Paying committee members

Out of pocket expenses

The Act allows a member to be reimbursed for any out of pocket expenses relating to the affairs of the association. It is normal to request that the member provide evidence of the payment such as a receipt before being reimbursed.

Honorariums

There may some situations were an association would like to pay a committee member an honorarium for the service they provide to the group. The Act does not refer to ‘honorariums’ and whether the payment is permitted will depend on the actual reason for the payment.

For example, an association cannot use honorariums as a way of distributing its income to members, but can make payments of wages or other remuneration to members, so these payments may be made if they represent remuneration for services actually provided to the association (even if the rate at which payment is made is less than the usual market rate). 

If any payments are to be made to committee members (apart from reimbursement of expenses), the rules must provide for the circumstances under which payment may be made and the payments must also be approved by the members at a general meeting.