ALSO postpones AGM

The ALSO Foundation has postponed its annual general meeting (AGM) until early next year.

The organisation was due to hold the meeting in November, however, members have not yet been notified when the meeting will take place.

ALSO Foundation board spokesman Daniel Perkins told the Star Observer members will be notified of the change of plans in coming days.

“We need time for our auditor to present [ALSO’s] accounts so members get an accurate understanding of where the organisation is sitting … to make an informed decision as to where the organisation is headed,” he said.

The organisation last AGM was held in November 2010.

The federal Corporations Act requires all public companies to hold an AGM once every calendar year, within five months of the end of the company’s financial year, or risk fines.

Perkins said the organisation has been given approval by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission to hold the meeting outside the usual time period due to its current lack of permanent staff.

ALSO has been under significant financial pressure in the last year after coming to the brink of insolvency, cutting most if its paid staff and relying on part-time contractors and volunteers.

Former CEO Crusader Hillis stepped down from his full-time role in September and works as an external contractor to see through two government-funded programs which finish in the first half of 2012.

The organisation temporarily avoided insolvency in June when members passed an ALSO Committee of Management resolution to access money from the Members Resolution Fund to pay the ALSO Foundation and ALSO Care’s immediate debts.

The fund money is tied up in property investments managed by OwenLaw Mortgage Trust and was expected to be available in August. Due to “adverse events” in the property market, however, access has been delayed.

“Obviously there’ll be a discussion at the AGM about how we found ourselves in this position in terms of the money not being available and the business plan not being delivered the way we initially thought it’d be,” Perkins said in August.

ALSO Care founding member Geoff Richards told the Star Observer members have been unfairly kept in the dark.

“It’s been an unnecessary delay for relatively no activity during the year,” he said.

“The books and audit should have been ready a long time ago.”