MEMBERSHIP GUIDELINES AND TERMS OF REFERENCE
GENERAL
Membership matters are covered by Clauses 3 – 9 inclusive of the Constitution (amended to 13th December 1995). As noted and described in the Constitution, there are four (4) grades of member:
- Ordinary
- Associate
- Student
- Corporate
In addition, ASSTA has invited a small group of leading researchers to form an International Advisory Board.
This subset of Guidelines and Terms of Reference includes the following:
- Terms of Reference for International Advisory Board.
- Guidelines for Corporate Members.
- Guidelines for Managing Student Membership.
- Guidelines on the Procedures for Following up Non-Financial Members, Terminating Membership, and Re-admitting Ex-Members.
Also included:
- Services Offered to Members and Non-Members
Example letters for use in contacting members about membership matters are included in this section, following the guidelines as follows:
a) Welcome letter to new members (the example given is for Ordinary Members; minor adjustments are needed for Associate and Student Members).
b) Welcome letter to Corporate Members
c) Invitation letter to IAB Members
d) Thankyou letter to IAB Members
e) Transfer from Student to other types of Membership
f) Reinstatement letter
g) Letter initiating termination procedures
Terms of Reference for International Advisory Board
1. International Advisory Board (IAB) members will have the task, either corporately or individually, of advising the executive or its conference organising committee on any matters that may, from time to time, be put to it.
2. Executive powers will be retained by the Australian committees.
3. The responsibilities of the IAB will be purely advisory, and will be exercised as and when its individual members choose to respond to requests for advice.
4. The terms of reference of the board are as follows:
* to advise ASSTA and their SST-conference committees on timing, location, themes, keynote speakers, novel conferring experiments, costing, and any other relevant factor in conference planning;
* to advise on publicity opportunities overseas;
* to keep the existence of SST conferences before their peers on the international circuit;
* to attend, on occasion, an SST conference with zero registration charges but with some chairing responsibilities.
5. Acceptance of membership will imply agreement to receive, from time to time, requests for advice on matters relating to the advance of speech science and technology endeavours in Australia, specifically in the convening of SST conferences, and to having the member’s name published in a listing of the members of the advisory board.
Adopted by Executive – 27th August 1993
Guidelines for Corporate Members
1. Corporate members are defined as those who wish to sponsor speech science and technology. The involvement of corporate members is seen as limited to sponsorship and does not imply any of the benefits of personal membership such as voting rights or discounts for conferences.
2. Corporate members will receive all ASSTA publications normally freely available to members and free copies of the proceedings of SST conferences.
3. Corporate membership will be acknowledged in all appropriate ASSTA publications such as conference proceedings, newsletters, surveys of research and the like.
4. Corporate members will be encouraged to advertise their corporate membership of ASSTA in their own publications, provided that copies of all such publications are lodged with the secretary of ASSTA at the time of publication.
5. Each corporate member is required to nominate a person who will be the personal contact for the corporate member with the Association. If that person is already or becomes a personal (ordinary or associate) member of the Association, he/she will receive two copies of all freely issued publications, one for him/herself and one for the corporate member that he/she represents.
Adopted by Executive – 8th June 1995
It should be noted that this set of guidelines is not a legally binding document but provides a guideline to practice for the Executive Committee.
Guidelines for Managing Student Membership
1. The Treasurer, when requesting payment of fees each year, should request confirmation from each Student Member that they are continuing as a student in areas relating to speech science and technology. Receipt of payment at student rates will be accepted as such confirmation.
2. When a Student Member ceases to qualify as a student member, the Treasurer should request payment of Associate Member fees or an application for Ordinary Membership. An application form for the latter shall be included with the request.
Adopted by Executive – 27th September 2005
This supersedes the guidelines on “Managing On-going Student Membership” adopted by Executive 13th June 1996.
It should be noted that this set of guidelines is not a legally binding document but provides a guideline to practice for the Executive Committee.
Guidelines for Membership Termination and Application by Ex-members
- New members will be required to remit their first membership payment within 60 days of receipt of formal notification that their membership application has been approved. Failure to pay within the stated time will result in automatic termination of membership, requiring a new application to be lodged and approved.
- A bill for one (1) year’s fees shall be sent to all members at the start of each calendar year by the Treasurer.
- If a member was non-financial in the previous year, a reminder shall be included in the bill, which is then for two years’ fees. If payment is not received within two months the Treasurer will send a first reminder notice. If payment is not received within two months of the first reminder notice, the Treasurer will:
- send a second and final reminder notice indicating that membership may be automatically terminated after six months of non-payment, have elapsed (pursuant to clause 9(b) of the constitution), and
- bring that person’s name to the attention of the Executive Committee immediately.
- If a member is sent a second and final notice and is brought to the attention of the Executive Committee as indicated by Clause 3(b) then, where possible, a telephone call or personal contact from an Executive Member may be made to encourage the member to remain a member of ASSTA. If the member is not resident in Australia, an email message or airmail letter may be sent by an Executive Member for the same purpose.
- If the fees remain unpaid within two (2) months of posting the letter noted in Clause 3(a), the Treasurer shall bring that person’s name to an Executive Committee Meeting, and the Executive may terminate membership.
- Once membership lapses, whether by resignation or termination, an ex-member may not apply for new membership until a period of nine months after the lapse of membership has passed.
Adopted by Executive – 29th June 2000
This supersedes the guideline on “Guidelines on the Procedures for Following up Non-Financial Members, Terminating Membership, and Re-admitting Ex-Members” adopted by the Executive on 3rd March 1999.
It should be noted that this set of guidelines is not a legally binding document but provides a guideline to practice for the Executive Committee.
