Membership
Join the Nimbin Chamber of Commerce as a member
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Join the Nimbin Chamber of Commerce as a new or renewing member.
Criteria for Membership
To become a member of the organisation, individuals can apply as a Business Member, Community Member, or Honorary Member, each with distinct criteria and benefits.
To become a member you must be:
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A Business Member;
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A Community Member; or
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An Honorary Member
Criteria
If the Chamber Committee approves an application for Business Membership, the applicant will be admitted as a Business Member upon payment of the membership fee. A reference to the Board in regard to the consideration of Membership applications includes a reference to a Membership sub-committee appointed by the Board from time to time.
The Board may reject any application for Business Membership without providing any reasons for that rejection.
Every applicant for Business Membership must:
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conduct, or be involved in, business operations within the Nimbin area;
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have an ABN, save that upon request the Board may waive this requirement in respect of a genuine but small business;
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submit an application form to the Chamber, and provide such other information or do such other things necessary in support of their application as required by the Board from time to time.
For the avoidance of doubt, a person may be involved in business in the Nimbin District if the locale of that business is based there, or if its trading there equates to 50% or more of its activity, or if the person genuinely resides there (wherever the business is situated), but the mere registration of a business or trading name including the word ‘Nimbin’ shall not of itself suffice.
Business Members have voting rights and they or their representatives may propose a nominee or fill the office of Director.
Any person, whether or not engaged in business or commercial enterprise, may apply to be an Honorary Member or a Community Member of the Chamber in the form nominated by the Board from time to time, (see form Appendix 2 to the Constitution).
If the Board has approved an application to be a Community Member or an Honorary Member, the applicant will become a member upon payment of the applicable membership fees (if any) that are relevant to that class of membership.
Community Members and Honorary Members have no voting rights and cannot propose or be a nominee to fill the office of Director.
Membership Benefits
Your support through membership is vital to the local Nimbin community.
Members of the Nimbin Chamber of Commerce play a crucial role in supporting and enhancing our vibrant local community. As the voice of Nimbin's business sector, we're actively involved in shaping decisions that affect our area, offering a powerful platform for your concerns and ideas. Through regular engagement with government bodies and councils, we ensure that the interests of our members and the broader community are heard and addressed.
Membership Benefits
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Your Chamber is the voice that represents the business community. We are often consulted for feedback or to give input into government decision-making. We hold meetings with and make submissions to Council on your behalf to convey concerns about developments or to lobby for services. The more diverse our membership the better our representation of community views and the ability to attract funding for community projects.
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Networking in the community is an important role for the Chamber. We are available to take your concerns and issues to all levels of government. Our members are often too busy running their own businesses to devote time to such things and we are stronger as a group.
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Membership offers you the chance to voice your ideas and concerns at our general meetings and the opportunity to vote for representative Committee members at the Annual General Meeting. We welcome feedback at any time, of course, and aim to faithfully represent the views of our members.
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Committee members meet monthly; their contribution and time offered is voluntary. All decisions are democratically decided, based on the best available information and after considering all potential options and views presented to deliver the most beneficial outcomes for our members and wider community. We strive to attract committee members to represent a diverse range of interests and abilities. The position of President can only be held for a maximum of 2 years under our constitution.
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We strive to provide members with up-to-date information. We took on this role during last year’s fire emergency and during this current Covid-19 crisis with the regular posts via community information networks and regular updates on Chamber projects and actions via Chamber Chat in the Nimbin Good Times. Minutes from monthly Committee meetings are available here.
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The Chamber receives funding through a Special Business Rate Levy, collected from business property owners in the main street to support economic development. After lobbying Council, the special business rate levy is now delivered to the Chamber annually to be spent on village economic development initiatives. This is currently around $16,000 per annum. Most recently funds have been directed to mural restoration (funding a new mural at the entry to the car park, contributing to the refurbished School of Arts mural, revamping the northern village entry sign), lighting up Nimbin (a solar lighting project to light up under shopfront awnings and the murals) and sponsorship of various local events (Mardi Grass, Poetry World Cup, Nimbin Roots Festival). We value your input into dispersing these funds for future projects.