Disadvantages of separate state SMBEs

There are 3 main disadvantages of separate state SMBEs:

1. There is no forum for separate SMBEs to advocate for their members in national issues
   e.g. engaging in discussion about the future of conferences and the role that they should play.
2. There is no way to contact all members consistently for a) conference info, b) standards workshops, and c) vacancies
3. There is no effective method for providing national prizes or award sponsorship. Offers to provide these from companies have gone unanswered as we do not have the forum to address them.

Advantages of a national SMBE

A national SMBE, either by unification or by forming a Technical Society of Eng Aust, would have the following advantages:

1. Allow a formal mechanism for co-ordination of activities, policies or strategies between groups.
2. Initiatives taken by individual states are more easily adopted by other states e.g. entering into MOU’s with Engineers Australia or the ability to pick up on workshop ideas and transfer them to other states.
3. The ability to participate as a “major player” in national discussions such as the determination of conference venues and associated issues (currently, the relevant state SMBE is simply invited to participate, often in a minor role, after the two colleges make the big decisions.)
4. Ease possible future transition to certification of practitioners by ensuring all members have access to ongoing information
   
5. Affiliation with similar organisations overseas is simplified (e.g. with AAMI)
6. Groups wanting to establish contact with the SMBE and it’s membership could be cohesively arranged without having to chase up individually the current contact details for each state.
7. The ability to engage sponsors at a national level, there is opportunity to achieve this via advertising to such a large group of members. It is a market that companies cannot reach easily in any other manner.
8. State based SMBEs maintain financial and operational control of their members. They would continue to collect their own subscriptions, organise their own events in what could be thought of a federal type system.

Option 1: We like it how it is...

The current state-based state system is good:
1. We like things the way they are
2. There are no problems so why change anything
3. We want to maintain full control of state membership, organisation and finances

For example, SMBE SA provide:
- Pizza and soft drinks and wine for the speaker at 3-4 technical meetings each year
- Subsidised Xmas dinner for members & guests
- Subsidised BBQ for members & families each year
- Outstanding Honours Project (Biomedical) each year gets a cash prize and free membership of SMBE for 1 year
- Encouragement Award for nominated worker in the field gets a trip to the NSW SMBE Technicians Conference
- Scholarship up to $1000 to attend or present at a biomedical conference or institution

How hard would it be to continue to provide these events & awards?

Option 2: Establish SMBE national executive

An SMBE national executive could comprise the President of each existing state society from amongst whom a chairperson could be nominated.
It should not be necessary to have other appointed officers at this level: the secretariat/treasury function could be rotated between states.
Discussions and affairs could largely be conducted by teleconference, with consideration perhaps being given to one face to face meeting each year at the national conference or other event.
These communications channels would need to be funded, this could be with a per capita contribution by each state to a national executive fund. Assuming teleconferences would be the initial means of communication something of the order of $1 per member per annum should adequately fund this activity.
Difficulties occur in there being continual rotation amongst members, also where States have no SMBE or an inactive SMBE: e.g. QLD, NT, WA. The State Exec will tend to oscillate between having the same membership each year (as the SMBEs do), and having complete new membership with no memory of goals and actions.

Option 3: Form a national Technical Society of Eng Aust

Technical Societies of Engineers Australia provide learned society functions and continuing professional development for members. Engineering qualifications are not a requirement for membership to a Technical Society of Engineers Australia.

They vary widely in their size, operation, aims and objectives. They range from small groups (minimum 30 persons) in one city with a specialized industry to large groups with hundreds of members spanning the nation and having chapters in many cities. It is preferred the society have >100 members. (Link to Eng Aust Technical Society info)

Societies established under Engineers Australia are operating units of the organisation and as such are a formal entity of the Engineers Australia with legal, insurance and functional ramifications.

How they operate - the brief version

• Each Technical Society is governed by a Technical Society Committee.
• The Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer of this national committee should be Engineers Australia members (else approval is needed and at least one committee member needs to be a member of Engineers Australia) and are covered by legal liability and protection.
• The Technical Society Committee sets fees:
  Member, Student/Retired/Unemployed, Corporate (see current fee schedule at Eng Aust).
• Regional groups formed within the Technical Society are known as Chapters.
• Technical Society Chapter funding shall be managed in accordance with procedures in the Constitution of the Society.
• Accounts for the Society (and Chapters) must be audited each financial year. A society may have a term deposit for excess funds. Every purchase made must have an original tax invoice to get a reimbursement. It is recommended, but not mandatory, that National Treasurer also look after Chapter accounts. An ABN is required, but GST and BAS are only needed if transactions require it.
• Awards can be given Nationally or at Chapter level

What the society gets
1. Eng Aust provide administrative support without fee for:

• annual membership renewal
• new members added to database, issued number & reciept
• lists of members and subscriptions received with 100% remittances forwarded to society treasurer
• access to online database of society members

Note: Additional administrative support is available on cost recovery basis (e.g. admin support for accounts management, technical meetings, office resources, publications, marketing etc.)

2. Use of Engineers Australia premises and facilities on request for Technical Society meetings, symposia and similar activities.
3. Public Liability Insurance for members of the Technical Society attending technical activities in Engineers Australia premises.

Questions?Web page creation and maintenance?
Insurance for site visits?


Example 
For an example of an Eng Aust society with chapters in each state and a nice webpage, see the Society for Sustainability and Environmental Engineering www.ssee.org.au

What about the AFMBE?

The AFMBE has been in existence for >30 years. The AFMBE was set up because the IFMBE would only affiliate with one organisation in each country; this allowed the multiple organisations within Australia (ACPSEM, Eng Aust, and SMBE) to have a single national affiliating body.

This is no longer the case with IFMBE now allowing multiple bodies within a single country to affiliate separately.

The AFMBE cannot be used as a national body for the state SMBEs as it is not set up to act as a decision making group for just a limited number of its affiliates (i.e. SMBE’s only). If any type of national SMBE is set up, the AFMBE would be dissolved after having fulfilled its role.