2716 NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE, No. 91 3 AUGUST 2006

nominations, from time to time. The Complaints Committee shall elect its own Chair for a period agreed amongst its members. All complaints, whatever their nature, shall be in writing and shall initially be referred to the Complaints Committee. The Complaints Committee processes and powers shall be those determined by the Board.

The Ethics Committee will consist of four Fellows selected from a panel established for that purpose, by the Board after its call for nominations from time to time, and one Board member, nominated annually by the Board. The Committee shall include only one Board member. Three members shall constitute a quorum for meetings of the Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee will only consider complaints alleging infringements of The AusIMM’s Code of Ethics referred to it by the Complaints Committee. The Ethics Committee shall elect a Chair from among its members, the Board representative being ineligible to act in this role. The Board representative shall advise the Board of Ethics Committee matters which have implications for The AusIMM or for the Board.

(3) Any member, individual or organisation may lodge a complaint in respect of the actions of a member of The AusIMM. Every complaint shall be made in writing and shall, in the first instance be referred to the Chair of the Complaints Committee. The Complaints Committee may seek legal opinion or advice from independent experts or from the Board and/or the CEO of The AusIMM. The Complaints Committee may also seek additional evidence relating to the complaint.

(4) The Complaints Committee must consider every complaint and after deliberation may:

(i) recommend the complaint be settled by alternative dispute procedures in the case of a commercial dispute;

(ii) refer the complaint to judicial processes where a breach of the law may have been committed;

(iii) in the case of a complaint relating to a breach of either the JORC or the VALMIN codes, discuss with the relevant regulatory authority and jointly agree a process for its resolution;

(iv) deal with the complaint if deemed within the authority of the Complaints Committee;

(v) refer the complaint to the Ethics Committee if breaches of The AusIMM’s Code of Ethics are alleged or suspected;

(vi) dismiss the complaint.

The Complaints Committee may determine matters which it deems are breaches of Codes (excluding the Code of Ethics), Statutes or rules of The AusIMM, and if non-compliance is established, impose a penalty which may include a reprimand, mediation and/or counselling. Suspension of membership may not be imposed by the Complaints Committee. The AusIMM will provide, on request, a written statement setting out the reasons for the decision of the Complaints Committee.

Any decision of the Complaints Committee may be appealed to the Ethics Committee.

(5) A complaint referred to the Ethics Committee under By-Law 26(4)(v) for hearing and determination must be referred as expeditiously as is reasonable, and the member against whom the complaint was made shall be advised that this process is being followed. The Ethics Committee shall deal with all complaints directed to it by the Complaints Committee and any appeals against Complaints Committee decisions brought before it.

(6) A member against whom a complaint alleging a breach of ethics is made shall be entitled to notice in writing of the grounds of the complaint and to a reasonable opportunity to be heard in respect of such complaint before the Ethics Committee, and the procedure to be adopted in respect of an ethics complaint shall be at the discretion of the Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee may obtain independent or legal advice on evidence before it, but cannot seek additional evidence or bring an ethics complaint against any member of its own accord.

(7) At the conclusion of the hearing of an ethics complaint, the Ethics Committee may find that the complaint has not been established, or may find that the non-compliance or unethical behaviour has been established, in which case the Ethics Committee may decide to take no further action, or it may warn or reprimand the member concerned, or resolve that the membership of the member concerned be suspended for a period not exceeding 12 months or that the member be expelled from The AusIMM. The Ethics Committee may recommend that notice of the breach be published in a publication of The AusIMM and may require recovery of costs incurred by The AusIMM from a member deemed to be in breach.

The AusIMM will provide, on request, a written statement setting out the reasons for the decision of the Ethics Committee.

(8) In relation to an appeal against a decision of the Complaints Committee, the Ethics Committee may uphold the decision of the Complaints Committee or re-classify the complaint and the manner in which it is to be handled.

(9) A decision of the Ethics Committee may be appealed.

An appeal may be made to, and considered by an independent third party acceptable to both the Board and the appellant.

(10) All deliberations of the Complaints Committee and of the Ethics Committee shall be privileged and confidential.

(11) A member about whom a complaint has been made may be represented at any hearing of that complaint or at any appeal by a duly qualified legal practitioner.

(12) When all avenues of appeal to a member’s suspension or expulsion have been exhausted and the decision of the Ethics Committee in respect of the matters under investigation has been upheld, or if there has been no appeal, the Board shall act on the Resolution of the Ethics Committee and direct that the member’s name be removed from the Register for the period of suspension, or permanently, in the case of expulsion.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

27. Entrance and transfer fees and annual subscriptions shall be determined by the Board. The Board may not increase subscriptions by more than ten per cent in any year without first seeking the approval of the membership at the Annual General Meeting or at an Extraordinary General Meeting.