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1. Sources of grievances and disputes

The potential for grievances and disputes lies across many layers of an association. The larger or more complex an association is, the more potential there is for grievances and disputes to arise.

Grievances and disputes most commonly arise between:

  • an association member and another member (or members);
  • a member and the association itself, or the committee;
  • non-members (or clients) and the association, if the association provides services to non-members; and
  • employees and the association, if the association is an employer.

Grievances arising from within the membership may relate to a range of issues, including the conduct of individual members, the functioning of the management committee, how the association operates, membership, and non-compliance with the rules of association. In addition to these forms of internal grievance, employees, volunteers or members may initiate complaints against the association under specific Acts of Parliament governing such areas as industrial law and discrimination law. For example, a discrimination complaint can be made under the Equal Opportunity Act 1984.

Where associations deal with the public by offering any form of service, there is also the potential for external grievances to arise, for example, over the extent or quality of the service provided.