Report

About ALIA - a snapshot

The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA) is the national professional organisation for the Australian library and information services sector. It seeks to empower the profession in the development, promotion and delivery of quality library and information services to the nation, through leadership, advocacy and mutual support. ALIA has been representing the interests of members and the community since 1937. It fosters a vibrant professional culture in the library and information sector and its advice and opinions are sought and respected by decision-makers.

Objects of the Association

• To promote the free flow of information and ideas in the interest of all Australians and a thriving culture, economy and democracy
• To promote and improve the services provided by all kinds of library and information agencies
• To ensure the high standard of personnel engaged in information provision and foster their professional interests and aspirations
• To represent the interests of members to governments, other organisations and the community
• To encourage people to contribute to the improvement of library and information services through support and membership of the Association.

ALIA core values

A thriving culture, economy, and democracy requires the free flow of information and ideas.

Fundamental to that free flow of information and ideas are Australia's library and information services. They are a legacy to each generation, conveying the knowledge of the past and the promise of the future.

Library and information services professionals therefore commit themselves to the following core values of their profession:

• Promotion of the free flow of information and ideas through open access to recorded knowledge, information, and creative works.
• Connection of people to ideas.
• Commitment to literacy, information literacy and learning.
• Respect for the diversity and individuality of all people.
• Preservation of the human record.
• Excellence in professional service to our communities.
• Partnerships to advance these values.

Our members

Our 6000 members are drawn from the library and information sector and related fields. Our membership base is diverse - from Coolangatta to Cocos Island, from the National Library of Australia to Dapto Primary School, from library technician trainees to state librarians. ALIA represents the interests of 10.7 million library users.

Our services and activities

ALIA offers many services to its members, the library and information sector and the people who work within it and use it. ALIA provides:

• recognition of education and practice standards and the educational competency of library and information services personnel
• opportunities for personal and professional growth, career development and recognition of achievement
• specialist advice on practice issues
• opportunities to influence the development and quality of the profession and of library services being provided in Australia, and to play an active role in achieving public and political recognition of the sector
• active and informative participation in issues of professional concern at local, state, national and international levels

ALIA presents the unified voice of our sector when lobbying governments and when advocating with or on behalf of members.

Our environment

Australia's library and information sector is innovative, adaptable and collaborative. It has a well-qualified and trained workforce and is at the forefront of international practice. The Association and our members operate in a challenging world characterised by rapid social, economic and technological change, far-reaching changes in the information environment and challenges to the core value of the free flow of information and ideas.

Our structure and governance

The Association is established as a not-for-profit company, governed by an elected Board of Directors. Policy and advisory groups and interest groups within the Association provide a focus for communication and participation by members. A National Policy Congress is convened regularly to review policies and directions. The Association is supported by a national secretariat based in Canberra.

ALIA 2005-2006 plan

Following extensive consultation in 2004, the Board of Directors in December 2004 endorsed ALIA's plan for 2005 and 2006. The 2005-2006 plan works towards the realisation of the longer-term vision for the Association expressed in ALIA: towards 2010 and builds on the initiatives and achievements of the Association in recent years. It aims to maintain and enhance ALIA's position as the national professional organisation for the library and information services sector [http://www.alia.org.au/governance/planning/2010/].

Year in review

The Association's activities and achievements in 2004 are reported against ALIA's plan for 2003 and 2004, ALIA: making the difference. The plan sets out eighteen initiatives under five areas of strategic fochttp://www.alia.org.au/.au/governance/planning/2003-2004/].

Members first (Objects 2, 3, 5)

We put our members first. Members' needs and priorities drive our services. Services are specifically-designed to benefit personal members in their career choices, and institutional members in their delivery of services and their achievement of aims and objectives. Members engage with the Association through their involvement and participation in a wide range of services and activities.

a. Enhance engagement of members through state/territory and locally-based groups and programs through local support; support for members in rural and remote areas; and group-based e-communications and newsletters (Object 5).

A review of members' engagement and participation in the Association was presented to the Board in May 2004. The review was an internal audit of the effectiveness of the Association's group structure and the value and significance of groups to members and the Association. Recommendations to streamline the administration of groups, to improve communication and to increase participation by members began to be implemented from the second half of 2004. A summary report of the review was issued for members.

Local Liaison Officers (LLOs) have been working effectively for twelve months, and there has been a positive response from groups and through the National Policy Congress (NPC) to these arrangements.

There were 60 self-nominating state/territory, regional and special interest groups with 9 808 members compared with 60 groups with 10 401 members in 2003. Sixteen groups published a newsletter, 12 of these electronically. Thirty-one groups have associated e-lists.

In 2004 the following groups were endorsed: ALIA Local Studies Group (VIC), ALIA Media Information and Communication Technologies Group (VIC), ALIA Mentoring Program (NSW), and the ALIA Evidence Based Librarianship Group (formed to run a conference in Oct 2005). The following groups were dissolved: ALIA Mentoring Program (SA), ALIA Darling Downs Regional Group (QLD), ALIA Career Management Group (VIC), and the ALIA South East Queensland Public Libraries Group.

In 2004 the NPC model was broadened to include any personal member or representative of an institutional member, as well as the nominated representatives of ALIA groups, to attend regional meetings. These meetings were held in Perth, Darwin, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart, Adelaide, Cairns and Alice Springs. The NPC was held in Canberra on 19-20 November 2004 with elected representatives from the regional meetings and invited representatives of ALIA policy and advisory and self-nominating groups. The 'celebrating success' sessions at the regional meetings and NPC proved an effective mechanism for capturing group activities.

Budget and reporting processes for groups have been streamlined with a simplified reporting format and groups now report to the Board annually, rather than six-monthly.

b. Membership growth program (Objects 3, 5).

A retention rate of 95.75 per cent was achieved, exceeding the target of 90 per cent. To 31 December (half the membership year period) there were 5697 members, comprising 4828 Personal members and 869 Institutional members compared with 4606 Personal members, 859 Institutional members and a total of 5465 for the same period in 2003. The net growth rate for that six-month period was nearly 2.5 per cent, which is well-placed to meet the target of net 3.0 per cent by the end of June 2005).

Although below the target of 50 per cent, 36.5 per cent of inquiries have resulted in membership applications. There was an increase in online requests for membership application forms, and from November 2004, new members were able to join online using the online shop facility. A communications audit of membership information was conducted and promotional materials revised. There has been growth in the numbers of student and new graduate members.

In December, financial and unfinancial members who joined the Association in the 2001-2002 membership year were surveyed on which ALIA services were most-valued and why unfinancial members had allowed their membership to lapse. The survey was sent by e-mail to a total of 363 people: 237 financial and 126 unfinancial members. Of these, 86 financial and 22 unfinancial members responded. This gave total response rate of 30 per cent.

Excellence (Objects 2, 3, 4, 5)

Our services and activities focus on promoting excellence in practice. Our awards program recognises excellence in practice by individuals and organisations. We focus on career-long education to meet the needs and aspirations for library and information service practice in the 21st century. We aim to foster research for innovative practice. Through excellence in practice our members reinforce the essential role of our sector in the wider community.

Honours and awards

In 2004, forty members of the Association received ALIA Silver Pins in recognition of their extensive service to ALIA as an office-bearer or committee member.

Fellowships were conferred on Janine Schmidt BA MLib AALIA FALIA and Professor Marianne Broadbent BA MA DipEd DipTLib AMusA PhD FALIA.

The Redmond Barry Award was conferred on John Dwight.

ALIA Group award winners included:

• ALIA Health Libraries Australia/Swets Professional Envoy Award: Sue Rockliff
• Library Technicians of the Year Award: Lothar Retzlaff and Beth Clary
• Qld Library Achiever of the Year Award: Belinder Weaver
• Qld Library Technician of the Year [Recent Graduate] Award: Anna Drew
• The Bess Thomas Award: Salisbury Library Service, SA Blue Cat Café
• Marjorie Cotton Award: Joanne Oliver

The YBP/Lindsay & Howes Research Award for Collection Services was awarded to Kerrie Hunter.

c. A framework for career-long education for the knowledge age, encompassing continuing professional development and formal education (Objects 2, 3).

The Education Reference Group was established to advise the Board on the course recognition program and on education policy development. The Group is reviewing the Association's education policy statements within the context of the ALIA Education Framework and in consultation with major stakeholders across the sector including employers, educators, ALIA members through ALIA groups, and other library associations.

The ALIA Board of Directors and the ASLA Council endorsed the Standards for teacher-librarians developed by the ALIA/ASLA Policy and Advisory Group.

d. Implement a comprehensive continuing professional development program through arrangements with external training providers (Objects 2, 3, 5).

CPD scheme

The final audit (2002-2003) of the original ALIA CPD scheme, and the first audit of the revised scheme (2003-2004) were conducted during 2004. An evaluation of the revised scheme supported the simplification of the points and recording systems. More than 100 members of the CPD scheme record their professional development activities online through ALIAnet.

Group professional development activities included some very successful symposia and workshops. Some of the highlights from the year were:

2nd ALIA Top End Symposium: Switching tracks: new roles for information workers [Darwin 8-9 October]. Sixty-six delegates came together to explore the 'switching tracks' theme of the symposium and the opportunities that exist for information workers to expand their roles.

Alive & Clicking 2: Online Learning Explored. Organised by the ARCoM, InfoSci(SA) and RAIS(SA) groups, this was a technology awareness seminar for librarians and educators featuring a variety of presentations from the school, post-secondary and tertiary sectors.

A very successful state-wide Information Literacy Conference was organised by ALIA Tasmania Group members with sponsorship from the University of Tasmania Library, the State Library of Tasmania and the State Library and Archives Trust, and with venue sponsorship from TAFE Tasmania. The two keynote speakers, Judith Peacock (QUT) and Christine Mackenzie (Yarra Plenty Public Library Service), had broad appeal. Three streams of concurrent sessions involving local presenters were offered covering public libraries, special libraries and education libraries. The state-wide conference was the third in a series that has been organised by ALIA Tasmania members in the last five years. The timing for the conference fitted in well with the Tasmanian Government's recently launched Informing Tasmanians strategy.

Rivers of Opportunity III The NSW and Victorian ALIA Library Technicians group ran a weekend workshop, which covered a variety of topical library subjects.

Victoria Library Technicians organised the Hot off the presses tour. Participants spent a day learning about all aspects of publishing.

The Academic and Research Libraries Group (ARL-WA) held a very successful talk on EU libraries and taxonomic literature - cryptogamia by Roberta Cowan, who was the Australian Botanical Liaison Officer during 2003 at Kew Gardens, London, UK.

Western Australian Library Technicians Group organised a weekend workshop at New Norcia that offered a full schedule of workshops.

Reference and Information Services Group Victoria organised two successful workshops Getting better and better: DIY professional development, a panel session covering different forms of professional development and Cross-database searching, a seminar on cross-database searching using different products in different libraries.

Childrens' and Youth Services Group NSW organised two successful Pre-Book week extravaganza workshops, one in Wollongong and the other in Sydney. These premier brainstorming events were to prepare for Children's Book Week and featured Colleen Langan, a professional storyteller.

e. Establish a network of peers focused on encouraging innovation in library and information services practice through research and use of research results (Object 2, 3, 5).

REAP: During 2004, development of the Research Exchange and Partnership (REAP) to foster and support research and innovation in library and information services continued. While REAP functions as an e-list, a session organised at the 2004 ALIA biennial conference and at which a panel of speakers examined how research informs the theory and practice of librarianship, provided an opportunity for REAP members to meet. REAP members contributed to the RAILS seminar in Brisbane in September. Promotion of REAP and the ALIA e-print facility which provides an avenue for publication of research outcomes continued in 2004 through the e-list, inCite and other forums. A co-badged brochure was developed with the Australian and New Zealand Institute for Information Literacy and distributed at the Lifelong Learning Conference as evidence of ANZIIL's interest in and support of the initiative.

The Research Committee maintained its support of REAP through its ongoing encouragement and contribution to the development of ALIA's research program. The Research Committee recommended Kerrie Hunter for the YBP/Lindsay & Howes Research Award for Collection Services to develop and trial policies and methodologies for collection development that can be applied to the management of distributed collections in special libraries.

The Association is still awaiting a response from the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training for Deductible Gift Recipient status as an Approved Research Institute.

f. Engage members and partners through a conference program (Objects 1, 2, 3, 5).

All conferences exceeded their targets.

Australian Committee on Cataloguing (ACOC) seminar: Revolution or Evolution? the second seminar held by ACOC, a joint committee of ALIA and the National Library of Australia, was held in Melbourne on 2 February. The seminar attracted 124 delegates and was the ACOC's main professional development event for cataloguers and metadata creators in 2004.

ALIA Forums on Purchasing Agreements and Licensing: Co-ordinated by the ALIA Purchasing and Consortia Reference Group, three successful forums were organised by ALIA in 2004 to bring together purchasers and suppliers to discuss issues of concern in the acquisition of online resources. More than seventy delegates attended the first forum in Melbourne on 2 February, the second in Adelaide on 28 July had forty people in attendance and the third in Brisbane on 21 September had fifty-two people attend.

ALIA 2004 Biennial Conference: Challenging ideas The ALIA 2004 Biennial Conference was held at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre in September 2004. Attracting a total of 896 participants including sponsor and exhibitor representatives from 86 trade exhibition booths, the conference was a great success, returning a surplus above expectations. The CarnivALIA! conference dinner at Dreamworld was the highlight of the social program.

Beyond the stereotype: New Librarians' Symposium 2 [Adelaide 3-4 December]. The catchy theme of this two-day symposium provided plenty of scope for debate, as 276 delegates, including sponsor and exhibitor representatives, attended a stimulating program featuring both new librarians, first time speakers, and speakers with an international reputation. Program activities including a resume review service and life coaching sessions proved very popular. The symposium returned a surplus.

International Conference on Archiving Web Resources Conference [Canberra 9-11 November]. ALIA provided assistance to the National Library of Australia in their hosting of this conference. The first of its kind to be held in Australia, the conference was a huge success, bringing together more than 200 practitioners from around the world to identify issues of particular significance to cultural heritage organisations that accept responsibility for extending their collecting and access roles to web resources.

Education and training

The course recognition program demonstrates ALIA's ongoing commitment to professional standards. The Association recognised the following courses at Associate level in 2004: the Graduate Diploma of Information Management [University of Tasmania]; the Master of Business (Information Technology) - Information Management stream [Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology]; the Master of Information Services - Information Science and Teacher Librarianship streams, the Graduate Diploma of Science (Information Services) - Information Science and Teacher Librarianship streams, the double-degree Bachelor of Science (Communication and Information Technology)/Bachelor of Science (Library Technology) [Edith Cowan University]. The Bachelor of Science (Library Technology) [Edith Cowan University] was granted recognition at Library Technician level.

An extension of recognition was granted to the Bachelor of Communication (Information) and to the double-degree Bachelor of Information Technology/Bachelor of Communication (Information) [University of Canberra]; the Bachelor of Information Technology (Information Systems) - Library Studies stream and the Graduate Diploma in Library and Information Studies [Queensland University of Technology (Gardens Point)]; and the Graduate Diploma in Education (Teacher-Librarianship) [Queensland University of Technology (Kelvin Grove)].

A list of courses leading to entry to the profession at librarian and library technician level is available on the website with links to the educational institutions offering these courses. Developed from the information published on the website, copies of the booklet Courses in library and information studies are available in print form on request.

During 2004, the Association participated in the validation phase of the revised National Museums and Library and Information Services Industry Training Package which was formally endorsed in June 2004. It continued to be represented on training bodies, including Industry Skills Councils which replaced many of the former Industry Training Advisory Bodies.

Six applicants were admitted to Associate membership and three to Library Technician membership following forty requests about recognition of overseas qualifications. Two of those admitted to Associate membership had, on advice from the Association, undertaken further study and/or work experience in order to qualify for this level of membership. In addition, four graduates of the University of Tasmania's graduate diploma course introduced in 2003 were admitted to Associate membership through widened-eligibility criteria pending formal recognition of the course.

Industrial relations and employment

ALIA members again made good use of the Association's industrial relations and employment service throughout the year. The number of requests for direct involvement in specific workplace problems declined noticeably, however. General, technical and legal advice was provided in response to more than 700 inquiries across many different topic areas. Submissions were made to employers on behalf of members in all states and territories. A major submission was presented to the Western Australia Gender Pay Gap review in May/December. The final report which was presented to government in November incorporated a number of ALIA's recommendations, in particular those going to pay equity audits for female staff in public-sector employment. A priority project during the year was provision of an extensive members-only section for ALIA's website dealing in considerable detail with a wide range of employment issues. In its first year, it appears to have been well received. Once again, articles on numerous labour relations issues were made available to members during the year through traditional avenues.

Mentoring activities

In 2004, ALIA groups ran mentoring programs in South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania.

Expertise and credibility (Objects 1, 2, 4)

Our policies and guidelines are based on research, expertise, shared knowledge and endorsed standards. Our advocacy and lobbying is based on understanding the context and power of data and evidence-based research.

g. Extend ALIA's influence as a national body representative of library and information services on an issue-by-issue basis (Objects 2, 4).

Submissions made:

• Review of the Gender Pay Gap in Western Australia (December)
• Senate Employment, Workplace Relations and Education References Committee inquiry into the progress and future direction of life-long learning (June)
• Australian accession to the World Intellectual Property Organisation WIPO Copyright Treaty (June)
• Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) inquiry into the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement (April)
• Senate Select Committee on the Free Trade Agreement between Australia and the United States of America (April)
• You can too: Adult learning in Australia (April)
• Copyright Law Review Committee on crown copyright (March)
• Australian Film Commission/ScreenSound Australia integration review of programs (February)
• Australia-United States bilateral trade negotiations (January)

The Association hosted the 2004 Library and Information Week Forum Down and loaded: the right information at the right time with representatives from the sector and government to develop a collaborative framework to advance electronic networking initiatives and ideas for sharing resources, improving efficiencies, increasing access to public information and enhancing services provided by the library and information sector and focusing on recommendation 7 of the Report of the Senate Inquiry into Libraries in the Online Environment; and held follow-up meetings to prepare a presentation to the National Broadband Strategy Implementation Group scheduled for early 2005.

ALIA participated in and will be following up on action from the Peak bodies forum (NLA); Site licensing: a national issue forum (NLA); Colloquium - Libraries and Indigenous Knowledge (State Library of NSW); IFLA World Library and Information Congress, Buenos Aires; Consultations with the Australian government on Civil Society and the World Summit on the Information Society; and the final forum of the National Resource Sharing Policy Committee and the National Resource Sharing Working Group.

ALIA representation on external committees

A summary list of committees with ALIA involvement can be fhttp://www.alia.org.au/.org.au/governance/committees/external/.

h. Develop and promote lobbying and advocacy resources for members (Objects 2, 3, 4).

Two 'how to' advocacy resources for members, 'A guide to raising sponsorship' and 'Dealing with the media', were issued in early 2004.

From September 2004, a regular column, 'LIS sector watch', has appeared in inCite.

Library and Information Week (LIW)

Sponsored by NetAlert Limited, SIRSI and Thomson Gale, LIW2004 was an opportunity to promote the library and information sector's professional services and skills to user communities and the public, to introduce new services, and to canvas issues of importance to the provision of library and information services in Australia. The theme, Down and loaded: the right information at the right time was chosen to acknowledge and celebrate the innovative activities and services provided by library and information professionals, focusing on the delivery of information via the online environment.

One of the highlights of the week was the celebration by public libraries around Australia of the 21st anniversary of the publication of Australia's most-loved children's picture book, Possum magic by Mem Fox, illustrated by Julie Vivas.

National Simultaneous Storytime 2004 (NSS)

National Simultaneous Storytime 2004 (NSS) took place on Friday 3 September at 11:00am AEST during Literacy and Numeracy Week, a Commonwealth Government initiative. Kindly sponsored by Australia Post, this year the children's book, Muddled-up farm, written by Mike Dumbleton and illustrated by Jobi Murphy, was read simultaneously at participating organisations throughout the country.

i. Leadership of the National Coalition for Information Literacy Advocacy (Objects 1, 2, 4).

The interim body led by ALIA and with representation from Adult Learning Australia which had been previously established to oversee the development of a coalition for information literacy advocacy undertook preliminary investigations to determine whether participation in the Learning Communities Network offered an appropriate forum through which to advance development of the coalition. Further development of the coalition will continue through the ALIA Information Literacy Forum. During 2004, ALIA also maintained a good working relationship with Adult Learning Australia, particularly in the areas of information literacy and lifelong learning. This resulted in an invitation to the launch of Adult Learners Week 2004 at Parliament House, Canberra and to make a submission to Adult Learning Australia's project Future Directions for Lifelong Learning in Australia which will continue into 2005.

Adding value (Objects 3, 5)

Our aim is that ALIA membership will deliver a competitive advantage in a dynamic and challenging information services environment. Members (both personal and institutional) have a distinct advantage through their access to unique services and other opportunities.

j. Increase member-only services, particularly internet-based (Objects 2, 3, 4, 5).

The ALIAnet Events database was enlarged to allow members to add entries directly. The conference website was expanded and supplemented with an enhanced search engine. A wide range of members-only content and information was added.

k. Implement new services and a marketing campaign aimed at new professional members to strengthen participation in ALIA those early in their LIS career (Objects 2, 3, 5).

The current retention rate for new graduates is 86.2 per cent. The New Graduates Group (NGG) is well-established, with an e-list and website, and had over 400 members by November 2004. It has co-ordinators and activities in all states and territories. NGG writes a regular column, Energise>enthuse>inspire, in inCite. NGG led a 'Challenge' session at the ALIA2004 Biennial Conference.

The New Librarians' Symposium 2.0 was held in Adelaide in December 2004 and the Board endorsed the New Librarians' Symposium 3.0 to be held in Sydney in December 2006.

l. Achieve favourable purchasing agreements for institutional members for products and services, in consultation with other peak bodies and representatives of the special library and information services sector (Objects 1, 2, 4, 5).

Three well-attended forums on purchasing agreements and licensing were held in Melbourne, February 2004, in Adelaide, July 2004 and in Brisbane September 2004. The forums brought together librarians from all sectors and suppliers to discuss issues of concern in the acquisitions and licensing of online information resources. As an outcome of the forums a 'Links and further information' web page was developed and is available through the ALIAnet website.

The Board of Directors endorsed a proposal by the Health Libraries Australia group for a national health information network.

ALIA participated in the Site licensing - a national issue forum convened by the National Library of Australia on 8 December 2004.

In November 2004, the Board of Directors reviewed the terms of reference of the Purchasing and Consortia Reference Group and extended its term for a further two years.

m. Secure a model copyright licence for electronic resources for special libraries through negotiations with the Copyright Agency Ltd (Objects 1, 2, 4, 5).

This initiative was on hold in 2004. The focus was on the review of the Digital Agenda Amendments to the Copyright Act and the US/Australia Free Trade Agreement.

n. Implement a strategic program for public libraries, focusing on partnerships, advocacy and standards and benchmarks (Objects 2, 3, 4, 5).

Standards, guidelines and benchmarks for public library services in Australia and overseas: a guide to resources was released inhttp://www.alia.org.au/alia.org.au/governance/committees/public.libraries/standards.html]. The guide was compiled by the Public Libraries Reference Group with assistance from state and territory libraries and other professional associations.

aliaPUBNEWS, the Association's monthly electronic newsletter on public library issues was evaluated and the format revised to add additional members-only content. In 2004, twelve regular monthly bulletins were issued as well as a special issue for Library and Information Week 2004. At the end of 2004, aliaPUBNEWS had 490 subscribers, compared with 390 at the end of 2003.

Jan Richards, a member of the Public Libraries Reference Group, was appointed by the Board as ALIA's representative on the Board of Public Libraries Australia.

In November 2004, the Board of Directors reviewed the terms of reference of the Public Libraries Reference Group and extended its term for a further two years.

Investment in the future (Object 5)

Our future is embedded in our Objects. People, financial viability and the energy that our sector inspires drive our future. Our future depends on effective decision-making processes and a strong and adaptable information and communications infrastructure.

o. Implement a web-accessible membership database to allow development of new online and member-only services (Objects 3, 5).

The online payments gateway for membership fees was implemented. ALIA's online shop was launched at the NPC in November. Extension to the office-bearers' gateway is under development.

p. Develop and implement a partnership framework, including a strategic sponsorship plan (Objects 2, 3, 4, 5).

New models for sponsorship/partnerships for National Simultaneous Storytime and Library and Information Week are in place.

q. Evaluate the effectiveness of the Board of Directors (Objects 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

In 2004 the Board's development program included financial management, auditing and risk management. The Board's modus operandi was reviewed and updated. The Board commenced a self-evaluation exercise in late 2004, to be completed in early 2005.

r. Review ALIA assets (Object 5).

In preparation for the full implementation in 2005 of international accounting reporting standards, accounts to comply with the new standards were developed. A Finance Committee of the Board was established. The change of lease purpose clause was revalued by directors during 2004 and this will be independently revalued during the next independent assessment.

Financial performance

The Association increased its revenue in 2004. However, there was an operating result of a deficit of $30 448. In accordance with new IFRS and AASB 1028 accounting standards during the audit process, the method of calculating annual leave was adjusted. It is now measured at its nominal amount using remuneration rates that ALIA expects to pay, and includes related on-costs. Further, the method for calculating the provision for long-service leave was changed from the previous average method to being calculated on an individual employee basis. (Note 10) As a result of these changes, $38 187 was added to the operating costs.

The directors revalued the Change in Lease Purpose Clause by resolution. This lease purpose clause is the betterment tax that was paid by ALIA when it applied to amend the purpose of the usage of the lease for ALIA House from 'not-for-profit entities only' to 'profit and not-for-profit entities'. Therefore the amount is related to the cost of the land. This balance was not revalued at the time that the land was revalued at the end of year 2003. The change in the lease purpose has added value to the land, as it can now be used for additional purposes. The value of the purpose clause was increased at the same proportion as the increase in the value of the land when it was valued at the end of 2003. The revaluation of the lease purpose clause has increased the change in value on the balance sheet by $27 648 resulting in 'equity attributable to members' being a deficit of $2800.