Annual General Meeting

RCOA holds its Annual General Meeting (AGM) late in the calendar year, generally in November.

At each AGM, five Board positions are elected by members – two Executive positions and three Member representatives.  These positions are elected in accordance with the RCOA Constitution.  Individual Members and nominated representatives of Organisational Members are eligible to seek election to the Board – for any of four Executive positions (President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer) and/or for any of the five Organisational Member representatives or one Individual Member representative.  For information about serving on the RCOA Board, please contact RCOA's Sydney office.

Each AGM is held in conjunction with a public forum.  Information about the AGM events held in recent years can be found below.

2011 AGM, Public Forum & Members' Forum

Sydney, Wednesday 23 November 2011

The 2011 Annual General Meeting will be held in Sydney on Wednesday 23 November 23 between 2:45 pm and 3:15pm at Friends House, Upper Floor, 119 Devonshire Street, Surry Hills (entrance via door up ramp on left side of the building).

To celebrate our 30th anniversary, RCOA is hosting a public forum from 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm on the topic Australia's Refugee Policy 1981 and 2011. Speakers will include Ian MacPhee, Minister for Immigration in 1981; John Menadue, Secretary of the Department of Immigration in 1981; and Dr Tien Nguyen, former President of the Vietnamese Community Association who arrived in Australia from a refugee camp in South East Asia during 1980-81.

The AGM will be followed by an RCOA members' forum. Dr. Wendy Southern, Deputy Secretary, Department of Immigration and Citizenship will deliver an address on Onshore Processing – The Way Forward from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm.

Board elections

This year, elections will be held for five positions on the Board – President, Secretary and three Organisational Member representatives. Those elected will serve a two-year term. Information about serving on the RCOA Board, eligibility and the election process is available here.

Eligible candidates must fill out a nomination form and background information to support their candidacy. Forms can be downloaded here.

Proxy nomination and notice of motion forms

Members unable to attend the AGM can nominate a proxy to vote on their behalf at the AGM using this form.

Members, whether they are able to attend or not, can put forward a motion for consideration at the AGM using this form.

All forms should be lodged with the RCOA Sydney office by 5:00pm (AEST) on Friday 18 November.

2010 AGM and Public Forum

Brisbane, Tuesday 16 November 2010

RCOA held its 2010 AGM and Public Forum in Brisbane on Tuesday, November 16. Five board positions were up for election, with existing board members returned to each position for another two years – Professor William Maley (Vice-President), Lionel Conyer (Treasurer), Maureen Adamson (individual member representative), Sonia Caton and Bobby Whitfield (organisational member representatives).

Senator Kate Lundy, Parliamentary Secretary for Immigration and Citizenship, delivered a speech at the AGM in which she commended the work of RCOA as providing "a social dividend from which all Australians benefit." Senator Lundy’s speech is available on our Speeches page.

As the first RCOA AGM to be held in Queensland, the meeting provided an opportunity to share information and canvass views on critical refugee settlement and asylum policy issues with our Queensland-based members and supporters.  At the two public forums held prior to and after the AGM, discussions focused on refugee settlement issues, as part of RCOA’s annual consultations on the Refugee and Humanitarian Program; and key challenges in asylum policy, including immigration detention policies and international discussions regarding an Asia-Pacific regional refugee protection framework. On the Monday evening prior to the AGM, an additional consultation was held to gather feedback on a range of issues from refugee communities and service providers in Brisbane.

2009 AGM and Public Forum

Tuesday, November 17, 2009 – Melbourne

RCOA’s 2009 AGM and Public Forum was held on November 17 at Melbourne's Multicultural Hub, with the nature of Australia's engagement with Indonesia on asylum seeker issues and the question of post-arrival cultural orientation for refugees explored at public forums held in conjunction with the AGM.

Five board positions were up for election, with existing board members returned to each position for another two years - John Gibson (president), Sky de Jersey (secretary), Dr Melika Sheikh-Eldin, Paris Aristotle and Jenny Semple. Motions moved at the AGM included a call for the Australian Government to make an immediate allocation of 500 additional resettlement places and a call for the needs of people in protracted refugee situations in Africa and elsewhere not to be forgotten in discussions about Australia's resettlement priorities.

Speakers at the public forum on regional cooperation were Professor James Hathaway (Melbourne University Law School), Dr Savitri Taylor, (La Trobe University) and Dr Elizabeth Biok (RCOA Board), while those speaking on cultural orientation for refugees were Haileluel Gebre-Selassie (2008 Churchill Fellow), Annerose Reiner (Foundation House) and Margaret Neil (ACCES Services Inc). A synopsis of the forum can be downloaded here.

2008 AGM and Public Forum

Monday, November 17, 2008 – Sydney

RCOA’s retiring Chairperson, Barbara Young AO, was awarded life membership of the organisation at the 2008 AGM held at Parramatta Town Hall. Chairperson for eight years (including the previous five), Ms Young served on the RCOA Board for 16 years as a representative of Austcare.  At the AGM, two new board members were elected – Bobby Whitfield, from Queensland African Communities Council, and Sonia Caton, from Refugee and Immigration Legal Service in Brisbane, replacing two board members who did not seek re-election, Grant Mitchell and Monsignor John Murphy. Ms Young’s position as Chairperson was filled by Esta Paschalidis-Chilas.

Guest speaker at the public forum was Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Senator Chris Evans.  Invited to speak on Australian refugee policy one year after the election of the Rudd Government, Senator Evans was outlined both the changes which had occurred in 12 months (such as offshore detention, temporary protection and approaches to detention) and the growing list of policies potentially up for review (including work rights for asylum seekers and complementary protection).  The Minister's speech (available on our Speeches page) included five announcements:

He also revealed that the cost of operating the Nauru and Manus Island detention centres was $309.8 million over 6½ years.

AGM forum topics in previous years

2007 – “Australia’s Refugee Resettlement Program: Where is the debate headed?” Speakers: Ajang Biar, Sudanese community leader, Sydney; Dr Melika Sheikh-Eldin, Manager, IHSS Settlement Partnerships, AMES Victoria; and Kevin Liston, Director, Australian Refugee Association, Adelaide.

2006 – “Refugee Resettlement: How effective is Australia’s contribution?” Guest speaker: Vincent Cochetel, Head of Resettlement, UNHCR (Geneva). The forum, on the 25th anniversary of RCOA’s first public meeting, also reflected on a quarter century of changes in Australian refugee policy.

2005 – “Australia’s Detention Regime: What do the recent changes mean?” Convened by Grant Mitchell, Director of Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project, with four speakers: Garry Fleming, Assistant Director, Detention Policy and Coordination, Department of Immigration, Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs; Noel Clement, Australian Red Cross; Marion Le, migration agent and advocate, and a former detainee, who reflected on the changes from the perspective of a refugee.

2004 – “African Refugees: Meeting the Challenges” A public forum with a panel of speakers: Deeqo Omar, Somali settlement worker; James Chol, Sudanese community member; Senator Marise Payne; Robyn Bicket, Department of Immigration; Sarah Elliott, aid worker; Melissa Phillips, Anglicare.

2003 – “When is it Safe to Return” Speakers: Michel Gabaudan, Regional Representative, UNHCR (Canberra); Professor William Maley, Australian Pacific College of Diplomacy, Australian National University; and Major Gen. Mike Smith, CEO, Austcare. Chaired by Janelle Saffin, Member of NSW Legislative Council

2002 – “Business for Refugees?” Speakers: Neville Roach AO, chairman of Fujitsu Australia and former chairman of the Council for Multicultural Australia; and Tony Hewson, Manager of Human Resources, Burrangong Meatworks, Young NSW. Chaired by journalist Julie Macken.

2001 – “Refugees in the Media”. Speakers: Claire Harvey, Journalist, The Australian; Greg Wilesmith, Head of Policy and Program Development, ABC News and Current Affairs; and Catharine Lumby, Director, Media Studies Centre, University of Sydney.

2000 – “Behind the Boat Arrivals”. Speakers: Jenny Bedlington, Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs; Dr William Maley, Department of Politics, Australian Defence Force Academy; Professor Amin Saikal, Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies, Australian National University.

1999 – “Challenges for the New Millennium”. Speakers: Ellen Hansen, Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees; Nick Poynder, barrister; Esta Paschalidis and Tarik Abdulhak, Canterbury-Bankstown Migrant Resource Centre.

1998 – Keynote address by the Hon. Dr Peter Nygh, Acting Principal Member, Refugee Review Tribunal.

1997 – Keynote address by Chris Sidoti, Human Rights Commissioner, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission.

1996 – Keynote address by His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.