Our membership numbers are not keeping pace with a population that’s growing in number and cultural diversity. In fact, we’re declining. Not only do we not have enough volunteers, we don’t have enough volunteers from across our community. Yet three in 10 Australians volunteer. Our consultation and evaluation suggest we can improve our membership experience to connect with more of these volunteers and retain them as members, and that the structure that supports our clubs is an effective way to begin.

To help enhance membership experience and accessibility of leadership opportunities to encourage volunteers with diverse backgrounds and the skillsets to lead Rotary into tomorrow, an updated structure is proposed that focuses on all aspects of district-level governance. Club governance is not being reviewed. Read on for more details.

A vote on proceeding with the pilot is planned for September 2022, with consultation kicking off in July 2021. If the pilot moves forward, six phases are stepped out for implementation through to 2025, with evaluation and assessment proposed for 2025–2026. Read on for the proposed timeline.

To help clubs and members spend more time on meaningful volunteering, the proposed pilot updates district-level positions to offer more skills-focused volunteer leadership roles, as well as governance updates to make those roles more accessible and centralise shared administration responsibilities currently shouldered by each district. Read on to learn how other considerations are being taken into account.