Sourced directly from the Fifth Estate. Written by Willow Aliento on 13 May 2015

Aside from a few crumbs, the upsides of the budget for property, sustainability, science, engineering and the global environment are very few indeed. Many industry groups, professional associations and political parties have been quick to express their disappointment.

Green Building Council of Australia

The Green Building Council of Australia described it as a budget of “missed opportunities”, with no plan for city infrastructure and no additional funding to tackle climate change or sustainable building upgrades.

“While the Abbott Government has maintained its commitment to the Emissions Reduction Fund, which remains at $2.55 billion over four years, no additional funds have been allocated to ensure Australia meets its greenhouse gas reduction targets by 2020,” GBCA chief executive Romilly Madew said.

“Despite the building sector having the greatest potential for delivering emissions cuts at the least cost, most building owners aren’t able to access the ERF. And now there is no money in the budget to support building upgrades that reduce emissions, while improving the health, wellbeing and productivity of occupants.

“Australia needs a coordinated, economy-wide approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing urbanisation and adapting to a changing climate – and this is missing from the budget.”

The GBCA said it was pleased to see $6.1 million for the Climate Change Authority, bust was disappointed that infrastructure funding was focused on roads and freight “rather than on the 21st century infrastructure Australia needs to make our cities more efficient and sustainable”.

“This lack of funding ignores the fact that 85 per cent of Australians live in our cities – and that our cities are the engine rooms of our national productivity and prosperity.”

Urban Development Institute of Australia

The Urban Development Institute of Australia said the budget was light on structural reforms to increase productivity and boost the standard of living. UDIA national vice president Michael Corcoran said investment in new housing and productivity enhancing infrastructure in our major cities was central to Australia’s future prosperity.

“The unwinding of the mining boom is placing a heavy toll on government finances and the broader economy, and that’s clearly reflected in the 2015-16 budget,” he said.

“Development and new housing construction is currently doing much of the heavy lifting in the Australian economy, and with most of Australia’s capital cities still suffering from a chronic housing shortage, it’s an area that still has plenty of room to grow.”

Barriers to new construction UDIA identified were inadequate investment in urban infrastructure, “red tape” and “inefficient” taxes and charges on new housing.

Consult Australia

Consult Australia chief executive Megan Motto described it as “a mixed budget all up, but one that will boost confidence and immediate investment by small business”.

But the picture on infrastructure funding announcements was not so rosy. “There is little new money for infrastructure. The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility may generate up to $5 billion of new investment in partnership with the private sector, but more substantial seed funding and a broader remit for this fund would multiply the benefits,” Ms Motto said.

“The government’s commitment to maintain $3 billion as a contingent liability in the budget for East West Link underscores the long-term fall-out of bad infrastructure decision making. We cannot simply stuff this money under the mattress; it must be used with urgency to substantiate the vacuum created with the cancellation of East West Link.”

Master Builders Association

The MBA said the government had delivered on its pre-budget request for short-term tax measures to boost building activity. “There are more than 300,000 small businesses (more than any other industry) in the building and construction industry who are winners from the budget,” MBA chief executive Wilhelm Harnisch said. “The $5.5 billion small business package will massively boost confidence, activity and jobs in the industry.

“In an industry as capital intensive as building and construction, the immediate write off of assets up to $20,000 will provide an immediate stimulus. Measures to cut tax for both small companies and sole traders will also underpin a reboot of confidence for builders, home-buyers and consumers.”

The Property Council

The Property Council of Australia said the scrapping of GST reverse charging measures in this year’s budget would save property owners “hundreds of millions of dollars in additional stamp duty”.

“The Government’s original proposal to replace GST free business sales with a reverse charging mechanism was a technical measure that would have inadvertently penalised property owners with a tax hike for no real gain,” Andrew Mihno, PCA’s executive director international and capital markets, said.

“In NSW, this could have meant an additional $550,000 of stamp duty on the sale of a $100 million tenanted office block.”

Environment Victoria

The crackdown on tax avoidance by multinationals shifting profits overseas announced by Joe Hockey overlooked “tax avoidance by multinationals in our own backyard”, Environment Victoria said. “In his speech Treasurer Joe Hockey said we ‘want people or companies who are avoiding their tax to pay their fair share’, but his budget completely ignored the $2.5 billion in subsidies going to highly profitable mining companies,” Nick Roberts, campaigns director at Environment Victoria, said. The Fuel Tax Credit Scheme is a $7 billion a year federal government subsidy for diesel consumption – one of the largest single expenditure programs in the country. Environment Victoria has been calling for the government to introduce a cap which would save around $2 billion a year by taking the subsidy away mostly from huge mining companies with billion-dollar profits.

“Twenty-four hours ago Treasurer Joe Hockey gave the Tax Commissioner new powers to claw back billions of dollars of profits shifted overseas. By failing to cap the unfair diesel fuel rebate to rich miners, Joe Hockey has effectively given them a $2 billion lump sum payout.”

There have been worldwide calls to end fossil fuel subsidies for a number of years from the United Nations, The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. “Even Abbott Government climate contrarian poster-boy Bjorn Lomborg has called to end fossil fuel handouts.

“A cap would also reduce a scheme that is currently subsidising over eight percent of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions. This would save money, grow renewables and reduce pollution. Most Australians want investment in clean energy, just not Joe Hockey and the Abbott Government.”

Australasian Rail Association

ARA said it is disappointed the budget allocated no new funds for rail infrastructure to service the major cities and reduce road congestion. Interim chairman Bob Herbert said rail was swiftly approaching a funding cliff that would see key integrated rail infrastructure projects fall off the policy agendas of our biggest and fastest growing cities. “Federal contributions to state government rail projects have effectively halved between this budget and the last, making up less than five per cent of the $8.6 billion infrastructure spend in 2015-16,” Mr Herbert said.

“Australia as a nation is facing increasingly serious economic, social and environmental problems with traffic congestion clogging our roads, transport emissions choking our urban environment, fluctuating fuel prices and the continued growth of our major cities.

“The Federal Government’s continued approach of prioritising roads over rail will not address the long term transport needs of our growing cities.”

Australian Academy of Science

President of the AAS Professor Andrew Holmes said researchers were not only still feeling the impact of the savage cuts in the 2014 budget, this year’s effort put $290 million of further cuts to science and research programs on the horizon. “It is great that [National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Scheme] facilities will continue to be supported for the next two years but cutting block grants to researchers in universities is like taking engines off the jumbo jet. You need to fund the scientists as well as the tools they need to do their work, it can’t be one or the other. NCRIS needs a long-term sustainable funding model,” Professor Holmes said.

“While there are forecast selective cuts there have also been selective increases, and we look forward to seeing those increases sustained into the future.

“The Industry Minister and Prime Minister say they want to see science play a greater role with industry and yet in this budget we’re seeing nearly $30 million cut from Cooperative Research Centres, that are designed to help improve collaboration with business. What will replace them in generating jobs from research and development?

“As the mining boom slows, this should be a time of growth in science funding to allow us to better prepare for the knowledge economy we need. Instead our future prosperity is at risk,” he said.

North Queensland Conservation Council

The Northern Infrastructure package has the NQCC concerned a new coal-fired baseload power station for Townsville and Northern Queensland is on the cards. It is also concerned about ongoing support for the expansion of coal mining and lack of action on climate change.

“The budget announcement of cheap loans for ports, pipelines, power and water infrastructure rings alarm bells for anyone concerned about our environment,” NQCC coordinator Wendy Tubman said.

“The idea of expansion of the coal industry, more port facilities on the Barrier Reef coast and the development of Cape York for agriculture are ideas from the last century. They ignore what we now know about the impacts of coal on climate change and the impact of land-clearing and climate change on the Reef.

“The Reef is in danger and climate change is costing individuals and governments more and more. We face increasing disaster recovery costs, mitigation expenses and rising insurance premiums. Yet, the Federal government budget has cut funding for climate-related issues while supporting development that will only make climate change worse.

“We need governments that have the intelligence to recognise that ignoring the environment only damages the economy. We need leaders who recognise that there are alternatives to coal-fired power, alternatives that are ideally suited to our region.

“And we need governments with the integrity to accept that jobs for the future do not lie with digging up and exporting resources or with clearing our native vegetation. There are thousands of potential jobs that do not damage the environment and which are sustainable.”

Written by Alex Gourlay, Marketing Association Blog

As Mobile overtakes desktop usage and statistics show 70% of mobile searches lead to online action within an hour, having an impactful mobile presence for your brand is imperative.

Smartphones and tablets are an intrinsic part of our daily lives, with studies showing the average smartphone user checks their phone up to 221 times a day. In an historic first, more New Zealanders now access the internet via mobile devices rather than desktop. By 2018 New Zealand will have 90% smartphone ownership (Frost & Sullivan). With a strong existing base of smartphone and tablet users (2.2 million and 1 million respectively), mobile is the fastest growing channel in New Zealand, up 119% year-on-year according to the International Bureau of Advertising (IAB)/PwC Q4 2014 Ad-spend report. Brands are increasingly shifting their marketing focus towards a more mobile first outlook, with greater importance been given to visual communications. However whilst New Zealand is showing phenomenal growth in mobile advertising many advertisers are yet to fully embrace this medium with mobile accounting for only a 2.4% market share of the total digital ad-spend.

Mobile allow brands to create immersive experiences to maximize social participation and emotionally engage consumers as seen in Sky TV’s ‘Bring Down the King’ success culminating in the visual spectacle of the toppling of King Joffrey in Auckland. Scientific studies show the human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text and visuals can increase brand engagement as much as 94%. Visuals are now more important than ever and mobile devices are the main portal through which we experience them.  At present, brands need a greater understanding on what works, because as we move to a smaller screen, the rules around visuals inevitably change.

So, how do brands select the right visual content to make an impactful mobile experience?

First person point of view (POV): Sales of first person POV visuals are increasing amongst mobile consumers. Their popularity is because they provide a raw, immersive and authentic feel leading to greater levels of engagement.  The rise of wearable technology like GoPros bring us into an intimate view which create a sense of realism as well as adventure.  NZTA’s snap-chat anti-drug-driving campaign is a powerful example of using point of view to innovatively connect with a hard-to-reach audience in tackling New Zealand’s drug-driving crisis.

Super sensory: As we increasingly experience things through our mobile screens, we want to be presented with a more immersive experience that tantalises our senses. We want images that are more elicit, with HD driving this trend forward. Colourful visuals and those that showcase macro detailing which make the everyday seem enhanced are massively popular with Getty Images’ customers.  It is for this reason that images of food do so well. Such visuals are inviting and arouse the viewers’ senses. Smirnoff’s Kiwi #Instagram your Fridge campaign is a great example of mobile meeting a sensory experience with personalised video recommendations of customised cocktails based on sending in Instagram snaps of the available ingredients in your fridge.

Wonderlust: In today’s technological world of hyper-connectivity, our sense of space and connection to geographical distances has undergone a revolution, thanks in no small part to mobile. Technology is leading to more solo travelers, as smartphone and the always ‘plugged in’ gives a sense of security in foreign lands. New Zealand sales of Wonderlust imagery that is expansive, full of epic landscapes and inspired meaningful travel have increased by 35% over the last five years, influenced by the ever-growing rise of the travel ‘braggies’ to the continuous sharing of travel imagery on Instragram to Pinterest. Airbnb’s Instagram feed is a brilliant example of Wonderlust images being used to engage the follower. All the images it posts of vast beaches and stunning cliff sides are bookable.

Using strong imagery and video in mobile brand activities drives the connection to the audience. And creating or curating the right visual content can truly unlock the richness that mobile experience now offers, creating experiences that push the boundaries of mobile interaction, for a more immersive and sensory experience.

If you’re interested in getting up to speed with Mobile, check out the upcoming Mobile Marketing course run by the Marketing Association starting soon.

The following is a guest post by Lamees Abourahma of Webbright Services and first appeared on the WIld Apricot Blog here

Your website can be a major asset to your association, but there are a number of common mistakes that associations make that keep them from realizing their website’s full potential. 

By far the biggest mistake that an association can make with its website is that they don’t treat it as a marketing channel. Websites need to be carefully planned and curated with the same attention and long-term strategy that associations use for other marketing plans and opportunities. To get the most out of your website, avoid the following 6 mistakes associations make with their website.

The 6 biggest website mistakes associations make are:

1. They don’t have a clear strategy. The association fails to define a clear purpose for their website. What is the main objective of having this website? For some membership organizations, the sole purpose of the website is to list upcoming events and allow members to register online. Some professional organizations aim to promote their members through a provider directory or a marketplace listing. Yet other websites exist as an educational platform for the industry. When organizations are not clear on their website's purpose, they will not be clear on what their website strategy should be.
2. They don’t clearly define their audience. Most associations have different types of audiences (or constituents): members, sponsors, and supporters. Each has different reasons for engaging with the association and different communication preferences. Associations need to clearly define these audiences (their market segments) in order to create the right programs and services (the value proposition) for each audience type. 
3. They clutter their home page with content. As organizations grow and change, their websites grow and change with them. Adding new content to the home page is a common way to update your site and keep members and visitors informed of changes and exciting new developments. However, if left unchecked, this tendency can create a cluttered, confusing homepage that discourages visitors and information-seekers. 
4. They don’t customize the website template. Most website platforms offer free templates that can be applied to your website. While using the standard template might save you time and cost (since most membership organizations have a limited budget), without some customization, you miss out on branding (the way members and prospects perceive you). For a high-performing website, you need to tailor your site to your audience as much as possible so that it engages and speaks to them. 
5. They add pages and content without thinking about structure, site map, and navigation. As an organization grows, it will want its growth to be mirrored on its site.  However, just adding pages and content without a clear structure and easy navigation can make your site into a user-unfriendly nightmare – undoing the good that the additions were trying to accomplish in the first place.
6. They don’t have strong branding. Your website is your public face, and one of the best places to showcase your brand. Failing to incorporate a strong brand presence in your website weakens the organization’s message and identity to visitors to the site. Letting people navigate away from your site without a single, clear idea of who you are and what you do is leaving a golden opportunity on the table.

These mistakes can be fixed

These mistakes can hurt your site and your organization, but they can be fixed! To fix the above mistakes (or avoid them in the first place), follow these four steps:

1. Think about your website objectives.
2. Define who your target audience is.
3. Determine what you want your site visitors to do when they come to your site.
4. Review your site map, evaluate, and improve your website structure.

Since a website is a living artifact of your organization, the above steps should be done on regular basis. For most organizations, once a year or every two years is optimal, but the frequency depends on your particular organization.

Your website is your public face, your most common member interface, and often the measure of your credibility in the public eye. Avoid the mistakes we’ve outlined, take steps to make sure your site is focused, clean, and has a great strategy behind it, and you’ll have an engaging website that showcases your association in the best possible light.

Written By Joe Rominiecki, Associations Now

Another study offers evidence that education is one of associations’ biggest draws for nonmembers, so how do we get more of those nonmember learners to join?

Ask and you shall receive.

A few weeks ago, in a post that examined some findings from a study on membership in scholarly societies, I wrote that I would have liked if the report had dug deeper into the findings from its nearly 14,000-respondent survey. Soon, we will get just that.

Publisher John Wiley & Sons, Inc., will soon issue a follow-up to its “Membership Matters: Lessons From Members and Non-Members” study with a white paper that drills down into the generational differences among its survey respondents, with a particular focus on millennials. I’ve seen an early draft, and the final should be released shortly. For now you can check out Wiley’s preview infographic. There’s plenty that’s worth reading in the new report, though one data point stood out most to me.

“Continuing education and training opportunities” was cited among the most valued benefits across generations (number one among millennials), but when comparing members to nonmembers in the study, nonmembers said they valued education opportunities more than members did, again across generations.

Looking back at ASAE’s 2007 study The Decision to Join, this value placed on professional development is not necessarily surprising. That study also found “providing training/professional development to members” to be the association function most frequently cited as important, based on survey respondents’ choices—though in this case there was a negligible difference between members and nonmembers.

This all leads me back to a comment I made in that earlier post—”If nonmembers place just as much value on your association’s most valuable products as members do, you might have an opportunity to convert more of those nonmembers to members”—but I’d like to put a finer point on it by refocusing on professional development.

Clearly, professional development is one of the biggest drivers of people toward associations, if not the biggest. And yet the typical method for tying an association’s education programs to its membership package is through a simple member discount (whether as a percentage, a bundle, a voucher, or other). For a long time I’ve wondered: Can we do better? Is there a way for associations to get greater leverage out of their most-valued product (education) and make it more integral to the membership package? Or, more simply, if nonmembers value your education so much, how can you get them to join too?

I do not have an answer here—at least, not anything particularly creative or innovative. Just some variations on standard tactics:

Discounts. This is the obvious place to start, and it’s a no-brainer method to encourage nonmembers to join. According to ASAE benchmarking research, the median markup on association products and services for nonmembers compared to members is 25 percent. Discounts can only go so far, though; if nonmember fees are too high compared to member fees, your association can run afoul of antitrust laws.

Premiums. An alternative to discounting the price for members might be enhancing the product. Perhaps the standard version of an education program is available to everyone, but only members can get access to special features (which might offer a better experience if not a competitive advantage). Ed Rigsbee, CSP, CAE, author of The ROI of Membership, wrote last week that association meetings are ripe with opportunities for reinforcing member value [ASAE member login required], such as member-only sessions and networking events. Other ideas could include member-only access to front-row seating or to exclusive Q&As with speakers or facilitators.

Lead generation. If nothing else, nonmembers who participate in your association’s professional development programs are warm leads for membership. Knowing that education will be a consistent draw for a nonmember audience, you can focus on further engaging those nonmembers in ways that appeal to their expressed interest areas but also highlight how they could continue their learning through joining.

And that’s all I’ve got. There has to be more, right? There have to be other ways to more closely tie professional development (among associations’ greatest assets) to membership (their chosen business model), but I’m not sure what they are. What am I missing?

See the article here, originally sourced from Associations Nows

Implementing good practice in volunteer management helps organisations to value, reward, recruit and keep volunteers. In the spirit of National Volunteer Week, please find Volunteer Now’s Top 30 Tips for successfully involving volunteers:

• Value the gift of time and think about what you can offer the volunteer, not just what you need.
  
• Make it easy for people to volunteer by being creative and flexible when designing volunteering opportunities.
  
• Ask volunteers why they want to volunteer and try to meet their needs.
  
• Communicate, communicate, communicate – give information to volunteers and ask for feedback from them.
  
• Time, skills and experience are what volunteers offer, don’t waste this valuable resource and make sure there is a suitable role for your volunteer.
  
• Treat volunteers as you would want to be treated.
  
• Take time to listen and talk to your volunteers.
  
• Recruitment can be the easy part it’s keeping the volunteers that can be a challenge, support and training doesn’t stop at induction.
  
• Have fun with your volunteers.
  
• Keep an open mind about who can be a volunteer.
  
• Say ‘thank you’ and in lots of different ways – a full biscuit tin, a Christmas card, a Volunteers Week event.
  
• Never take your volunteers for granted.
  
• Pay attention to what your volunteers are saying they can be a great source of wisdom and ideas.
  
• Be flexible, involving volunteers is a two way relationship, a bit of give and take is important.
  
• Connect your volunteers together to build peer support and team work.
  
• Offer new opportunities to existing volunteers, most people like a bit of a change now and then.
  
• When offering or providing training to your volunteers keep it relevant and interactive.
  
• Keep your volunteers safe – pay attention to heath & safety and risk management.
  
• Think about your recruitment messages, know what it is you are looking for and what you need doing.
  
• Take time to provide the support that enables volunteers to enjoy their role and enhances their contribution.
  
• Help volunteers to take pride in what they do and the contribution they are making to the cause, the clients or the organisation.
  
• Be open and honest with your volunteers especially when there is an issue to be addressed.
  
• Think about what your volunteers do and then what they could do, you might be amazed at what other roles you can offer.
  
• Involving volunteers is not a static process, keep looking for ways to improve the volunteering experience.
  
• Don’t let your volunteers over commit; remember they have lives outside of their volunteering.
  
• When you ask for a volunteer be ready to act - don’t take their details and never contact them or contact them weeks later.
  
• At times we all need to be re-energised, encourage your volunteers to try something different, learn something new.
  
• Think of your volunteer’s comfort – a hot cup of tea, a better chair, the right type of equipment to get the task done.
  
• Volunteers are not necessarily free, there needs to be an allocation of appropriate resources for support including provision of out of pocket expenses.
  

Check out AuSAE TV episode with Jessie Harman:

ACE is the only dedicated Conference and Exhibition for not-for-profit professionals organised by not-for-profit professionals and it's on in five weeks! Will you be there?

Register now to take advantage of this unmissable, professional development program featuring over 30 not-for-profit leaders from association and charity organisations across Australia. Take a look below at the impressive range of professionals who will share with you their expertise and knowledge in the intensive, educational streams over two days. This group of sector professionals include award-winners, leaders in their field and top authorities within their organisations. Speakers will present on a broad range of topics including advocacy, governance, sponsorship and leadership. Other topics include communications, technology, events and membership. 

2015 ACE Not-For-Profit Speakers (listed A - Z by surname)

Volunteering Australia’s new National Standards for Volunteer Involvement were launched on Monday 11 May 2015 to mark the beginning of National Volunteer Week 2015 (11-17 May). The new Standards incorporate significant changes to the original standards in order to reflect best practice in volunteer management in Australia’s current work environment.

The Standards provide a sound framework for supporting the volunteer sector in Australia. The Standards are much easier to follow and are adaptable to different organisation types and different forms of volunteering which reflect the diversity of this growing sector.

Direct benefits to organisations:

• They provide good practice guidance and benchmarks to help organisations attract, manage and retain volunteers, and
• Help manage risk and safety in their work with volunteers.

Direct benefits to volunteers:

• They help improve the volunteer experience.

The new National Standards for Volunteer Involvement are available here for free download.

Guidance on applying the Standards will be provided via comprehensive implementation resources.

Additionally, Volunteering Australia will be developing a flexible, tiered voluntary certification, or ‘Quality Mark’ system to enable organisations to check how they are tracking in implementing the Standards.

Process

The development of the new Standards has been an inclusive project led by the CEOs of Volunteering S&NT, Volunteering Tasmania and Volunteering WA. Following the establishment of this working group, and a sector wide reference group comprising representatives from all states and territories, a draft document was prepared and presented to the sector for feedback via a survey and series of consultations across Australia.

From that process a set of revised Standards was created that were easier to understand and use, contained clear criteria and relevant content, and had wide applicability to different types of organisations and volunteer situations.

History

The first Australian National Standards were developed for Volunteering Australia by Volunteering Victoria in 1996. Sector consultation took place in 1996 and 1997 and the Standards were formally adopted in February 1998.

Following that time Volunteering Australia actively sought feedback on the functionality of the first set of Standards and as a result of feedback Volunteering Australia developed a new second set of standards that truly embraced the full diversity of volunteer-involving organisations and of volunteering.

This second set of standards was launched in 2001, the International Year of Volunteers, and remained in use until today.

Find out more information here.

National Volunteer Week (11-17 May) is the perfect time for State Premier Will Hodgman to announce that Volunteering Tasmania has been officially recognised as a Peak body.

At Volunteering Tasmania’s Meet and Greet in Elizabeth St Mall today, Premier Hodgman announced that the Government will be providing $260,000 funding per annum, in perpetuity. A component of the funding will be core funding, with the rest being project funding.

Volunteering Tasmania CEO Adrienne Picone is jubilant about the decision, which has been aptly announced in line with the National Volunteer Week theme: ‘Give Happy, Live Happy’.

“This is a significant achievement for Volunteering Tasmania. Staff and board members, past and present, have worked really hard for this recognition,” she said.

“We are so pleased that the Government acknowledges the value in volunteering, as well as the value we provide as a supporter of effective volunteering in the state,” she said.

“This announcement shows the Government’s commitment to volunteering and the positive impact it has on Tasmanian communities,” she said.

According to the State of Volunteering Report: Tasmania 2014, four out of every five Tasmanians volunteer.

“For every one dollar invested in volunteering, at least four dollars in benefits are returned to the Tasmanian community. Investing makes great business sense,” said Ms Picone.

www.volunteeringtas.org.au

A number of non-profit membership organisations − including unions and professional bodies – are being targeted by phishing attacks directed at junior-level administrative employees. Scammers are sending employees fake emails that claim to be requests for copies of organisations' membership lists.

The emails look genuine. The ‘from’ field in each email lists the address of the organisation’s boss, and the email ends with an authentic-looking signature block.

The email asks the employee to send a copy of the organisation’s membership lists to a work email address and a 'home' email address, which is a web mail account (such as Yahoo or Gmail).

However, the 'home' email accounts are fake.

A sample email is set out below.

From:                    [Organisation CEO]

To:                        [Staff member]

Subject:                Membership list (All members)

Hi [name],

I need a copy of our membership list, just name and email contact. Please compile all membership type in Microsoft-word or Excel, attach and send to me as your reply.

Please send to the 2 email addresses below: 

 [Authentic email address of the organisation CEO]

[CEO’s name]@yahoo.com 

Kind regards,

[CEO’s signature block]

It is not known how the scammers intend to use the information they obtain. However, the people whose details are exposed might become the target for future scams.

Staying safe

Query unusual requests for information received by phone and email. Before complying with a request that seems odd or out of character, double check with the person making the request, even if it is from your boss.

If you are asked to transmit valuable or personal information to a webmail account that you do not know, think twice before doing so.

Organisations should limit how many people have access to valuable and personal information. Fewer employees with access to that information means fewer targets for these types of attacks.

If you receive a request that purports to be from an organisation that you are a member of, and that asks for personal information such as credit card details, be cautious in responding.

Responding appropriately if information is unintentionally disclosed

If an organisation experiences an incident in which personal information is unintentionally disclosed to a third party (a ‘data breach incident’), it should consider notifying affected individuals and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). If there is a real risk of serious harm as a result of a data breach, the affected individuals should be notified.

Notifying people whose personal information has been unintentionally disclosed can often help those people guard against the risks that come from this type of incident. 

The OAIC publishes a guide entitled Data Breach Notification Guide: A Guide to Handling Personal Information Security. This guide provides details of how to respond to a data breach incident that may involve personal information.

More information

Stay Smart Online has more information here about avoiding scams and hoaxes.

Information for this Alert has been provided by the OAIC.

The information provided here is of a general nature. Everyone's circumstances are different. If you require specific advice you should contact your local technical support provider.

Find out more.

On behalf of the AuSAE Board, management and staff, we are pleased to advise members of some important changes and outcomes which occurred over and around the period of our AGM and Board meetings on Monday 27th April. We have a new Board line-up and operationally AuSAE is undergoing change. The following highlights will allow you an overview of these important changes:

Annual Update

• AuSAE Annual Update Publication 2014-2015 – This year’s Annual Update is a special publication providing an overview of the year just gone, the new Board makeup, exciting changes AuSAE has undergone over recent years, a snapshot of AuSAE over the last 60 years and other information that may be of interest. 

Changes to the Board

• New President and Vice-President – Congratulations to our incoming President and Vice-President. Nick Hill (CEO, Building Officials Institute of New Zealand) has been appointed as President of AuSAE. Graham Catt (CEO, Australian Veterinary Association) has been appointed as Vice-President.

• New Board members – We are pleased to welcome two new Board members, Chris McGeown (COO, Tourism Industry Association New Zealand) and Lauretta Stace (CEO, Fitness Australia), to the AuSAE Board. 

• Departing Board members - The terms of two valued and long serving Board members, Tony Steven (CEO, Australian Medical Association Tasmania and AuSAE Immediate Past President) and Jon Bisset (CEO, Community Broadcasting Association of Australia), have concluded. We thank both these board members for their valuable commitment and service to AuSAE and wish them both all the best for the future.

Operational Changes

• Transfer of AuSAE operations to AuSAE Ltd control – Many members would already be aware that Strategic Membership Solutions (SMS) has been running AuSAE through a secretariat arrangement at their financial risk since October 2012. Prior to the 2015 AGM, an agreement was signed whereby SMS agreed to transfer all secretariat arrangements, staff and assets, over to AuSAE Ltd. This decision predicates the Boards and SMS’s views to expand member support and continue its growth strategy across New Zealand and Australia. This is good news for AuSAE and a background to this transition can be found in the CEO Report section of the AuSAE Annual Update Publication 2014-2015.

• Resignation of Belinda Moore, AuSAE CEO – Belinda Moore as CEO of AuSAE and Director of SMS has been at the forefront of the drive to bring about an AuSAE turnaround. With the transition of the secretariat to AuSAE ownership, Belinda will step down from the position of CEO on 11th May 2015 and take a co-opted director position on the AuSAE Board. AuSAE looks forward to her continued involvement in maintaining the strong growth experienced in recent years. AuSAE will be advertising for a CEO within the next couple of weeks .  

So as you can see, we have exciting times ahead, with AuSAE committed to continuing to support and grow the careers of all individuals who work in the not-for-profit sector. Increasingly AuSAE is becoming more relevant to our members across New Zealand and Australia, our wide range of organisational stakeholders and to regulators. The year ahead is part of paving the way to add more value to you our members.

We look forward to being part of this next phase of AuSAE. For the current list of board members, positions and biographies please click here.

Warm regards, 

Belinda Moore (CEO) and Nick Hill (President)

Australasian Society of Association Executives (AuSAE)