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Order of Malta Australia

Dear colleagues,

You will be aware that reform of the Order’s structure and statutes in Australia has been on our agenda for at least the last 10 years.  You were last asked to be involved in the process in 2017 when we held a non-binding plebiscite to canvass opinion about the then proposed changes.  That plebiscite achieved a result of 62 per cent in favour of the proposals.  The process was put in abeyance then, however, because of the continuing process of reforming the Order’s Constitutional Charter and Code in Rome.

When this Executive Council was voted in last year one of Rome’s most significant requests of us was to complete our own statutory reforms in spite of the delays in concluding the reforms in Rome to the Order’s central statutes.

We have spent most of the last year preparing the proposed changes here, building on the essential framework of the legislation proposed in 2017.  We circulated the proposed new Constitution and accompanying documents on 7 December last year and again recently to remind you of the issues.

We have compiled some Frequently Asked Questions to assist members decisions when voting.

VOTE NOW USING THE ORDER OF MALTA ONLINE PORTAL

Voting will close 11.59pm on 15 February 2021.

We wish to modernise the rules governing the Order in Australia to assist us to better perform our role of assisting the poor and sick and defending the faith.

  • The current statutes do not reflect the regional structure that the Grand Magistry has required us to adopt in recent years. They date back to 1974 and have not been changed substantially since then. They are not a suitable set of rules to organise the affairs of the Order here.
  • Rome wants us to change them to reflect the new regional structure and to set up a corporate structure rather than our existing unincorporated association.
  • The current statutes are rules for an unincorporated association where each member has unlimited liability for the actions of the association.
  • The benefit of limited liability;
  • Greater accountability of the officers of AAOML to the membership;
  • The consolidation of our accounts enhancing the opportunity for fundraising; and
  • A greater ability to present the Order to government and corporate supporters as a modern, efficient organisation.

To leave two separate representative bodies in existence would be inefficient and potentially risky for the integrity of the Order here.

  • The proposed Articles 58 and 59 and regional statutes provide a much clearer role for the regions than is the case under the current statutes, including the election of regional councils.  
  • So, there are well defined and substantial roles for the regions created in this proposed Constitution as well as the facility to greater coordinate charitable works and pious activities nationally.

The Grand Magistry will still expect us to reform our statutes. They have given the “green light” to these proposed statutes and will expect us to agree on these proposed changes or something closely equivalent to them. So the process will continue.

Please study the information we have provided in writing and through the webinar as potential benefits of the changes, consider what you believe to be in the best interests of the Order here and please cast your vote.

The Australian Association

The Australian Association, formed in 1974, currently has in excess of 300 members and aspirant members across every State and Territory of Australia. We also have ongoing and strong links with the Order’s National Associations throughout the Asia Pacific Region including in Singapore and the Philippines and with members of the Order in New Zealand, Hong Kong SAR, Thailand and Korea. The Order of Malta is committed to serving Our Lords the Poor and Sick worldwide and has done so for over 900 years. This website shares with you the history, mission and current activities of the Order of Malta in Australia, and provides links to the work of the Order world-wide.