Board and committees

Board appointments

The ASC Board is the accountable authority under the PGPA Act. The ASC Act provides for between eight and thirteen Board members, appointed by the responsible Minister, including an ex-officio Commissioner representing the Department embracing the Federal Sport Portfolio.

Changes to Board membership during 2015-16 included the completion of Mr John Lee’s term as Commissioner on 22 September 2015 and the appointment of Ms Danielle Roche on 4 May 2016.

Consistent with the ASC’s focus on increasing female representation on sporting boards, four of the nine current ASC Commissioners are women.

Board members

Board activity

The ASC Board convened on seven occasions throughout 2015-16, one of which was via teleconference.

Play.Sport.Australia., the ASC’s participation game plan for boosting participation in sport in Australia, continued to be a focus during 2015–16. A key part of Play.Sport.Australia. is AusPlay, which was launched in November 2015. AusPlay is a demonstration of the ASC’s commitment to providing robust data and sport market insights to help the sector better understand the participation landscape and identify strategies to grow participation.

The Board continued to work closely with ASC management in growing the Sporting Schools program. The number of registered and funded schools and the participation levels of students are both well ahead of the targets and as at 30 June 2016 there have been 1.29 million Sporting Schools attendances. The Sporting Schools program continued to strengthen the connection between the 5870 registered schools and the sports to ensure that the long term outcomes are maximised.

Continued development of the Australia’s Winning Edge high performance investment model saw the Board monitor targets and assess investment requirements to maintain clear performance outcomes. The Board is also playing an important role in overseeing commercialisation opportunities so that the ASC can continue to invest in sport and support elite athletes.

Following a period of extensive consultation, the Board launched a second round of governance reform, calling for sports to take a nationally unified approach to behaviours, processes and supporting systems. Additionally, in May 2016 the ASC released a set of new practical guidelines for every sport and professional club in Australia to assist leaders with the management and oversight of integrity issues and help sports to further strengthen their own integrity frameworks.

Under the guidance of the Board, the ASC has also been working closely with NSOs in other areas such as capability building, commercialisation, technology, and women in sport.

In late 2015–16 the ASC Board developed seven strategic projects to position Australian sport and the ASC better for the future. These projects are targeted at addressing contemporary challenges facing sport and include a focus on education in sport, accessing new sources of non-government funding, national infrastructure planning, and the continuation of efforts across governance and NIN reform.

Other activities overseen by the Board included a range of ASC governance and compliance related matters such as the endorsement of the ASC’s Financial Statements, the ASC Annual Report, Corporate Plan, and reporting on the compliance requirements in accordance with the PGPA Act.


Table 9: ASC Board meeting attendance

Name

Position

Meetings eligible to attend

Meetings attended

John Wylie AM

Chair

7

7

Mark Stockwell

Deputy Chair

7

6

Alisa Camplin-Warner OAM

Member

7

7

Pat Farmer AM

Member

7

6

Andrew Plympton

Member

5

5

Jennifer Morris OAM

Member

7

7

Stephen Moneghetti AM

Member

7

6

Katherine Bates

Member

7

7

Danielle Roche OAM*

Member

1

1

John Lee**

Member

1

1

Martin Bowles PSM

Ex-officio

7

5


*appointed 4 May 2016
**appointment ceased 22 September 2015

Throughout the year officials from the Department of Health attended several Board meetings in an observer capacity.

Board committees

Finance, Audit and Risk Committee

The ASC Finance, Audit and Risk Committee advises the Board on matters relating to ASC financial management and strategic planning, efficiency, physical assets, risk management and all aspects of internal and external audit, compliance matters and NSO finances.

During the reporting period the Committee continued to have a particular focus on reviewing and reporting on NSO finances, reviewing the ASC’s financial statements, monitoring the ASC’s PGPA Act legislative compliance, and overseeing the internal audit program.

Changes in the composition of the ASC Board in 2015–16 resulted in amendments to the membership of the Committee. The August Committee meeting was chaired by John Lee, with Andrew Plympton appointed Chair from December 2015. The Finance, Audit and Risk Committee met on five occasions during 2015–16.


Table 10: ASC Finance, Audit and Risk Committee meeting attendance

Name

Position

Meetings eligible to attend

Meetings attended

Andrew Plympton

Chair

4

4

Robert Dalton

Member

5

5

Katherine Bates

Member

4

4

John Lee

Chair

1

1

Jennifer Morris OAM

Member

1

0

 

Governance and Executive Performance Committee

The ASC Governance and Executive Performance Committee advises the Board on better practice corporate governance for the ASC and NSOs, and executive performance and remuneration issues.

During the reporting period, the Committee focused on monitoring NSO governance, reviewed and established performance objectives for the ASC CEO and senior executives, considered the committee structures and skills mix of the Board and Committees, reviewed arrangements for succession planning and performance development, and tracked Board member conflicts of interest. A key area of work was monitoring NSO compliance with the MSGP, and overseeing the development of the framework for the next stage of NSO governance reform.

The Governance and Executive Performance Committee met three times in 2015–16.


Table 11: ASC Governance and Executive Performance Committee meeting attendance

Name

Position

Meetings eligible to attend

Meetings attended

John Wylie AM

Chair

3

3

John Lee

Member

1

1

Alisa Camplin-Warner OAM*

Member

2

2

Jennifer Morris OAM

Member

2

2

Steve Moneghetti AM

Member

2

2

 * Attended a third meeting as an observer