Outcome of the Review of Club Application Vote | Maryborough Football Netball Club

Following a request from the Maryborough Football Netball Club to undertake a review of the Vote held on the 9th of July 2025, the MCDFNL engaged Nevett Wilkinson Frawley Lawyers in Ballarat to undertake a comprehensive, independent review.

The review was completed on the 6th of August 2025, and a summary of the findings is as follows:

1. The Vote may have been conducted in a manner suffering from technical breaches of the Rules, but not of the nature of voter ineligibility based on our preferred reading of the Rules. Therefore, all votes comprising the Vote outcome were eligible to be counted.
2. In circumstances where the Vote was conducted in good faith and with all intention to be pursuant to the Rules, the aspects of non-compliance do not appear material to the outcome of the Vote so as to warrant a Court’s interference.
   
   The non-compliance is also not, in our view, significant enough to warrant any allegations that the Board Members have acted against their duties under the Act so as to warrant concern or revisiting out of fear of prosecution for failure to comply with officeholder duty obligations under the Act.
3. Pursuant to Rule 10.6, the Board does not need to notify the MFNC of the reason for rejection of its application, noting its notification that the threshold was not met was simply a statement of that which could be implied.
4. The lack of technical compliance with the Rules or the Act may represent a situation of the Vote outcome being capable of grievance, however it is not invalidated by the noncompliance.
5. There is no procedure under the Rules or the Act for a non-Member to bring an action against the League for a breach of the Rules.

Paul Wicks
President