Warren Tapp is a club industry consultant and impending PhD who works in the arena of club legislation and governance. He brings advice for all clubs on the matter of preparing for potential disaster.
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With all the recent natural disasters like bushfires and floods, your club board should be thinking about what will happen if a disaster hits their club. Don’t start thinking “it will not happen to us” either as a natural or any other type of disaster can happen anytime. Other possible risks include a cyber-attack on all your member and financial data, or loss of power for a long time, or an explosion in your club.
The extent of a club director or committee member’s legal obligations will depend on the club and its operations, your governing documents, the club industry standards and regulations and the risk assessment your Board has done. You will each have legal obligations both during and after any disaster that stops your club in its tracks.
You should at least have a disaster/emergency plan when it happens, and a business recovery plan to use after the event. This is about your staff and your WHS obligations, your members and volunteers, and safe document storage. How will you operate the club remotely if it cannot be used? Who will respond and what are their contacts in case of any emergency? Do you have insurance to cover all disasters if they happen?
Board members have a legal duty to act with care and diligence, and that includes preparing plans if a disaster happens to your club. I hope a disaster never hits your club, but these days we live in a very uncertain world, so be prepared.
Warren Tapp
