Australian National University Law Students' Society External Competition's Fund Policy
1. Name and Nature
2. Interpretation
3. Sources of Funding for the LSS External Competitions Fund
4. Distribution of Funding for the LSS External Competitions Fund
5. Disputes and Amendments
1. Name and Nature
1.1. This LSS External Competitions Fund Policy may be referred to as ‘the Competitions Fund Policy’.
2. Interpretation
2.1. In this Policy, unless a contrary intention appears:
2.1.1. ‘The Fund’ means the LSS External Competitions Fund.
2.1.2. ‘Fundraising Competitions’ means competitions hosted by the ANU Law Students’ Society for the purpose of raising revenue for the Fund.
2.1.3. ‘Society’ means the ANU Law Students’ Society.
2.1.4. ‘Executive’ has the same meaning as stated in the Constitution.
2.1.5. ‘Constitution’ means the Constitution of the Australian National University Law Students’ Society Incorporated.
3. Sources of Funding
3.1. Revenue raised from Fundraising Competitions will be deposited into the Fund. This includes, but is not limited to, team registration fees and sponsorship contributions. The Society will decide which Fundraising Competitions it will host at the beginning of each year at an Executive Meeting.
3.1.1. Fundraising Competitions will be organised by a subcommittee of the Society. The members of the subcommittee will be chosen by a panel of the Society’s President, the Vice-President (Competitions) and the Director of Mooting in the ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy. Their work will be overseen by the Vice-President (Competitions). Members of the subcommittee need not attend regular LSS meetings.
3.2. The Society may deposit money from its Primary Account into the Fund. The amount shall be determined by the Society’s President, Vice-President (Finance) and VicePresident (Administration) on a year-to-year basis.
3.3. Private individuals, sponsors or other persons may donate to the Fund. This will be negotiated by the Society’s Vice-President (Finance) and President.
3.4. Savings from the Fund will roll-over from year-to-year.
4. Distribution of Funding for the LSS External Competitions Fund
4.1. The distribution of funding will be determined by the Society’s President, Vice-President (Competitions), and Vice-President (Equity). In the event of a conflict of interest,1 another Vice-President of the Society will be appointed.
4.2. At the beginning of each year, the Society will set aside an amount from the Fund for AdHoc Equity Grants during an Executive Meeting. This amount may not be less than 10% of the Fund’s expected value during that year. The Society may allocate this to first-time competitors and students from underrepresented groups (such as women* and BIPOC competitors).
4.3. The Society will first allocate the remaining amount in the Fund to competitions that the ANU proposes to enter during the calendar year. These competitions will be determined by the LSS, in consultation with the Mooting Director of the ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy. This cannot include competitions for which students receive coursework credit. The Fund will cover student entry fees for all competitions on this list.
4.4. The remaining funds will cover students’ travel expenses. First, the Society will consider the expense of competing in the competition (e.g overseas competitions will receive more funding than nearby domestic competitions). Second, the funds will be distributed based on the following categories of need. This will be determined by a Disclosure Form distributed by the Society.
4.4.1. Tier 1 encompasses students who receive substantial external support (approximately 50% or more of their living expenses). This includes students who receive a significant financial contribution from their parents, or a large scholarship.
4.4.2. Tier 2 encompasses students who receive minimal external support (less than 50% of their living expenses). This includes students whose parents occasionally cover some expenses, or receive a small scholarship.
4.4.3. Tier 3 encompasses students who support themselves financially without external support, and are employed.
4.4.4. Tier 4 encompasses students who support themselves financially without external support, and receive income support (e.g youth allowance).
4.4.5. Tier 5 encompasses students who financially support themselves and a dependent (e.g a child or a sick relative).
1 For clarity, a ‘conflict of interest’ is defined as a close personal or professional relationship with the President, Vice President Equity or Vice-President Competitions. This includes a close working relationship on the LSS Executive or Committee.
4.5. The allocation of travel funding in 4.4 will be subject to the following conditions:
4.5.1. Students must first apply for funding from other available sources. This includes, but is not limited to, ANU College of Law, Governance and Policy discretionary funding.
4.5.2. A student cannot receive more than $2,000 from the Fund during a calendar year. This includes their share of the team registration fee, and any travel funding they have received.
4.5.3. The money received by students from the Fund and other sources cannot exceed the travel costs incurred. After each competition, students in receipt of funding are required to supply: total financial costs of competing (rounded to nearest $100), receipts for flights and accommodation and an indication of total funding amount received (rounded to the nearest $100).
4.6. Students who have received money from the Fund must, in turn, contribute to the competitions programme at ANU. This may include judging internal competitions, coaching ANU teams competing in external competitions, and hosting Fundraising Competitions as a sub-committee member.
4.7. The Society will conduct a review of Fund expenditure after the first year of operation to evaluate the overall performance of the Fund, and whether it has been allocated equitably (including by competitions and demographics).
5. Disputes and Amendments
5.1. Disputes regarding decisions made under the Competitions Fund Policy may be heard before a panel of Executive members, which must include the Vice-President (Competitions). This does not impact the provisions outlined in s17 of the Constitution.
5.2. Amendments to this Policy must be passed by a two-thirds majority of a General Meeting of the Society under section 23.2.2 of the Constitution.
5.3. For the avoidance of doubt, all private or sensitive information must be dealt with appropriately by the Executive.