given the opportunity to state their respective cases orally or in writing, or both,
and
iii. the members present are to vote by secret ballot on the question of whether the resolution should be confirmed or revoked.
e) If at a general meeting the association passes a special resolution in favour of the confirmation of the resolution, the resolution is confirmed.
13. Disputes between members
a) In the event of a dispute arising between members (in their capacity as members) or between a member(s) and the association or a member(s) and the Board of Management the following procedure shall apply.
b) Each side of the dispute shall nominate a representative who is not directly involved in
the dispute. Those representatives shall then attempt to settle the dispute by negotiation.
c) Should the nominated representatives be unable to resolve the dispute within 14 days
(or such other period as they may agree upon) the dispute shall be referred to a person mutually agreed for the mediation.
d) In the event that no person can be agreed upon to mediate the dispute it shall be referred to the President.
e) At least 7 days before a mediation session is to commence, the parties are to exchange statements of the issues that are in dispute between them and supply copies to the mediator.
14. Annual general meetings
a) The annual general meeting of the association is convened on such date and at such place and time as the Board of Management thinks fit.
b) An annual general meeting must be specified as such in the notice convening it.
c) An annual general meeting of the association shall be held each year within six
months from the end of the financial year of the association.
d) In the case of the annual general meeting the following business shall be transacted:
i. Confirmation of the minutes of the last annual general meeting and any recent special general meeting.
ii. receipt of the Board of Management’s report on the activities of the association in the last financial year.
iii. receipt and consideration of a statement from the Board of Management which is not misleading and gives a true and fair view for the last financial year of the association’s income and expenditure, assets and liabilities, mortgages, charges and other securities and trust properties.
15. Special General Meetings
a) The Board of Management may, whenever it thinks fit, convene a special general meeting of the association. A special general meeting must be convened by the Board of Management within three months of receiving a written request to do so from at least five per cent of the membership of the association.
b) A requisition of members for a special general meeting:
i. must state the purpose or purposes of the meeting, and
ii. must be signed by the members making the requisition, and
iii. must be lodged with the secretary, and
iv. may consist of several documents in a similar form, each signed by one or more of the members making the requisition.
c) If the Board of Management fails to convene a special general meeting to be held within 1 month after that date on which a requisition of members for the meeting is lodged with the secretary, any one or more of the members who made the requisition may convene a special general meeting to be held not later than 3 months after that date.
d) A special general meeting convened by a member or members as referred to in Clause
(c) must be convened as nearly as practicable in the same manner as general meetings are convened by the Board of Management.
e) In the case of general meetings where a resolution is to be proposed, notice of the resolution shall be given to members at least 14 days before the meeting.
f) If the nature of the business proposed to be dealt with at a general meeting requires a special resolution of the association, the Secretary must, at least 21 days before the date fixed for the holding of the general meeting, cause notice to be given to each member specifying, in addition to the matter required in clause (e), the intention to propose the resolution as a special resolution.
g) A member desiring to bring any business before a general meeting may give notice in writing of that business to the secretary who must include that business in the next notice calling a general meeting given after receipt of the notice from the member.
16. Office bearers
a) The President or, in the President’s absence, a Co-Vice Chairperson shall act as chairperson at each general meeting and Board of Management meeting of the association.
b) If the President and Co-Vice Chairperson(s) are absent from a meeting, or unwilling
to act, the members present at the meeting shall elect one of their number to act as chairperson.
c) The Secretary shall ensure that records of the business of the association including the rules, register of members, minutes of all general and Board of Management meetings and a file of correspondence are kept.
17. Special resolutions
a) A special resolution must be passed by a special general meeting of the association
to effect the following changes:
i. a change of the association’s name;
ii. a change of the association’s rules;
iii. a change of the association’s objects;
iv. an amalgamation with another incorporated association;
v. to voluntarily wind up the association.
vi. to apply for registration as a company or co-operative.
18. Delegation by Board of Management to subcommittee
a) The Board of Management may, by instrument in writing, delegate to one or more subcommittees (consisting of such member or members of the association as the
Board of Management thinks fit) the exercise of such of the functions of the Board of
Management as are specified in the instrument, other than:
i. this power of delegation, and
ii. a function which is a duty imposed on the Board of Management by the Act or by any other law.
b) A function the exercise of which has been delegated to a subcommittee under this rule may, while the delegation remains unrevoked, be exercised from time to time by the subcommittee in accordance with the terms of the delegation.
c) A delegation under this section may be made subject to such conditions or limitations as to the exercise of any function, or as to the time or circumstances, as may be specified in the instrument of delegation,
d) Despite any delegation under this rule, the Board of Management may continue to exercise any function delegated.
e) Any act or thing done or suffered by a sub-committee acting in the exercise of a delegation under this rule has the same force and effect as it would have if it had been done or suffered by the Board of Management.
f) The Board of Management may, by instrument in writing, revoke wholly or in part any delegation under this rule.
19. Voting and decisions
a) Questions arising at a meeting of the Board of Management or of any subcommittee appointed by the Board of Management are to be determined by a majority of the votes of members of the Board of Management or sub committee present at the meeting.
b) Each member present at a meeting of the Board of Management or subcommittee (including the person presiding at the meeting) is entitled to one vote but, in the event of an equality of votes on any question, the person presiding may exercise a second or casting vote,
c) Subject to rule 9 (f) the Board of Management may act despite any vacancy on the Board of Management.
d) Any act or thing done or suffered, or purporting to have been done or suffered, by the Board of Management or by a sub committee appointed by the Board of Management, is valid and effectual despite any defect that may afterwards be discovered in the appointment or qualification of any member of the Board of Management or sub-committee.

20. Public Officer
a) The Board of Management shall ensure that a person is appointed as Public Officer.
b) The Board of Management may at any time remove the public officer and appoint a new Public Officer provided the person appointed is 18 years of age or older.
c) The Public Officer shall be deemed to have vacated their position in the following circumstances:
i. death;
ii. resignation;
iii. removal by the Board of Management or at a general meeting;
iv. bankruptcy or financial insolvency;
v. mental illness; or
d) The Public Officer may be an office bearer, Board of Management member, or any other person regarded as suitable for the position by the Board of Management.
e) The Public Officer shall keep a register of members of the Board of Management which must:
i. contain the name and residential address of each Board of Management member and the date on which they became a member of the Board of Management.
ii. be updated within one month of any change taking place; and
21. Miscellaneous
a) The funds of the association shall be derived from membership fees, donations, grants and such other sources as may be approved by the association.
b) Subject to any resolution passed by the association in general meeting, the funds of the association are to be used in pursuance of the objects of the association in such manner as the Board of Management determines.
c) Service of documents (in writing) on the association is effected by serving them on the Public Officer or by serving them personally by two members of the Board of Management.
d) Notices sent by post shall be deemed to have been received two days after the date of posting.
e) The income and property of the association shall be used only for promotion of the objects and rules of the association and shall not be paid or transferred to members by way of dividend, bonus or profit.
f) Meetings can be held by any form of technology that permits each participant to hear each other participant and permits each participant to communicate with each other participant
22. Alteration of objects or rules
The statement of objects and these rules may be altered, rescinded or added to only by a special resolution of the association.
23. Service of notices
a) For the purpose of these rules, a notice may be served on or given to a person:
i. by delivering it to the person personally, or
ii. by sending it by prepaid post to the address of the person, or
iii. by sending it by facsimile transmission or some other form of electronic transmission to an address specified by the person for giving or serving the notice.
b) for the purpose of these rules, a notice is taken, unless the contrary is proved, to have been given or served:
i. in the case of a notice given or served personally, on the date on which it is received by the addressee, and
ii. in the case of a notice sent by prepaid post, on the date when
it would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post,
and
iii. in the case of a notice sent by facsimile or some other form of electronic transmission, on the date it was sent, or if the machine from which the transmission was sent produces a report indicating that the notice was sent on a later date, on that date.