SWR 99.9 FM is a community radio station offering the opportunity for one to access the
airwaves regardless of age, gender, nationality or experience. SWR 99.9 FM offers the
community it serves a voice.
Membership is essentially open to anyone with preference given to those residing within
the licence area. We aim to have the diverse nature of the community equally represented
through the activities of SWR 99.9 FM.
Membership Process (taken from our constitution):
MEMBERSHIP QUALIFICATIONS
2A. Full Membership
A person is qualified to be a Full Member of the association if, and only if –
(a) the person has not ceased to be a financial member of the association at any time after incorporation of the association under the Act; or
(b) the person is a natural person who;
(i) has applied for membership of the association as provided by rule 3; and
(ii) has been approved for membership of the association by the Board of the association,.
(iii) can prove that they hold residence permanently within the areas bounded by and described as the Blacktown RA1 License area on date of application.
(iv) Was a financial member prior to January 1, 1995 or has otherwise held continuous associate membership with the association for a period of not less than three years in which case rules 2(b) (ii) and (iii) do not apply;
(v) Has not been convicted of any felony in relation to fraud, robbery or misappropriation;
(vi) does not hold office in any local, state or federal government body.
(vii) Does not hold office or paid employment in any other community radio broadcasting organisation with similar interests to The Association.
2B. Associate Membership
In the event that for any reason an application for membership does not meet all of the requirements for Full Membership listed in Rule 2A (b) (iii) above, the application may be permitted to proceed as an Associate Membership upon payment of the required fees. In general an Associate Member may be known as an “out of area” member, designated as such due to an inability to comply with Rule 2A (b) (iii) above. An associate member has the same rights and delegations as a Full Member except;
(i) An Associate member may not vote at Members’ meetings, and is not required to be given notice of
such meetings.
(ii) An Associate member may be subject to restrictions in Association activities as deemed appropriate by the Board, for example limited broadcast time.
(iii) An Associate Member may not be a Board Member, however he or she may be a committee member or employee. An Associate Member shall at the time of application, still be required to comply with the provisions of Rule 2A (a) and 2A (b) (i), (v), (vi) and (vii)above.
In the event that an Associate member who previously upon their original application did not comply fully with Rule 2A for any reason becomes compliant at a later date (for example, the associate member may have originally been from outside of but then moves to a permanent address within the Blacktown RA1 license area) the Secretary will automatically convert the membership to a Full Membership.
2C. Provisional Membership
A Provisional Member is a person whose application for membership is pending approval by the Board.
A Provisional Member has the same rights and delegations as a Full Member except;
(i) A Provisional Member may not vote at Members’ meetings, and is not required to be given notice of such meetings.
(ii) A Provisional Member may be subject to restrictions in Association activities as deemed appropriate by the Board, for example limited broadcast time.
(iii) A Provisional Member may not be a Board Member, however he or she may be a committee member or employee. A Provisional Member shall at the time of application, still be required to comply with the provisions of Rule 2A (a) and 2A (b) (i), (v), (vi) and (vii) above.
APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
3 (1) An application of a person for membership of the association shall be made by lodging with the
Secretary :
(i) a completed current Membership Application Form,
(ii) proof of identification, as described in the current Membership Application Form and
(iii) payment for the Membership Fees and Joining Fees.
(2) As soon as practicable after receiving an application for Membership and payment of Membership
fees and Joining fees for membership, the secretary and / or their agent shall process the application,
determine whether the application meets all of the requirements as set out in Rule 2A and if so,
approve the application. At the next duly scheduled Board meeting, the Secretary will inform the Board
of all new membership applications. (3) If, for any reason the Secretary does believe the application meets the requirements of Rule 2A (a) and 2A (b) (i) and (ii) but does NOT meet all of the requirements of Rule 2A (b) (iii) to (vii), the application will be processed as an Associate Membership with the applicant being informed of this decision. At the next duly scheduled Board meeting the secretary may present the application as an Associate Member for consideration by the Board. If the judgement of the Secretary is found to be in error and the applicant is found to comply fully with Rule 2A the membership application may then be converted from Associate to Full.
(4) The Board will vote on each new membership application and either approve or decline the application. The membership applications and the result of the vote shall be listed in the formal minutes of the Board meeting, including a reason for any membership applications that are declined.
(5) Where the Board declines the application for membership the secretary shall within 28 days advise the applicant of the reasons for the declining of the applicant and advise the applicant of the process of right of appeal as set out in rule 3B. In such instance, any membership and joining fees paid by the applicant shall be refunded and the applicant shall cease to be a Provisional Member.
(6) The secretary shall, on payment by the applicant of the amounts referred in Rule 9, and upon approval of the membership by the Board, enter the applicant’s name in the register of members and, upon the name being so entered, the applicant becomes a member of the association.
(7) Any associate member who has maintained good standing and continuous membership of the Association for a period of three years shall be invited to renew their membership as a full member in their fourth year of membership. If the member declines the invitation, the member may still convert their membership to a full membership at any later time once the provisions of Rule 2(a) (iv) have been met.