Executive Officer – report on May 2018

Over the month of May, I have been struck several times by the signs of the change in season. The mornings are colder, the evening arrives sooner and the deciduous trees are finally changing colour (such as this one from Newcastle).

The past month has also seen me busy in my warm office writing various documents.

Policies

I have drafted a Policy Manual for the AMPJP which the Council will discuss at their 21 June 2018 teleconference. The drafted policies include:

1. Organisational decision-making
2. Complaints
3. Privacy
4. Administration
5. Privacy
6. Work Health and Safety
7. External relations
8. Human resources

Now is a good time to be writing or updating a Privacy Policy given the February introduction of the Notifiable Data Breach (NDB) Scheme and the European Union’s (EU’s) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which applies from the 25 May 2018. I was assisting in drafting the Privacy Policy by the resources and information on the website of the Australian Government’s The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC).

draft Ministerial PJP Governance document

I have just collated the responses from our members on our draft Ministerial PJP Governance Principles, Foundations and Applications document. I look forward to circulating this feedback soon.

I notice that the Australian Institute of Company Directors is also reviewing their 2013 document, ‘Good governance principles and guidance for not-for-profit organisations‘. This document would be a great guide to the Boards of ministries operated by Ministerial PJP Trustees. The Trustees of PJPs should also be familiar with this document given that in most cases they appoint these Board members and need to have a shared understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The AICD has been careful to ensure that their document addresses the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission’s Governance Standards.

Governance education and formation

I have already had 17 responses to the AMPJP Governance education and formation survey. This survey will be open to AMPJP member canonical stewards and Executive Officers until Friday 8^th June 2018. The responses will provide guidance on the content of written and face-to-face formation provided by, or facilitated by, AMPJP to its members.

Preparations for the AMPJP AGM and annual canonical stewards forum

After an exchange of emails and a 16/5/18 teleconference, the Council’s subcommittee has finalised a draft Council election process. I appreciated the thoughtful and diligent contributions of the subcommittee of: Moira Najdecki, Sue Fabian, and Paul Oakley. As a sole worker I look forward to these opportunities to work with others and to hear their views on Ministerial PJPs and on our Association.  This document was emailed to AMPJP members on 22nd May 2018 and it will be discussed at the Council’s 21 June 2018 teleconference.

New events:

• 19 July 2018 Ministerial PJP video conference on Catholic Professional Standards Ltd
• 26 August 2018 AMPJP AGM and Dinner
• 27 August 2018 AMPJP Canonical Stewards Forum

New website content:

Members of AMPJP can access the following news items that I have posted in the Member area of our website:

• AMPJP Member contact details (31 May 2018 – General members also accessible to AMPJP Council members)
• List of Canon Lawyers (09 May 2018 – General members also accessible to AMPJP Council members)

The public news section of the AMPJP website now has the following posts:

• Pope Francis emphasises women and laity (09 May 2018 also accessible to General members and AMPJP Council members)
• World Environment Day 2018 (23 May 2018 also accessible to General members and AMPJP Council members)
• Australian Charities: Change and Consistency (24 May 2018 also accessible to General members and AMPJP Council members)

Looking forward to significant dates in June 2018

[1] http://www.un.org/en/sections/observances/international-days/index.html
[2] http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/special-dates-and-events
[3] https://www.catholic.org.au/calendar#year=2018&month=1&day=1&view=month