Participation Opportunity
Nominations Open for New Volunteer Board Members
We encourage Autistic members of ASAN-AUNZ who are living in Australia or New Zealand to nominate for board positions with ASAN AUNZ.
There are 5 vacancies for board members.
There are 3 existing board members standing for re-election. They are:
- Jaz Bidgood – Chair
- Joanne Dacombe – Past Chair
- Cheryl Koch – Secretary
If the proposed changes to our rules are approved, then there are also 9 Associate Board Member positions that will be vacant.
Nominations will be accepted until midnight Saturday 2nd November, 2024 (your local time).
Information about nominees will be made available on our website after nominations close, from 6th November 2024.
To support our members in understanding the nomination process and the role of a board member, we have provided details on how to nominate, an online nomination form option, nomination information, information about the role and flowcharts to explain the process.
How to Nominate
Before nominating, please consider the how to nomination information we have provided below. This includes information about the role of Board Member.
To support our members in understanding the nomination process we have provided flowcharts to explain the process.
To nominate for a volunteer Board Member position, you can send an email to secretary@asan-aunz.org or use the nomination form to tell us the following information:
- Full legal name, preferred name, pronouns, and contact details.
- Your agreement with the guiding principles of ASAN-AUNZ
- Reasons why you are nominating.
- What involvement you have had in Autistic self-advocacy
- What experience on and contributions to other boards and committees you have had.
- Areas of expertise. Such as law, policy, finance, advocacy, governance etc.
- Which of the skill sets from the ones we are looking for (other considerations) would you apply on the ASAN-AUNZ Board?
- Anything you would like members to know about you
- Confirmation that you meet all of the essential criteria
Essential Criteria
Before nominating please note that Board members must be:
- Autistic Adults who are members of ASAN-AUNZ
- Agree to accept the objectives of the Association
- Reside within Australian and New Zealand countries or associated Territories.
Nominations from people who do not meet these criteria cannot be accepted.
Other Considerations
We are looking for the following skill sets and strongly encourage people with one (or more) of these skills to apply:
- Financial management and/or accounting
- Familiarity with minute-taking and policy review
- Government and stakeholder engagement
- Experience working with vulnerable people
- Social media planning, copywriting and posting
- Information technology administration
- Co-design facilitation and participation
- Accessibility including online and easy read
Diversity and Inclusion
ASAN AUNZ is committed to expanding diversity on our Board, so that we authentically represent our members and the broader Autistic community. We encourage nominees to tell us how they would bring diverse perspectives and lived experience to the Board.
Privacy
Information contained within your application (excluding contact details) will be circulated to members of ASAN-AUNZ prior to the AGM.
About the role
ASAN AUNZ is governed by a hands-on operational Board. All Board members are expected to contribute to the day-to-day operations of the organisation and commit 10-15 hours per month including attending monthly Board meetings.
Our mission is to help people on the autism spectrum participate fully, independently and equally in all aspects of their everyday lives; by providing information and support, increasing community awareness, delivering autism training and advocating for systemic change.
Our guiding principles are:
- We align to the social model of disability, and aim to remove barriers which disable and exclude.
- We aim to increase inclusion of Autistic persons
- We challenge perceived limitations of Autistic individuals
- We use ‘Autistic’ to denote anyone with an autism spectrum disorder. The word Autistic is both a cultural and political signifier.
- We do not tolerate restrictive practices or members who promote restrictive education or management practices.
We are a registered charity and are non-sectarian and non-party political.
How to Nominate
To nominate for a volunteer Board Member position, you can send an email to secretary@asan-aunz.org or use the nomination form to tell us the following information:
- Full legal name, preferred name, pronouns, and contact details.
- Your agreement with the guiding principles of ASAN-AUNZ
- Reasons why you are nominating.
- What involvement you have had in Autistic self-advocacy
- What experience on and contributions to other boards and committees you have had.
- Areas of expertise. Such as law, policy, finance, advocacy, governance etc.
- Which of the skill sets from the ones we are looking for (other considerations) would you apply on the ASAN-AUNZ Board?
- Anything you would like members to know about you
- Confirmation that you meet all of the essential criteria
Before nominating
Please think about the information we have provided on nominations and the role. We may not be able to accept nominations that do not provide responses to all of the above. We are unable to accept nominations that do not meet the essential criteria set out in how to nominate.
Please note that any information provided in your application (excluding contact information) will be distributed to members, so that they can make an informed voting decision.
Accessibility
How to Nominate
We have prepared flowcharts to support our members in understanding the nomination process and make it more accessible.
First the nominations process, from receiving a nomination to presenting the details of the nomination on this website.
If there are no changes to our rules (constitution), the process is to determine if there are more nominees than vacancies. If not, the nominees are taken to be elected. Otherwise, there is a vote.
If the new rules are approved by our members, nominations for ‘Full Board Members’ can come from existing board members and Associate Board Members at the end of their term. Again, if there are more nominees than vacancies, there is a vote. If not, the nominees are taken to be elected.
If the new rules are approved, we will also have up to 9 Associate Board Members to elect. If there are more nominees than vacancies, there is a vote. If not, the nominees are taken to be elected.
