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