Membership is open to any religious or faith/belief groups or individuals
Categories of Membership
The Queensland Faith Communities Council (QFCC) Constitution (approved 23 May 2017 at a Special General Meeting) states that membership of the QFCC is open to any religious or faith/belief groups or individual in Queensland who can demonstrate support for the Vision, Mission and Code of Conduct of the Council.
Ordinary member
A body (whether incorporated or not), specifically registered by the Council as an Ordinary member being one of the religious or faith/belief groups in Queensland eligible for membership.
Each Ordinary Member will be entitled to nominate (in writing) no more than three representatives on the Council. These nominated representatives will each have the right to attend meetings, speak and vote at meetings of the Council.
Associate member
A natural person aged 18 years or over who is a participant within a religious or faith/belief group. Associate Members will have the right to attend meetings and speak but not vote.
Affiliate member
A local interfaith group, or educational body involved in multi-faith religious or moral education. Affiliate Members are entitled to no more than two representatives at a meeting of the Council. These representatives may speak but not vote.
Observer
A body which has applied for Ordinary membership of the Council and is awaiting completion of the process for approval of membership. Observers may have up to three representatives at meetings who may speak but not vote. The period of time that a body remains an Observer is a matter for negotiation between the applicant and the Council.
Cost of Membership
The current fees are:
- Ordinary $100 per annum (pa) plus GST
- Associate $25 pa plus GST
- Affiliate $50 pa plus GST
- Observer $20 pa plus GST
Membership fees are reviewed annually and agreed by the Annual General Meeting (AGM).
The QFCC Executive reserves the right to waive or lower membership fees in cases of hardship.
Guidelines
Unless the applicant has a proven, long-standing existence in Queensland which is known to the Membership subcommittee and Executive of the QFCC, all applicants applying for Ordinary member status will be given Observer status for a minimum of two years.
Within this time-frame, evidence of adherence to the QFCC Vision, Mission and Code of Conduct shall be a core consideration in addition to substantive involvement in and promotion of interfaith work in the Queensland community.
After this period, Observer members will have their status reviewed and may be assigned Ordinary / Affiliate member status.
It should be noted that the process of membership is neither quick nor guaranteed.
Eligibility Criteria
Those bodies or individuals applying for membership of the QFCC should:
- support the Constitutional aims of the QFCC
- support the Vision and Mission of the QFCC
- be willing to abide by the Code of Conduct of the QFCC
- be formally structured with a written constitution or a set of approved and minuted guidelines, excepting individuals who should be a participant within a religious or faith/belief group
- meet the eligibility criteria relating to one of the categories of QFCC membership as outlined previously in ‘categories of membership’.
Application Process
- An applying body completes an application form and returns this to the QFCC office along with a copy of its constitution or a set of approved and minuted guidelines and a statement about how it believes that it meets the membership eligibility criteria.
- A brief statement describing the applying body and how it feels it can enhance the Vision and Mission of the QFCC plus what it hopes to gain from membership of the QFCC, should be included.
- The membership subcommittee shall advise the Executive as to whether the applying body meets the relevant criteria.
- The membership subcommittee may request additional materials and/or a meeting with representatives of the applying body if it thinks it will be helpful.
The member application can be found by clicking the link (Member Application Form 20171205 – dotx).