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THE CHARTER

PRESENTED BY HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH THE SECOND IN PERSON, AT CANBERRA, ON THE SIXTEENTH DAY OF FEBRUARY, 1954

Elizabeth the Second by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Australia and Our Other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith:—

TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, GREETING!

Whereas the persons hereinafter mentioned, all of whom are engaged in Australia in the study, teaching and practice of the natural sciences and each of whom holds a position of distinction in some field of scientific endeavour, being desirous of forming an Australian Academy of Science, have petitioned us for a Charter of Incorporation:

And Whereas We are minded to comply with the prayer of such Petition:

Now Therefore We, by virtue of Our Royal Prerogative in that behalf and of all other powers enabling us so to do, of Our Special Grace, certain knowledge and mere motion have willed, granted, directed, appointed and declared and do hereby for Us, Our Heirs and Successors will, grant, direct, appoint and declare as follows:

1. The Petitioners hereinbefore referred to, namely: Keith Edward Bullen, Esquire, Fellow of the Royal Society, Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, Knight, Fellow of the Royal Society, David Guthrie Catcheside, Esquire, Fellow of the Royal Society, Thomas MacFarland Cherry, Ian Clunies-Ross, John Carew Eccles, Fellow of the Royal Society, Raymond James Wood le Fèvre, Edwin Sherbon Hills, Leonard George Holden Huxley, Max Rudolf Lemberg, Fellow of the Royal Society, Hedley Ralph Marston, Fellow of the Royal Society, Leslie Harold Martin, David Forbes Martyn, Fellow of the Royal Society, Esquires, Sir Douglas Mawson, Knight, Officer of Our Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Fellow of the Royal Society, Alexander John Nicholson, Esquire, Marcus Laurence Elwin Oliphant, Fellow of the Royal Society, Joseph Lade Pawsey, James Arthur Prescott, Commander of Our Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Fellow of the Royal Society, Esquires, Sir Albert Cherbury David Rivett, Knight Commander of Our Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Fellow of the Royal Society, Thomas Gerald Room Esquire, Fellow of the Royal Society, Sydney Sunderland, Oscar Werner Tiegs, Fellow of the Royal Society, Richard van der Riet Woolley, Fellow of the Royal Society, Esquires, and all such persons as may hereafter become members of the body corporate hereby constituted pursuant to or by virtue of the powers granted by these Presents and their successors shall be for ever hereafter (so long as they respectively continue to be such members) one Body Corporate and Politic by the name of the “Australian Academy of Science” (hereinafter referred to as “the Academy”) and by the same name shall and may sue and be sued in all Courts and in all manner of actions and suits and shall have power to do all other matters and things incidental or appertaining to a body corporate, including power to take and hold personal property and power to purchase, take on lease and hold lands tenements or hereditaments, or any interest in any lands tenements or hereditaments whatsoever, within Our Commonwealth of Australia for the purposes of the Academy and power to sell, let on lease, alienate or otherwise dispose of the same or any part thereof.

2. The income and property of the Academy, whencesoever derived, shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the objects of the Academy and no portion thereof shall be paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividend, bonus or otherwise howsoever by way of profit to the persons who at any time are or have been members of the Academy or to any of them or to any person claiming through any of them: provided that nothing herein contained shall prevent the payment in good faith of remuneration to any officers or servants of the Academy or to any member thereof or other person in return for services actually rendered to the Academy or for goods supplied in the ordinary way of business nor prevent the payment of interest on money borrowed or the payment of rent for premises let to the Academy.

3. The objects and purposes for which the Academy is hereby constituted are:

(1) To promote, declare and disseminate scientific knowledge, to establish and maintain standards of scientific endeavour and achievement in the natural sciences in Australia; and to recognise outstanding contributions to the advancement of science.

(2) To establish and maintain associations and relations between Australian scientists and the International Scientific Unions and other international groups, meetings and unions of scientists; and between Australian scientific activities and the activities of scientists in other countries.

(3) To administer or help in administering funds for purposes of scientific research or projects of a scientific character.

(4) To arrange or join in arranging meetings of scientists inside or outside Australia, to hold symposia, and to arrange for visits of scientists from other countries to Australia.

(5) To correlate and assist in correlating the efforts of other scientific bodies.

(6) To suggest ways in which scientific projects in Australia may be instituted, carried out, or revised.

(7) To publish or assist in the publication of scientific knowledge.

(8) To provide guidance to sources of scientific information.

(9) To do all such other lawful things as the Academy may think incidental or conducive to the attainment of its objects or any of them.

4. Subject to the Bye-laws of the Academy the members thereof (except Corresponding Members) shall be designated Fellows. Unless and until such Bye-laws otherwise provide:

(a) there shall be two classes of members, namely Fellows, and Corresponding Members

(b) Fellows shall be British subjects; and

(c) Corresponding Members shall be persons, not normally resident in Australia, who are eminent in some branch of natural knowledge.

5. The first Fellows of the Academy shall be Our Petitioners hereinbefore named. Within three months after the date of these Presents they shall elect as Fellows, in such manner as they determine, such number of qualified persons as, with themselves, will make fifty Fellows. Thereafter, but subject to the Bye-laws, Fellows may be elected annually.

6. Subject to these Presents the qualifications and conditions of election of Fellows, the method of election, the privileges and obligations of Fellows including liability to expulsion or suspension, and the conditions of termination of membership, shall be such as the Bye-laws of the Academy from time to time prescribe.

7. The affairs of the Academy shall be managed by a body to be called “the Council” which shall be the governing body of the Academy.

8. Unless and until the Bye-laws of the Academy otherwise provide the Council shall consist of the President, the Treasurer, two Secretaries (one representing the Physical and the other the Biological Sciences) and six other members, all elected from the body of Fellows by the Fellows in general meeting. Members of the Council shall not be paid or receive any remuneration or fees for acting as such and no member of the Council shall be appointed to any salaried office of the Academy or any office of the Academy paid by fees.

9. The first Council shall consist of the following persons, namely the aforesaid
Thomas MacFarland Cherry,
Ian Clunies-Ross,
John Carew Eccles,
Raymond James Wood le Fèvre,
Hedley Ralph Marston,
David Forbes Martyn,
Sir Douglas Mawson,
Alexander John Nicholson,
Marcus Laurence Elwin Oliphant, and
Sir Albert Cherbury David Rivett,
and they shall hold office until the due election and coming into office of their successors in accordance with the Bye-laws of the Academy.

10. The Council shall have the sole control, management and superintendence of the property income affairs and concerns of the Academy and may appoint such secretaries and officers as it deems necessary; and, if not contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Our Charter or any Bye-laws made hereunder or the laws and statutes of Our Commonwealth of Australia or any State or Territory thereof, may do all such acts as may appear to it to be necessary or desirable for the purpose of carrying into effect the objects of the Academy and in particular and without prejudice to the foregoing powers the Council shall have the following powers:—

(a) to accept any gift of property whether subject to any special trust or not for any of the objects of the Academy

(b) to invest any moneys of or belonging to the Academy in such manner as may from time to time be prescribed by the Bye-laws of the Academy

(c) to borrow raise or secure the payment or repayment of moneys in such manner as it may think fit

(d) to construct maintain or alter any buildings or works necessary or convenient for the purposes of the Academy

(e) to sell lease mortgage dispose of or otherwise deal with all or any part of the property of the Academy.

11. The Council may so far as it deems expedient delegate any of its powers (except this power of delegation) to committees including the Regional Advisory Committees for the time being of the Academy and any other committees established as hereinafter provided.

12. To enable the objects of the Academy to be carried out more effectually—

(a) The Council may establish Regional Advisory Committees. Subject to the Bye-laws of the Academy, every Regional Advisory Committee shall be composed of Fellows normally resident within the region for which the Advisory Committee is established and such other persons as, by reason of their contributions to the advancement of science, are considered by the Council to be competent to act on the Advisory Committee

(b) the Council may also establish from time to time such other committees as it thinks expedient

(c) each Regional Advisory Committee (and each other committee) shall elect one of its number to be its Chairman

(d) unless and until otherwise provided by the Bye-laws of the Academy the Council shall appoint the members of the Regional Advisory Committees and other committees and may determine the terms for which the members thereof are respectively to hold office and make such rules for the conduct of their proceedings and otherwise regulate their activities as it thinks fit.

13. A general meeting of the Fellows of the Academy shall be held within six months after the date of these Presents, at such time, date and place as the Council determines. Unless and until the Bye-laws of the Academy otherwise provide, a general meeting, to be called the Annual General Meeting, shall be held at Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory in the month of April in each year, the first of such annual general meetings to be held in the month of April 1955.

Other general meetings of the Fellows of the Academy, to be called Special General Meetings, may be convened by the Council at any time, and shall be convened by the Council on the requisition of such number of Fellows as the Bye-laws of the Academy from time to time prescribe.

Subject to the Bye-laws the Council may determine any question as to the notice to be given of or to any matter of procedure at any general meeting of the Fellows.

The Council may submit any question to the vote of the Fellows of the Academy by means of a postal ballot to be conducted in such manner as the Council (subject to the Bye-laws) may decide, and the decision upon such a vote shall have the same force and effect as a resolution of the Fellows in general meeting.

14. A majority of not less than three-fourths of the Fellows present in person or by proxy and voting at a General Meeting of the Fellows of the Academy specially called for the purpose of which due notice has been given or the like majority of the Fellows voting by means of a postal ballot as hereinafter provided shall have power from time to time to make such Bye-laws as shall seem requisite and convenient for the regulation government and advance of the Academy its members and property and for the furtherance of its objects and purposes and from time to time to revoke or amend any Bye-laws or Bye-laws previously made but so that the same be not repugnant to these Presents or to the laws and statutes of Our Commonwealth of Australia or any State or Territory thereof; provided that no such Bye-law revocation or amendment shall take effect until approved by Our Governor-General-in-Council of Our Commonwealth of Australia. The Academy shall cause all such Bye-laws when allowed with the formal allowance to be printed and published in the offical Gazette published by Our Government of Our Commonwealth of Australia.

15. The first Bye-laws to be made under these Presents shall be made by the Fellows in general meeting within the period of twelve months from the date of these Presents unless His Excellency Our Governor-General-in-Council of Our Commonwealth of Australia sees fit to extend such period.

16. Pending the making and approval of the Bye-laws to be made under these Presents but no longer all matters which under these presents are required or permitted to be prescribed or provided for by the Bye-laws of the Academy may be determined by the Council.

17. And We do hereby for Us Our Heirs and Successors Grant and Declare that these Our Letters or the enrolment or exemplification thereof shall be in all things, good, firm, valid and effectual according to the true intent and meaning of the same, and shall be taken, construed and adjudged in all Our Courts or elsewhere in the most favourable and beneficial sense and for the best advantage of the Academy, any mis-recital, non-recital, omission, defect, imperfection, matter or thing whatsoever notwithstanding.
In Witness whereof We have caused these Our Letters to be made Patent.
Witness Ourself at Westminster the second day of February in the second year of Our Reign.
By Warrant under the Queen’s Sign Manual.

(THE GREAT SEAL)			(signed)
			Napier