IACA - Constitution

IACA CONSTITUTION

1.0 NAME

The name of the organisation, herein after called the Institute, shall be the:

Institute of Australian Consulting Arboriculturists (I.A.C.A.)©

2.0 PRIMARY AIMS

2.1 The primary aim of the Institute shall be to foster practice and research in support of the Consulting Arboriculturist.

2.2 The Institute has adopted a code of ethics for its membership.

3.0 OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the institute are :

(a) To promote the role of the Consulting Arboriculturist.
(b) To promote uniformity across Arboricultural Consultancy by the establishment of minimum practices guidelines.
(c) To review and address industrial issues affecting Arboricultural Consultancy.
(d) To liaise on tree management issues with consenting authorities, Local Government, Government Departments, Elected Representatives and Associations of Professional Tree Managers such as the Local Government Tree Resources Association (LGTRA), and public sector professionals whose work may impact on trees e.g. architects, planners, engineers and certifiers.
(e) To implement a mentor program through members or their practices for the ongoing development of the profession by fostering the development of new practitioners, e.g. by way of cadetships.
(f) To provide through support the professional development of the members by seeking opportunities of further education to enhance the skill and knowledge base within the individual and profession as a whole.
(g) To influence the development and implementation of courses in Tree Management and Arboriculture at tertiary institutions being public and private providers, and the development and implementation of University based courses in the Management of Urban Trees to further the professional development of members by the availability of educational opportunities and the development of the profession through research.
(h) To develop a program of certified training from within, or from industry or other providers, to assist in the professional development of members, by delivering specialised unit/s of study which otherwise would not be available.
(i) To provide a scheme of self assessment for ongoing professional education and development through the Ongoing Professionally Accredited Learning (OPAL) Scheme, section 12.0.
(j) To provide a code of ethics to guide the professional activities of members.
(k) To disseminate information throughout the membership of the institute.
(l) To maintain the highest standards of practice of Arboricultural Consultancy, from its members to the community.

RULES OF MEMBERSHIP

4.0 MEMBERSHIP

4.1 Membership will be by formal application to the executive and the applicant admitted after the criteria for membership has been satisfied. A member will abide by the rules of membership and the code of ethics.
4.2 Membership will be divided into 2 categories:
Accredited member (ACM) - is a full time practitioner as a Consulting Arboriculturist and has full voting rights.
Associate member (ASM) - is not a Consulting Arboriculturist but is a practitioner of a related discipline that satisfies the criteria for membership, does not undertake Arboricultural Consultancy work and has no voting rights.

5.0 CRITERIA FOR MEMBERSHIP

Accredited member (ACM)

5.1 Membership will be restricted to individuals who are practitioners involved in an Arboricultural Consultancy practice as the majority of their business activity. This allows for the undertaking or supervision of scientific testing or research and associated reporting on trees, and related tree management and tree protection practices, e.g. the installation of tree protection zones on construction sites, or root investigation excavation, and where no situation of a conflict of interest could arise that would bias or unduly influence the provision of their consultancy service.
5.2 Further to 5.1 and 5.3, eligibility for membership is excluded to Arboriculturists involved in the undertaking of tree pruning or removal works, or the management, or ownership of such businesses, due to the obvious potential for ethical conflict between these activities and the consultancy process. This includes preparing Arboricultural reports on behalf of such a tree pruning or removal business. This is excluded where such a tree pruning or removal business refers their client to the Arboricultural Consultant and the Arboricultural reporting is undertaken directly for the client.
5.3 Further to 5.1 and 5.2, the minimum qualification will be a Diploma of Horticulture (Arboriculture) as recognised by the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) Level 5.
5.4 A member will be subject to ongoing professional education and development as compliance with the Ongoing Professionally Accredited Learning (OPAL) Scheme, section 12.0.
5.5 Provide at least 3 examples of recent (preceding 2 years) reports representing a diverse range of report types for examination by the IACA executive. Where the executive determine that the standard of reports is inconsistent with that expected of an IACA accredited member, the applicant will be requested to enter into a probationary period of 3 months and agree to participate in a mentoring program with accredited IACA member/s within that period. At the conclusion of the probationary period 3 examples of reports representing a diverse range of report types prepared in that period will be submitted for examination by the IACA executive. Where appropriate a period of further mentoring may be recommended by the executive, or the executive may refuse membership.
5.6 Further to 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 and 5.5, the applicant will be required to have and maintain Professional Indemnity insurance with the minimum requirements for such insurance as determined by the Institute.
5.7 Where a prospective member satisfies all criteria for membership but does not have a Diploma of Horticulture (Arboriculture) as recognised by the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) Level 5, but has a similar equal or higher qualification comprised of tree management subjects of an academic level equal to or higher than those of the diploma of arboriculture and more than 5 years continual and current practical experience in consulting arboriculture, their application may be referred to the Extra-admissions Criteria Committee (E.C.C.) for determination.
5.8 Further to 4.1 a member will be annually required to read and sign the IACA Code of Ethics and return it to the IACA executive as a declaration of commitment to be bound by the code.

Associate Member (ASM)

5.9 Membership will be restricted to individuals who are not practitioners involved in an Arboricultural Consultancy practice and do not undertake Arboricultural Consultancy work, e.g. Arboriculture teachers, Parks Managers, Landscape Architects and Landscape Designers.
5.10 Further to 5.9 and 5.11, eligibility for membership is excluded to applicants involved in the undertaking of tree pruning or removal works, or the management, or ownership of such businesses, due to the obvious potential for ethical conflict between these activities and the consultancy process.
5.11 Further to 5.9 and 5.10, the minimum qualification will be a Diploma of Horticulture (Arboriculture) as recognised by the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) Level 5.
5.12 Where a prospective member satisfies all criteria for membership but does not have a Diploma of Horticulture (Arboriculture) as recognised by the Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) Level 5, but has a similar equal or higher qualification comprised of tree management subjects of an academic level equal to or higher than those of the Diploma of arboriculture from a related discipline, they may be eligible for membership subject to approval of the executive.
5.13 Further to 4.1 a member will be annually required to read and sign the IACA Code of Ethics and return it to the IACA executive as a declaration of commitment to be bound by the code.

6.0 Extra-admissions Criteria Committee

6.1 The Extra-admissions Criteria Committee, (the Committee), will be comprised of (4) four members being: (2) two executives, and (2) two non-executives, with all the committee members appointed by the members by a majority vote. A new committee will be formed each year at the time when the election for the executive is held. The Committee will formally record its activities and findings and these will remain confidential with a copy of those outcomes provided only to the individual applicant upon completion of its work. The Committee will be accountable to the executive by providing to it a report of its activities annually at the time of the Annual General Meeting (AGM); work of the Committee being its processes, findings and decisions shall be independent of the overall executive body.
6.2 An application for membership will be referred to the Extra-admissions Criteria Committee, where an applicant does not possess the minimum qualification, but possesses a similar qualification and is a recognised competent practitioner with (5) five consecutive years of experience or more, being a continuous period up to the date of the application.
6.3 Provision of evidence for membership to the Extra-admissions Criteria Committee may be required to demonstrate competency. A diverse range of examples of the applicants work spanning the immediately preceding (2) years, from the date of the application may need to be submitted for consideration. Where clarification of the material submitted is required, or additional material requested, the applicant will be formally notified and the processing of their application put on hold for no longer than (3) months from the date of notification, until such clarification or additional information is provided. Where additional information is not forthcoming after (3) three months, the application will be refused.
6.4 Decisions of the Extra-admissions Criteria Committee are final, and unsuccessful applicants may reapply in (1) one year.
6.5 All supporting documentation provided to the Extra-admissions Criteria Committee will be returned to the applicant when the application for the membership has been concluded by either approval or refusal, with references to such documentation recorded only.

7.0 DISCIPLINARY ACTION

7.1 Any member of the Institute who in the opinion of the executive has been guilty of unprofessional or unethical conduct will be liable to reprimand, suspension or expulsion, as determined by the Executive. Formal complaints will be dealt with if submitted in writing, and the member will be provided with the opportunity to address the matter in camera.

8.0 THE EXECUTIVE

8.1 Executive positions eligibility is limited to Accredited members (ACM) only.
8.2 The Executive will comprise the position of President, two (2) Vice Presidents, Secretary and Treasurer as a minimum number of elected members, with other positions to be created as required and as determined by the members by a majority vote.
8.3 The Executive, and Extra-admissions Criteria Committee positions will be vacated and held open for election at the first meeting of each financial year or, on such other date as the Executive determines, with prior notice given to all financial members.
8.4 Four (4) Quarterly meetings and one (1) AGM, are to be held in any financial year.

9.0 FEES

9.1 Entrance and annual fees will be required for membership as the Executive may determine. The executive will have the power to waive, increase or reduce fees if it considers this action to be of benefit to the Institute.
9.2 Annual fees will be due promptly at the commencement of each new financial year, commencing at 1 July.
9.3 Failure to pay fees within 2 months of the due date may lead to cancellation of membership and removal of the member�s name from the website until membership is paid.
9.4 Any non-financial member will forfeit all voting rights.
9.5 Where 2 members belong to 1 household e.g. as a married couple or life partners; the second membership fee will be reduced by 50%.

10.0 REVENUE

10.1 Revenue of the Institute will be held in an interest bearing account for general running expenses of the Institute. Access to this account is to be by an Executive member/s chosen by the Executive body.
10.2 Establish a scholarship trust and a recipient process for the awarding of such a grant, and a reporting process for monitoring of progress and outcomes, when sufficient funds are raised as nominated by the executive and determined by the members by a majority vote.
10.3 Establish a research trust and a recipient process for the awarding of such a grant, and a reporting process for monitoring of progress and outcomes, when sufficient funds are raised as nominated by the executive and determined by the members by a majority vote.
10.4 In the event that the Institute ceases to operate, all residual funds not required to finalise business be donated to an industry related association e.g. LGTRA, or to a university or other research institution to undertake research into the management of urban trees, as nominated by the executive and determined by the members by a majority vote.

11.0 POWERS AND DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE

11.1 The Business of the Institute will be managed by the elected Executive as directed by the majority decisions of General Meetings.
11.2 The Executive will keep record of minutes of all notified meetings of the Institute, and of all financial dealings concerned with the functioning of the Institute.
11.3 The Executive will give notice of all general meetings to Institute members as soon as practicable after a meeting date is formalised by the Executive.
11.4 A member can only hold the position of president for a total of 3 years consecutively or combined.

12.0 Ongoing Professionally Accredited Learning (OPAL) Scheme

12.1 Herein after called the OPAL Scheme.
12.2 The executive will administer and maintain the OPAL Scheme.
12.3 The OPAL Scheme will form part of an application for membership as an Accredited member (ACM) of IACA.
12.4 The executive will determine the importance of the weighting of points in each category of the OPAL Scheme.
12.5 A prospective member applying to be an Accredited member (ACM) will be required to satisfy 5 OPAL Scheme points as part of their application.
12.6 To maintain membership an Accredited member (ACM) will be subject to ongoing professional education and development with annual self assessment as part of the OPAL Scheme.
12.7 The executive will determine the number of OPAL Scheme points an Accredited member (ACM) is required to achieve to satisfy ongoing membership in a given year.
12.8 The executive will determine the number of OPAL Scheme points a retired accredited member (ACM) that remains practicing is required to achieve to satisfy ongoing membership in a given year.
12.9 An Accredited member (ACM), including a retired but practicing (ACM), will be required annually to provide evidence to the executive of compliance with the OPAL Scheme as part of membership renewal.
12.10 The executive will review the OPAL Scheme biennially to determine its efficacy and benefit to the organisation, members and the community.

13.0 ALTERATION OF THIS CONSTITUTION AND RULES

13.1 This Constitution and these Rules may be amended only by a Resolution passed by a two-thirds majority of members present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote at an Annual General Meeting or an Extraordinary meeting of the Institute convened especially for that purpose.