Casual vacancies and insufficient nominations

If a vacancy occurs before a term of office expires, known as a 'casual vacancy', you must check your organisation’s rulebook to find out if that office must be filled or if it can remain vacant.

If your rules are silent, you need to attempt to fill offices that are essential to the functioning of the organisation or branch. An example is ensuring the committee of management has enough officers.

Sometimes an organisation's rules will allow it to appoint someone to fill a casual vacancy once a set period of time has passed since the beginning of the term of office. If that period has not passed, or your rules do not provide for such an appointment, you must fill the office by election.

When an officer resigns

Send us a copy of the officer's resignation email or letter as evidence that the office is vacant and a casual vacancy election is required.

A resignation letter or email must include essential information which shows:

• that the resignation is from the person resigning
• that the person has resigned
• the offices the person has resigned from
• when the resignation took effect.

Before sending resignation letters or emails to us you can redact private or sensitive information. However, the redacted version you send must:

• clearly show that information has been redacted
• show the essential information listed above.

We do not publish resignation letters or emails online.

When an officer dies

If an officer has died, you can send us a declaration about the death signed by an authorised officer.

You cannot appoint someone to an office if it was not filled at an election because no nominations were received for that office.

Unless your organisation's rules state otherwise, you must lodge new prescribed information to us as soon as possible and hold another election to fill the vacancy.

Contact us at [email protected] if you think your rules are unclear about whether:

• you can leave an office vacant or
• you are required to have an election.