Your club should be aware of the environment it is operating in. This would include the:
- Constitution
- Rules or Regulations
- Legislation such as the Associations Incorporation Act 2009 (NSW) (the Act) or as company limited by guarantee under the Corporations Act 2001.
Whatever the size and purpose of the club managing risk including compliance is a key board responsibility.
It is essential the club works with its parent body’s insurer/broker to regularly review its risk exposure across all facets of the club.
It can be helpful to think of risks in broad categories, such as:
- Compliance risks (e.g. failure to lodge statutory information in allowed time)
- Financial risks (e.g. loss of funding, insolvency, expense blow-out)
- Governance risks (e.g. ineffective oversight)
- Operational or program risks (e.g. inadequate preparation for competition)
- Environmental, including event risks (e.g. natural disasters and states of emergencies)
- Brand and reputational risks (e.g. due to worsened stakeholder or community perceptions, from major event failure or adverse commentary on performance via traditional and/or digital and social media channels) and
- Strategic risks (e.g. stakeholder behaviour change, increased competition for funding).
The Australian Standard on Risk Management (AS/NZ ISO 3100:2018 provides guidelines on managing risk faced by organisations.
The application of these guidelines can be customized to any organization and its context.
The Guidelines for Managing Risks in Sport and Recreation (HB 246:2010) set out a systematic approach you can use to manage risk.
Your state or national body is a good first port of call for advice and assistance.
- NSW Volunteering - Risk Management for Not for Profit Organisations
- NSW Volunteering - Risk Register Template
- Play by the Rules – Risk management advice for people in sport
- Our Community – Risk Management
- The Clearinghouse for Sport connects people in sport to a world of ideas, experiences and knowledge.
Disclaimer
As with any resource, this does not replace obtaining legal advice on each sport specific requirement and it is recommended you do so.
The information provided in this resource is for your information only. The authors and the NSW Office of Sport accept no responsibility for the accuracy of the information or your reliance upon it.