Kirra Governance Model

Overview

This page is an overview and summary of the roles and responsibilities within the Kirra Eco-village Community Association framework. It ensures that budgets are timely and reasonable and that each part of the community is represented by the community members. Click each Heading to discover more about the responsibilities of the role within the community.

KIRRAutility (Ku) 

KIRRAnet (Kn)

KIRRAlabs (Kl)

KIRRAag (Ka)

KIRRAcivic (Kc)

KIRRAmaker (Km)

KIRRAkitchen (Kk)

KIRRAretail (Kr)

Kirra Ecovillage Community Association - Rules of Association

RULES OF ASSOCIATION

KIRRA ECOVILLAGE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

An unincorporated association

1.            OVERVIEW

These rules of association (hereinafter "Rules") apply to the unincorporated association which operates under the name of KIRRA ECOVILLAGE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION (hereinafter "Association").

These Rules shall be binding on all members and membership classes of the Association and shall be enforceable in the courts of Queensland or the courts of the State that the Kirra property is located.

2.            DEFINITIONS

In these Rules, the following definitions shall apply:

"Association" means KIRRA ECOVILLAGE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

"Committee" means any committee of the Association; such committee being created under these Rules.

"Member" means a member of the Association, having attained membership in accordance with these Rules in a classification of Membership described herein with those associated rights.

"Rules" means these rules of Association.

“Kirra” means any of the Kirra Name, Kirra Real Property or other Properties and Assets of the Association.

“Community” means the Guests, Members and Visitors to any Kirra location or event.

3.            PURPOSE

1)      The Association is established to be a charity for the purpose ("the Purpose") of:

a)      promoting sustainable ecological practices as they relate to an off-grid lifestyle; and

b)      promoting, educating and provide affordable ecological housing; and

c)      enhancing an individual’s well-being, through education and interaction with the natural world; and

d)      educating and assist individuals in the reduction of their global footprint; and

e)      promoting and educate about recycling and reuse of limited resources; and

f)       educating about food and resource lifecycles from cradle to grave for both abundant and scarce resources; and

g)      providing education on contemporary agricultural methods for small-scale food production with various gardening techniques and permaculture principles; and

h)      enhancing natural environments by undertaking projects to encourage native tree planting and regenerative agriculture; and

i)       researching and promoting natural and first-nations natural medicines and treatments, resource use and management, food production and cultivation, lifestyle and culture; and

j)       educating individuals about natural ecosystems and how to be harmonious with ecosystems to produce abundance; and

k)      promoting the repair and reuse of unwanted and damaged goods, to reduce waste, making those goods available to people in need, albeit poverty, or natural disaster; and

l)       All things considered within and consistent to furthering the United Nations – Sustainable Development Goals.

m)   Providing community support to those in need as the result of a bushfire or other natural disaster in an area that the Association operates for the purposes of assisting in the recovery of such a disaster, which at the discretion of the Association, may extend to:

i)       accommodation provision at an Association location; and

ii)     financial assistance to people directly impacted by the disaster; and

iii)   the provision of food to people directly impacted by the disaster; and

iv)   any other form of assistance aiding in the recovery from a disaster. 

2)      The Association may do all things that help it to achieve or further the Purpose, in accordance with these Rules.

3)      The Association may only do things for the Purpose including things that are required to support the outcomes of the Purpose directly or indirectly.

4)      The Association may use any assets and income of the Association for the Purpose.

5)       For the sake of clarity, the Association is permitted to do the following:

a)      pay a member an amount less than or equal to a fair market rate, for goods or services that the Member provides to the Association in accordance with the Purpose; or

b)      provide a benefit to the Member, including a financial benefit, if that benefit is in accordance with the Purpose or is necessary in order to further the Purpose.

4.            MEMBERSHIP

1)      Any person ("the Applicant") may apply to become a Member of the Association by undertaking the following process:

Applicants must submit a formal application, undertake a trial period as determined by the Governance Committee and, pay any amounts due to complete the application and membership process.

2)      In order to be eligible to become a Member, an Applicant must, (among other things):

a)      satisfy the Committee that the Member supports the Purpose; and

b)      agree to be bound by these Rules.

3)      After the Committee has made a determination regarding the Applicant's application, the Committee will contact the Applicant as soon as possible, to tell them whether the application has been approved or rejected.

4)      In the event that an Applicant's application is rejected, the Association does not need to provide reasons to the Applicant, but should not unreasonably withhold a reason if a request is made by the Applicant.

5)      If an Applicant’s application is rejected, this does not preclude the Applicant from submitting a further or subsequent applications.

6)      These rules apply to all Members and Casual Guest visiting upon any property of the community.

7)      A Member accepts full responsibility for the behavior of any Casual Guest they invite onto the property. To the extent that:

a)      Any damage done is the responsibility of Member; and

b)      Any disciplinary action will be taken against the Member.

8)      Any Member may request that a Casual Guest leave the property.

5.            MEMBERSHIP CLASSES

1)      Memberships have the following classes:

a)      Lifetime Community Citizen Member (“Lifetime Citizen”)

b)      Community Citizen Member (“Community Citizen”)

c)      Probationary Community Citizen Member (“Probationary Citizen”)

d)      Honorary Citizen Member (“Friend of Kirra”) (No Voting Rights)

e)      Guest Member (“Supporter of Kirra”) (No Voting Rights)

f)       Casual Guest (“Casual Guest”) (No Rights)

2)      Memberships in classes 5.1(b) through 5.1(d) are only valid if the member is fully paid and payments are up to date.

3)      Within membership class 5.1(b) or 5.1(c) unpaid memberships or memberships in arrears, revert to a Guest Membership, class 5.1(e), until such memberships are again, fully paid.

4)      Only memberships in classes 5.1(a) and 5.1(b) are entitled to vote in community elections.

5)      Committee members must always maintain their memberships in a good standing.

6)      Acceptance to membership class 5.1(a) requires the nomination by any other class 5.1(a) member and an affirmative vote of not less than half of the class 5.1(a) membership.

7)      Membership of class 5.1(a) is irrevocable and perpetual unless the member dies.

6.            FEES

1)                  There are primarily two types of contributions that a member pays to the Association;

a)      A weekly rate, which is paid every week, regardless of the attendance of the member; and

b)      An amount to establish and occupy a new home on a vacant plot; or

c)      An amount to occupy an existing home on an established plot.

2)                  The Association may charge members fees ("Fees") in the following manner:

a)      A Probationary Citizen, that is a member of class 5.1(c) membership, is responsible for paying the weekly contribution to the community.

b)      Each Member that is establishing a new permanent home on a new plot of land within the community, must pay the appropriate amount of money for a new eco-friendly home. This excludes:

(1)   Members who establish a temporary dwelling other than a permanent home, such as:

(a)   A Caravan; or

(b)   A Tent; or

(c)   Another form of temporary accommodation

(2)   A member establishing a temporary dwelling as described in 6. (1).(b).(1) (above) may only maintain this manner of accommodation on any vacant plot within a community location for a period of no longer than 6-months. For clarity’s sake, moving the accommodation to another vacant plot within the same community location, is not considered a move, and the duration of occupation does not reset or become otherwise invalid.

(a)   Any member is entitled to request an exclusion or extension to this clause.

(i)     The member must lodge a formal request for consideration in writing to a Governance Committee member; and

(ii)  The Governance Committee will add this application to the next meeting’s agenda for consideration, at which time the Governance Committee shall decide the outcome of the application. An outcome at the discretion of the Governance Committee, may include an extension of the current arrangement and a review date that is more or less than the default 6-month review period; and

(iii)            Relay that determination, without delay to the applying member.

(iv) If the decision is to allow continuation of the current arrangement, no further action is required by the member or the Governance Committee, and the occupation continues until such time as stated in the decision.

(v)   If the decision is to disallow the continuation of the current arrangement, the Governance Committee may provide an option or a list of options to the member together with other remediation, deadlines or conditions, or enforce an action upon the member, which may include cancellation of the member’s membership.

c)      If the community member permanently and physically leaves the community, the amount that they paid for their home will be refunded to them or their estate. The amount refunded will be equal to the amount paid for the dwelling.

d)       The payment to the outgoing Member will be paid within 24 months of the Member physically leaving the community.

e)      If an outgoing Member completes improvements to the home, they will be paid a maximum of 30% of the value of the improvements at the pro-rata rate that the home would have cost at the time of purchase in addition to the original amount paid. For the sake of clarity, a 1-bedroom home may cost $10,000 and a 2-bedroom home may cost $20,000. A member paying the amount of $10,000 to establish a 1- Bedroom home, who then extends that home to become a 2-bedroom home, is only entitled to receive the original $10,000 plus 30% of the cost difference between the cost of a 1-bedroom home (at the time the 1-bedroom home was purchased) and the cost of a 2-bedroom home (at the time the home was purchased), in this case, $3,000. This also applies to a home that is established without wet areas, yet is subsequently modified to include wet areas. If the homeowner member makes modifications to include their own water and power facilities, they must add a tailing for each service at the front of the dwelling facing the street frontage of the plot.

f)       If improvements to the home are made by the community, and paid for by the Member, they will be refunded the improved value of the home, equal to the amounts that were paid by the Member to the community for the home.

g)      If there are no new plots available, a new member must pay the then-current price for a dwelling that is offered or chosen and accepted by the new member. If the new member is not willing to pay the then-current price or deems the dwelling inappropriate for their needs, the vacancy in membership and dwelling is offered to the next waiting new member. This process continues until the community has no vacancies. The position of the new member remains as-is at the time of the original or initial offer, despite the decline by the waiting member.

h)      If a new member takes on an existing home, the new member may pay the appropriate amount to have the home extended to suit the needs of the new member. For clarity, only an increase in home size is considered in this condition.

i)       Each member must pay a weekly contribution to the community upkeep. This contribution may be used, but is not limited to, the payment of council rates and other costs incurred by the community from time to time. Any spending by the community is at the discretion of the Governance Committee.

j)       If the community can be meet its obligations and is considered self-funded by the efforts of the community, sale of community assets, services, products, charitable donations, or through events, such a weekly contribution shall be reduced in the spirit of a not-for-profit association.

k)      A fee in-kind is to be paid by each member as a direct non-financial contribution towards the community. This is in the form of skills or labor. A member must contribute 20 hours of effort each calendar week to meet their obligations under this membership fee.

l)       The community has a charge for normal utilities. These include water, power, and telecommunications, such as telephone and Internet. These are charged at the then current rate for each utility provided to the community member according to the Schedule of Fees.

m)   The Schedule of Fees is published on the website at https://www.kirra.community/the-kirra-plan/homes-costs.

n)      All prices are increased by 14.5% per annum on the 1st of July each year.

7.            SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP

1)      A person's membership is automatically suspended if that person fails to pay Fees within 7-days of when they fall due.

2)      If the membership of one person in a community home is past due, all members of the home are classed as past due.

3)      A person's membership may be cancelled if that person fails to pay Fees within 30-days of that person's membership being suspended.

4)      A person stops being a member altogether if that person:

a)      provides to the Committee written notice of resignation; or

b)      physically leaves the community on a permanent basis; or

c)      has their membership cancelled in accordance with these Rules; or

d)      dies.

5)      If a person has had their membership suspended, that person cannot exercise any member's rights (such as voting at meetings), unless and until the period of suspension ends.

6)      If a person has stopped being a member, then that person must reapply for membership in the ordinary manner, and must have that application accepted by the Committee, before being able to exercise any member's rights.

7)      In the event that a person resigns as a Member, that person is not entitled to any reimbursement of any Fees (or any part of any Fees) that have been paid. The exception is as cited above when the member has paid a fee for a community home.

8.            REGISTER OF MEMBERS

1)      The Association will maintain a register of Members ("the Register").

2)      A person will become a Member when that person's name is entered in the Register.

3)      The following details for each Member ("Details") will be recorded in the Register:

a)      full name;

b)      place of birth;

c)      date of commencement of membership;

d)      classification of membership;

e)      date of change of classification of membership;

f)       phone number;

g)      email address;

h)      home Kirra location

i)       the following additional detail(s):

For the purposes of ensuring that all members can be contacted as necessary, for the sake of this clause, a probationary member will have the same details recorded as a fully financial member.

2)      Upon cessation of being a Member, the Association will enter in the Register the date that the person stopped being a Member, as soon as possible after the person stops being a Member.

3)      If a Member requests that access to some or all of the Member's Details be restricted, the Committee may, in the Committee's discretion, determine whether or not to restrict access to such Details, and:

a)      The Committee may levy an additional Fee to enact item 8.3 above.

b)      Details with restricted access may only be viewed by a class 5.1(a) member.

9.            ACCESS TO DOCUMENTS

1)      Members may request access to or copies of the following documents ("the Documents"):

a)      the Rules;

b)      the Register; or

c)      minutes of general meetings of the Association.

2)      For the sake of clarity, the Association is not required to provide Members with access to or copies of Committee meeting minutes, unless the Committee explicitly allows it.

3)      The Association must provide the Member with access to or copies of the Documents, unless:

a)      the request that the Member has made for the access to or copies of the Documents is unreasonable; or

b)      the Documents contain information which is confidential, or which relates to another person's personal, legal, medical, health, employment, or financial matters; or

c)      providing access to or copies of the Documents may cause a breach of a law; or

d)      providing access to or copies of the Documents could cause harm or damage to the Association.

4)      In the event that the Association refuses for a reason described under the preceding sub-clause hereof to provide a Member with access to or copies of any Documents, but the Association may be able to provide limited access or limited copies without causing one of the issues in the preceding sub-clause hereof, then the Association will provide such limited access or limited copies to the Member.

5)      Any documents or copies that the Association is providing to a Member under this clause will be provided within a reasonable time.

6)      The Association may charge reasonable fees for producing copies of any documents in accordance with this clause.

10.         THE COMMITTEE AND SUB-COMMITTEES

1)      The Association will have an Association Governance Committee ("the Committee") which is made up of committee members ("Committee Members") within the KIRRAcivic sub-committee.

2)      The Committee has the following role:

a)      governing the Association;

b)      managing the day-to-day operation of the Association;

c)      ensuring that the Association is managed responsibly;

d)      ensuring that the Association operates in pursuit of its purpose.

3)      The Committee will have all of the specific powers and functions that the Association has except for those powers or functions which are reserved to be exercised by the Members.

4)      The Committee may delegate its powers or functions to sub-committees, staff members, Members of the Association, or to Committee Members, as permitted by law.

5)      Committee Members will be elected at a general meeting of the Association, by a ballot of the Members.

6)      The Committee must have a minimum number of 3 Committee Members at any time.

7)      At the first Committee meeting after each annual general meeting, the Committee must appoint a Committee Member as chair of the Committee ("the Chair").

8)      The Committee has the power to appoint and remove Committee Members from various positions, and may determine the roles and responsibilities of any Committee Member.

9)      A Committee Member is appointed for a term of up to one year, and stops being a Committee Member at the end of the annual general meeting after that Committee Member was appointed.

10)  After a Committee Member's term ends, that person may be appointed as a Committee Member for a subsequent term.

11)  If a Member wishes to join the Committee or Sub-Commitee, that Member must:

a)      have another Member support their application; and

b)      put forward a nomination by writing to the Committee, or put forward a nomination at a general meeting where an election for the Committee is being held.

c)      In order to be eligible to be a Committee Member, a person must:

i)      be a fully paid Member, both at the time of that person's nomination, at the time of their appointment as a Committee Member, and for the duration of that person's term as a Committee Member; and

ii)     be nominated in accordance with this clause; and

iii)   provide to the Association a signed consent to act as a Committee Member.

d)      A person stops being a Committee Member if that person:

i)      provides to the Committee written notice of resignation; or

ii)     is removed by a resolution of the Members; or

iii)   stops being a Member; or

iv)   is absent from all Committee Meetings, without the consent of the Committee, for three months or more; or

v)       dies.

12)  In the event that the number of eligible applicants nominated to be Committee Members is equal to the number of Committee Members required, the Chair may appoint those nominated Committee Members as Committee Members, without holding a ballot.

13)  In the event that a Committee Member stops being a Committee Member before the end of the annual general meeting after that Committee Member was appointed, the Committee may appoint a Member endorsed by any Lifetime Member to be a Committee Member until the next annual general meeting, without requiring a meeting of the Members to do so.

14)  The Sub-Committees within the Association may include:

a)      KIRRAutility; and

b)      KIRRAnet; and

c)      KIRRAlabs; and

d)      KIRRAag; and

e)      KIRRAmaker; and

f)       KIRRAkitchen; and

g)      KIRRAretail; and

h)      KIRRAcivic.

11.         COMMITTEE DUTIES

1)      In addition to any other duties and responsibilities provided by law or elsewhere in these Rules, the Committee has the following duties:

a)      ensuring that accurate minutes are kept in relation to general meetings and committee meetings; and

b)      ensuring that other records are kept in accordance with these Rules; and

c)      ensuring that the Association's documents are made available to Members as required by these Rules.

12.         COMMITTEE MEMBER DUTIES

1)      Committee Members must:

a)      comply with their duties under Australian law; and

b)      ensure that the Association complies with its duties under Australian law; and

c)      act in the best interests of the Association; and

d)      act only to further the Purpose of the Association.

2)      This section applies to any sub-committees formed for the Purpose.

13.         COMMITTEE MEETINGS

1)      A Committee Member may call a meeting of the Committee ("Committee Meeting") in the following circumstances:

a)      by providing reasonable notice to the other Committee Members if the Committee Meeting is urgent; or

b)      by providing seven days' notice to the other Committee Members in all other circumstances.

2)      The Committee may determine how often it will hold Committee Meetings.

3)      The Committee may determine the manner in which Committee Meetings may be held, including whether Committee Members must attend in person, or whether they may attend via technological systems such as telephone or video link.

4)      The Chair will chair any Committee Meetings.

5)      In the event that the Chair is not present at a particular Committee Meeting, the Committee may appoint a different Committee Member to act as chair for that particular Committee Meeting.

6)      For a resolution to be passed, more than half of the Committee Members present at the particular Committee Meeting must vote in favor of the resolution.

7)      The Committee may, in the Committee's discretion, permit circular resolutions.

8)      The Committee may, in the Committee's discretion, determine the method by which Committee Members may vote on a circular resolution, which may include but is not limited to the following methods:

a)      Australia Post; or

b)      email; or

c)      digital signature; or

d)      electronic forms; or

e)      other electronic means.

9)      In order to pass a circular resolution, the resolution must be proposed in writing and every Committee Member must agree in writing to the resolution (by a means as determined by the Committee, in accordance with the preceding sub-clause hereof). The circular resolution is passed at the time that the last Committee Member has agreed to it in writing.

14.         QUORUM FOR COMMITTEE MEETINGS

A quorum for Committee Meetings is more than 50% of the Committee Members. If any more than 50% of the Committee Members are present at a Committee Meeting, the Committee Meeting is validly held.

15.         GENERAL MEETINGS OF MEMBERS

1)      For the sake of clarity, in the event that these rules are disputed by a Member, clarification and interpretation by any class 5.1(a) Member will be considered the meaning of the rule, and the meeting will be conducted within that interpretation.

2)      Any class 5.1(a) Member may oversee a general meeting to ensure that it is conducted according to these rules and adjudicate if necessary to resolve any disputes at that meeting.

3)      The Committee may call a general meeting of the Members ("General Meeting").

4)      Any class 5.1(a) Member may call a general meeting of the Members.

5)      If a group of Members which makes up at least 10% of the total Members entitled to vote at General Meetings asks the Committee to call a General Meeting, then the Committee must call a General Meeting.

6)      Any Members requesting a General Meeting under the preceding sub-clause hereof must, at the time of the request for the General Meeting, provide details of any resolution that is to be proposed at the General Meeting.

7)      In the event that a group of Members requests a General Meeting under the preceding sub-clauses hereof, but the Committee does not call a General Meeting within two months of having received that request:

a)      50% or more of the group of Members who initially requested the General Meeting (being the group of at least 10% of the total Members entitled to vote at General Meetings) may call a General Meeting; and

b)      the General Meeting must be held within three months of the initial request for a General Meeting; and

c)      the General Meeting should, as much as possible, be held in accordance with the procedures set out in these Rules; and

d)      the Members shall be entitled to appoint a Member of class 5.1(a) to organize and Chair the General Meeting in the absence of the Committees willingness to do so.

8)      Members (and any auditor that has been appointed to the Association) must be given at least 21 days' notice of any General Meeting.

9)      The notice of any General Meeting must be provided in writing and sent to the Member using the contact details that are recorded in the Register and the notice made available on the Members Portal of the website.

10)  The notice of any General Meeting must include the details of the General Meeting, any resolutions to be proposed at the General Meeting, any issues that are proposed to be discussed at the General Meeting, and whether any technological systems may be used to enable Members to attend the General Meeting from a different location.

11)  The Association must hold an annual general meeting within 18 months of the Association first coming into existence.

12)  After the Association holds its first annual general meeting, it must hold subsequent annual general meetings at least once per calendar year.

13)  At each annual general meeting, the Association must provide reports to its Members about the activities of the Association and the financial position of the Association.

14)  The ordinary business which the Association must undertake at the annual general meeting includes reviewing the minutes of the previous annual general meeting, receiving reports and statements on the previous financial year, and electing Committee Members ("Ordinary Business").

15)  If the Association proposes to undertake any other matters at an annual general meeting, besides the Ordinary Business, the notice of the annual general meeting must include details of those other matters, as well as any special business or resolutions to be considered at that annual general meeting.

16)  Members can propose resolutions to be voted on at a General Meeting in the following manner:

a)      a group of at least 10% of Members who are entitled to vote at a General Meeting may write to the Committee to propose the resolution;

b)      provided that the Committee is able to meet the requirements regarding notifying Members of proposed resolutions prior to the General Meeting, then the Committee will notify Members of the proposed resolution;

c)      the proposed resolution will be proposed at the next General Meeting, held no later than two months after the date the Members first propose the resolution.

17)  Members may propose resolutions in any other way permitted by law or by these Rules.

18)  The Chair will chair General Meetings.

19)  If the Chair does not attend, the Members at the General Meeting can choose another Committee Member or a Member of class 5.1(a) to be the Chair for that General Meeting.

20)  The Chair is responsible for the conduct of the General Meeting

21)  The Chair must give members a reasonable opportunity to make comments and ask questions, including to any auditor that may have been appointed to the Association.

22)  Each Member in attendance at a General Meeting (whether in person, or by some other means) has one vote.

23)  Votes at a General Meeting may be taken in the following manner:

a)      by a show of hands; or

b)      by a written ballot; or

c)      by electronic ballot; or

d)      by any other method that the chair determines to be reasonable in the circumstances.

24)  If a vote is held initially by a show of hands, any Member can request that the vote be held again by written or electronic ballot.

25)  A vote only passes if a majority of the Members voting on it vote in favor of it. The Chair does not have a deciding vote.

26)  If a vote is held by a show of hands, the Chair will be responsible for counting the show of hands, and the Chair's decision as to the result of that show of hands is conclusive evidence of the result of the vote.

27)  If any vote is cast in which the vote is deadlocked and there is no majority, a vote cast by a Member of class 5.1(a) will be considered the deciding vote.

28)  If the Member of class 5.1(a) does not wish to cast a deciding vote, the Member of class 5.1(a) or the Chair may set aside the vote and change the voting method to a written ballot or electronic ballot.

a)      A vote that is set aside must be concluded within 7 days of the initial vote.

16.         QUORUM FOR GENERAL MEETINGS

1)      A quorum for General Meetings is 10% of the Members entitled to vote at a General Meeting. If 10% or more of the Members entitled to vote at a General Meeting are present at a particular General Meeting, the General Meeting is validly held.

2)      The quorum for any specific resolution to be determined at a general meeting in which a proxy vote has been obtained must consider the number of proxy votes to determine if at least 10% of the Members entitled to vote have indeed voted on the resolution.

17.         ADJOURNING GENERAL MEETINGS

1)      If a quorum is not present within 30 minutes after the General Meeting was scheduled to start, the chair of that General Meeting may adjourn the General Meeting.

2)      If the chair of a General Meeting determines that there is not enough time at the General Meeting to consider all of the business that needs to be considered at that General Meeting, then the chair may adjourn the General Meeting.

3)      The chair of a General Meeting must adjourn the General Meeting if the majority of Members who are entitled to vote at the General Meeting (and who are in attendance at the General Meeting) tell the chair to do so.

4)      In the event that a General Meeting is adjourned, no new business may be dealt with at the resumed meeting ("the New Meeting"). Only unfinished business from the adjourned meeting ("the Adjourned Meeting") may be addressed.

5)      In the event that a General Meeting is adjourned, a notice of the New Meeting must be provided to all Members using the contact details that are recorded in the Register.

6)      In the event that the New Meeting is scheduled for a date that is less than 21 days from the date of the Adjourned Meeting, then a notice of the New Meeting does not need to comply with the 21-day notice requirements, (but still needs to be provided to Members).

18.         SPECIAL RESOLUTION

1)      A special resolution of the Association ("Special Resolution") is passed if:

a)      at least 21 days' notice of the Meeting at which the Special Resolution will be proposed has been given to the Members; and

b)      at least 75% of the Members who are entitled to vote at the Meeting (and attend the Meeting in person or by proxy or remote), vote in favor of the Special Resolution.

19.         USE OF FUNDS

1)      Any funds received by the Association may only be used as follows:

a)      To further the Purpose.

20.         RECORD KEEPING

1)      The Association must maintain written records ("the Records") that:

a)      correctly record its operations; and

b)      correctly record and explain its financial situation; and

c)      enable true and fair financial statements to be prepared and if requested by the membership audited.

2)      The Association must produce the Records when required by law.

3)      The Association must retain the Records for at least seven years, or such time as required by law or specified in the Australian Record Retention Manual for each class of record.

21.         AMENDMENTS TO RULES

1)      Subject to the other provisions of these Rules, and subject to any applicable laws, these Rules may be amended by the Members passing a Special Resolution at a General Meeting in support of the proposed amendment.

2)      No rule amending the status of a Class 5.1(a) Member or changing the powers provided to a Class 5.1(a) Member shall be enacted or considered legitimate.

22.         FINANCIAL YEAR

The Association's financial year will run from 1 July until 30 June, unless the Committee passes a resolution to change the financial year.

23.         INDEMNITY

1)      To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Association hereby indemnifies Members for any expenses, debts, or liabilities that the Member incurs on behalf of the Association, provided that the Member was authorised by the Association to incur those expenses, debts or liabilities, and the Member was acting in good faith and in the best interests of the Association when the Member incurred the expenses, debts, or liabilities.

2)      If the indemnity described in this clause ("the Indemnity") applies to a Member, the Member shall be entitled to be reimbursed out of the assets or income of the Association.

3)      The Indemnity only applies if the Member is not entitled to be indemnified by any other party and is not actually indemnified by any other party.

4)      The Indemnity is a continuing obligation and is enforceable by a person even if the person has stopped being a Member of the Association.

24.         INSURANCE OF MEMBERS

The Association may, if permitted by law, insure a Member (or a former Member) for any liability incurred by that person in connection with that person's role as a Member of the Association.

25.         DISPUTE RESOLUTION

1)      The following dispute resolution procedure will apply to the Association:

a)      The rules for dispute resolution apply equally to all Membership classes and casual guests at any Kirra property at any time.

b)      In the first instance, a dispute must be managed by those engaged in the dispute within the Golden rules of the community, which state that:

i)       No Advice – You will give no advice unless your counsel is sought.

ii)     No Judgement – You will not judge the moral decisions of others.

iii)   Respect Choices – You respect their choices and in return they respect yours.

c)      If the dispute cannot be adequately settled and to the satisfaction of the disputing parties, either party may seek a hearing from the Governance Committee to resolve the dispute.

i)       If a hearing is convened by the Governance Committee, any other members may attend that hearing.

ii)     At a hearing, all disputing parties may table their view or evidence and suggest a resolution.

iii)   Any action or direction by the Governance Committee shall be binding on all parties to the dispute.

iv)   For disputes considered serious or harmful to people or property, in which the Governance Committee can't resolve the dispute to the satisfaction of both parties, it may seek to have the membership of either party (or both) cancelled and insist that the member leave the community, at which time their membership will cease and they shall be ejected from the community.

(1)   The Governance Committee will provide an order and determination around the removal of a party from the community, such as leaving the community within 30-days or such.

v)      In the event of family or relationship breakdown or physical or domestic violence is evident, where the members are cohabitating, the Governance Committee will rehome either of the aggrieved parties to other accommodation immediately if there is available accommodation.

(1)   In the case of domestic or physical violence, the Governance Committee can determine that until the matter is resolved to the satisfaction of the disputing parties, one or both parties must find alternative accommodations outside the community.

(2)   Any person can seek police or other government assistance at any time.

(3)   If the disputing parties, in this case, can't find a suitable resolution, it will be the responsibility of the Governance Committee to determine the fate of either member or both members, which can include the removal of one or both disputing parties from the community and the revocation of any membership.

d)      If a dispute cannot be settled amicably by the disputing parties, and the disputing parties don't wish to seek a hearing, they may seek counsel from any class 5.1(a) Member.

e)      Any class 5.1(a) Member has the power to supersede a determination by the Governance Committee and may provide a binding resolution upon all involved parties. If this course of action is selected by a disputing party:

i)       The class 5.1(a) Members decision shall be binding on all parties.

ii)     If the resolution is not adhered to by the disputing parties, a consequential action may be taken, which may include cancellation or Membership and ejection from the community.

26.         DISCIPLINE OF MEMBERS

1)      The following disciplinary procedure will apply to Members:

a)      If a member commits a serious breach of these rules, they can be ejected from the community and have their membership cancelled immediately.

b)      A non-member has no rights and may be deemed to be unlawfully on the property and asked to leave the community or property forthwith.

c)      For non-serious breaches, a member may be:

i)      formally warned in the first instance; and

ii)     provided a written warning in the second instance.

iii)   A third occurrence is deemed a serious breach and will be dealt with as described above.

27.         WINDING UP

1)      The Association may only be wound up upon the passing of a majority vote of class 5.1(a) Members.

2)      Upon the winding up of the Association, the assets of the Association may be used to pay any debts and other liabilities of the Association.

3)      If any assets of the Association are affected by a trust, then the Association must satisfy any debts, liabilities or obligations that apply to those trust assets.

 28.     EXTERNAL ACCESS TO ASSOCIATION RESOURCES DURING A NATURAL DISASTER OR EMERGENCY

The Association supports State and Territory Government (the "Government") efforts during times of Natural Disaster or States of Emergency. To that extent:

1)      The Association makes it resources available to the Government with the following conditions;

a)   The replacement cost of any used resource must be met by the Government in the state or territory of the Association location in which resources are consumed within 7 days of the resource use; and

b)   The Government will provide details of the resources used and quantities within 5-business days of the resource use.

c)   The Government agrees to make the Association and its Members whole as part of the resource consumption.

2)   Provisioned resources include;

a)    Water for Fire Fighting - The Community is off-grid and responsible for its own capture and storage of water. The cost for water that is charged by the local council is $19.80 per kilolitre for potable water and $9.60 for non-potable water. This cost must be met by the Government to replenish any used water.

b)   Any other resource consumed will be charged back to the Government at the same rate charged by any Government Agency, local council, state owned utility or other provider for that same resource in the same quantity at the maximum of the rate scale for that service provision by that provider to a normal residential consumer, no quantity discounts may be applied to the final cost;

c)   The Queensland Government will also be charged any associated costs in the provision of that service, which have been charged by the government to enable the Association to provide that service, as without these Government Fees, the resource provision would not be available.

3)   Any costs associated with a legal action to recover these costs will be met by the Queensland Government. 

4)   Any outstanding debts (debts older than 30-days) shall accrue interest at the then current Reserve Bank of Australia Lender's Interest Rate for New Loans plus 2% per annum compounded daily.

Adopted this day, the 10th Day of February 2024.

Signed by the Members:

 

Member Register - Restricted to Kirra Members only.

KIRRA ECOVILLAGE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

 

BY-LAWS

 

Contents

1. OVERVIEW

2. DEFINITIONS

3. PURPOSE

4. WASTE MANAGEMENT

5. DISTURBANCE AND NUISANCE

6. PRIVACY, PERSONAL SPACE AND PERSONAL PROPERTY

7. GUEST ACCOMMODATIONS

8. COMMUNITY INCOME AND DISTRIBUTION

9. COMMUNITY CASH CREDIT ACCOUNT

10.    FEE-IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS

11.   CARPOOLING AND RIDE SHARING

12.    ACCESS TO PROPERTY AND FACILITES

13.    MOTOR VEHICLES, RVS AND CARAVANS

14.    LIABILITY, INJURY, MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH AND DUTY OF CARE

15. PETS

1.   OVERVIEW

Each person visiting onto a KIRRA Property is responsible for adherence and compliance with these by-laws.

These By-Laws form the rules by which the community operates and functions.

Failure to comply with these By-Laws shall result in disciplinary action from the Governance Committee which may include ejection from the property and cancellation of your membership to the Association.

2.   DEFINITIONS

In these By-Laws the following definitions shall apply:

“Association” means KIRRA ECOVILLAGE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION

“Committee” means any committee of the Association; such a committee being created under the Association Rules of Association.

“Member” means a member of the Association having attained membership in accordance with the Rules of Association in a classification of Membership described in the Rules of Association together with those assigned rights.

“Rules” means the Rules of Association of the Association.

“Kirra” means any of the Kirra Properties, locations, communities, or assets of the Association.

“Community” means the Guests, Members and Visitors to Kirra and Kirra assets.

“Community Cash Credit Account” the tokenised payment system at Kirra Communities.

3.   PURPOSE

The By-Laws define the things that a person visiting or living within a Kirra community must do to ensure the peaceful and safe enjoyment of the property for other visitors and members.

These By-Laws form part of the Kirra Ecovillage Community Association Rules of Association.

4.   WASTE MANAGEMENT

All waste within the community falls into one of 5 categories. Each are delt with in the following manner.

1.   Human Waste

a)   Raw untreated Human waste should be disposed of in any of the biodigesters that are available in the common areas of the community. If the waste is from a household that has their own biodigester, then that household should use this facility. Any community member may use any biodigester regardless of its location.

b)  Chemically treated (including household bleach) Human waste MUST NOT be put into a biodigester as it will retard the bio digestion process. Instead, it should be added to the Human Waste dumping pit for chemically treated waste to keep it from entering the environment. KIRRAutility (Ku) will manage these pits and advise of the active pit together with its location.

c)   Chemically treated Human waste is not permitted onto any Kirra property or in the community. Chemical treatments of human waste MUST NOT be used by community members while on a Kirra Property. Chemical treatment waste disposal is reserved for visiting members who have chemical treatment facilities in the mobile homes and caravans and are staying on the property for a short-term. These visitors must empty their waste outside of the community.

d)  If a member is returning from travel outside the community and has chemical treated human waste inside their vehicle, they must empty their waste facility prior to returning to the community.

2.   Metal

a)   Metal waste should be separated from other waste and placed in a Metal waste recycling bin located around the property. Metal waste will be sorted and sold for scrap or used within the community as necessary. Aluminium cans can be collected and refunded for the 10c deposit.

3.   Paper and Card

a)   Paper and Cardboard waste should be separated from other waste and placed in a Paper and Cardboard waste recycling bin located around the community. Cardboard waste has several uses from composting to the creation of methanol or wood alcohol. This is used to make our petrol go further by creating more environmentally friendly E-fuels.

4.   Plastic

a)   Plastic waste should be separated from other waste and placed in a Plastic waste recycling bin located around the community. Plastic waste does not need to be sorted, other than the removal of deposit system bottles, which are returned for the 10c refund. The remaining plastic will be pyrolyzed into Petrol, Diesel, and Butane. The Petrol will the used in petrol machines and vehicles. The Diesel used in diesel machines, and the butane will be captured and added to the combustible gasses for consumption around the community.

5.   Food and Vegetation

a)   Food scraps and vegetation should be:

i)        Where coarsely chopped or ground added to the various composting facilities around the community.

ii)  Where finely ground, added to any of the biodigesters around the community.

6.   Under no circumstances is a plot to be used as a dumping ground for a person’s rubbish. This includes an accumulation of anything that could be deemed unsightly (or dangerous to persons, the environment or wildlife), for example, but not limited to:

a)   General Rubbish, such as unwanted, discarded items or general household refuse; or

b)  Car bodies or parts; or

c)   Unused, old or broken machinery and equipment; or

d)  Unused timber; or

e)   Windows or other building materials; or

f)   Discarded caravans or caravan parts; or

g)  Anything else that may be considered unsightly or dangerous to people or wildlife.

7.   Each plot owner is responsible for the upkeep of their plot in an orderly manner, ensuring that the plot is kept respectable, looks well-kept and maintained and where practical, gardens kept in a manner that is conducive to good agricultural principles and processes.

8.   General household rubbish MUST NOT be allowed to accumulate on a plot. It should be moved to the Kirra rubbish and recycling collection point at least once each week.

9.   If a plot owner leaves the community, the cost of restoring the plot and the removal of any rubbish shall be at the cost of the plot owner, and such an amount will be deducted from the plot owners home refund.

5.   DISTURBANCE AND NUISANCE

1.   A community member or visitor must not allow or cause a disturbance to the community or another community member in any manner. This includes, but is not limited to:

a)   Breaking or failing to observe QUIET TIME: the community is quiet time from 8pm on any day to 8am the following day; and

b)  Dogs or other pets roaming around the community unattended at any time; and

c)   Uncontrollable or Disturbing Dog Barking or whining; and

d)  Allowing a domesticated pet to cause damage to the property of the community, flora, or fauna; and

e)   If the community holds an event such as an Expo or gathering of the community, the Governance Committee will make this known to the community together with the hours that the event will occur and the days and dates that the event will occur.

i)        The Governance Committee may publish appropriate exemptions from the Quiet Time Rule as defined in item 5.1.a (Above)

f)  Visitors and members will not cause excessive motor vehicle noise at any time. The exception to this is within the Automotive bays at the civic centre. This facility must, however, adhere to the quiet time rule.

g)  Shouting and yelling, other than in the event of an emergency in which community members are summoning other members to follow instructions for community safety.

h)        A community member accepts that they are responsible for the actions of guests they invite into the community property. As defined in item 4.7 of the Rules of Association, they are also liable for any breaches in these by-laws by that visitor or guest.

6.   PRIVACY, PERSONAL SPACE AND PERSONAL PROPERTY

1.   A community member or visitor MUST NOT enter onto the plot of anther community member unless that plot owner has expressly granted permission to do so.

a)   A community member may enter onto the plot of anther community to seek that permission; or

b)  Any person may enter onto a plot for the purposes of ascertaining the well-being of another person or rendering assistance to another person; or

c)   A community member in an official capacity to carry out works, may enter a plot to complete the assigned task.

2.   An item with a clear identification making being the property of a community member MUST NOT be used or taken by another person unless that person has been granted express permission by the property owner to use or take the property.

3.   A person within the common property of the community MUST NOT cause or allow themselves to enter the personal space of another person without the express permission of that person.

a)   This does not apply in the event of an emergency.

4.   A person MUST NOT cause a physical, sexual, mental (or any other kind of) threat to another person in any way, by any manner or any means.

a)   This extends to a person’s pets, or other property.

5.   Gatherings at a common place MUST welcome all community members and visitors, without exclusion unless the gathering is a paid event, or for the provision of a professional service.

a)   Gatherings of the Governance Committee or other formal committee are excluded from this clause, unless the Governance Committee has determined that it will be an open meeting or any rules to the contrary.

6.   Personal beliefs and belief systems MUST NOT be forced onto other members or visitors in any manner.

a)   Forced, shall mean discussed without provocation, or continuing to discuss such a topic once it is obvious that the person is not interested or otherwise willing to engage, or the discussion is uninvited, or a request has been made to cease the discussion; and

b)  This does not apply if the people in the discussion, meeting or gathering are willing participants; and

c)   The gathering is performed in an orderly manner.

7.   The use of common community facilities must be booked to ensure that a conflict in use does not occur. In the case that a conflict in use does occur where neither party made a booking for the facility, the first party using the location is considered entitled to the facility.

a)   A facility can be a place, structure or a thing (such as a tool or a machine)

b)  If a facility has been booked, and at the commencement of the booking the facility will be wholly made available to the person who booked the facility for the purpose it was booked.

c)   If a booking is made and subsequently not required, the person making the booking MUST immediately cancel such a booking as they become aware that the booking is no longer needed.

8.   Any person on community property that unlawfully takes or removes or deliberately damages another person’s property or property of the Association is not behaving in a manner conducing to a peaceful community. These actions will immediately be reported to the police. The penalty for stealing or damaging personal property is cancellation of the members community membership.

7.   GUEST ACCOMMODATIONS

1.   A paying guest staying within the Community, is for the time of their paid stay considered a member of the community in the class 5.1(d) “Honorary Citizen Member” and they are afforded all that this membership class provides by other community members and visitors.

a)   These by-laws apply to all guests equally as they do to any class of member.

2.   Guest Accommodations may be used by the community for the provision of accommodation during events and on special occasions.

a)   Guest accommodations are available for any purpose to the community members upon payment of the appropriate rental fee to KIRRAretail with an appropriate booking for the facility; and

b)  An event requiring access to guest accommodation is required to be booked ahead of the event and is administered by KIRRAretail; and

c)   Failure to book an accommodation prior to an event, may result in the accommodation being unavailable for the event.

3.   Guest accommodations shall be made available on Hip-camp, Air B&B or any other promotional tool or site as deemed by KIRRAretail.

4.   The community will maintain any guest accommodations in good order and make necessary repairs as required.

a)   Funding for such repairs will be made available by the responsible Kirra Committee or Sub-Committee.

5.   Ad-hoc bookings and uses of Guest Accommodation may be approved by KIRRAretail as necessary to provide services to the community from time to time. For example (but not limited to) the provision of health or other remedial services that require privacy for community members.

6.   Guest Accommodations may be allocated to Probationary Members during their probation period at the discretion of the Governance Committee in consultation with KIRRAretail.

a)   Guest Accommodations under these circumstances will be exempt from charge under the nightly rental rate for the duration of the probation period; and

b)  No servicing of the Probationary Member accommodation is required by the community during these times; and

c)   The accommodations may be charged out at any suitable rate, including the Member Weekly Contribution rate, as defined in the Rules of Association under the section Fees.

i)        If accommodation is used as described in clause 7.6.b. the member will be required to pay the appropriate amount for power, water and communications during their use of the facility.

7.   Guest Accommodations may be allocated to new Citizen Members while their home is being built at the discretion of the Governance Committee in consultation with KIRRAretail.

a)   The conditions under this clause are the same as clause 7.6(a), 7.6(b), 7.6(c).

8.   COMMUNITY INCOME AND DISTRIBUTION

1.   The clauses in this section are in accordance with 3.5(a) and 3.5(b) of the Rules of Association.

2.   Any income derived from the use of Community assets shall be deemed to be income of the community.

a)   This income will be evenly distributed amongst those community members that contributed towards at least 80% of the time budgeted for the project. This time allocation is not to be confused or mistakenly considered within the Fee-in-Kind time contributions defined in item 6.1(k) of the Rules of Association. It is time a community member engages with a project more than the Fee-In-Kind time.

b)  Once 8.2(a) (above) is achieved, any remaining monies will be evenly distributed to the community members on an equal basis as per item 6.1(j) of the Rules of Association.

c)   The maximum amount that can be distributed to any individual community member on a project-by-project basis must not exceed the annual payment amount of the Member’s Community Contribution as defined in item 6.1(i) of the Rules of Association.

d)  This excludes projects that are funded entirely by the individual community member or a group of members of the community. These shall be deemed to be Private Projects and the revenue from such projects will go to the community members involved in the projects as they see fit.

i)        If a project defined in clause 8.2(d) requires or causes resource of the community to be used, the project will contribute a minimum 10% of its ticket value to the community as its contribution to the community.

ii)  The amount described in clause 8.2(d)(i) shall be paid to the community by the member upon sale of the item. For this clause, sale shall also be considered, lease, rent, or any other income earning method.

3.   Income that is derived from the members Fee-in-kind contributions as defined in item 6.1(k) of the Rules of Association shall be for the purposes of community upkeep and maintenance, this may include (but is not limited to):

a)   Insurance Payments; and

b)  Council Rates Payments; and

c)   Government Charges and Levies; and

d)  Water Purchase; and

e)   Fuel Purchase; and

f)   Machinery Repairs or maintenance; and

g)  Community Asset purchases; and

h)  Legal Fees in maintaining the Association; and

i)        Other equipment purchases; and

j)        Materials for community infrastructure maintenance; and

k)  Materials for expanding or extending the community infrastructure; and

l)        Bank Fees; and

m) Any other things necessary to maintain the community.

4.   Any income that is derived more than the next year’s budget requirements shall be evenly distributed to the fully paid and entitled members at a pro-rata rate for the preceding year based on time of membership in that preceding year.

a)   Entitled members means those members entitled to vote at the time of the distribution.

5.   Members agree not to engage in any Private Project which deprives the community of Income by way of competition to an existing community project from which the community already receives or derives an income.

9.   COMMUNITY CASH CREDIT ACCOUNT

1.   Payments by the Association to its members shall be by way of cash credits to the member’s Community Cash Credit Account, where 1 credit is equal to 1 Australian dollar, unless otherwise agreed by the members of class 5.1(a) from time to time.

2.   Each member of the Community shall be issued an electronic tokenised Community Cash Credit Account, in which the Association or other members can add credits, or the member can purchase credits for use within the community.

a)   Only a community Member of class 5.1(a) to 5.1(e) can own a Community Cash Credit Account, unless ownership or use of a Community Cash Credit Account is approved by the Governance Committee for another individual or business; and

b)  A Community Cash Credit Account will have NO transaction fees, or other fees for the keeping of the account or the use of or the establishment of the account; and

c)   A member may setup and cancel any scheduled payments either to the Association or any other active Community Cash Credit Account at any time; and

d)  Community Cash Credit Accounts must be kept in good standing by the member; and

e)   The member must remain a fully paid financial member to use their Community Cash Credit Account, other than defined in clause 9.2(a); and

f)   Suppliers providing services to the community or within the community can request to accept Community Cash Credits from a member of the community that holds an account; and

i)        The Association will settle with that supplier in accordance with the terms described in item 8.10 of this document.

3.   Community Cash Credit transactions that are disputed by a member must be notified to the Governance Committee for resolution within 7-days of the member becoming aware of such a dispute, and.

a)   The Governance Committee will investigate and examine the transaction and discuss the issue with those parties involved, once this process is complete, the Governance Committee will:

i)        Decide how to resolve the dispute; and

ii)  issue the necessary and appropriate determination information and decision to all parties in the dispute; and

iii) make the appropriate financial orders for the transactional correction or resolution to the Community Cash Credit Account System.

b)  The decision of the Governance Committee and the determination and resolution of a transactional dispute are final.

c)   Transactions that are disputed past the 7-day period of notification to the Governance Committee, must cite the reason for the delay in requesting a resolution.

i)        The reason for the delay needs to be considered within the control reach of the disputing party, for it to be an acceptable reason; and

ii)  The Governance Committee needs to accept that this is the case.

4.   Any payment to the Association as described in item 6 of the Rules of Association MUST first be taken from the members Community Cash Credit Account before any request or demand for a physical cash payment is made by the Association.

a)   Payments from the Community Cash Credit Account of the member can be used to part pay an Association Fee, in such a case the Fee is not considered paid until the balance is fully paid by the member to the Association in either cash or by electronic funds transfer to the Association.

5.   A members Community Cash Credit Account MUST NOT become a negative balance. However, the Association may deem that it is necessary to support a community member through times of loss or hardship.

a)   The Association will deal with each request in a compassionate manner; and

b)  The Governance Committee may consider past loans to the member when making its decision; and

c)   The member must make a formal application to the Governance Committee for the loan.

i)        The maximum amount in any one loan from the Association to the member is $1,000.00 (One Thousand Dollars)

ii)  If the loan is declined the Governance Committee is not obliged to cite the reasons for the declination but may cite a reason if the Governance Committee determines that it is appropriate to do so.

iii) The loan request must be considered and determined by the Governance Committee within 48-hours of the members application.

iv) If the loan is approved, the Governance Committee will issue instructions to make the funds available within 48-hours of its approval.

d)  The decision to allow a negative Community Cash Credit Account balance (a Loan) must be solely determined by the Governance Committee; and

e)   The maximum amount that can be extended to any community member is $1,000 (One Thousand Dollars) in any given financial year, unless that amount has been fully repaid or the Governance Committee decides there are special circumstances to alter the amount or the issuing of a loan more than 1 time in a financial year.

f)   Additional loan amounts are not made available until the Community Cash Credit Account of the member is brough to a zero or positive balance, and the member makes another formal application made for a loan.

g)  Loans provided by the Association to a member are done without interest, provided the full amount is repaid within 12 months from the date the loan is granted.

h)  Failure to repay a loan within the 12-month period from the date of granting the loan will cause the Association to:

i)        Demand repayment of the amount outstanding in full and issue a notice that the full outstanding amount is now due; and

ii)  Charge interest on the amount outstanding and until such time as the loan is fully repaid at the Commonwealth Bank’s Prime Lending Rate plus 2% per annum; compounded daily on the outstanding amount; and

iii) Commence an action through the courts for the recovery of the loan amount, together with interest and legal costs for the recovery and any other costs associated with the debt.

6.   Members in the community, may use cash (or other forms of payment that can be processed by another member) however, each Community Member MUST accept Community Cash Credit Account payments from any member within the community as a valid form of payment.

7.   Members can transfer Community Cash Credit Account payments from one another and to each other using the Community Cash Credit Application on the Internet or their mobile devices.

a)   Where a Community Member is paying for goods or services that are to be collected from outside the community, by another member, the Community Member making the request for collection, must be paid by Community Cash Credit with enough time to allow the member providing the collection service sufficient time to comfortably convert that Community Cash Credit into cash, for use outside the community. Failure to allow sufficient time for conversion, may require the Community member to pay cash for the collection.

8.   Community Cash Credit Account balances don’t expire and remain active until the member has spent the balance of the Account, or they leave the community as defined in item 7.4 of the Rules of Association.

9.   Upon leaving the community a member may request that their Community Cash Credit Account be paid out and settled.

a)   In such a case, the Association will make a settlement payment to the outgoing community member, within 48-hours after the member has left the community using the following methods:

i)        In cash if the balance of the account is less than or equal to $500.00 (Five Hundred Dollars); or

ii)  By electronic funds transfer to a nominated bank account if the amount exceeds $500.00 (Five Hundred Dollars)

10.   An external visitor (the Service Provider) that is providing goods or service to the community members MUST allow the member to pay using their Community Cash Credit Account.

a)   At the end of the Service Providers visit, the Association will settle the balance of the Community Cash Credit earned by the Service Provider and make the payment to the Service Provider in cash for amounts less than or equal to $500.00 (Five Hundred Dollars) or by electronic transfer to a nominated bank account for amounts greater than $500.00 (Five Hundred Dollars); and

b)  To ensure that suppliers are appropriately paid and done so in a timely manner, the Association will keep an amount of $5,000.00 (Five Thousand Dollars) in cash on hand to make good any claims by Community Cash Credit Account transactions involving a Service Provider and other visitors to the community; and

c)   Standard Australian currency, payment and transaction laws apply to these transactions. Such as Rounding to the nearest 5 cents and payment of GST, where an ABN is provided to the Association by the Service Provider; and

d)  Where the Service Provider holds a valid ABN, they must include the GST Amount in the payment requests to Community Members at the time of publishing the price of the item, they MUST NOT add the GST on after an amount is agreed or published by the Service Provider. They are NO excluding-GST prices.

i)        For clarity, a service provider offering a service for a published price of $100.00 must charge $100.00 to the Community Member, they MAY NOT add a GST component to the $100.00. Continuing this example, they may offer the service for a published price of $110.00 which includes a GST component of $10.00.

11.   Community Cash Credit Account transactions are valid between Community Members of any Kirra properties and at Service Providers nominated as part of the scheme, both inside and outside of the community.

a)   External Community Cash Credit Account holders, those not Community Members are settled on a weekly basis, by Electronic Funds Transfer to a nominated bank account, for all transactions that have been successfully charged to a Community Members Community Cash Credit Account; and

b)  The total balance within a single Community Cash Credit Account held by a member or non-member, excluding Members in the class "Lifetime" as defined in item 5.1 (a) MUST NOT exceed $100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Dollars). Members in the class 5.1 (a) "Lifetime" members may have an account balance total of any amount, including any amount in excess of $100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Dollars).

10.       FEE-IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS

1.   Every Community Member is encouraged to engage in the efforts of maintaining and furthering the community’s purpose by contribution at least 20-hours of time towards the community and the purpose of the community each calendar week.

2.   Time recording against community maintenance tasks within the Fee-in-kind scheme may be done using the Members token and electronic capture system.

3.   Members of classification 5.1(d) Honorary Citizen Members are exempt from these requirements unless they wish to participate, in which case they are to be included in the schedule and invited to participate as they wish. However, and regardless of their participation, the daily rate that they pay to stay in the community covers the cost of their meals.

4.   Community members will be asked to perform a broad range of common community tasks that are necessary for the purpose of the community, its well-being and the well-being of its members and visitors alike.

5.   Members will undertake the tasks on a schedule to ensure that each member has a fair distribution of tasks, and that no member is constantly completing the same tasks. Therefore, tasks are to be rotated to enhance a members community participation experience and skills while keeping the community going and the tasks interesting. Such tasks may include, (but are not limited to):

a)   Watering the gardens; and

b)  Feeding the animals and livestock; and

c)   General Maintenance of the property, dwellings, and community facilities; and

d)  Cleaning of the Short-Term accommodation; and

e)   Cleaning of the Common areas of the community, such as, but not limited to amenities blocks etc.; and

f)   Other gardening tasks, such as weeding and planting; and

g)  Things to maintain a safe community and common spaces; and

h)  Cooking and meal preparation in the Community kitchen; and

i)        Administrative tasks; and

j)        Running the KIRRAretail store; and

k)      Assisting in the building of member housing and other community structures and assets; and

l)        Facility maintenance and cleaning, such as solar systems, water treatment plants and other assets and infrastructure; and

m)   Road building and maintenance; and

n)  Mechanical maintenance of machines within the community; and

o)  Shopping, purchasing and delivery of community products and services; and

p)  Participation and organisation of community events; and

q)  Other tasks necessary to ensure the success of the community; and

r)     Sitting on committees to ensure the purpose of the community is met, as defined in item 3.1 of the Rules of Association.

6.   Members that have professionally recognised skills and / or a professional background in a particular task may seek to be the Subject Matter Expert for a task and help provide upskilling to other community members to ensure that the Fee-In-Kind requirements are met for any task.

a)   This process allows those community members that are particularly good at a task to provide leadership and mentoring to other community members.

7.   No member is solely responsible for delivering a task for an extended time or in perpetuity. No Member owns or can be seen to own a particular task while excluding other community members. All members MUST have the opportunity to learn new skills and become involved with all aspects of the community, its upkeep, maintenance, and purpose.

8.   Subject to the Rules of Association item 3.5(b) the community will provide meals to the community members that participate in the Fee-In-Kind contributions.

a)   Community members that don’t wish to participate in the Fee-In-Kind system may purchase meals at the Community dining area within the meal schedule at the published prices for that day.

b)  Meals provided under this provision, must be had in the community dining area at the scheduled times and consist of Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

c)   Lunch may be had at any location to suit the needs of the contributing members and their location at that time of the day. For example, sandwiches may be made available to the members working in the gardens, by the community members performing the meal duties on a day-to-day basis.

9.   KIRRAkitchen (Kk) is responsible for the preparation and production of meals to meet the Associations obligations of the Fee-In-Kind contributions by members.

a)   The meal preparation and cooking together with serving is also a Fee-In-Kind contribution under the scheme.

10.   All Community Members are responsible for keeping the KIRRAkitchen Committee updated as to food allergies, special requirements or dietary requirements of the individual community member.

a)   A dietary requirement which is beyond the scope of normal dietary requirements that may be found in any standard restaurant may be considered too complex and onerous on the Community and may therefore be rejected by the KIRRAKitchen Committee holistically; and

i)        In such a case, the Community Member may opt out of the “Effort in Kind” scheme and its participation. Becoming responsible for their own food provision, preparation and cooking.

b)  This is to be done as soon as possible by the member using the website or otherwise in writing using any formal method of notification; and

c)   The meal makers are responsible for knowing and understanding the necessary requirements of those individuals that are attending any meal service during the day; and

d)  All meals must have the ingredients make available to the Community Members participating in and consuming the meal service; and

e)   Meals may be purchased by any Community Member using their Community Cash Credit Account.

11.   The accumulation of the 20-hours each week can be rolled over from the Monday of a Week until the Sunday of a Week.

a)   On the Monday of the Week, all fee-in-kind contributions start again; and

b)  Accrual of fee-in-kind contributions must be used within the week that were earned or accrued.

c)   For the sake of clarity, a member that works 40-hours in a single week towards the community fee-in-kind scheme; has qualified fully for the fee-in-kind contributions for that week. The additional time is not considered in the following week.

d)  The daily rate for fee-in-kind contributions is 4 hours. Once a Community Member has worked the 4 hours, they fully qualify for meals that day. For clarity, if that same member worked 8 hours, they have now fully qualified for meals the following day also. This continues so that all meals can be claimed by the Community Member for the week, once the 20 hours of effort-in-kind is met.

 

11.       CARPOOLING AND RIDE SHARING

1.   These clauses apply only to the use of Community Vehicles.

2.   Community members that are commuting to neighbouring towns around a Kirra community location MUST ask if there is any other Community Member that wishes to be included in that trip, where:

a)   The commute is for community shopping; or

b)  The commute is for Personal shopping; or

c)   The commute is for visiting a government office; or

d)  The commute is for going to the Bank; or

e)   The commute is for a community event; or

f)   The commute is for General sightseeing.

3.   A community member doesn’t need to make a request or extend the opportunity to ride share to another Community Member if:

a)   The member is going to a health or medical appointment; or

b)  Making the journey for confidential personal reasons; or

c)   The trip is not planned to be concluded on the same day.

4.   In every circumstance that the trip is to be concluded within the same day, the member should request if another member wishes to have anything collected for them while that member is at that town; and

a)   If there are Community Members that wishes to participate in this commute, they will meet the Community Car Costs at the pro-rata rate; and

b)  Be available to attend the journey at the agreed time. A Community Member who is later than 5 minutes to the meeting location forfeit their inclusion; and

c)   Will NOT ask another Community Member to do personal shopping for them in their absence.

5.   Any trip to a town that has the postal facilities of the local community located, by a community member that is authorised to collect mail and parcels of behalf of the Association, should be collected and return all mail and parcels to the community; and

a)   Mail should be either delivered to each community member that it is addressed to or made available at the community collection point for the members, with a notification to the Member that they have a parcel to collect; and

b)  Community Members can use the Kirra Address in Tara for the Tara Community, which is
 PO Box 2, TARA, QLD 4421.

c)   Parcels that are not delivered to the Post Office MUST be collected in person by the Community Member and may not be collected in a commute to the local Post Office; and these are the responsibility of the Community Member that organised the delivery.

12.       ACCESS TO PROPERTY AND FACILITES

1.   Each member’s access to a community property and community facilities is controlled by their access and payment token.

a)   Members MUST immediately report their token as lost if they lose, misplace, damage or destroy it or believe that it has been stolen, misplaced, damaged or destroyed.

b)  The Association will disable the lost token and provide a new token to the member. The same facilities and access will be associated with the new token as the old.

i)        The Association may charge for the replacement of the token.

c)   The Association will issue up to 3 new tokens per member per year, before a fee for replacement will be required to be paid for the replacement token.

2.   If a member’s access token does not permit access to a specific facility or location, it is because the Governance Committee doesn’t believe the member requires access to such an area.

a)   Not all members are entitled to enter all areas, facilities or locations; and

b)  If you need access to a particular area or location, the Community Member will need to make a formal request to the Governance Committee for such access; and

c)   The Governance Committee will decide as to whether the request is reasonable and valid or not; and either allow access to the requested facility or not.

13.       MOTOR VEHICLES, RVS AND CARAVANS

1.   All the rules in this clause come into effect on the 1st of July 2024.

2.   A member that brings a vehicle onto a Kirra Property may only do so if that vehicle is registered with an appropriate state or territory government agency responsible for the management and oversight of vehicle registrations.

a)   The vehicle must be considered “Road Worthy” by the registering authority; and

b)  For the sake of this clause, all caravans, recreational vehicles, and any vehicles which have at one time, or another met the requirements for a vehicle requiring registration, shall be registered and maintain a “Road Worthy” status.

3.   A member is not permitted to store (or otherwise use for scrap or salvage) any vehicles on their own plot or any other Kirra Property.

4.   A member is permitted to park one (1) registered vehicle on their plot at any given time.

a)   Any additional vehicles may only be parked in the assigned public car parking area for the community within the Kirra Property.

b)  Members may not park on common roads, walkways or in any way which could be considered an inconvenience to another user of the same facility.

c)   The invited guest of a member may not park any vehicles within the community space of a Kirra Property, except in an assigned car parking area.

i)        Visitors and Invited Guests of a member parking in an assigned car parking area, do so at their own risk.

5.   Any vehicle parked on a Kirra Property must be able to be moved by the owner on request of another member if that vehicle is not wholly within the confines of the member’s plot.

a)   No vehicle shall be parked in a manner as to cause inconvenience to any other person.

6.   If a vehicle that is brought onto a Kirra Property which was registered at the time it was brought onto the property becomes unregistered or unregistrable or no longer meets the requirements of the issuing authority as to its “Road Worthiness” shall immediately be disposed of by the owner of the vehicle at the owner’s expense.

a)   A vehicle defined in this item that is not disposed of within 60 calendar days, may be disposed of by the Association or its delegated representative responsible for the management of this clause; and

i)        Dispose of the vehicle after the delivery of a written notice advising the required removal within 60 days; and

ii)  Determine the costs associated with the removal and or disposal of the vehicle shall be the responsibility of the owner of the vehicle; and

iii) The owner agrees to pay the Association, it’s agents, employees or those appointed by the same body, any amounts associated with this action, within 7 days of receipt of the account covering this action; and

iv) Kirra Ecovillage Community Association may deduct any outstanding amounts recovered for the disposal of the vehicle and pay to the owner an amount representing the difference between the recovered value after these expenses have been deducted.

b)  Vehicles of any description used for the benefit of the Community are excluded from this clause.

14.       LIABILITY, INJURY, MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH AND DUTY OF CARE

1.   As part of Kirra’s “Duty of Care” to its members and visitors, we request transparency regarding the disclosure of any known health issues or medical conditions, including mental health conditions. This allows the community to ensure appropriate safety considerations and measures are applied to reduce the risks of further injury or aggravation of a condition. As such community members and proposing community members may optionally advise the Governance Committee of any mental or physical health issues or conditions that they have or suffer from; and

a)   The Governance Committee shall treat any declarations as personal health and medical information and keep such information confidential; and

b)  The Governance Committee shall record these declarations in the Member Register; and

c)   The Governance Committee may consider these declarations when assessing a Membership application; and

d)  Failure to advise the Governance Committee of a health issue and later claiming it as a condition is considered a wilful and deceptive act by the Community Member and may result in immediate termination of a membership as it changes the Association’s risk associated with a member.

2.   Community Members accept that they will be using large machines and some dangerous tools, and chemicals, which they MUST only use if they have had appropriate training and are skilled in the operation of and can operate without sustaining injury, and are fully aware of the safety issues and dangers presented in each case with the use of each tool, and only operate them or use the tools if they are capable of doing to in a safe and injury free manner.

a)   A Community Member agrees that they have had appropriate training in the use of a tool once they start using the tool; and

b)  They agree and acknowledge that in using the tool, machine or chemical, they fully accept the risk associated with the tool, machine or chemical.

3.   Community Members acknowledge that they may encounter the following list of deadly tools, machines and chemicals while at a Kirra Location, which include but, not limited to;

a)   Excavators; and

b)  Chainsaws; and

c)   Circular Saws; and

d)  Bandsaws; and

e)   Planners and Thicknessers; and

f)   Table Saws; and

g)  Electric Sanders; and

h)  Nail Guns; and

i)        Ramset (Explosive Cartridge) Nail Guns; and

j)        Other Handheld Power Tools; and

k)  Petrol Powered Sawmills; and

l)        Metal and Wood Lathes; and

m) Handheld Tools, such as hammers, chisels, and hand saws; and

n)  Drills and Drill Presses; and

o)  Electrical Appliances; and other 240-volt appliances; and

p)  Low Powered (18 volt) Post Hole Digger; and

q)  Petrol Powered Post Driver; and

r)   Steam Powered Electricity Generators; and

s)   Petrol and Diesel Electricity Generators; and

t)        Natural, Propane, and Methane Gas Powered combustion devices; and

u)  Motor Vehicles; and

v)  Trailers; and

w) All-Terrain Vehicles; and

x)  Air compressors; and

y)  Other device which can cause severe and serious harm or death; and

z)   Hydroponic Chemicals; and

aa)   Acetone; and

bb)  Hydrochloric Acid; and

cc)   Sulphuric Acid; and

dd)  Glues, Thinners, Petrol, Diesel, kerosene, and other combustible substances and materials, and different types of batteries and battery chemistries.

4.   Community Members working at a Kirra Property are considered working within their own home while doing any work under the “Effort in Kind” scheme or any other requirement to provide a skill, or labour to a community project or another Community Member’s personal project or endeavour; and

a)   A Community Member accepts the risk in using any Machines, Tools and Chemicals at a Kirra Location; or

b)  That Community Member agrees to establish suitable Insurances to cover any damage, injury or incapacitation which results from their own efforts, falls, or personal damage or injury while performing the task; and

i)        The Community Member will make such necessary payments to maintain that Insurance Cover in accordance with the requirements of the Insurer, from their own funds.

c)   Not undertake any activities which they don’t have sufficient skill or expertise to achieve safely and comfortably within their own physical and mental boundaries; and

d)  Each Community Member is entitled to decline any task which they are not physically or mentally capable of completing; and

e)   Needs to make the Subject Matter Expert of any task aware in writing of their inability to achieve the desired outcomes because of any known physical or mental incapacities or prior injuries; and

f)   Agree not to attempt those tasks on any Kirra Property.

5.   Community Members agree they may only use machines and tools with appropriate training, safety instruction and supervision.

a)   Failure to comply with all instructions shall result in immediate forfeiture of continued use or access to the Machine, Tool or Chemical; and

b)  Removal from the task; or

c)   Reallocation to another part of the task which does not have access to or a requirement for the use of the machine, tool, or chemical.

6.   Every Community Member agrees, The Association, its Community Members, Governance Committee, employees, agents or other associated entities are not liable for injuries sustained to a community member who exceeds their own capacity either physically or mentally, either by causing a new injury or causing an old injury to become again, injured.

7.   Each Member at a Kirra Location is required to ensure that at least one other Member is aware of their wellness at least once every 24-hours.     

a)   Members who are noticeably absent from tasks; are required to make it known to the community that they are not in need of assistance or a health professional.

8.   Each Kirra Location has an EPIRB Emergency beacon within easy reach and accessible by any Community Member or Visitor that requires immediate medical attention.

a)   The Kirra Tara beacon is in the Solar Power Shed located in the Kirra Common Area; and

b)  The beacon has a GPS location capability; and

c)   The beacon registered with and monitored by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority; and

d)  The first point of Contact has been advised to alert first responders to immediately attend in the event of activation; and

e)   Prior to testing a call MUST be made to 04 0197 0197 to advise that the beacon is about to be tested; and

f)   Testing must occur at least once every twelve months.

9. Kirra Locations and the Association does not provide medical staff or physical or Mental health services. We are not medical doctors, psychologists or psychiatrists, if you have a physical or mental health issue, and you need help with it, please consult the state government in the Kirra Location you are currently in, for directions and assistance.

15.       PETS

[Amended 18/03/2025]


1.   Pets make up an integral part of Kirra Properties and are welcomed with the following conditions.

a)   There is a maximum number of pets that any one plot may have.

i) A maximum of two (2) dogs (canines) (any breed and any age); or

ii) A maximum of two (2) cats (felines) (any breed and any age);

b) Cats must be prevented from stalking wildlife; regardless of the owners intent for the living arrangement of the cat, inside or outside;

i) Every cat must wear a permanent collar with a bell on it to alert wildlife that it is present; and

ii)     Such a collar must not be removed while the cat is on any Kirra Property. Except in the event of an emergency;

2. Kirra pet owners are responsible for the actions of their pets.

a) If two or more pets are engaged in a fight, the owner of the pet that is not restrained is responsible to ensuring that the owners of any other pets that are 

   injured during the confrontation are made whole and the owner with the unrestrained pet is wholly responsible for all costs in the rehabilitation of 

   any other injured pet.

i) Additional on costs, including but not limited to

3. Pet owners must not engage in puppy or kitten farming on any Kirra property.

4. Where practical all animals must be kept in good health, cared for, nurtured, and provided sufficient mental and physical stimulation so as not to

allow the animal to become distressed or otherwise stressed.

5. Kirra Ecovillage Community Association will not support, condone or allow animal abuse of any description.

a) Owners that engage in activities that may be considered abusive towards an animal may be subject to membership termination and law enforcement 

intervention.

6. Owners of exotic pets that are required to be licensed, must maintain a valid license for the keeping of the animal in the location of the Kirra Property that

the animal is to be kept. If the animal is required to be registered, the owner will ensure that this is complied with, and maintained as required.

7. Protected Animals are animals that are afforded a protection status by the state or federal government of the location of the Kirra Property that the animal

is to be kept. Other than for the purposes of rehabilitation, no protected animals are to be kept at any Kirra Location.

8. Animals kept by the Kirra Ecovillage Community Association on common Kirra property, that are held for the benefit of the community are not considered

pets and are exempt from this section of the by-laws.

9. Pets that ordinarily life in a confined space such as turtles, reptiles, fish are exempt from this section of these by-laws. There are no physical restrictions in 

place regarding the number of these pets that can be kept on a members plot.

10. A member may not keep or cause to be kept any animals that could be considered "farm animals" on a member plot. 

Animals that may not be kept on a member plot include but are not limited to;

a) Sheep; and

b) Cattle; and

c) Goats; and

d) Horses; and

e) Bees; and

f) Donkeys; and

g) Pigs; and

h) Chickens (or any other fowl, including Geese, Turkeys and Ducks); and

i) Alpacas; and

j) Lamas.

k) A member may keep these animals in the designated space for such animals at any Kirra Location.

i) The member is responsible (in its entirety) for the upkeep or the animal kept in such a designated space.

ii) Members must obtain permission from the responsible community committee prior to introducing the animal to a Kirra location. Such permission 

 may or may not be granted by the committee within its powers as a committee. The committee will operate according to the Kirra Rules of 

 Association in dealing with any such requests.