Creating A New Club

Is there a club you find lacking on campus? Do you want to do something new and different? Did you see a club on our inactive clubs list that you wish to resurrect? Then you’re in the right place.

This page outlines the basic steps, requirements and key documents that you need to get started.

Before embarking on your journey, please consult the Clubs Affiliation Policy located below to ensure that your club follows the rules and regulations outlined:

Read it all carefully and feel free to book a time to sit down with the clubs coordinator to discuss: clubs@ucsa.org.nz

Step One: Get in Touch!

The first step is to email the Clubs Team and let them know the following:

a) The name of the proposed club or society;

b) The unique aims of the club or society;

c) Provide a draft of your proposed constitution. More information on drafting your constitution can be found here.

Step Two: Gauge Interest!

Once you’ve got your constitution drafted, it’s time to gauge some interest.

You need to collect the names, contact details, and student ID numbers of at least 20 people interested in joining your new club (of whom, at least 50% need to be current students).

Once you have that – email it through to clubs@ucsa.org.nz.

Step Three: Make it official!

Once the Clubs Team is happy with your proposed constitution, it is time to make the club official through holding a General Meeting.

General meetings are meetings of the club as a whole,and include all your members (who wish to attend) and your committee, so that you can give feedback to the club as a whole. Generally speaking, you will hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) once a year. However, as this is your first one ever, it is called the Inaugural General Meeting (IGM).

You need to invite all of the people who said they were interested in joining the society if it was created. You need to give them a reasonable amount of notice – with at least a week!

If you would like any help booking a room to hold your IGM in, let the Clubs Team know and they will assist you with the booking process.

The IGM should generally follow the following procedure:

1. Find an official minute keeper who will keep an accurate record of the meeting. An example of suitable minutes can be found under Resources. You also need to keep a record of all attendees, including their student ID numbers.
2. Have the convener open the meeting.
3. Deal with any apologies.
4. Discuss the aims, objectives, and constitution of the club.
5. Adopt the constitution, via a majority vote, including any motions to amend the constitution, with a quorum of members.
6. Hold the first election of the Club Executive, as per your constitution.
7. Agree that a new bank account is to be opened, who will be the signatories on the account, and type of account required. This step is only necessary if your club is intending on handling funds such as membership fees, sponsorships, and accessing the UCSA grants.
8. General business (other issues).
9. Set a date for the next meeting.
10. Close the meeting.

For more information, see the Annual General Meeting (AGM) Policy.

Step Four: We Affiliate You!

Once you’ve done all of that all you need to do is fill out the online form and upload all relevant documents to our online Affiliation application form below:

If you’re having any trouble or concerns make sure you make a time to pop in and see the Clubs Co-ordinator. 

Once you’re affiliated, you’ll need to repeat the affiliation process annually. 

The process and conditions of affiliation can be found here.

Step Five: Run the Club!

Now that the club has been affiliated, you can get stuck in to running your club. The UCSA will be around to provide any support or advice you may need, but for the most part, how you want to run the club is up to your Executive, as long as you stay within the rules. We want to see lots of great club events being run all over campus, so if you have an idea in mind feel free to have a chat about how we can make it work.

To do list:

• Read the emails we send you. They contain important information about reaffiliation, rules, grants, Clubs Days and more.
• Request access to your club admin tools on the UCSA website.
• Regularly collect any mail you have sent to us. 
• Reaffiliate annually. 
• Keep your contact details current

If you have questions or issues, contact our Clubs Team for support.