The Australian Computer Society (ACS) is an association for information and communications technology professionals with 40,000+ members Australia-wide. According to its Constitution, its objectives are "to advance professional excellence in information technology" and "to promote the development of Australian information and communications technology resources".
The ACS was formed on 1 January 1966 from five state based societies. It was formally incorporated in the Australian Capital Territory on 3 October 1967. Since 1983 there have been chapters in every state and territory.
The ACS is a member of the Australian Council of Professions ("Professions Australia"), the peak body for professional associations in Australia. Internationally, ACS is a member of the International Professional Practice Partnership (IP3), South East Asia Regional Computer Confederation, International Federation for Information Processing and The Seoul Accord.
The ACS is also a member organisation of the Federation of Enterprise Architecture Professional Organizations (FEAPO), a worldwide association of professional organisations which have come together to provide a forum to standardise, professionalise, and otherwise advance the discipline of Enterprise Architecture.
Activities
The ACS operates various chapters, annual conferences, Special Interest Groups, and a professional development program. Members are required to comply with a Code of Ethics and a Code of Professional Conduct.
Extent of representation
The ACS describes itself as "the professional association for Australia's technology sector" and "Australia's primary representative body for the ICT workforce", but industry analysts have questioned this based on the small percentage of IT professionals who are ACS members. The issue has been discussed in the press since at least 2004, and in 2013 the Sydney Morning Herald wrote that "the ACS aggressively seeks to control the important software engineering profession in Australia, but ... less than 5 per cent of the professional IT workforce belongs to the ACS." The ACS Foundation came up with a slightly higher figure: "Depending on the data used to calculate the number of ICT professionals in Australia, however, [ACS] membership represents approximately 6.5 per cent of the total."
Presidents
The Australian Computer Society elects its National President every two years, who serves as the leader of the Society. Some of the most recent presidents include: Nick Tate, 2022 - 2023 Ian Opperman, 2020 - 2021 Yohan Ramasundarah, 2018 – 2019 Anthony Wong, 2016 – 2017 Brenda Aynsley, 2014 – 2016 Nick Tate, 2012 – 2014 Kumar Parakala, 2008 – 2010 Philip Argy, 2006 – 2008 Edward Mandla, 2004 – 2006
Young IT
The Young IT Professionals Board of the Australian Computer Society provides a voice for young IT professionals and students, as well as a range of services and benefits for members. Currently Young IT organises and runs a bi-annual YIT International Conference and other events such as local career days, soft skills and technical seminars, networking opportunities and social events (e.g. Young IT in the Pub) in each of the Australian States.
The most recent Young IT Conference was held in Melbourne in 2014.
Publications
Information Age is the official publication of the ACS. In February 2015 Information Age became an online-only publication. Peer-reviewed research publications of the ACS include: Australian Computer Journal Journal of Research and Practice in Information Technology Conferences in Research and Practice in Information Technology Australasian Journal of Information Systems The digital library contains free journal articles and conference papers.
Related organisations
Association for Computing Machinery
ACS Foundation
Australian Information Security Association
British Computer Society
Institution of Analysts and Programmers
International Federation for Information Processing
New Zealand Computer Society
Computer Society of India
Computer Society of Southern Africa
Canadian Information Processing Society
SEARCC
Seoul Accord
Other Australian computer associations
AUUG – Now deregistered
Linux Australia
LUGs in Australia
SAGE-AU
Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia (IAPA), incorporating business data analytics, business intelligence, data mining and related industries Australian Software Innovation Forum, encourages collaboration and co-operation in Java EE and associated technologies