Rescue Your ACS
Donation protected
At a general meeting on 25 October 2019, a Special Resolution was declared carried to change the Australian Computer Society (ACS) from an association to a company limited by guarantee.
The replacement Constitution is significantly different from the current Rules.
It centralises power in the Board, and effectively extinguishes the ability of members to play meaningful roles in their professional society.
Read the full details here, about why the new Constitution destroys the ACS.
A large group of members believes that the Special Resolution was invalid, as there were irregularities in the counting of votes and rulings on proxies.
The motion was carried by a margin of just one vote, in a pool of 747 votes accepted by the ACS as being valid. This margin was so narrow that the irregularities mean the outcome of the Resolution does not reflect the will of the members.
THE CAMPAIGN PURPOSES ARE:
• to challenge the validity of the Special Resolution to corporatise the ACS; and
• to ensure that any new arrangements guarantee that professional members continue to have control over their professional society.
A GROUP OF MEMBERS IS CURRENTLY SEEKING FUNDING TO ASSIST IN GAINING COURT ORDERS to declare the meeting and/or resolution invalid. This will force a re-run of the meeting, this time with an appropriate process, and full information in the members’ hands.
ACS members will then have the opportunity to put forward a Constitution that fits the needs of members as a whole, rather than one that empowers a small clique.
If the proposed Constitution comes into force, the ACS will very probably become valueless to its professional members.
Invest now in order to sustain the value of your professional membership.
You can email enquiries and comments to the convenor at [email redacted].au.
For the record:
• I'm a longstanding member of the Australian Computer Society (since 1974) and Fellow (since 1986)
• I'll be withdrawing the funds into a personal bank account 'as trustee for Rescue Your ACS'
• I'll use the funds as described above, to fund the necessary action to ensure that the Society continues to be controlled by its members
The replacement Constitution is significantly different from the current Rules.
It centralises power in the Board, and effectively extinguishes the ability of members to play meaningful roles in their professional society.
Read the full details here, about why the new Constitution destroys the ACS.
A large group of members believes that the Special Resolution was invalid, as there were irregularities in the counting of votes and rulings on proxies.
The motion was carried by a margin of just one vote, in a pool of 747 votes accepted by the ACS as being valid. This margin was so narrow that the irregularities mean the outcome of the Resolution does not reflect the will of the members.
THE CAMPAIGN PURPOSES ARE:
• to challenge the validity of the Special Resolution to corporatise the ACS; and
• to ensure that any new arrangements guarantee that professional members continue to have control over their professional society.
A GROUP OF MEMBERS IS CURRENTLY SEEKING FUNDING TO ASSIST IN GAINING COURT ORDERS to declare the meeting and/or resolution invalid. This will force a re-run of the meeting, this time with an appropriate process, and full information in the members’ hands.
ACS members will then have the opportunity to put forward a Constitution that fits the needs of members as a whole, rather than one that empowers a small clique.
If the proposed Constitution comes into force, the ACS will very probably become valueless to its professional members.
Invest now in order to sustain the value of your professional membership.
You can email enquiries and comments to the convenor at [email redacted].au.
For the record:
• I'm a longstanding member of the Australian Computer Society (since 1974) and Fellow (since 1986)
• I'll be withdrawing the funds into a personal bank account 'as trustee for Rescue Your ACS'
• I'll use the funds as described above, to fund the necessary action to ensure that the Society continues to be controlled by its members
Organizer
Roger Clarke
Organizer
Molonglo, ACT