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Membership Policy

This policy outlines the expectations and responsibilities of ACRS members. By becoming an ACRS member you agree and accept to be bound by the following Membership Policy and all ACRS Terms and Conditions, Policies, or Agreements. Failure to comply may result in disciplinary action including the suspension or termination of the membership at the discretion of the ACRS Council.

New members

Australasian College of Road Safety (ACRS) memberships can be purchased online through https://acrs.org.au/membership/ for both individuals and organisations, and payments can be made via Stripe (Mastercard and Visa only), PayPal, or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Memberships fall under two main categories of Individual or Corporate.

Individual members – the person is qualified to be a:

  1. Personal Member if the person is interested in advancing the objectives of the ACRS. 
  2. Fellow if the person has been awarded a Fellowship through the Fellowship Awards process.
  3. Associate Fellow if the person:
    • Is involved or has been involved in professional or extensive volunteer work in the field of road safety; and 
    • Is making or has made identified and significant contributions to road safety; or 
    • Is making or has made identified and significant contributions to the ACRS.
  4. Student Member if the person is undertaking a full-time course of education. 
  5. Concession Member if the person is earning minimum wage or less. 
  6. Community Group Member if: 
    • The Group represents a local community within an identified local geographical area;
    • The Group operates principally on a volunteer basis; and 
    • The Group has developed a strategy for addressing road safety issues in their area. 
  7. LMIC Member if the person lives in a country classified as low- or middle- income, according to the World Bank classification of countries by income.

Corporate members – may be government, business, education, or industry organisations, and will receive different levels of member benefits depending on the level of membership taken out (e.g. Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Diamond).

Corporate members are entitled to nominate one contact for the organisation to whom all ACRS invoices and payment information will be sent (the ‘Accounting Contact’). The Accounting Contact may be in addition to members listed under the membership but will not receive member benefits including voting rights. Corporate Members are also entitled to nominate one of the listed members as the Main Contact, who can add or remove staff to the Corporate membership up to the maximum number for that membership level.

To receive ACRS member benefits such as Weekly Alerts, electronic copies of the Journal of Road Safety, discounted registration rates to the annual Australasian Road Safety Conference, and voting rights, staff members must be listed under the ACRS membership. Organisations must not take out individual memberships in lieu of a Corporate Membership.

Memberships will not be active until payment has been made in full. Memberships are non-transferrable.

Membership renewal

ACRS members will receive an invitation to renew a minimum of 4 weeks before the anniversary of their membership and can submit payment online via Stripe (Mastercard and Visa only), PayPal, or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). To reduce costs for members, Corporate Members may only submit payment via EFT unless explicit permission is provided by ACRS. Unpaid renewals will have their membership terminated at the date of its expiry, and any administrative fees related to re-joining will be payable.

Membership cancellation and refunds

ACRS members may cancel their membership at any time and for any reason by sending an email to admin@acrs.org.au. Upon receipt of this email, ACRS will remove the member from its contact list and the member will lose all benefits associated with the membership. Before requesting cancellation of membership, the member is encouraged to contact ACRS and outline their dissatisfaction with the membership so that the ACRS may consider potential solutions for the member.

If a member does not abide by the ACRS Constitution, Membership Policy, Terms & Conditions, or ACRS objectives and values, the Council may expel or suspend a member from the ACRS through the process outlined in Section 7 of the ACRS Constitution. The member may appeal to ACRS in accordance with Section 7 of the ACRS Constitution.

Members who voluntarily cancel their membership or are expelled/suspended from the ACRS are not entitled to a refund of their membership fees, except where required under Australian Consumer Law. In this event, the refund will be processed via the same method as the original payment, however ACRS reserves the right to process the refund through Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).

Code of Ethics

  • Staff and members are responsible for the decisions they make and the impact they have on others.
  • Actions and decisions will be reviewed against ACRS vision, purpose, and objectives no matter
    whether they are a committee member, employee, or ACRS member.
  • Responsibilities for staff and members (in their capacity as a member) are:
    • Use the ACRS vision, purpose and objectives to guide our everyday decision making and
      behaviour.
    • Promote a culture of fair and ethical behaviour.
    • Create a climate that will enable staff and members to discuss any issues.
    • Understand the intent of our policies and standards, and the laws that guide our work,
      and use them every day to guide our actions.
    • Treat everyone with respect
  • The Code of Ethics cannot address every situation that may be encountered. Therefore, if faced with
    an issue that may constitute a breach or threat of this policy that is not clearly defined above, then
    individuals should ask for guidance and support from the Chief Executive Officer or President.

Access to member information

Members that are permitted access to other members’ personal or sensitive information, either through their role within the ACRS or through certain member-only features such as the Member Forum or Member Directory, may only access and use this information as permitted by this ACRS Member Policy, the ACRS Privacy Policy, all other ACRS Terms and Conditions, Policies, or Agreements, and any applicable local, state, federal, or international laws.

Where a member lawfully gains access to another member’s personal or sensitive information, they may not:

  • Sell, trade, profit from, or otherwise knowingly or unknowingly provide access to the information to third parties without explicit written consent from the member whose information is in question.
  • Contact that member for malicious, illegal, spam, or advertising purposes, or any other purpose outside of the ACRS vision, purpose, and objectives.
  • Collect and store member information for malicious, illegal, spam, or advertising purposes, or any other purpose outside of the ACRS vision, purpose, and objectives.