Moving to an Incorporated SLAA Australian Intergroup

Background

In July 2025 Intergroup advised the process and reasons for moving our legal structure to Incorporation.

Intergroup began carefully drafting an Incorporated Intergroup Constitution, merging the current un-incorporated Intergroup Constitution into the standard incorporation clauses required by law.  The aim was to retain the unique features of the current un-incorporated Constitution.

In January 2026 an earlier draft for a Incorporated Intergroup Constitution was circulated, for comment, to the Australian fellowship.

At the July 13 Intergroup Meeting a further draft was presented. At that meeting there were votes to give the required formal notice, to SLAA Australian Groups and Members, of a vote at the September 14 Intergroup Meeting, on two motions:

• A motion to amend the current un-incorporated rules into the Incorporated Intergroup Constitution (link to new item to be added)
• A motion to dissolve the current unincorporated constitution, transferring all functions and assets to SLAA Australian Intergroup Incorporated. (link to new item to be added)

Formal notice to SLAA Australian groups and members, of the September 14 vote has been given via

• a news item on the website
• the Intergroup Newsletter to which members can subscribe
• the Intergroup WhatsApp Group
• Minutes of the July 2026 Australian Intergroup meeting, available on GoogleDrive

All Australian SLAA Groups are entitled to appoint a Group Representative to attend Intergroup meetings and vote on these and other issues. Any member may attend and participate in Intergroup meetings. Only Group Representatives and Trusted Servants can vote. Join the Intergroup WhatsApp Group to receive Intergroup meeting agendas and minutes

Feedback and questions about this can be directed to the Intergroup Chair 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it necessary to Incorporate Intergroup

For a 12-Step service body such as an Intergroup, Central Office, Area, Region, or National Service Office, incorporation is usually driven by practical and legal considerations, not by a desire to change the fellowship or its Traditions.

Incorporation creates a separate legal entity, so liability generally rests with the incorporated association rather than individual members. There was a recently a lawsuit against a US based SLAA Intergroup and SLAA Fellowship World Services. Other 12 Step fellowships have been sued in the past. Should such a suit occur in Australia it would be members of the un-incorporated Intergroup that would have to defend the suit..

Due to recent regulatory changes websites ending in org.au are now required to be owned by incorporated bodies. We faced the risk of having to establish a new website and lose our place in search engine rankings and multiple links from referring organisations’ websites.

Currently many of our accounts, website, domain, zoom, literature, printing, require the entry of a member’s debit or credit card. Incorporation enables us to have debit or credit cards in the name of SLAA Australian Intergroup Inc.

Incorporation usually requires:

• financial records,
• annual reporting,
• a committee,
• defined governance processes.

This can strengthen trust among groups contributing funds.

Do other 12 step Fellowships have incorporated service bodies?

Yes. Across Australia it is common for:

• AA central offices,
• AA intergroups,
• NA service committees,
• Al-Anon service centres,
• convention committees,

to use incorporated associations, companies limited by guarantee, or trusts to conduct practical affairs while leaving recovery, membership, and group autonomy within the fellowship structure.

How was the draft Constitution prepared?

The draft Constitution was developed through a thorough and carefully considered process. It was not created from scratch or by simply adopting the NSW Model Constitution. Instead, the existing unincorporated Constitution was systematically reviewed and merged with the NSW Model Constitution for incorporated associations, with the aim of

• preserving the Intergroup’s established governance principles
• compilance with the 12 Traditions
• ensuring the document reflected the legislative framework for incorporation in New South Wales.

As an additional quality assurance measure, the draft was independently reviewed using two different artificial intelligence systems. Each AI was asked separately to assess

• whether the document appeared likely to comply with the requirements of the Associations Incorporation Act 2009 (NSW) 
• whether the key concepts and intent of the existing Constitution had been appropriately incorporated into the draft.

While AI reviews do not constitute legal advice and cannot guarantee legal compliance, using two independent systems provided an additional level of cross-checking and confidence that the draft was well-structured, likely to be compliant with NSW requirements, and faithful to the important principles contained in the existing Constitution.

Are we giving up group autonomy?

Intergroup Incorporation affects Intergroup’s legal status, not the autonomy of individual groups. The draft constitution makes clear that Intergroup serves groups rather than governs them. Groups remain autonomous and unincorporated.

With some Australian groups having multiple meetings, there are over 60 groups nationally. Each is entitled to appoint a Group Representative to Intergroup. The Committee of Trusted Servants is 7 members. The power balance lies with the groups.

Who are the members of Intergroup

Intergroup members are Group Representatives and Trusted Servants (officeholders). When members cease to be Group Representatives or Trusted Servants they cease to be members of Intergroup. This is the traditional structure of Intergroup. This has not changed.

Why are legal names required for voting and elections at Intergroup? Is anonymity being compromised?

Legal corporate governance requires certainty about who is entitled to vote and hold office. In developing the draft Incorporated Constitution Intergroup considered this very carefully. This is one of the biggest conceptual changes.

The Incorporated Intergroup is required by law to have identifiable legal members. Intergroup determined the minimum legally required amount of personal information: Full name and email or other address. Group Representatives also need to identify the group they represent.

To further enhance the principle of anonymity the following clause is proposed:

Clause 4 ( ). ) Nothing in this clause prevents a member from participating in Intergroup meetings and activities using a first name, pseudonym, or other fellowship identifier.

Will non-Intergroup Members be able to attend and speak at Intergroup

Yes. The draft constitution explicitly states this. For such members, none of their personal information is required to speak at Intergroup meetings. However, only Group Representatives and Trusted Servants may vote at Intergroup meetings. This has not changed

Can overseas members serve as Group Representatives?

Yes. Virtual Australian groups, defined as groups based in an Australian time zone, have overseas members. Each group is autonomous. Intergroup can not govern groups by telling them who they can appoint as Group Representatives. Each group determines the eligibility for serving as Group Representative to Intergroup

Can overseas members be Trusted Servants (Chair, Secretary, Treasurer, Webmaster, etc?)

No. Intergroup, like groups, has the autonomy to decide eligibility criteria for its trusted Servants. Amongst the eligibility criteria to be an Intergroup Trusted Servant is the requirement to be a SLAA Australian Member which is defined as “a SLAA member resident in Australia”. Thus overseas members would not be eligible to be an Intergroup Trusted Servants.

What powers does the committee of Trusted Servants have?

A committee of officeholders (Trusted Servants) is required under NSW incorporated association law. The committee may exercise the powers of Intergroup between Intergroup meetings; however, all decisions made by the committee must be reported to the next Intergroup meeting and may be reviewed or overturned by Intergroup.

The draft constitution requires a minimum of six Intergroup meetings each year, comprising five regular Intergroup meetings and one Annual General Meeting. Intergroup currently meets monthly, but this requirement would allow meetings to be reduced to every two months if circumstances require.

In many incorporated associations, most decisions are made by the committee, with relatively few meetings of the full membership. By requiring at least six Intergroup meetings each year, the draft constitution ensures that Group Representatives remain actively involved in decision-making and that ultimate authority rests with the full Intergroup rather than the committee.

Does a group have to be listed in the meeting calendar to have a group representative?

There have been groups that have met privately and chosen not to be listed on the website meeting calendar. Any such groups would still be entitled to appoint a Group Representative. The draft constitution defines a SLAA Australian Group:

The current constitution’s definition of a SLAA Australian Group includes “As a group, it meets to practice the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions” Why is that not in the draft constitution?

Intergroup encourages groups to practice the Steps and the Traditions. However this is not required by the Traditions. Tradition 3 states “Any two or more persons gathered together for mutual aid in recovering from sex and love addiction may call themselves an SLAA group, provided that as a group they have no other affiliation.” Intergroup does not govern groups and cannot require groups to practice the Steps and Traditions.