Young Members Forum: Shaping the Future of your Soroptimist Club 

Sunday, 31st May at 2:00 PM AEST 

Follow the link to join the conversation: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87106865092...

We continue to explore club member composition and how we can future proof our club membership composition encourage the next generation of passionate changemakers?

Come and join us for an engaging, thought-provoking, and highly interactive forum!

What to Expect: This session will feature a panel of young Soroptimists sharing honest insights into what has worked for them, what hasn’t, and the innovative approaches they suggest to connect with their peers.

Together, we will explore practical strategies to better align with the motivations of young women focusing on:

• Opportunities for leadership and professional growth.
• Creating meaningful impact in our communities.
• Offering flexible engagement to fit busy lives.
• Addressing common barriers like time constraints, visibility, and the evolving expectations of volunteering.

Whether you are seeking fresh ideas to re-energize your club or you're ready to share your own successful experiences, this forum offers a valuable opportunity to learn, reflect, and collaborate.

President Joanne Yeoh is pleased to announce the establishment of the SISEAP Legacy Fund — a permanent, responsibly managed fund created to secure the long-term future of our work across South East Asia and the Pacific.

SISEAP is committed to advancing the status and well-being of women and girls through education, empowerment, and advocacy. Currently, SISEAP relies on member dues to fund its activities. However, administrative and operational costs remain a continual challenge especially with membership challenges we face. Establishing a dedicated fund sourced from donations and bequests will provide a stable, long-term revenue stream to offset these costs.

The Legacy Fund preserves capital and uses investment earnings to support strategic initiatives that empower women and girls for generations to come.

Members and clubs are warmly invited to consider contributing, either through a donation today or by including SISEAP in their Will.

A legacy gift is not about size — it is about ensuring that our mission continues well into the future.

For more information or to make a confidential enquiry, please visit the SISEAP website or contact SISEAP Director, Deborah Wood, director.deborah@siseap.org who is spearheading the SISEAP Legacy Fund.

Together, we are building a future that lasts

Many of our Members (Clubs) have been asking us, what is SISEAPs status now that we have become a charity mean to them as Clubs across our Federation? The following is a brief outline of SISEAP’s charity status and what is involved for our Company now operating as a charity.

The Company announced on 6 September 2024 (effective from 2 January 2023) that SOROPTIMIST INTERNATIONAL SOUTH EAST ASIA PACIFIC had been approved and registered as a charity under ACNC – Australian Charities and Not for Profit Commission.

Soroptimist International South East Asia Pacific is registered with ACNC as a Company Limited by Guarantee – we are therefore under the category called a CLG (Company Limited by Guarantee) which is a type of organisational legal structure. All CLGs are registered as companies with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) which is required for us to operate as a company in Australia.

As a CLG and registered as a charity, we have ongoing obligations to ACNC which include:

• maintaining charity status by remaining not-for-profit and working towards the charity’s charitable purposes
• submitting an Annual Information Statement each year
• complying with the ACNC Governance Standards and External Conduct Standards
• notifying of changes to:
  • the charity’s company name (including removing ‘Limited’ from the name)
  • the charity’s Address for Service
  • the charity’s Responsible People (its directors) or
  • the charity’s governing document (its constitution)

As a charity we still have obligations to ASIC but these remain minor for so long as we retain Charitable Status with ACNC and these requirements are:

• it wants to change its name (including removing ‘Limited’ from the company name)
• its auditor resigns or is removed (in certain circumstances)
• an external administrator is appointed, or
• it winds up or deregisters.
• A charity does not have to report annually to ASIC, nor does it need to notify ASIC of certain changes.

ACNC requires Charities to operate under Governance Standards, which are a set of core minimum standards, that deal with how a charity is run and this includes its processes, activities and relationships – in other words its Governance. These Standards require charities to remain charitable, operate lawfully, and be run in an accountable and responsible way. Because the Governance Standards are a set of high-level principles, not precise rules, charities must determine the actions they need to take to comply with them. SISEAP lists these ‘principles’ in our Constitution and our Bylaws along with other supporting policies, procedures, manuals and other associated documentation.

Very importantly, Charities must meet the Governance Standards to be registered and remain registered with the ACNC.

These are the Governance Standards that SISEAP now adheres to so that we ensure that we retain our Charitable Status.

• Standard 1: Purposes and not-for-profit nature
• Standard 2: Accountability to Members
• Standard 3: Compliance with Australian Law
• Standard 4: Suitability of Responsible People
• Standard 5: Duties of Responsible People
• Standard 6: Maintaining and enhancing public trust and confidence in the Australian not-for-profit sector

How does SISEAP meet the civil statutory directors’ duties now that they are registered as a Charity?

A CLG that is a registered charity no longer needs to comply with the civil directors’ duties under the Corporations Act. Instead, it must comply with ACNC Governance Standard 5. This Governance Standard requires charities to make sure that their Responsible People meet similar duties to those under the Corporations Act.

Who are Responsible People in SISEAP?

A Responsible Person is someone responsible for governing a charity. Generally, a charity’s Responsible People are its board or committee members, and Responsible People may be referred to by different names depending on the type of organisation they are part of – in SISEAP we call responsible people Directors.

Therefore, SISEAP directors are responsible for governing and overseeing the affairs of the registered charity CLG and for setting its strategic direction. 

SISEAP is continuing to work towards the implementation of the ACNC Governance Standards to all our governance documentation and operating documentation.  More information will be provided via the Bulletin as we work through this process.

What is important to remember is that our charitable status is for the Company – Soroptimist International South East Asia Pacific – and the Company is allowed to use the ACNC Logo on all its public documentation. However, this does not apply to any of our Members (Clubs) and unless a Club has applied and been successful in obtaining their own Charitable Status. Clubs across the Federation are not permitted to use the Charity Logo nor to obtain grants or funding by using the SISEAP Charitable Status on your Letters, Emails, Grant Applications or any general advertising that the Clubs may undertake.

Theresa Lyford

SISEAP Company Secretary