Procedure for establishing a new Special Interest Group

According to AAG’s By-Laws, there must be at least 10 interested AAG members for a potential Special Interest Group (SIG) to be able to submit its proposal to the AAG Board. The proposal to the AAG Board is developed together with AAG's Policy and Research Manager, Membership Manager and CEO.

The proposal to form a new SIG submitted to the AAG Board has to show:

  1. How the proposed SIG will tie in with AAG’s Purpose, Principles and Strategic Priorities,
  2. what it has to offer that is unique when compared to other Australian organisations or interest groups,
  3. any potential risks to AAG in forming the SIG (e.g. conflicts with other AAG work, entering into competition with another organisation, potential conflicts with AAG’s Purpose and Principles),
  4. who the inaugural SIG members are (at least 10),
  5. who the inaugural convenors are (maximum of 2), as well as
  6. a proposed workplan for the coming year.

SIG Terms of Reference

The first two points are usually covered through the Terms of Reference for the SIG which are based on the generic SIG Terms of Reference

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The normal process for a new SIG is that we move forward as follows:

  1. Contact the AAG Policy and Research Manager to discuss your plans, find out if any other members have mentioned interest in the topic, and potential issues. Note: You will be assigned a permanent policy person to your SIG for support if it is formed
  2. Meet with the members you know already are interested and draft some proposed purpose statements for the SIG. AAG's Policy and Research Manager can assist with calling other AAG members to this meeting and booking it.
  3. Using these proposed purpose statements, make a call out for all members who are interested in joining the SIG via AAG’s communications channels
  4. Book and meet with all interested members (again AAG's Policy and Research Manager can assist with this) to: a. finalise the Purpose for the proposed Terms of Reference, b. develop the upcoming year’s workplan, and c. choose the Convenor(s) (maximum of 2).
  5. Convenors and AAG incorporate feedback from meeting to finalise the proposed Terms of Reference and workplan.
  6. Convenors seek final approval on proposed Terms of Reference and workplan via mail to all interested members.
  7. AAG's Policy and Research Manager sends the proposal to the Membership Manager and CEO of AAG for approval and inclusion in the Board papers.