Co-op Federation Assembly
Despite battling covid concerns, co-operators travelled from around Australia and dialled in internationally to join our annual conference of co-operatives. The conference theme was Networking and Connection, and we are pleased to report that this led to tangible outcomes for our member co-operatives. The friendships, connections and procurement relationships which develop at our assemblies are some of the most rewarding parts of our work. We enjoy making the sixth co-operative principle come to life by creating: cooperation among co-ops.
You can now watch livestreams from both Friday and Saturday of our assembly for free on our Youtube Channel. This is a valuable resource for co-op learning so please share it with your friends and co-operative members.
Co-op Birthday Milestones!
Co-ops continue to be some of the strongest and longest-established enterprises in Australia. It is not uncommon for co-operatives to now be celebrating their 25th, 50th and 75th birthday and many of our Federation members celebrated significant milestones this year.
Killarney 100th
We were honoured to attend the 100th year celebration dinner of the Killarney Co-operative which formed as a butter factory back in 1922. The anniversary dinner was attended by a large portion of the town and was compered by Ray Martin. Killarney co-op is now the driving heartbeat of their small town in rural Queensland. See more of Killarney’s history here.
New Co-ops Formed
This year, The Co-op Federation helped dozens of new co-operatives to form. Taking note of the sorts of enterprises that are seeking a co-operative structure provides us with an insight into the shifting needs in Australian society. In 2022 we noticed an increase in regenerative agriculture, community owned renewables, local retailing and housing security.
The process of forming often starts with an initial phone call or email to The Co-op Federation. We then help develop their establishing documents, hold a formation meeting and lodge forms with the co-op registrar in their state or territory. Of the dozens of wonderful organisations we helped to become co-operatives this year, here are a few examples:
Bikewise – A push bike education enterprise which is transitioning from a sole trader to a co-operative owned by the workers in the business. This process included the transfer of capital and IP from the sole trader/founder to the workers to be transferred over a number of years. We anticipate an increase in these “co-operative conversions” with Australia’s aging population meaning business owners retiring but wanting to hand over the enterprise to the workers rather than sell to a conglomerate.
Wauchope Creative Hub is a retail space for local artists and makers to exhibit and sell their wares. Since its launch WCH has grown in leaps and bounds holding community events and classes. The craft and arts co-operative sector is growing steadily.
The Sage Room Co-operative is a group of five solo consultants who have banded together to share office facilities and administration in a co-operative structure. Their services are complimentary, so they share not only moral support but client referrals, along with an office, booking platform and overhead costs.
Co-operative Advocacy Events
The Federation exists, not only to support our member co-ops, but also to educate the public about the co-operative structure. This year we undertook a number of events including:
- a Virtual Symposium which we co-convened with Sydney Uni, providing a full day of co-op education, and presenting a huge program of co-op speakers.
- The online event “Turbocharge your business with the co-operative advantage” was grant funded by NSW small business month and made a case for choosing the co-op structure.
- Secretary, Sam Byrne presented to the NSW Taxi Council. We believe the co-op structure can offer taxi operators a lifeline in the unstable, deregulated taxi industry.
- We offered our Co-operative Business Structures session at the prestigious Melbourne Knowledge Week which engaged the public to consider how our democratic model could work for them.
- We ended the year with our inaugural Hobart event “How Can Co-ops Change the World”? which brought together guest speakers from Tasmanian co-operatives and the public.
This year we took advocacy to the NSW parliament in partnership with the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) our aim was to support the formation of the Parliamentary Friends of Co-operatives and Mutuals. A group to provide a non-partisan forum for parliamentarians across Australia to discuss issues relating to co-operatives and mutuals.
Left: Launch of Parliamentary Friends of Co-operatives and Mutuals. Image credit: Chris Gleisner.
Centre: Co-operative board games night event at Melbourne Knowledge Week (Victoria). Image credit: Earthworker Co-op.
Right: Innagural Tasmanian co-op networking and education event
Education and Consultation
Face to Face assistance
We provide in-person consultation with individual co-operatives located in any of the central and east coast Australian states and territories. These consultancies are tailored to the needs of the co-op concerned. In 2022 sessions included: Strategic planning, operational and business planning, conflict resolution and even the administration of Special General Meetings and board elections.
Visiting Marino Rocks Co-op Cafe, South Australia
This year, our offerings for member co-ops included a session hosted by co-operative icon Trent Bartlett in Wagga Wagga for the benefit of our agricultural retailing co-operatives.
Online workshops
In response to demand for more online education delivery, we branched out to deliver Co-op Communications Bootcamp. This online course explored how co-ops can best increase their member benefits and market their co-operative advantage to the public.
Our online Co-op Governance Training program was in high demand. It is critical that Co-op directors understand ensure that their decision-making must consider co-operative values and principles. Directors must know their reporting compliance requirements, and align their co-op with co-operative national law (CNL). Our Co-op Governance Training also covers best practices in member engagement and with strategic direction, conflict of interest in the co-operative context, effective meetings and collaborative policy development.
We ran three rounds of Board Governance Training throughout the year, helping 86 graduates achieve their certificate of completion.
Launch of our Impact Strategy
In 2022 we launched our impact strategy, which was the culmination of strategic planning member engagement and board strategy sessions which commenced in 2021. We engaged consultant Marika Kontellis at Zakumi Consulting to assist us in this process which included member surveys, online as well as in-person sessions.
The snapshot is below and is supported by implementation plans to help The Co-op Federation deliver a collective impact in the years to come.
As well as developing our own impact strategy, The Co-op Federation assisted individual member co-ops with their strategic planning needs. Democratic governance requires a more collaborative process with clear, assigned tangible Key Performance Indicators. We have found scheduling annual check-ins with our members on their plans, creates the best outcomes long term.
Rules Projects
Every co-op is governed by a guiding document called “The Co-op Rules”. This rulebook is created by each co-op when it is formed and remains the constitution of that co-op. The Rules spell out the objective of each co-op, what membership means, and other ways in which the co-op must be governed. As co-operatives change and evolve, their rules documents occasionally need to be updated. This year we helped dozens of co-operatives update their rules to better reflect their current practice, streamline for simplicity and to align with the Co-operative National Law (CNL). In cases where an individual co-op’s rules and the CNL do not align, the CNL takes precedence, so having up-to-date rules is vital.
Rules update projects involve meeting with the co-op, drafting the new rules document and helping the co-op through the process of Special General Meetings and lodgement of the revised rules with the registrar. We make the process quick and easy for our co-ops and have strong relationships with registrars in each state.
Farewelling Co-ops
Similar to many small businesses or not-for-profits, co-ops sometimes decide to ‘close up shop.’ If required, we assist co-operatives to wind up their co-ops, hold final formation meetings and make it official.
Supporting our member co-ops
Providing expert advice on all aspects of your co-operative enterprise is a large part of our work at The Co-op Federation. If we can’t answer your question immediately we find out as soon as possible by connecting to our network of members. Many of the issues co-ops face have been solved by another member.
In-person visits
When a phone call or zoom isn’t enough, we need to visit a co-op in person. in 2023 we will hold events in multiple states. Please contact us if you would like an in-person visit and we will try our hardest to schedule it for 2023.
Online Activity
Another year marred by floods and pandemic saw us further extend our activity online and our following grew considerably in 2022. The Federation tells the stories of our members and the wonderful work that they do. See more on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
People who have worked in co-operatives often don’t want to go back to working in a standard business again, we are happy that the “co-operative jobs” listing in our monthly newsletter offers readers the opportunity to apply for co-operative job options in another state.
If you have worked with us this year, please leave us a Google Review to help the public better understand what we do at The Co-op Federation.
Farewell 2022
Sam, Molly and the Co-op Federation Board would like to thank all of our members for their loyalty, participation and solidarity this year. We are proud that the Federation is structured as a not-for-profit co-operative. Every day, be are able to share the inspiring news of people who value democratic co-operation and putting purpose before profit. We are convinced that co-operative structures offer the solution for a better future through our active, fair and accountable structure.
