What is Fitness Australia's Company Structure?

Fitness Australia often gets questions about its company structure. This is perhaps because there is some confusion about the role and purpose of the Association. Hopefully, this article will help to clarify the structure and provide the facts.

Fitness Australia is not a government agency or a private sector organisation. It is described as a national peak industry body, or an industry association. It's legal company structure is that of an unlisted public company, with a not-for-profit status. In Australia, there are three main company/organisational sectors:

1. The public sector (government departments, agencies, statutory authorities etc.)
2. The private sector (organisations that trade in goods and services and return dividends or profits to their shareholders/owners);
3. The not-for-profit sector (organisations that offer goods and services to serve some collective purpose. These are generally governed by volunteers and no dividends are paid. Any surpluses are re-invested back into the organisation and the cause that it supports or represents.)

Organisations in the third sector (not-for-profit) include legitimate professional associations, peak bodies, industry associations, charitable organisations etc.

Before Fitness Australia became a national peak body in July 2008, it consisted of eight, separate incorporated associations in the state and territory jurisdictions of Australia. An incorporated association is required to meet state and territory-based legal requirements. Once these state and territory based associations were merged, the Fitness Australia Board of Directors decided to form Fitness Australia Ltd as a company limited by guarantee. Therefore it is an unlisted public company and subject to the Corporations Law, regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). This legal structure creates a need for the organisation to operate under strict regulations and guidelines, so it encourages excellence in operational performance and governance.

As an Association, Fitness Australia was formed by the fitness industry, to represent and support the fitness industry. It is governed by volunteers who sit on a Board of Directors and several Councils. No dividends or profits are paid to the Members or the Directors. All surpluses are returned to the organisation to continue to invest in industry development, advocacy and services.

The guiding document for Fitness Australia is the Constitution. This was adopted by the Members in 2007 and can only be changed by resolution of the Members at General Meeting. Under the Constitution, the Board is made up of nine (9) Directors. Five (5) Directors are elected by their industry peers and four (4) are appointed by the Board. They each serve a two year term and can re-nominate for election or appointment.

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) is held in October each year. This is when new Directors take their positions on the Board

In the next edition of my blog, I will provide some more detail on how Fitness Australia operates and how it is structured.