Drug and Alcohol Nurses Australasia

Important information about the DANA constitution!

Information will shortly be available about the DANA Annual General Meeting (AGM) that will be held on Friday June 21^st 2013 in Auckland. One of the agenda items deals with changes to the DANA Constitution.  To give you plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the proposed constitution, and to have any question that you would like to ask answered, we have prepared the following information.

There are two main reasons for the changes; to bring the constitution in line with the laws that apply in NSW (where DANA is incorporated) and to position DANA for the future.

Some of the specific changes and inclusions that are proposed:

• An important sentence about “cultural awareness” has been added to the Mission statement;
• A comprehensive list of definitions has been added;
• Electronic signing of minutes will be allowed;
• In recognition of the changing nature of nursing careers there is no longer a requirement for life member nominees to be retired;
• There is provision to appoint a patron or patrons to further the interests of DANA;
• Simplifying the  administration of  joining DANA;
• Increasing flexibility around membership renewal dates in that the joining date for new members becomes their annual renewal date ;
• The award of “commendation”  has been added to allow formal recognition of work that has furthered the interests of DANA;
• With the introduction of electronic technology and fully automated membership payments the role of membership secretary may not be required;
• There is the potential to combine Management Committee positions and the ability to combine chapters if required;
• “Deemed nomination” allows Chapter Representatives or Office Bearers  to continue in their roles unless another person is nominated for the position or they choose to step down;
• The availability of electronic (direct) voting;
• The ability to appoint Advisory Committees;
• The possibility of using proxy voting;
• The introduction of non-DANA member volunteers (e.g. professionals offering their services pro bono).
• Italicized quotes and footnotes are used throughout the constitution to guide readers, and future DANA Management Committees,  to the relevant sections of the Act should they need clarification in the future.

Follow this link to access DANA Proposed Constitution 2013.  Follow this link to access DANA Constitution 2012. If you have any questions please direct them to president@danaonline.org