Australian Unity members have voted overwhelmingly to define how a vote on a demutualisation proposition would be handled in the future.
More than 93 per cent of members at an annual general meeting (AGM) in Melbourne voted to make the demutualisation voting procedures permanent. The demutualisation voting rules were a temporary procedure agreed to at last year’s Australian Unity AGM.
The rules now require at least 75 per cent of members to vote in favour of a demutualisation proposal. However, only 15 per cent of the total membership would be required at a vote to get the proposal through.
The temporary rule required 20 per cent of the total membership to vote to carry a demutualisation motion.
Australian Unity chairman Alan Castleman said the vote also confirmed the board’s decision earlier this year to remain a mutual.
“The review of our company structure revealed that a clear majority of our members want the company to remain as a mutual,” he said.
“Introducing this rule on a permanent basis with a slightly reduced quorum ensures that our members remain in control of the company’s future.”
Australian Unity’s move to close its retail outlets during the year came in for some strong criticism from members at the meeting.
Castleman said the main reason why the outlets were closed was because members had stopped using them.
“In 2003, we saw up to 50 per cent of [Australian Unity] healthcare claims and member transactions being handled by the outlets,” he told the meeting.
“By March this year it had shrunk to 19 per cent and was falling rapidly.”
The retail outlets were running at “a substantial loss”, Castleman said, and by closing them it was saving the company between $4 million and $5 million a year.
He said the company had invested more in its telephone claims system as well as the two call centres it operates in Melbourne and Sydney.
“Our call centres are now handling up to 150 telephone claims a day and the average call time to the centres has increased dramatically,” Castleman said.
“The extra time on the phone mirrors the time members used to spend at the outlets talking to staff.”
One member was concerned the call centres would be relocated overseas at some point, but Castleman assured her they would always remain in Australia.
