• Section 1 - Summary
• Section 2 - HESF/ASQA/ESOS Alignment
• Section 3 - Scope
• Section 4 - Definitions
• Section 5 - Policy/Regulation
• Section 6 - Procedures
• Part A - Summary of Roles and Responsibilities
• Part B - Establishment
• Part C - Affiliation and Re-affiliation
• Renewing Affiliation
• Disaffiliation
• Part D - VU Club and VUSU College Society Funding
• VUSU College Society Funding
• VU Clubs – Funding and Support from Victoria University
• Fundraising from Other Sources
• Part E - Managing Student Group Funding

Section 1 - Summary

(1) This Procedure details the process by which:

1. Student Groups can establish themselves as a Club, College Society, or Student Association eligible for affiliation;
2. eligible Student Groups can apply to become affiliated or re-affiliated; 
3. Student Groups can seek funding from Victoria University to support their student-related activities; and
4. Student Groups manage and account for any funds they receive.

Section 2 - HESF/ASQA/ESOS Alignment

(2) HESF: 7.2 Information for Prospective and Current Students

(3) Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) 2015 (Cth)

Section 3 - Scope

1. Victoria University (VU) students; 
2. VU Clubs, VU College Societies, VU Associations; and,
3. members of VU-affiliated Student Groups.

(5) This Procedure does not apply to:

1. The VU Student Union (VUSU) who are governed by the VUSU Inc. Constitution 2019 and an annual Funding Agreement with VU.
2. The VU Postgraduate Association (VUPA) who are governed by the Constitution of the VU Postgraduate Association Inc. 2020 and an annual Funding Agreement with VU; or
3. Sports Clubs which are governed by the VU Sport Procedure – Sport Club Affiliation Procedure. 

Section 4 - Definitions

(6) Affiliation: A formal recognition by Victoria University that allows Student Groups to access resources, funding, and institutional support. Examples include but are not limited to Clubs, College Societies, and Student Associations. 

(7) Club: a group of people who share a common objective, interest or involvement in an activity. These types of groups may be categorised as Religious & Spiritual Groups, Academic Groups, Hobby & Special Interest Groups, Cultural Groups, Community Groups

(8) College Society: A Student Group dedicated to representing students enrolled in a particular college of the university.

(9) Executive members: Office holders of Student Groups who have been elected to Executive positions in accordance with their relevant Student Group’s Constitution.

(10) General Committee Positions: Office holders of students groups who have been appointment to a general role to support the Executive Committee in the operation of the club which may have specific duties determined by the Executive.

(11) Student Association: a Student Group which represents students belonging to a particular cohort connected to their enrolment.

(12) Student Group members: the VU Students, Staff, Alumni and General Public who have filled in the official Student Groups Membership form.

(13) Student Groups: VU associated groups of students and/or VU-affiliated groups (VU Clubs, VU College Societies, and VU Student Associations). All types of these organisations will be defined as “Student Groups” and will be typically chartered to provide an opportunity for students to be involved in leadership activities, engage with their fellow students and other members of the University community. They are intended to advance the education and/or student experience.

Section 5 - Policy/Regulation

Section 6 - Procedures

Part A - Summary of Roles and Responsibilities

Part C - Affiliation and Re-affiliation

Conditions of Affiliation

(19) In order to be eligible for affiliation or re-affiliation, a Student Group must:

1. Apply for affiliation for the current year prior to the commencement of Semester 2, Block 2, Week 1 teaching period. The term a Student Groups runs for is from the date of affiliation until November 30 in the same year. To continue beyond this the student group must apply for re-affiliation each year; 
2. Have a unique mission and aims which align with VU’s values;
3. Not already be serviced by an existing VU Club/VU College Society or VU Association;
4. Have at least 10 currently enrolled VU Students as members;
5. Have a name that reflects its stated aims;
6. Not have executive members that have been an executive member of a disaffiliated Student Group due to
   misconduct within the last 12 months;
7. Not have executive members that hold more than two roles in other Student Groups and cannot hold the same role in another Student Group.
8. Be concerned with providing services, activities and/or representation to VU students.
9. Agree to conduct at minimum 4 activities across the academic year, which are covered by the University’s Public Liability Insurance (contact the Clubs Officer for more information); and, 
10. Comply with the Student Groups Leadership and Representation Policy and this Procedure.

(20) The Clubs Officer or VUSU General Secretary will consult with the applicant group if further information is required to consider the application.

(21) Once all necessary information has been received, the Clubs Officer or VUSU General Secretary will, on behalf of the Manager, Student Life and Leadership, determine whether the affiliation criteria has been met. The Clubs Officer or VUSU General Secretary will refer applications to the Manager, Student Life and Leadership for determination where it is unclear whether the affiliation criteria have been met.

(22) The Student Group must complete an Inaugural General Meeting to:

1. Adopt the relevant Student Group’s Constitution;
2. Democratically elect the Executive members of the Student Group (one person per Executive position), who must agree to be the:
   1. President;
   2. Secretary;
   3. Treasurer; and
   4. Additional General Committee members can be added upon the Clubs Officer’s approval, provided the Student Group can justify the necessity of the position for the operation of the said Student Group.
3. Set the membership fees, if any. Further details for appropriately managing fees are laid out in Parts D and E of this Procedure;
4. Record details of all members including at a minimum the full name, student ID (or other relevant identification if a non-student member) and membership type (student, staff or alumni). The club must use an online form such as google forms, mail chimp or other platform. The membership details must be provided to the Clubs Officer and show the date a member signed up or paid a membership fee;
5. Complete all Student Group affiliation documents with the newly elected Executive members.

(23)  The Clubs Officer will advise the Club about their affiliation outcome via email within 10 days once completed application and supporting documents being received. The VUSU General Secretary will advise College Societies and Student Associations of their affiliation outcome within 10 days via email once completed application and supporting documents being received.

(24) Unless renewed prior, affiliation of the Student Group will end on 1 December each year.

Induction, Training, Events & Other Obligations

(25) Executive and General committee members of affiliated Student Groups must attend the compulsory Student Group induction training held by the Student Life & Leadership Team, as well as undertake any relevant additional training modules as prescribed by VU. Failure to complete the compulsory training will disqualify the Student Group from receiving funding or running approved events and activities.

(26) Student Groups must run at minimum 4 member events across the academic year, Student Groups who affiliate after Sem 2/Block 1/Week 1 must deliver a minimum 2 member events in the academic year.

(27) Clubs must register their activities with the Clubs Program in accordance with the Clubs Guide Handbook.

(28) An online registration platform must be used to register participants details prior to the event or on the day of the event. This list must be made available to the Clubs Officer/VUSU General Secretary and VU Security upon request. The registration platform must record at minimum participants name, membership type, and contact number. These details cannot be shared beyond the Student Group Executive or other parties named above.

(29) In the event of a vacancy in an Executive position, or if Executive members are swapping positions after affiliation or re-affiliation has already occurred for the year, the Executive committee will be required to hold a Special General Meeting (SGM) to elect a student into the vacant position, or to ratify the swapping of positions until the next AGM is held. If the nominated student is uncontested, they will be automatically appointed to the position. If more than one student is nominated for the position, a ballot vote (secret or otherwise) will take place and a majority vote will decide. The vacancy must not be left open for more than six weeks, otherwise the Student Group’s affiliation status will lapse.

Student Group Communications

(30) Affiliated Student Groups must include the unmodified VU and/or VUSU logo and the SSAF statement in all communications and material produced by the Student Group, and all Student Group collateral using the VU Brand must be approved by the Clubs Officer or VUSU President before publishing.

(31) Affiliated Student Groups must create a dedicated email account from which they can communicate with their members.  The email address must show association with VU (for instance: ‘vuclubname@gmail.com’ or ‘vucollegesocietyname@gmail.com or ‘vuassociationname@gmail.com’).

(32) Student Group members’ details can be provided to the Clubs Officer, but not be provided to anyone else without the individual’s express consent. When emailing Student Group Members, the bcc function must be used.

Renewing Affiliation

(33) Affiliated Student Groups must hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) in accordance with their relevant Student Group’s Constitution, and resolve to apply for re-affiliation prior to 1 December, otherwise affiliation will lapse.

(34) Following the AGM, Student Groups must record the executives’ details on the Student Executives Registration Form, adopt and sign the constitution and submit this, the list of members details for the next Student Groups term and the AGM minutes, to; the Clubs Officer for Clubs; or VUSU General Secretary for College Societies and Associations; within 10 business days to complete the re-affiliation process.

(35) For Clubs, the President and Treasurer must make an appointment with the Club Officer to change over the bank signatories. For College Societies and Student Associations, the executives must make an appointment with the VUSU Executive Officer.

(36) All executive and general committee members of Student Groups must register for the annual clubs training session.

Disaffiliation

Lapsed Affiliation

(37) If a Student Group does not apply for re-affiliation prior to 1 December, affiliation will lapse and they will be considered to have disaffiliated from that date, unless they have contacted the Clubs Team prior and received an extension.

(38) For Clubs, the Clubs Officer will email the Executive members to notify them that affiliation has lapsed. For College Societies and Student Associations, the VUSU General Secretary will email the Executive members to notify them that affiliation has lapsed.

Breach of Affiliation Condition(s)

(39) Where an affiliated Student Group breaches a condition or conditions of affiliation, they may be disaffiliated by VU.

(40) Where an affiliated Club has breached or appears to have breached an affiliation condition, the Clubs Officer will meet with the Executive members to seek their response(s) in relation to the alleged breach. Where an affiliated College Society or Student Association has breached or appears to have breached an affiliation condition, the VUSU General Secretary will meet with the Executive members to seek their response(s) in relation to the alleged breach.

(41) Depending on the nature/severity of the alleged breach, and the response from the Executive member(s), the Clubs Officer or VUSU General Secretary may:

1. give the affiliated Student Group a warning;
2. coach the affiliated Student Group or mandate training to ensure remediation and compliance; or 
3. recommend to the Manager, Student Life & Leadership or VUSU President that the affiliated student group be disaffiliated. 

(42) If the Manager, Student Life & Leadership or VUSU President is satisfied that a breach has occurred, they may disaffiliate the Student Group and must provide written notice of this decision to the Executive members of the Student Group.

(43) The Executive may seek a review of this decision within 10 business days by contacting the Chief Student Officer, Student Services and Administration.  The Chief Student Officer will consider the matter and provide their response within 10 business days.

Obligations upon Disaffiliation

(44) Where a Student Group is disaffiliated, it must meet with the Clubs Officer/VUSU Executive Officer as soon as practicable to ensure that the following occurs within 10 business days:

1. settle any outstanding payments due by the Student Group;
2. return all unexpended funds and assets to VU via Student Life & Leadership or VUSU;
3. cancel the Student Group’s official email account;
4. close the Student Group’s social media account/s; 
5. destroy the bank cards to the club account and cease using any funds from the account;
6. the Clubs Officer/VUSU Executive Officer will close the bank account and distribute the funds accordingly.

(45) Once disaffiliated, the Student Group must not hold itself out to be connected to VU.

Part D - VU Club and VUSU College Society Funding

VUSU College Society Funding

(46) College Societies and Student Associations funding is allocated through the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) Consultative Committee and managed by a Funding Agreement between VUSU and VU.

(47) VUSU will determine the allocation of funds to College Societies through the mechanisms outlined in the VUSU Constitution as adopted by the VUSU Board. 

(48) College Societies and Student Associations will only be eligible to receive funding through VUSU, not from Student Life & Leadership . Funding will be subject to the VUSU budget for the allocated year.

(49) As part of the affiliation process for College Societies and Student Associations, the VUSU Executive Officer will assist the Executive members to set up an approved bank account. The bank account must list an approved VU staff member as an administrator and all funds received by the College Society or Student Association must be deposited into the approved bank account.

(50) As part of the re-affiliation process for College Societies and Student Associations, the VUSU Executive Officer and the outgoing Executive members will assist the incoming Executive members to update access to the College Society or Student Association bank account.

VU Clubs – Funding and Support from Victoria University

(51) As part of the training/induction process for newly affiliated Student Groups, the Clubs Officer will assist the Executive members to set up an approved Student Group bank account. The VU Student Group’s bank account must list the Clubs Officer as an administrator and all funds received by the VU Student Group must be deposited into the approved Student Group bank account.

(52) As part of the re-affiliation process for Clubs, the Clubs Officer and the outgoing Executive members will assist the incoming Executive members to update access to the Club bank account.

(53) There are three main types of funding that VU Clubs may receive from VU:

1. Affiliation funding:
   1. Allocation of affiliation funds is based on the number of members in a club. If a clubs membership numbers increase over the year, the club will be eligible for the next bracket of funding. The Club must provide proof of membership via their membership list and update the Clubs Officer accordingly.
   2. The amount allocated to a club is outlined in the table below. Minimum membership numbers start at 10 VU student members.

      Membership numbers	Affiliation Funding
      Up to 15	$200
      Up to 25	$500
      Up to 50	$700
      Over 50	$1000

   3. The amount of affiliation funding a club is eligible for is based on timing of affiliation/re-affiliation outlined in the table below:

      Status	100 % of allocated funding for next club term	90% of allocated funding for next club term	70% of allocated funding for next club term	50% of allocated funding for next club term
      Current Club  Re-affiliated by Dec 1	X
      Current Club  Re-affiliated after Dec 1 but before S1/B1/W4		X
      Current Club  Re-affiliated after S1/B1/W4			X
      New Clubs affiliated by S1/B1/W4	X
      New Club  Affiliated after S1/B1/W4 but before S1/B2/W4		X
      New Club affiliated after S1/B2/W4 but before S1/B4/W4			X
      New Club affiliated after S1/B4/W4  but before S2/B2/ W1				X

2. Participation funding:
   1. Offered by the University at various times throughout the academic year and for which Clubs may apply, e.g. to participate in Orientation, Open Day etc;
   2. participation funding is available up to the amount of $50 per event.
3. Special Event Funding Grants:
   1. Special Event Funding provides clubs with additional funding for events that support the engagement of club members and VU students. Eligible Student Group applicants can receive up to $4000 each round, to cover and/or subsidise the costs of their event.

(54) Funding will be subject to the Student Life Student Group budget for the allocated year.

Accessing Funding

(55) For Clubs, funding may be requested via the Activity Registration form, email, or Special Event Funding Grant Application. Participation funding will be distributed directly to the clubs account post the participation event.

(56) The Clubs Officer will determine whether to grant the funds in full or in part within 5 working days of receiving the request.

(57) If approved, the funds will be deposited into the VU Clubs nominated bank account as soon as reasonably practicable and generally within 10 working days from the date of the decision.

(58) For College Societies or Student Associations, these groups must complete a VUSU Motion form and attend a VUSU Board Meeting to present the Motion and discuss their proposed budget.

(59) The VUSU Board will determine whether to grant requested funds in full or in part during the Board Meeting. The VUSU General Secretary will provide Board Meeting minutes including details of all tabled Motions to the VUSU Executive Officer.

(60) If approved, the VUSU Executive Officer will deposit funds into the approved bank account as soon as reasonably practicable and generally within 10 business days from the date of receipt of the VUSU Board Meeting Minutes from the VUSU General Secretary.

Conditions of Funding

(61) Funding is conditional upon:

1. the Student Group’s Executive members having attended prescribed training organised by the Student Life & Leadership team;
2. an approved nominated bank account being established, which lists the Clubs Officer as an administrator;
3. for Clubs, submission of Activity Registration form, Risk Assessment, Email request or Special Event Funding Application and Post-Activity Feedback from for all Student Group activities; and,
4. the Student Group’s ongoing compliance with the Student Groups Leadership and Representation Policy and associated procedures.

Fundraising from Other Sources

Membership Fees

(62) Affiliated Student Groups may charge their members an annual membership fee of minimum $5 per annum.

(63) The annual membership fee, and the date on which it is due, will be set by the Student Group in accordance with their relevant Student Group Constitution.

(64) The Student Group Secretary must keep a register of members’ details, which shows the date on which each member paid their membership fee (if applicable) and provide this information to the Student Group Treasurer and to the Clubs Officer and VUSU Executive upon request.

Fundraising and Sponsorship

(65) Student Groups may raise funds from external parties (e.g. corporate sponsorship) only with the prior written consent of the Clubs Officer and/or VUSU General Secretary.

(66) In accordance with the Student Groups Leadership and Representation Policy, all members must disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to seeking or obtaining external funding. 

(67) Student Groups must not engage in event sponsorship arrangements with any entity that is involved with any of the following:

1. Proposals that do not reflect VU Values
2. Migration and/or travel visas
3. Activities closely tied to federal, state and independent political parties
4. Programs that can be reasonably judged to be offensive or denigrating
5. Activities that promote or encourage smoking, illicit drug-use or gambling
6. Higher education providers, other than Victoria University
7. Psychological counselling services
8. Unions
9. Fossil fuels

Funding activities and events for non-members

(68) In accordance with SSAF legislation and guidelines, Student Groups must not use club funds to subsidise non-member participation in events and activities. Non-members must be charged cost-price or greater for participation in club activities. In the circumstance that no club funding is used for an event, non-members must make a min of gold coin donation to attend the event or activity. 

Part E - Managing Student Group Funding

Fund Management

(69) All funds (including membership fees) received by the Student Group must be paid into the Student Group’s approved bank account within 10 business days, with the exception of a maximum cash float of fifty dollars ($50) to be retained in the cash box provided by VU.

(70) Receipts must be kept for each transaction, including membership fees. Receipt books will be provided to each Student Group to assist with record keeping.

(71) Money must be immediately repaid/reimbursed to VU if the money:

1. is not spent on purposes consistent with SSAF guidelines;
2. is not spent for the purpose for which it was provided; or
3. is not spent/committed such that activity can occur within the timeframe specified (at VU’s discretion).

Auditing

(72) The financial year for Student Groups is from November 1 to October 31 of the following year.

(73) Each VU Student Group will be audited on dates set by the Clubs Officer/VUSU Executive Officer. This is to ensure the financial integrity of each affiliated VU Student Group at VU. Each Student Group must comply with any reasonable direction given to it by VU to enable this to occur. 

(74) The following will need to be provided to the auditors by the date set by the Clubs Officer/VUSU Executive Officer:

1. record of all income and expenses for the financial year to date;
2. receipts, including cash receipts, of all expenses for the financial year to date; and
3. bank transaction statements for the previous 12 months (or such longer period as requested); and
4. the up-to-date register of members.