The Structure
COGS of Australia Foundation is run under a stack of legal documents. The most important sits at the top; the others sit below it. Members run the joint venture day to day. They do this through a secure online governance system. The Trustee holds legal title to the assets and carries out what members decide.
Governing Principles
Three framing principles and eight governing principles. These are not mission statements. They are structural rules that constrain how the Foundation operates and make its commitments credible.
The principles cover: Country first, member-controlled governance, the cooperative model, anti-capture, CHESS registration, the no-fiat rule, mandatory income distribution, and entrenched First Nations governance.
Governance
The Trustee model, the Caretaker Trustee, the Board of Directors, and the limits on Trustee authority. Who holds what role, what each role can do, and what no single actor can do alone.
Trustees
The current trustees and board of COGS of Australia Foundation. Who they are, how they serve, and the constraints on their authority.
Transparency and Regulation
How COGS sits within Australian law. The Foundation's regulatory position. How members govern. What cannot be changed by any resolution. What the Foundation discloses, and how.
The Black and White Paper
The Foundation's plain-language statement that started turning the first cog and led to the governing documents. The Black and White Paper gave birth to the model in full: what the joint venture is, how it operates, the token architecture, the circular economy, and the constitutional protections. It does not replace the JVPA or Declaration. The legal documents govern. The Black and White Paper was the spark.