CHAFC

About

Introduction to CHAFC.

Council of Heads of Australian Faunal Collections Incorporated (ACT) is the peak body representing Australia’s publicly accessible zoological and palaeontological collections, primarily within the jurisdiction of regional, state and territory, and commonwealth governments.

The aims of CHAFC are to:

  • Advance and disseminate collections-based knowledge and research on the Australian fauna for the benefit of all;
  • Represent member agencies at state and national forums, to promote the value of zoological collections as underpinning the biodiversity sciences;
  • Promote cooperation and dialogue amongst Australia’s faunal collection agencies as a defacto national museum of natural history;
  • Manage multi-agency projects and associated funding on behalf of and to the benefit of member agencies.

Incorporation details and ABN.

CHAFC is incorporated in the ACT with ABN 49 326 023 204

Current members , who is eligible to be a member etc

CHAFC Inc has three tiers of membership. Governance of CHAFC is through an Executive Committee elected by core members consisting of a Chairperson and two Officers representing core members. Ex officio members include the immediate past Chairperson and a Treasurer.

  • Core members represent the principal publicly accessible faunal collections based in the Commonwealth, States and Territories of Australia. Current Core Members are:
    • Australian Museum, Sydney (AM)
    • Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra (ANIC)
    • Australian National Wildlife Collection, Canberra (ANWC)
    • Australian National Fish Collection, Hobart (ANFC)
    • Museums and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin (MAGNT)
    • Museum Victoria, Melbourne (MV)
    • Queensland Museum, Brisbane (QM) (including Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville)
    • Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery, Launceston (QVMAG)
    • South Australian Museum, Adelaide (SAMA)
    • Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart (TMAG)
    • Western Australian Museum, Perth (WAM)
  • General members represent faunal collection organisations or collectives that do not satisfy the requirements of core membership, or do not come under the same organisational umbrella as a core member, but have a major role in addressing the Objective of CHAFC Inc., and their collections are accessible to meet this objective. Current General members are:
    • Council of Heads of Australian Entomology Collections (http://flyaqis.mov.vic.gov.au/chaec/index.html)
  • The Commonwealth Representative is a representative of the Commonwealth Government of Australia that does not satisfy the requirements of core membership, does not come under the same organisational umbrella as a core member, but has a major role in addressing the Objective of CHAFC Inc. Current Commonwealth Representative is:
    • Australian Biological Resources Study

CHAFC meetings

CHAFC Inc. meets once each financial year at an Annual General Meeting, held within five months after the end of each financial year. General and Special Meetings may also be held at the discretion of the Executive Committee and/ or upon the request of core members. Physical meeting venues are rotated between core members’ institutions. General and Special Meetings may occur physically or via teleconference. A quorum consists of all or all but one representative of core members.

The Faunal Collections Informatics Group (FCIG) is the technical working group for the Australian Faunal Collections. FCIG has representatives of the computing and information technology programs of each participating institution and deals with the development and application of new technologies to collections and digitization management, faunal research and information delivery.

CHAFC and FCIG Annual General Meetings are held in conjunction at the same host institutions. The FCIG attend and report at the CHAFC meeting including discussion of submissions for actions and recommendations of priorities for actioning. The report includes a progress report on actions from previous meetings.