AAAS Guidelines

1 Introduction

These guidelines outline the management of the Australian Association of Animal Sciences Incorporated (AAAS).

1.1 Definitions for terms in these guidelines shall be those contained in the AAAS Constitution.

1.2 The AAAS guidelines are to be reviewed by each Council at their first meeting following the annual general meeting.

2 Form of the Association

The association shall consist of a Federal Council, as described in the Constitution of the Australian Association of Animal Sciences Incorporated, Branches and National Committees.

3 Executive Committee

The elected Council members (President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer) shall form the Executive Committee of the Association.

4 Branches of the Association

4.1 A Branch or Branches may be formed or be re-activated in each State or territory of Australia subject to the approval of the Council and the conditions laid down in this article.

4.2 Each branch of the Association shall:

i. Have at least five members

ii. Operate under the Constitution of the Association and these guidelines but retain the right to form guidelines for the conduct of its own affairs within the framework of the Constitution and these guidelines.

4.3 Each Branch shall be managed by a President and Committee hereinafter referred to as the Branch Committee. The Branch Committee shall consist of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Early Career/Student Representative and one or more Committee members, the number to be determined at a General Meeting of the Branch.

4.4 The Branch Committee shall be elected by and from the financial members of the Branch at a Branch Annual General Meeting and shall hold office until the conclusion of their term.

4.4.1 Branch Committee elections should be conducted biannually prior to 30 June.

4.5 Elected members of the Branch Committee, President, Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer, may serve up to two consecutive terms.

4.6 The Branch Committee shall administer the affairs of such Branch in conformity with the Constitution and these guidelines.

4.7 Council will regularly inform each Branch of changes to the register of members that affect the Branch.

4.8 Each Branch shall hold meetings in furtherance of the aims of the association at times determined by the Branch Committee, provided that as much notice as possible of each meeting shall be given to its members. The notice calling a meeting shall specify the business to be dealt with.

4.9 Members at large shall be members overseas or members based in an area of Australia in which there is no active branch.

4.10 A member of any Branch who changes their usual place of residence to the sphere of some other Branch shall be transferred to such other Branch unless they elect otherwise in writing to their current Branch President.

4.11 Each branch shall have four authorised signatories for their bank accounts, must provide these names to the Council and advise Council with 30 days of any changes to the authorised signatories.

4.12 Each branch shall provide the Council with a copy of all bank statements within 30 days of their receipt.

4.13 Should a Branch choose to close or be not able to function as required by these guidelines, the Branch shall:

i. advise Council of its situation.

ii. make arrangements for any monies held in all bank accounts to be held by Council until such time as the Branch is re-activated, or, should reactivation not occur within 2 years, the funds will remain with Council.

4.14 Branch delegates

4.14.1 Each Branch shall, at is Annual General Meeting, elect one delegate to the Council from among the financial members of the Branch Committee,

4.14.2 Each such delegate may, if necessary, by writing, appoint a proxy from the financial members of the Association, to act on their behalf at all Council meetings which they are unable to attend,

4.14.3 Should any Branch delegate vacate their office as a member of the Council, then the Branch whose member such delegate was, shall appoint another delegate.

5 National Committees of the Association

5.1 National Committees may be formed subject to approval by Council and the conditions laid down in this article.

5.2 Each National Committee of the Association shall:

i. Have at least five members, spanning at least three Branches.

ii. Operate under the Constitution and these guidelines.

5.3 Each National Committee shall be managed by a Chair, Co-Chair, Secretary and Committee hereinafter referred to as the National Committee.

5.4 Nominations for National Committee members shall be called prior to the Association’s general meeting.

5.5 Council will consider the nominations and appoint members of National Committees.

5.6 National Committee members must be financial members of the Association.

5.7 National Committee members will elect their own Chair, Co-Chair and Secretary.

5.8 Each National Committee shall administer their affairs in conformity with the Constitution, these guidelines and the National Committee’s Charter of Operation.

5.8.1 The National Committee shall discuss and revise their Charter of Operation at their initial meeting.

5.8.2 The National Committee will forward their revised Charter of Operation to Council for approval.

5.9 Each National Committee shall hold meetings in furtherance of the aims of the association at times determined by the Committee, provided that as much notice as possible of each meeting shall be given to its members. The notice calling a meeting shall specify the business to be dealt with.

5.10 Should a National Committee not be able to function as required by the Constitution, these guidelines and their Charter of Operation, the National Committee shall:

i. advise the Council of its situation.

ii. advise the Council of any outstanding invoices or expenses yet to be reimbursed.

5.11 The Chair of each National Committee shall report the activities of their committee to Council.

6 Fellowship Committee

6.1 The Fellowship Committee shall be appointed by the Council and consist of the President and at least 3 Past Presidents and 7 Fellows and up to 1 Honorary Member and provide advice to the Council on the awarding of Fellows and Honorary members of the Association.

6.2 Up to but not more than five Fellowships may be awarded in any one biennium. Nominations for the award may be made by Council or by Branch Committees. Council may make no more than four nominations in any one biennium and each Branch Committee may make no more than two nominations in any one biennium.

6.3 Up to but not more than two Honorary membership awards may be made in any one biennium. Nominations for the award may be made by Branch Committees. Each Branch Committee may make no more than one nomination in any one biennium.

6.4 The award of Fellowships and Honorary memberships, if any, shall be announced at a biennial general meeting.

7 Management of the association

7.1 In the event of any question arising at any time on any matter, which is not fully provided for in the Constitution or these guidelines or on which doubt exists as to the correctness of interpretations, it shall be determined by the Council in meeting.

7.2 The location of the office of management of the association shall be determined by the Council from time to time.

7.3 The Secretary shall be responsible for collating Council records at the end of each term of office, which is normally biennial, and transferring them to the archive centre selected by Council.

8 Privileged Communications

All of the communications, correspondence, reports, minutes and other papers and documents relating to any of the affairs of the Council shall be privileged and confidential unless otherwise determined by the Council.

9 Finance

9.1 All monies of the association shall be paid into a current back account, in the name of the Association, and all transactions thereon shall be approved by the Treasurer and Secretary, or their respective deputies who may be appointed by the Council.

9.2 The annual subscription for all membership categories shall be an amount to be determined by Council.

9.3 Membership categories:

9.3.1 Undergraduate Student

Undergraduate student members shall be students enrolled in an approved course in an approved secondary or tertiary institution. Undergraduate students, shall be provided access to all AAAS membership benefits but are not entitled to vote or hold office. The exception being invited to participate as a general committee member at the branch or national committee level.

9.3.2 Postgraduate student

Postgraduate students shall be students currently enrolled in an approved higher degree course in an approved tertiary institution. Postgraduate students are entitled to vote and hold office.

9.3.3 Early career professional

Early career professionals shall be graduates in the first three years of employment following graduation (vocational, undergraduate or postgraduate).

9.3.4 Professional

All persons interested in research, instruction or extension in animal sciences or in the production of livestock or livestock products.

9.3.5 Honorary member

Honorary membership of the association shall be awarded to members who, in the opinion of the Council, have rendered eminent service to the association.

9.3.6 Fellow

Fellowship of the association shall be awarded to persons who have rendered eminent service to animal science or animal production. The award shall be made on behalf of the association by the President on the advice of the Fellowship Committee.

9.3.7 Corporate

Corporate membership of the association shall be open to any corporate organisation wishing to support the objects of the association. The privileges of Corporate members shall be:

i. To be listed in publications of the association.

ii. To designate one natural person as representative to act on its behalf as a member of the association who may vote and exercise other privileges but are not able to hold office.

iii. To exhibit its products at meetings of the association upon conditions to be determined by the Council

9.3.8 Retired membership

Former Professional members who demonstrate to Council that they have retired from full-time employment.

The annual subscription for retired members shall be no more than half the amount paid by full members.

9.3.9 Parental leave membership

Parental leave membership shall be open to members who can demonstrate to Council that they are on maternity leave at the time of joining AAAS or of the annual renewal of their membership.

Fifty percent of the annual subscription for their membership category will be refunded for the calendar year during which the majority of their parental leave is taken.

9.4 The membership term will be January 1 through December 31 of the current year in which the application is received. For application made after November 1, membership will become effective January 1 of the following year unless otherwise specified by the applicant. Each member shall pay the subscription annually for the period January 1 to 31 December of each year to the Federal Treasurer.

9.5 The subscriptions of members temporarily absent from the Commonwealth may be suspended by the Council for the period of such absence under such conditions as the Council may, from time to time, prescribe.

9.6 Active Branches will be allocated an annual budget, based on a percentage of the subscription fee paid by Branch members to be determined by Council, for the conduct of their activities. Where a member is not aligned to an active branch their entire subscription fee shall remain with Council. Council may choose to set a reduced emeritus subscription for the Federal Component for senior members who no longer have full time work.

9.7 National Committees will prepare a submission accompanied by a detailed budget describing the proposed activity, for approval by the Council prior to commencing said activities and committing any association funds.

9.8 The association Treasurer will notify each National Committee of their annual budget (as per approved submission/s) at least one-month prior to the beginning of each financial year. Midway through and at the end of each financial year, the Treasurer shall advise each National Committee of their expenditure relative to their annual budget.

9.9 Nominated National Committee representatives shall forward invoices approved for payment by the National Committee, to the Federal Treasurer for payment or re-imbursement.

10 Publication of proceedings and papers

10.1 The Council may, at its discretion, appoint a Publications Committee consisting of an Editor, a Business Manager and such other members as may be deemed necessary.

10.2 The Publications Committee shall hold office during the period of office of the Council appointing them, except that the Council may at its discretion terminate the appointment of any member thereof.

10.3 Every member who shall have paid his or her subscription in respect of the year of issue of a new publication of the Association shall be entitled to receive a copy of such a publication free of charge.

10.4 The Editor shall be responsible for the production of the Proceedings and papers from a literary standpoint.

10.5 The Business Manager shall be responsible for the printing, publication and distribution of all publications, and shall be subject to the direction of the Council in all matters involving any expenditure of monies. He or she shall also approve of all advertisements appearing in the Association’s publications.

11 Conflict of interest policy

Conflict of interest may occur due to circumstances such as employment , research funding, supervisory arrangements, family relationships, board or other memberships, or financial interests. Council members, Branch and National Committee members are required to declare any potential conflict of interest with agenda items under discussion, and if requested by the meeting chairperson, temporarily leave a meeting while the discussion takes place.

Examples of conflict of interest include but are not limited to discussion of renumeration, or award to a relative or a supervised student, or support of a particular product where a member has a vested interest.

12 Insurance

12.1 Council shall maintain insurance cover for public liability for all AAAS meetings held at a local or national level, including Branch or National Committee meetings and the Biennial Conference to a total of AU$10,000,000).

12.2 Council shall ensure that the Certificate of Currency is forwarded to all Branches and National Committee chairs on renewal each year.

12.3 Council shall maintain insurance cover for corporate management liability.

12.4 AAAS does not maintain overall professional indemnity insurance for its members, and should not recommend any particular product to its members. Members seeking advice on this issue should be asked to discuss this with their own insurance broker.

13 Privacy

Personal information about members, as defined under the national privacy legislation The Privacy Amendment (Private Sector) Act 2001, will be treated in accordance with the National Privacy Principles and only shared with related or third parties in accordance with those principles. The membership register will not be provided to any third party unless authorisation has been provided by Council.

These Guidelines, Version 1.1 were approved by the AAAS Federal Council on 6 February 2023