1. NAME :

The Society shall be called The Australian Society of Rheology. It shall take over the activities, powers and responsibilities, the property and membership of the "British Society of Rheology – Australian Branch". The latter body shall cease to exist with the formation of The Australian Society of Rheology. Hereafter, the words ‘The Society’ shall be deemed to mean The Australian Society of Rheology.

2. OBJECTS :

The objects of The Society shall be the promotion of inquiry and the dissemination of knowledge connected with the advancement of Rheology, defined as the science of the deformation and flow of matter.

3. MEMBERSHIP :

(a) Any person interested in Rheology shall be eligible for membership of The Society. { There are no formal requirements for membership }.

(b) In order to become a member, an applicant must apply in writing, with support in writing by a member of The Society, in a manner to be approved from time to time by The Council (see Section 5). { The Council is currently waiving this requirement for sponsorship }. A person whose application is approved by a majority of the Council shall be enrolled as a member on receipt of the joining fee and the subscription for the current year.

(c) The Council shall have the power to elect to Honorary Membership any person who has attained distinction through achievement in the field of Rheology or by reason of service to The Society or its predecessors. { See the associated document at the end }.

(d) Any member may resign membership by giving notice in writing and shall be eligible to rejoin as under Clause 3(b).

(e) If The Council considers the conduct of a member to be prejudicial to the interests of The Society, it shall give the member the opportunity to explain such conduct and thereupon may, by a majority of two thirds, decide to terminate that person’s membership.

4. SUBSCRIPTION :

(a) A joining fee shall be paid by any new member of The Society. { Currently, this is nil }. Foundation Members of The Society who at the time of its formation are members of "The British Society of Rheology are exempted from paying the joining fee unless they cease to be members and reapply. The amount of the joining fee shall be determined from time to time by an Annual or Special General Meeting of members (Section 8). The Council has the right to waive the joining fee for members of kindred bodies.

(b) An annual subscription of such amount as The Annual General Meeting may decide shall be paid by each member. All subscriptions shall be due either from the date of The Annual General Meeting or from a date set by that meeting. { Currently, Full membership is $40 and (fulltime) Student membership is $20 }.

5. COUNCIL and EXECUTIVE OFFICERS :

(a) The affairs of The Society shall be managed by a Council of nine members which shall include the President, the President of the previous year, a Vice-President, a Secretary and a Treasurer. The Council shall include a representative from each State in which at least ten members of The Society reside.

(b) The Council of The Society shall be elected every year at The Annual General Meeting from amongst members of The Society to serve from that Annual General Meeting to the next. Candidates shall be proposed and seconded by members of The Society before The Annual General Meeting. Elections shall be held by secret ballot.

(c) Any member of The Council shall be eligible for re-election except that (i) a member shall not be eligible for the office of President for more than two consecutive years and (ii) a member may not serve for more than four consecutive years without portfolio.

(d) The Council shall have the power to appoint any member of The Society to fill a casual vacancy until the next General Meeting.

(e) The Council shall have the power to appoint from its ranks officers with specific duties, eg. an assistant secretary or a Council sub-committee.

(f) The Council shall have the power to appoint from the general membership of The Society members who will join a Council sub-committee to undertake specific duties, such as organizing conferences etc. Such members may, at the discretion of the Chairman, participate in council meetings but shall have no voting rights.

(g) The Council shall have the power to appoint from the general membership of the Society members who, individually or as an auxiliary group, advise on specific matters or carry out specific tasks under The Council’s direction. One representative of such an auxiliary group shall participate in Council discussion of matters relevant to such tasks. Others may also be invited at the Chairman’s discretion.

6. DUTIES of EXECUTIVE OFFICERS and COUNCIL :

(a) The Council shall manage the funds and affairs of The Society and take such actions as may appear necessary or desirable for carrying into effect the objects of The Society and the resolutions of The General Meetings.

(b) The President shall take the chair at all General Meetings of The Society and at all Council meetings unless absent. The President shall be the spokesperson on behalf of The Society unless this task is delegated to another Council Member. The President shall sign the adopted minutes of meetings chaired by him/her self.

(c) The President of the previous year shall advise Council on the reasons for past policy decisions and brief the president and Council when continuity and earlier experience is relevant.

(d) The Vice-President shall deputise for The President, during the President’s absence. If both President and Vice-President are absent from a meeting, the members present shall choose a chairman for that meeting.

(e) The Secretary shall be responsible for the general conduct of The Society’s correspondence and business except financial and membership. The Secretary shall prepare the agenda for each meeting of The Society and of The Council, give notice of meetings, invite nominations for any election and act as Returning Officer unless a Returning Officer is appointed. The Secretary shall record the minutes of each meeting and prepare a report for The Annual General Meeting. The Secretary may be assisted in any of these tasks by an Assistant Secretary.

(f) The Treasurer shall receive all monies due to The Society, transact all its financial affairs and keep a proper account of receipts, payments, credits and liabilities. The Treasurer shall keep a record of members and their financial status. The Treasurer may be assisted in any of these tasks by an assistant Treasurer. The Treasurer shall present an interim financial statement to each Council meeting and an audited Annual report and Balance Sheet to The Annual General Meeting.

The Treasurer shall be one of the council members authorized to sign withdrawals from The Society’s accounts. Withdrawals shall require more than one signature.

7. AUDITOR :

The accounts of The Society shall be audited by an auditor who shall be elected and whose remuneration shall be fixed by The Annual General Meeting.

8. MEETINGS :

(a) The Council shall meet at least four times a year. Five members of The Council shall constitute a quorum. Council Members unable to attend may authorise a proxy in writing to cast a vote on their behalf. If voting at Council Meetings is tied, The President or the presiding chairman shall have a casting second vote.

(b) An Annual General Meeting of The Society shall be held at a date, time and venue to be fixed by The Council, subject to any directive from a previous General Meeting. At least one month’s notice shall be given of such a meeting. The meeting may be attended by members and observers but only financial members shall have voting rights. Ten members shall constitute a quorum. If a quorum is not reached , The Council shall convene a deferred Annual General Meeting giving at least three weeks’ notice. Such a deferred Annual General Meeting shall proceed with a quorum of five members unless objections to the time and venue are received in writing from no fewer than five members.

The Annual General Meeting shall confirm the Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting and receive and adopt reports by The Secretary and The Treasurer. The Meeting shall elect Council Members and an Auditor for the ensuing year. It shall discuss matters listed on the agenda and other Society business raised at the meeting. The President or the Chairman of the meeting shall have the power to declare any item out of order or irrelevant unless overruled by The Meeting.

Decisions other than Amendments to The Constitution, shall be made by a simple majority of members voting. Elections to The Council shall be held by secret ballot, other decisions shall be made by a show of hands unless a majority of members present request a secret ballot. A member unable to attend may authorise in writing a proxy to vote on his/her behalf.

(c) At the request of five Council Members or ten members of The Society, The Secretary shall call a Special General Meeting within two months of receiving such a request. A notice convening a Special General Meeting shall be sent to all members not less than three weeks before the meeting and it shall specify the matters to be dealt with. Such a meeting shall have the authority of an Annual General Meeting but shall consider only the business for which it was called. The requirements for a quorum shall be the same as for an Annual General Meeting.

9. CHAPTERS :

Any group of members of The Society may form a Chapter to represent their area. Internal organisation of the Chapter is the concern of its members provided the rules and activities of the Chapter are consistent with those of The Society. Operation of a Chapter shall be confined to local activities. A Chapter may request representation on The Council and The Council shall grant such a request if it considers the chapter to be viable.

10. LIABILITY :

The Society shall not be liable for any damage or loss to the persons or the property of members howsoever caused, provided nevertheless that The Council may in its absolute discretion make an ex-gratia payment out of The Society’s funds in respect of any such damage or loss if it thinks that such payment is appropriate.

11. ALTERATION OF THE CONSTITUTION :

This Constitution may be amended by a resolution at any Annual or Special General Meeting. Proposed amendments must be sent to all members at least one month prior to the Meeting upon which they are to be voted. An amendment shall be carried by a two-thirds majority of the members voting (including proxies) provided that at least ten members voting are in favour of the amendment.

12. INTERNATIONAL REPRESENTATION :

The Council shall appoint a member to liaise with The International Rheology Committee. It may also appoint one or more delegates to international meetings.

13. DISSOLUTION :

A resolution for the dissolution of The Society may be proposed at an Annual or Special General Meeting provided at least one month’s notice has been given to members. A motion to dissolve The Society shall be carried by a two-thirds majority of those voting (including proxies) provided members in favour of the motion number at least ten percent of The Society’s membership.

Unless the meeting at which The Society is dissolved specifies otherwise, the property of The Society, after discharge of all liabilities, shall be transferred to a scientific body with an active interest in Rheology.

The { notations } written in italic bold script parenthesis have been added subsequently to the original wording of the text.

Issued 1983
Re-issued Nov. 2000.

ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS

THE A.S.R. MEDALLION

1. A Sub-Committee comprising The President, Vice-President and Immediate Past President of The Society will meet at least annually to discuss possible nominations for the award.

2. The Sub-Committee may co-opt other members of The Society onto their number with the approval of The Council.

3. A Recommendation will take the form of a written testimonial, which will include a c.v., justifying the individual concerned.

4. The recipient of an Award must meet the following criteria :

(a) They must be permanently resident in Australia, although discretion may be exercised over matters of temporary secondment (or sabbatical leave) overseas.

(b) They must be a financial member of The Australian Society of Rheology.

(c) They must be internationally recognised as having made an outstanding and meritorious contribution to the science and technology of Rheology. Whilst service to The Society may be taken into account, it will not be the major factor that remains that of scientific achievement.

5. The decision as to whether or not an award will be made in any one year shall be taken by the Sub-Committee and ratified by The Council.

6. The recipient will be formally notified of the nomination and invited to accept the Award.

7. The presentation of an Award will normally be made at the appropriate National Conference of The Society.

8. The documentation of the Award will be kept in The Society’s records.

9. Any change to the wording of this memorandum must have the unanimous support of The Council.

Issued June 1992.

A.S.R. HONORARY MEMBERSHIP

1. Any Member of Council may submit the proposed name of a candidate to a Council Meeting.

2. Council may vote on the candidature there and then or form a sub-committee to resolve any factual details.

3. The criteria are primarily based on service to the A.S.R; the interpretation of which rests with The Council.

(a) The individual will have provided significant service to The Society (usually over a considerable period of time).

(b) The individual has been a financial member of the A.S.R. for either the whole, or at least the major part of the time being considered.

(c) Normally, the individual will have retired from professional life.

4. A unanimous vote of The Council is required.

5. The individual will be notified and invited to accept the Award (a framed and duly signed certificate) at a mutually agreed time and place.

6. The documentation of the Award will be kept in The Society’s records.

7. Any change to the wording of this memorandum must have the unanimous support of The Council.

Issued Aug. 1997
Re-issued Feb. 1999

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