From time to time, organisations like ours need to update their governing documents, to reflect the changes in how we operate and to keep up to date with new legislation.

The last time we had a full overhaul of our constitution was in 1997! During that time we’ve made some amendments to the document, however, the way we work has changed a lot since 1997. Over the past year the HNZ Board has been reviewing the constitution in its entirety. Our aspiration was to modernise the constitution and the way we are governed to better reflect our membership and our aims in 2024.

A lot of the changes are new requirements under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022, however we have taken the opportunity to go further further and are also making changes to the governance structure, including implementing term limits for board members, and extending terms to four years. We’re reducing the administrative load on the regional committees and tidying up the procedures around meetings of HNZ. We’re also changing the constitution to reflect our new name, Haemophilia New Zealand.

We will be holding a Special General Meeting (SGM) via Zoom, at 6:30pm on Thursday 31 October, to consider changes to the Constitution and Rules of Haemophilia New Zealand.

The current and proposed constitutions are available below, along with a summary of proposed changes. 

Current HNZ constitution

Proposed HNZ constitution

Summary of changes
If you would like a copy of the proposed constitution emailed to you, and/or to provide feedback before the SGM, please email info@haemophilia.org.nz.

We will also be hosting virtual information sessions on the proposed changes, and to provide an opportunity to receive feedback before the SGM. To attend an information session, please click the relevant link below:

6:30pm, Tuesday 8 October: Click here to attend
6:30pm, Thursday 10 October: Click here to attend
10:00am, Saturday 19 October: Click here to attend
6:30pm, Tuesday 29 October: Click here to attend

To attend the SGM, please click here.

If you have any questions, or to RSVP to any of the drop-in sessions or the SGM, please email info@haemophilia.org.nz.