The structure of the council mirrored that of most football leagues in Australia at the time: each affiliated full member league appointed a delegate (or, in the early years, two delegates) to the council to act on its behalf in discussions and votes. The decision making process followed by the council was that delegates would meet, generally every one to three years, to discuss and vote on proposed changes. All changes to on-field or off-field laws needed to be passed by a supermajority vote – this was originally a three-quarters majority, then later became a double majority which required an overall simple majority plus minimum number of the designated major states to vote in favour. The council also elected an executive committee which managed the game's administrative matters.