The Australian Computer Society (ACS) is an association for

information and communications technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computer ...

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 The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

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 The International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) is a global organisation for researchers and professionals working in the field of computing to conduct research, develop standards and promote information sharing. Established in 19 ...

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 Enterprise architecture (EA) is a business function concerned with the structures and behaviours of a business, especially business roles and processes that create and use business data. The international definition according to the Federation of ...

Activities

The ACS operates various chapters, annual conferences,

Special Interest Group A special interest group (SIG) is a community within a larger organization with a shared interest in advancing a specific area of knowledge, learning or technology where members cooperate to effect or to produce solutions within their particular f ...

s, 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 ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

'' 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, CSmembership 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 The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a US-based international learned society for computing. It was founded in 1947 and is the world's largest scientific and educational computing society. The ACM is a non-profit professional membe ...

* ACS Foundation * Australian Information Security Association *

British Computer Society image:Maurice Vincent Wilkes 1980 (3).jpg, Sir Maurice Wilkes served as the first President of BCS in 1957. The British Computer Society (BCS), branded BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, since 2009, is a professional body and a learned ...

* Institution of Analysts and Programmers *

* 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 Linux Australia is the national, Australian Free and Open Source Software Community organisation. It was founded in 1997 and formally incorporated in New South Wales as a non-profit organisation in 1999. Linux Australia aims to represent 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

Special Interest Groups

Special Interest Groups (SIGs) of the ACS are connected to each state branch with some SIGs of the same or similar name occurring in a number of states, depending on local interest, and include: Architects, Software Quality Assurance, Women in Technology, Business Requirements Analysis, Enterprise Capacity Management, Enterprise Solution Development, Free Open Source Software, Information Security, IT Management, Project Management, Service Oriented Computing, Web Services, Consultants and Contractors, IT Security, PC Recycling, Information Technology in Education, Robotics, E-Commerce, IT Governance, Software Engineering and Cloud Computing. A recent addition is the Green ICT Group on computers and telecommunications for environmental sustainability. In 2007 the Telecommunications Society of Australia was absorbed into the Australian Computer Society as the Telecommunications Special Interest Group

Education and Certification

The ACS runs the online Computer Professional Education Program (CPEP) for postgraduate education in subjects including: Green ICT Strategies; New Technology Alignment; Business, Strategy & IT; Adaptive Business Intelligence; Project Management; Managing Technology and Operations. CPEP uses the Australian developed

Moodle Moodle ( ) is a free and open-source learning management system written in PHP and distributed under the GNU General Public License. Moodle is used for blended learning, distance education, flipped classroom and other online learning project ...

course management system and is delivered via the web. The Diploma of Information Technology (DIT) is equivalent to one academic year of a Bachelor of Information Technology at several universities. It has eight compulsory subjects: systems analysis, programming, computer organisation, data management, OO systems development, computer communications, professional practice and systems principles. The ACS also certifies IT professionals at two levels, the Certified Professional and the Certified Technologist. Each certification level has a minimum level of experience and also required ongoing CPD (Certified Professional Development) hours of learning each year. In 2017 the ACS launched a cybersecurity specialisation within the certification framework.

Digital Disruptors Awards

ACS recognizes outstanding technical talent in the Australian industry with seven "ACS Digital Disruptors awards". They are:

Individual awards

* ICT Professional of the Year * Emerging ICT Professional of the Year (Age under 30) * CXO Disruptor of the Year

Team/Project Awards

* Service Transformation for the Digital Consumer * Skills Transformation of Work Teams * Best New Tech Platform * ICT Research Project of the Year

References

Citations

Sources

"The Australian Computer Society"
Retrieved 16 May 2006.
"ACS Historical Notes"
Retrieved 16 May 2006.
ACS Code of Professional Conduct and Professional Practice

External links

* of the ACS
ACS Foundation

Information Age
{{Authority control Professional associations based in Australia Information technology organizations based in Oceania Organizations established in 1966 1966 establishments in Australia