The charities regulator ACNC has finally intervened in Australia’s most tumultuous corporate governance fight, the battle for control of the Physicians peak body RACP. Stephanie Tran reports.
Last week RACP members voted to remove president Prof Jennifer Martin at an extraordinary meeting amid dramatic scenes as NSW Police were called.
Internal correspondence seen by MWM, reveals attempts to delay the vote and disputes over whether the result would be recognised.
The vote marks a dramatic turning point in the months long power struggle within the college, following a series of failed attempts to remove president-elect Dr Sharmila Chandran.
The correspondence describes a chaotic lead-up to the meeting, including disputes over who should chair proceedings and an instruction from senior management directing the general counsel not to attend.
The general counsel says they were asked in front of staff and external contractors to leave the EGM rehearsal, which they describe as “a difficult and humiliating request” given their role overseeing governance processes.
It also states that police attended the premises on the day to deal with disruption, and that the president-elect ultimately chaired the meeting remotely after leaving the room due to safety concerns.
According to the account, all remaining directors, including the president, left the meeting room once proceedings began, and an attempt was made to adjourn the meeting without constitutional authority.
In separate correspondence sent after the meeting, the college’s chief executive directed staff that the “validity of that meeting and any purported outcomes remains under review” and that business would continue under existing governance arrangements with the current president remaining in the role.
The directive instructs staff not to make changes to governance records, communications or regulatory filings without executive approval, and warns that failure to comply could result in disciplinary action.
The legal officer raises concerns about the legality of this position, stating that staff are “lawfully bound to implement the members’ resolution until such time as overruled by a court or regulator”.
MWM understands that the ACNC has convened a meeting with the remaining directors to “seek clarity” on how they intend to resolve the internal dispute.
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Stephanie is a journalist with a background in both law and journalism. She has worked at The Guardian and as a paralegal, where she assisted Crikey’s defence team in the high-profile defamation case brought by Lachlan Murdoch. Her reporting has been recognised nationally, earning her the 2021 Democracy’s Watchdogs Award for Student Investigative Reporting and a nomination for the 2021 Walkley Student Journalist of the Year Award.