This Review is required by the Executive under Standing Order G1.1 of the Central Council as “an independent review of the Council’s Rules, Standing Orders and governance to assess whether they continue to be effective and aligned with best practice”. It has been conducted by Mr Peter Harrison, a member of the Executive, and The Hon. David Bleby SC, a retired Judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia and a member of ANZAB, who also assisted in the 2022 Governance Review.
The context of the Review
This is the second Review since the new Rules and Standing Orders were adopted in 2018. The first Review in 2022 resulted in a number of amendments of substance which, not surprisingly, had arisen in the course of experience of the major changes made to the governance of the Council which had occurred in 2018. For the purposes of the present Review the Executive was not aware of any suggestions which might require changes of substance. Indeed, it was only aware of one request for a minor change of name to one of the Work Groups. The Executive has, however, set up a small task group to review the categories of Council membership, with any changes recommended to be the subject of a motion before the Annual Council Meeting in September. Proposals for what could be significant changes would require careful drafting and would necessarily have to be considered at a future Council meeting. In that regard, Standing Order G1.2 has some relevance:
G1.2 If eligibility to vote at Council Meetings remains vested wholly or partially with Representative Members, each … review shall include an assessment as to whether it would be appropriate to transfer some or all of the powers of Representative Members to one or more classes of individual members.
The reviewers are not aware of any changes in UK legislation which would require a review of the Rules and Standing Orders.
At its meeting on 27th July, 2025 the Executive noted that the review will be considered in a motion at the 2025 Annual Council Meeting. The Executive recorded their thanks to David Bleby, Peter Harrison and David Smith for their work on the Governance Review.
Click here to read the background papers including background to the Motion regarding changes to Rules and Standing Orders.
