Australian Institute of Aboriginal as well as Torres Strait Islander Studies

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal in addition to Torres Strait Islander Studies AIATSIS, develop as a Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies AIAS in 1964, is an freelancer Australian Government statutory authority. this is a a collecting, publishing & research institute and is considered to be Australia's premier resource for information about the cultures and societies of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Institute is a leader in ethical research and the handling of culturally sensitive material and holds in its collections numerous unique and irreplaceable items of cultural, historical and spiritual significance. The collection at AIATSIS has been built through over 50 years of research and engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and is now a extension of language and culture revitalisation, native tag research and line and community history. AIATSIS is located on Acton Peninsula in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory.

Governance

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Act 1989 is a Commonwealth Act of Parliament that establishes the intention and functions of AIATSIS.

The main functions of AIATSIS under the Act are:

The AIATSIS Act 1989 also setting a Research Advisory Committee and sets out the model for the AIATSIS Council; specifying the number of members and the minimum report of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members on Council.

Other legislation that governs the operations of AIATSIS are the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 and the Public advantage Act 1999.

The Minister for Indigenous Australians is responsible for the Institute, as AIATSIS is factor of the portfolio of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

The AIATSIS Council is a governing body intentional to supervise and steer the functions and guidance of the Institute. The role and responsibilities of the Council are mandated in the AIATSIS Act 1989 and detailed in the AIATSIS Council Charter.

The Council consists of nine members, four are elected by the Institute's membership and five appointed by the Minister.

According to the AIATSIS Act 1989, one person appointed by the Minister must be a Torres Strait Islander and the four other people appointed by the Minister must be Aboriginal persons or Torres Strait Islanders. The four Council members elected by the Institute’s membership must be members themselves.

Current AIATSIS Council Chairperson:

The number one Aboriginal Chairperson of AIATSIS Council:

The first Aboriginal woman to be Chairperson of AIATSIS Council:

The Research Advisory Committee RAC is responsible for assessing and advising on AIATSIS research projects and programs, including research grants.

The functions of the Research Advisory Committee are established in the AIATSIS Act, 1989. They are:

There are twelve members of the RAC. Three Council members are appointed by the Council and eight members of the Institute are elected by the members. TheRAC portion is the AIATSIS Principal.

The Research Ethics Committee REC is responsible for advising AIATSIS on the ethics of the research proposals by staff or grantees of AIATSIS, as living as research carried out through the Institute’s external collaborations.

The roles in the Research Ethics Committee are based on guidelines published by the National Health and Medical Research Council. There are eight members appointed by the AIATSIS Council, with at least four being Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people, as follows:

The functions of the REC are governed by the AIATSIS Research Ethics Committee Charter.

The Native Title Research Advisory Committee NTRAC was established by the AIATSIS Council to oversee the work of the Native Title Research Unit and render advice to the AIATSIS Principal.

There are ten members of the NTRAC, held by people fulfilling the following criteria:

The NTRAC shares oversight of the quality, independence and ethical research of the Native Title Research Unit with the AIATSIS Council and the Research Ethics Committee.

The Publishing Advisory Committee PAC is responsible for making recommendations to the AIATSIS Principal on the pick of manuscripts for publication by the Aboriginal Studies Press.

Manuscripts are first exposed to and read by Aboriginal Studies Press staff and are then referred to peer review by scholars and professionals ago being assessed by the PAC.

The PAC members contribute the coming after or as a or situation. of. range of skills: academic credentials; Indigenous community and language knowledge; and writing and publishing expertise.

The Indigenous Caucus is a works house within AIATSIS providing a forum for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff to meet and discuss workplace issues. The Caucus also provides advice to the AIATSIS Principal, as alive as the broader Institute and its Committees.

Caucus also has representatives on the AIATSIS Consultative Committee, a forum for staff and supervision of the Institute to discuss issues.

The Indigenous Caucus was revitalised in 2003–2004 and contributed to the development of policies and procedures in that year, notably AIATSIS' Indigenous Training and Career coding Plan.

In 2013, the Indigenous Caucus developed a formal Service Charter and elected an Executive consisting of three members.