Legal requirements
Privacy
Regardless of the structure of your club (whether you are an incorporated society or not), you will have club members. You will collect some information about them (even if it’s just a list of members names with their addresses and phone numbers). Any group/club/employer or individual that collects private information about people is obliged to meet the rules set out in the Privacy Act 1993, and that means you will need a privacy officer. There’s also more information about how to comply available from the Privacy Commissioner’s Office.
Important things you should know about the Privacy Act:
The personal information you collect must be necessary for what you are doing, e.g. it may be necessary for a sports team to know about past injuries but might not be necessary to know about a member’s partner or children.
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- You can only use the information for the reason you have collected it. e.g. the injury information could be used to help decide what level a player is at or given to the team doctor but not given to someone you know who sells products to people with that particular injury.
- Any person has the right to look at the information you have collected about them and they can ask you to correct it if it is wrong.
- You need to keep private information private.
- It’s a good idea that your club adds a paragraph to the form you use to collect information (probably a membership application form), which states why the information is being collected (e.g. for the purposes of forming and managing a club) and who will have access to the information (e.g. committee and officers of the club or specified employees)
ACC
Don't be frightened of ACC. In fact, because of the comprehensive accident compensation cover supplied to everyone through ACC, the legal requirements for clubs and societies is much simpler than in many other countries.
Essentially, ACC will cover all accidental injuries for medical care, loss of wages (up to 80% per week but not the first week) and compensation for loss of limbs or function (in some circumstances).
If any of your members or volunteer helpers are injured while participating in club activities, their medical expenses are covered. As their injury did not happen at work if they are employed, they will not get their first weeks wages but they will receive up to 80% of their wages after the first week if they cannot work because of the injury.
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Liquor licensing
Many clubs and societies choose to have clubrooms where they serve liquor (alcohol). This may not happen with a brand-new club or association, but if your club gets to the point where it wants to get its own premises and have a licensed bar, then you may need to talk to a lawyer to assist with buying/leasing property and getting a full liquor licence.
You cannot sell liquor without a liquor licence, which is obtainable from your local council. If you are having a one-off event, you may apply for a special licence for the specific event. You will need a full licence if you want to sell alcohol regularly from your premises.
The requirements are slightly different with each local government authority. Contact you local council the get their specific requirements.
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Employment
If you employ club members you will need to satisfy the law in relation to meeting the minimum wage, doing the right thing by your employees, know about PAYE and ACC levies and ensure they have a safe working environment. For more information about employing staff, please see the IRD website. The Department of Labour website contains a huge amount of useful information for employers, including draft employment contracts and guidelines to your legal obligations as an employer
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Health and safety
It’s important to note that while your club will not be liable for personal injury from accidents for both volunteers and members participating in the activities of the club, your club could be fined under the Health and Safety Act for any employees if the club is at fault for not having a safe working environment. Occupational Safety and Health has useful information about your OSH obligations as an employer.
If you are an employer, then you must follow the rules for employers and pay the appropriate ACC levy and the meet the rules set out in the Health and Safety Act.
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References and more information
- Keeping It Legal provides a good basic look at the Privacy Act.
- Winning the Red Tape Game is published by Brookers, with support from SPARC, have published a plain language guide to New Zealand law.
- CommunityNet Aotearoa – an internet resource for communities in New Zealand has an excellent section that provides a good introduction to employing staff.
Other resources your club can use include:
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