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Annual General Meeting

This year’s Annual General Meeting is yet to be announced as we navigate through the rapidly changing Covid-19 situation. Traditionally our AGMs have been held in line with the AusNOG conference however, due to its postponement, our AGM will be held separately this year.

As you may be aware, we are in the process of transitioning to a company limited by guarantee which will also see changes to future AGMs. Please be assured that any changes will be communicated via email in due course.

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us at secretary@internet.asn.au

Transition to a Company Limited by Guarantee

We are pleased to announce that members of the Association voted to support the proposed transition to a company limited by guarantee at the Special General Meeting held Wednesday 28 July 2021.

The process of deregistration from the Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) has been authorised by the WA regulator, and we have submitted the paperwork to register under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) as a company limited by guarantee.

We would like to say a special thank you to all the members that contributed to this process, providing input through our various member consultations and workshops, taking the time to vote and attend the meeting.

SGM Results

The Internet Association of Australia is pleased to announce that it will transition to a company limited by guarantee.

Members of the Association voted to support the transition at the Special General Meeting held Wednesday 28 July 2021.

This means we will be governed by the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and become a company limited by guarantee. The transition reflects the national growth the Association has undergone over recent years and now represents members across Australia.

A special thank you to all the members that contributed to this process, providing input through our various member consultations and workshops, taking the time to vote and attend the meeting.

Notice of Special General Meeting of Members – Wednesday 28 July 2021

The Internet Association of Australia Inc (IAA) would like to thank all members who have participated in our consultation on whether to transition to a company limited by guarantee. The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

The IAA Board remains in favour of the transition and it has resolved to convene the Special General Meeting referred to below.

The Board of the Internet Association of Australia Inc hereby gives notice of a Special General Meeting to give members the opportunity to vote on the two (2) special resolutions set out below in connection with the proposal to transition IAA’s registration (association number A1004987S) from an incorporated Association under the Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) to a company limited by guarantee under Part 5B.1 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth).

Special General Meeting
Date: Wednesday 28 July 2021
Time: 3:00pm AWST / 5:00pm AEST
Location: Arnotts Technology Lawyers of Level 2, 151 Macquarie Street, Sydney NSW 2000. Members may attend in person or via Zoom (Video Conference)
Link for Zoom registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/IAASGM

The following resolutions will be proposed as special resolutions at the Special General Meeting:

1. Lodgement of application for registration. Members are asked to consider and, if thought fit, pass the following resolution as a special resolution:

That in view of the dispersed and Australia-wide nature of the operations of the Internet Association of Australia Inc (registration number A1004987S), an application be made in accordance with section 93 of the Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) and regulation 14 of the Associations Incorporation Regulations 2016 (WA) for it to apply for registration as a prescribed body corporate under Part 5B.1 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and an application be made under Part 5B.1 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) for  the Internet Association of Australia Inc to apply for registration as a company limited by guarantee with the proposed name of “Internet Association of Australia Ltd”.

2. Approve a constitution for the company. Members are asked to consider and, if thought fit, pass the following resolution as a special resolution:

That the constitution, tabled at the special general meeting of the Internet Association of Australia Inc held on 28 July 2021 and initialled by the chair of the special general meeting for the purpose of identification (a copy of which was attached to the notice of the special general meeting), be approved for adoption as the constitution of the company “Internet Association of Australia Ltd”, with the adoption of the constitution to take effect subject to and from when the Australian Securities and Investments Commission registers the company under Part 5B.1 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), at which point the constitution shall completely replace the existing rules of the Internet Association of Australia Inc and which shall cease to apply from that date.

Hyperlink to proposed Constitution:  https://www.internet.asn.au/IAA-Ltd-proposed-Constitution-2021.pdf

Members may vote on the above special resolutions in one of the following ways:

A copy of Rule 50 is available at the following hyperlink: https://www.internet.asn.au/IAA-Rules.pdf

Please review your voting contact information in the portal to ensure this information is up to date.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please email secretary@internet.asn.au.

Updating our Governance

Last month we kicked off a program of work to update our governance and to consult with members over whether we should move to registration under federal law. We held a consultation event where members were taken through the differences between WA Associations Law and Federal Corporations Law. We released a discussion paper and have some good feedback from members and have now established a working party to generate a draft constitution for discussion.

Please keep an eye on our web page on Updating our Governance as we will post updates there, as well as email voting contacts for input along the way.

Updating Our Governance

IAA is currently an association incorporated under Western Australian law – the Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) – reflecting our origin as the Western Australia Internet Association, and this was a suitable way to become a legal entity. When the association changed its name to the Internet Association of Australia we remained incorporated under the WA Act.

As IAA has grown substantially and now represents the interests of corporate, professional and affiliate members across Australia, the IAA Board believes it is appropriate to consider transferring our incorporation to Commonwealth law (Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)) and become a company limited by guarantee. Should we do this we would remain a not-for-profit entity, with our main office in Perth, and ensure we retain all the important aspects of our current rules.

It is often argued that state-based laws are effective but that they best suit local associations who are of limited scale. Once an organisation grows it may be better regulated by federal law which has stricter, Australia-wide rules and systems with greater resources. For example, there is one Commissioner and a small team in the WA government, whereas federally a whole department (ASIC) exists, there are many sources of independent expertise, and a wide range of training available on corporations’ law.

We are therefore commencing a process of member consultation with a view to briefing our members on current issues we have encountered and canvas member perspectives on any transition. An FAQ and briefing paper are being prepared which will be presented at the upcoming consultation to be held:

Date: Wednesday 7th April, 2021
Time: 3pm AWST/5pm AEST
Location: Zoom (online)

Members can register via Zoom

Updating Our Governance

IAA is currently an association incorporated under Western Australian law – the Associations Incorporation Act 2015 (WA) – reflecting our origin as the Western Australia Internet Association, and this was a suitable way to become a legal entity. When the association changed its name to the Internet Association of Australia we remained incorporated under the WA Act.

As IAA has grown substantially and now represents the interests of corporate, professional and affiliate members across Australia, the IAA Board believes it is appropriate to consider transferring our incorporation to Commonwealth law (Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)) and become a company limited by guarantee. Should we do this we would remain a not-for-profit entity, with our main office in Perth, and ensure we retain all the important aspects of our current rules.

It is often argued that state-based laws are effective but that they best suit local associations who are of limited scale. Once an organisation grows it may be better regulated by federal law which has stricter, Australia-wide rules and systems with greater resources. For example, there is one Commissioner and a small team in the WA government, whereas federally a whole department (ASIC) exists, there are many sources of independent expertise, and a wide range of training available on corporations’ law.

We are therefore commencing a process of member consultation with a view to briefing our members on current issues we have encountered and canvas member perspectives on any transition. An FAQ and briefing paper are being prepared which will be presented at the upcoming consultation to be held:

Date: Wednesday 7th April, 2021
Time: 3pm AWST/5pm AEST
Location: Zoom (online)

Members can register via Zoom

IAA Welcomes New Members to its Board

We would officially like to welcome two new members to the IAA Board, Richard Thompson from Cloudflare and Nate Garr from StackPath, both elected by corporate members for two-year terms.

We are also delighted to welcome back to the board David Hooton, Matthew Moyle-Croft, Matthew Enger and Brett O’Hara. David and Brett were both elected by corporate members for three-year terms, whilst Matthew Moyle-Croft and Matthew Enger were elected by professional members, for three year and two-year terms, respectively.

New and returning members will join Matthew McDonough and Daryl Collins who are continuing their two-year terms after their election last year. Thank you also to Daryl for fulfilling the duties of Returning Officer at this year’s election.

The IAA Board and staff would also like to thank Nathan Brookfield who retired from the Board at this year’s AGM, after five years tireless work on behalf of the Association. Thank you also to Jay Binks for his service over the last year.

There are also several areas to highlight as focus for the year ahead. A consultation process with members will be undertaken over a proposal to become a national not-for-profit organisation under Australian corporations law, potentially moving away from the state-based associations law under which we currently sit. Rest assured, such a move would not mean abandoning our WA home, rather it would mean streamlining our governance. Our WA roots are too strong, too valuable and too important to lose.

Speaking of things important to our hearts, an announcement was also made of a program to remember Kellie Ireland which will assist a range of women both entering and continuing in the industry, and we hope members will support this initiative. Stay tuned in future for further announcements.

Several upcoming technical projects were also discussed during the meeting:

  • Intercapital upgrades
  • Further replacements of BDX8 switches in Melbourne
  • 100G Facebook caches to be activated in Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth
  • New content and mirrors

If you have anything you’d like to see in our content caches, do please get in touch, and we’ll do our best to get it on board!

If you missed the meeting, or would like to re-watch the proceedings, you can view the recording on our YouTube Channel or Facebook page. The AGM presentation slides and our first Annual Report publication are available to download our website.

We were also very lucky to secure guest speaker Jari Arkko of Ericsson Research to present at this year’s AGM. Jari’s presentation Evolving the Internet through COVID-19 and Beyond looked at how the Internet has been coping during these periods of lockdown, other changes brought about by the pandemic, and what lessons can be learned from these into the future. You can also watch Jari’s presentation on our YouTube Channel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Date for IAA AGM

The new date for the IAA Annual General Meeting has been set for Tuesday 27th October, 1.30pm AWST / 4.30pm AEDT.

We are pleased to announce that we have secured a guest speaker to present at this year’s AGM. Jari Arkko is an Expert on Internet Architecture with Ericsson Research based in Finland. Jari Arkko is an Expert on Internet Architecture with Ericsson Research based in Finland. He is active in the IETF and is a current member of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB). Jari has been presenting in Europe on the evolution of the internet through the global COVID-19 pandemic and will be bringing his presentation and expertise to our AGM.

The board nomination process is now open. Members have until Tuesday 20th October to submit their nomination. The Internet Association of Australia invites members to nominate for the following positions:

  • 1 x Professional Representative (term to run for 2 years)
  • 2 x Corporate Representatives (term to run for 2 years)
  • 1 x Professional Representative (term to run for 3 years)
  • 2 x Corporate Representatives (term to run for 3 years)

More information on the nomination process and the roles and responsibilities of the board is available on our website.

Non-members can register to attend the AGM via Eventbrite.

Members can register to attend the AGM via Zoom.

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