Mission & Constitution
Mission
To promote and advance ICT education, research and scholarship on behalf of Australian universities.
Objectives
- To provide a forum for leaders of computing education to discuss and address matters of common concern and national importance.
- To be a voice for the tertiary computing education sector, communicating as appropriate with universities, government, professional organisations in computing, other councils of deans, and other relevant groups.
- To help ensure that the role of computing education and research is appropriately recognised throughout the education sector and the community.
- To monitor the state of computing education in Australia and to promote related research and research training.
Constitution
- NAME
The name of the association shall be “The Australian Council of Deans of Information and Communications Technology”. “ACDICT” or “The Deans of ICT” will be used as the short title for the association where abbreviation is appropriate. - INTERPRETATIONS
In this Constitution, unless the context otherwise requires:
“ICT” includes any combination of computer science, information systems, information technology, software engineering, electronic engineering, computer systems engineering, telecommunications engineering, and any other ICT-related disciplines;
“Council” means The Australian Council of Deans of Information and Communications Technology;
“Executive” means the committee established by the Council to manage its business between Council meetings;
“Deans of ICT” shall include such persons as each member university determines; for example, dean of faculty, executive dean, head or dean of school/department, or any other senior position of direct responsibility for ICT in an Australian university;
“University” refers to an Australian university that offers an award course in ICT;
“Member university” refers to a university that has paid its annual subscription or, within the first three months of the financial year, has paid the previous year’s subscription;
“Financial year” begins on 1 January and ends on 31 December. - MISSION
To promote and advance ICT education, research, and scholarship on behalf of Australian universities. - OBJECTIVES
a. To provide a forum for leaders of ICT education to discuss and address matters of common concern and national importance.
b. To be a voice for the tertiary computing education sector, communicating as appropriate with universities, government, professional organisations in computing, other councils of deans, and other relevant groups.
c. To help ensure that the role of computing education and research is appropriately recognised throughout the education sector and the community.
d. To monitor the state of computing education in Australia and to promote related research and research training. - POWERS
Council has the power to:
a. Open and operate bank accounts;
b. Appoint an executive officer, or other persons, to undertake its day-to-day business; and
c. Do all such things as are conducive or incidental to the attainment of its objectives. - MEMBERSHIP AND MEETINGS OF COUNCIL
Members of council shall be member universities, each represented by a dean of ICT.
A member of council unable to attend meetings may nominate an alternate.
Member universities, particularly those with more than one ICT faculty, school, or department, may nominate additional representatives to attend council; these additional persons would attend as observers.
Council will normally meet once each calendar year; this meeting will be called the annual council meeting (ACM). The ACM will occur in a venue to be recommended to council by the executive. Other meetings will be held as required.
The quorum for voting at council meetings shall be one half of the number of members of council plus one. - OFFICE BEARERS AND MEETINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE
Council shall elect from its members a president and a deputy president. The deputy president shall be the president-elect. Council shall also elect three other members to the executive. Each of these individuals shall serve as the council’s representatives on relevant and appropriate bodies. Any council member standing for election at the annual council meeting must be present in person.
The term of office for elected office bearers shall be two years, unless council determines otherwise. Office bearers are eligible for re-election at the conclusion of their term, with the exception of the president if there is a serving president-elect.
Elections will be determined by majority vote.
Council may appoint an executive officer or other person(s) to conduct the day-to-day business of council and its executive. Conditions of appointment, including term of office, duties, and remuneration, will be determined by council, on the recommendation of the president.
The executive shall comprise: the president; the deputy president; the immediate past president (if still a dean of ICT); three elected members (one of whom shall take on the duties of treasurer); and the executive officer. The executive may coopt additional members if the executive so desires.
Coopted members of the executive do not have voting rights at executive meetings.
Nominations for election shall be called at least twenty-one days prior to the due election date, which will normally be the first day of the annual council meeting. Nominations may be received up to noon on that day or as otherwise decided by council.
Should any member of the executive cease to be a dean of ICT, they will relinquish office as soon as practicable.
The executive shall fill any vacancy that occurs on an interim basis until the next council meeting, at which time an election for the position will be held and the term of office approved. (If the position of president is vacant, the deputy president will assume the role of president and an election for deputy president shall occur.)
The annual meeting of the executive shall be the meeting following the ACM. The annual meeting of the executive shall determine the main lines of policy of council, shall have the power to direct the management of council’s affairs, and, subject to this constitution, shall regulate council’s proceedings.
Ordinary meetings of the executive shall be convened by the executive officer at least four times per year. The executive officer shall keep and maintain general records of the executive. A schedule of ordinary meetings of the executive shall be issued no later than one month after the annual meeting of the executive. Ordinary meetings of the executive may be held by electronic means such as teleconferencing.
The quorum for conducting business at a meeting of the executive shall be one half of the members of the executive plus one. The president or deputy president must be in attendance.
If an elected member of the executive is absent from all meetings in a period of six months, and does not substantially engage with the business of ACDICT in that same period, that member shall be automatically excluded from the executive and the position will be declared vacant. - FINANCE
Council’s assets and income shall be applied solely in furtherance of its above-mentioned objectives and no portion shall be distributed directly or indirectly to members except as bona fide compensation for services rendered or expenses incurred on behalf of the organisation.
Council shall be registered in the Australian Business Register as an unincorporated organisation.
Council will be registered for GST.
An annual budget, audited financial statements, and a list of universities (together with their membership status) shall be prepared by the nominated treasurer for council’s approval and be circulated in advance of the ACM.
Council shall operate a account and any other account deemed appropriate for the efficient conduct of its affairs. All disbursements of money other than petty cash shall be paid electronically from the bank account with the approval of two approved signatories.
Each member university shall bear the cost of attendance of its representative(s) at council meetings. Observers shall be required to pay for attributable meeting costs. Secretarial and administrative costs of council and executive shall be met by council.
An appropriate person who is not a council member shall be appointed auditor. - SUBSCRIPTIONS
The annual subscription to be paid by member universities shall be agreed by council at least six months in advance.
The annual subscription shall be paid within three months of the start of the financial year. - VOTING RIGHTS
a. Each member university shall have one vote.
b. The president shall have a deliberative vote. In the event of a tied vote, the motion shall be declared lost.
c. Executive members shall each have the right to one deliberative vote on each issue/election being decided at an executive meeting. - NON-MEMBERSHIP
Universities that have failed to renew their subscription within three months of the start of the financial year shall not:
a. Have a representative elected to hold office or membership of the executive,
b. Be entitled to vote on matters of council,
c. Be chosen in a role for which an ACDICT representative has been requested,
d. Be listed in any application for funding or sponsorship organised by ACDICT. - WINDING UP
In the event of changed circumstances in which continuation of council is no longer of interest or benefit to member universities, a two-thirds majority of votes taken at a council meeting may recommend disbandment of council. Such recommendation shall be communicated to all member universities and after the lapse of at least one month shall be considered at an extraordinary business meeting of member universities.
If disbandment is endorsed at the extraordinary business meeting, the amount that remains after such disbandment and the satisfaction of all debts and liabilities shall be transferred to member universities on a pro-rata basis or to another organisation with similar purposes which is not carried on for the profit or gain of its individual members.
The quorum for conducting business at an extraordinary business meeting shall be one half the number of member universities plus one. In the event that such an extraordinary business meeting is inquorate, a further extraordinary business meeting will be held four weeks later, and at that meeting the quorum for conducting business shall be the number of member universities in attendance. - AMENDMENTS
Amendments to this Constitution may be made only by a two-thirds majority of votes cast at a meeting of council. Proposed amendments must be presented in writing to the president not less than one month before a scheduled council meeting so that they may be sent with recommendations from the executive to all member universities at least fourteen days before such a meeting.
Amendment History
- Original version adopted by council – 25 July 2008
- Amendments accepted by council – 23 July 2009
- Revised version accepted by council – 16 September 2010
- Revised version accepted by council – 25 July 2011
- Revised version accepted by council – 16 November 2022