Archaeologists may apply for membership in one of three categories - Full, Associate or Affiliate. Please note that membership of any category in the Association requires a minimum of an honours degree or postgraduate degree in archaeology or other field of scholarship accepted by the Membership Committee (or equivalent - see below).
Membership Categories
Full Members - Full Members are archaeologists who are competent to work as independent, professional consulting archaeologists. Membership criteria are set out below. Full Members are entitled to quote membership of AACAI as a professional qualification in the form "MAACAI" and are included in the Register of Full Members. Annual subscription is $180;
Associate Members - Associate Members generally have less experience or are less qualified than Full Members. They are available to assist in consulting work and/or may undertake independent consultancies appropriate to their experience or expertise. This category includes recent graduates with little or no experience in consulting work, to those with considerable expertise. Membership criteria are set out below. Annual subscription is $100;
Affiliate Members - Affiliate Members are persons professionally involved in archaeology who have a special interest in contract archaeology and its interaction with the wider discipline. Membership criteria are set out below. Affiliates are entitled to quote membership of the Association as a professional qualification in the form "AACAI (Affiliate)". Annual subscription is $80.
Membership Criteria (Indented sections are taken from the AACAI Constitution)
Full Member
Each applicant for full membership shall:
Have an honours degree or postgraduate degree in archaeology or other field of scholarship accepted by the Membership Committee or have such experience in the field of consulting archaeology as is considered sufficient by the Committee for admission as a full member;
Have the equivalent of two years full time experience in the field of consulting archaeology in Australia;
Be supported by references by 2 archaeologists (one of whom must be a full member of the Association or in exceptional circumstances another person agreed to by the Membership Committee) each stating that in his or her opinion the applicant is competent in the field of consulting archaeology and setting out the grounds for that belief;
Have demonstrated an ability to conduct archaeological consultancies on his or her own;
Have demonstrated competence in survey, identification and recording of sites; site assessment and evaluation; recommendations concerning the management of sites; report preparation and production; client-consultant relations; consultant-determining authority relations; and where relevant community liaison and consultation and documentary and oral research.
Applicants must provide at least two recent consulting reports for review by the Membership Committee. Items in (e) above are core skills and must be demonstrated in at least one of the reports submitted. Claims for additional expertise, such as excavation or rock art recording, must also be demonstrated, in additional reports if necessary. If reports with joint authorship are submitted then it must be clear which sections have been completed by the applicant.
Associate Member
Each applicant for associate membership shall:
Have an honours degree or postgraduate degree in archaeology or other field of scholarship accepted by the Membership Committee or have such experience in the field of consulting archaeology as considered sufficient by the Membership Committee for admission as an associate member;
Intend to seek at least part time employment in the field of consulting archaeology;
Be supported by references from 2 professional archaeologists each stating that in his or her opinion the applicant is competent in archaeological procedures relevant to the application and setting out the grounds for that belief; and
Be able to work as a supervised or unsupervised field or research assistant and may undertake sub-consultancies or consultancies where he or she has appropriate level skill and training.
In the absence of an honours or postgraduate degree in archaeology, acceptable equivalent qualifications and/or experience must include a substantive piece of independent work in the field of archaeology, demonstrating knowledge of both the theory and practice specific to the discipline. Such a work could be published or unpublished, for example a major article or chapter in a refereed journal or book, the major essay required for some postgraduate diplomas in archaeology, or a consulting report. An Associate Member may apply for full membership after one year. Such application must comply with the criteria outlined for Full Members above.
Affiliate Member
Each applicant for affiliate membership shall:
Have an honours degree or postgraduate degree in prehistory, historical archaeology or other field of scholarship accepted by the Membership Committee or such experience as is considered sufficient by the Membership Committee for admission as an Affiliate Member;
Have the equivalent of 2 years full time employment in archaeology or other experience in the field of archaeology (with demonstrated interest in consulting archaeology) as is considered sufficient by the Membership Committee for admission as an affiliate member; and
Be supported by a recommendation of a full member of the Association.
Application and Assessment Process
If you decide to apply, please address your application to the Membership Secretary, to ensure that your details remain confidential.
Applicants for membership must complete the standard Application Form (download from below) and comply with the various requirements for the relevant membership category. All applicants are required to sign an agreement to abide by the AACAI Code of Ethics, having first read and initialled each clause of the Code and Consulting with Aboriginal Communities Policy Document. A one-off fee of $30 to cover the cost of processing applications and circulating them amongst the Membership Committee is payable at the time of application, unless already an AACAI member.
For speed in processing, it is advisable that you ask your referees to check your completed application. If possible you should include referees' reports when you forward your completed application, otherwise please ask them to send them to the Association's address as soon as possible. Please not that if you are applying to become a Full Member the review process can take several months to complete. Processing your application will be quicker if you are able to send two copies of each consulting report submitted for review.
Keep a copy of all forwarded documentation, including the completed Application Form.
Applicants are informed of the result of their applications following the decision agreed to by the National Executive Committee. If offered membership they become members of AACAI as soon as the appropriate fees are received by the Treasurer.
A copy of the membership application package can be downloaded here
For further information about joining AACAI please contact the Membership Secretary .
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