Constitution Builder

This Constitution Builder will guide you to customise a constitution for a distributing co-operative with shares.

A constitution is a set of internal governance rules that sets out what the co-operative will do and how members will actively participate in or contribute to the co-operative’s enterprise. It also sets out the minimum share capital required for membership and establishes a basic governance structure suitable for a co-operative at start-up.

The founding members of the co-operative should be actively involved in this ‘design’ stage of the co-operative.

Using the Constitution Builder

The rules in the constitution are divided into six subject categories.

Many of the rules are standardised. Some rules, however, require you to draft features specific to how your co-operative will operate and how the members will participate. Each section in a category deals with one rule by first displaying the text of the rule, then providing a plain English explanation followed by guidance where you need to draft the rule or choose an option.

Keep your business plan handy so you can complete the active membership rule and finance rules. Don’t have one yet? Download Business planning for co-ops.

Accessing and saving your constitution

If you wish to complete your constitution over multiple sittings, click the Save button within the form and register your email address when prompted. Your progress will be saved for up to 30 days from the start date, provided you use the same device and do not clear your browser cache.

Unfinished constitutions are automatically removed after 30 days, so please ensure you complete and download your documents before this period expires.

Once a document has been completed, you must download it directly from the webpage in editable Microsoft Word format. The emailed link only provides access to documents still in draft mode and cannot be used to access completed documents.