The Geological Society of Australia was established as a non-profit organisation in 1952 to promote, advance and support Earth sciences in Australia.
In order to achieve this Mission, the GSA will:
Promote the understanding and importance of Earth Science, and the status of Earth Scientists
Influence decision-making processes to support geoscience education, research and employment
Provide professional development opportunities
Communicate with and inform the Earth Science community
Practise good governance and management.
As a broadly based professional society that aims to represent all Earth Science disciplines, the GSA attracts a wide diversity of members working in a similarly broad range of industries. This diversity is one of the great strengths of the Society, but can also be challenging when it comes to setting priorities for the GSA.
Practise good governance and management
The GSA Governing Council will meet, either face-to-face or via teleconference, at least four times a year to assess progress against these objectives. [reported in the Australian Geologist, #173]
Key strategies are to:
The Society 's members represent all Earth science professions, including geologists, geophysicists, geochemists, palaeontologists, geotechnical and engineering geologists, environmental geologists, and associated professions. Members come from the minerals and petroleum industries, government departments, research and education institutions and consultancy groups.
The GSA is managed by a National Executive, with an administration office in Sydney. Standing Committees provide an important focus for national issues.
The Society has a Division in each state and territory, as well as branches in the Hunter Valley and Broken Hill. Regular meetings are held Australia-wide, at which Members may keep in touch with scientific developments, present the results of their work and contribute to discussions on vocational and scientific topics. Specialist Groups cater to different sectors of the Earth sciences.
The GSA publishes journals and periodicals for Earth scientists and the wider community. AJES, The Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, is the official journal of the Geological Society of Australia, and publishes papers on all aspects of earth science. TAG, The Australian Geologist, is GSA's quarterly member magazine which includes technical and special features, society news, conference details, regular reports, book reviews and other items of interest to Earth scientists. The e-zine, geoz is an Australian Earth sciences news service available free to members and non-members.
The Society encourages and recognises excellence in the Earth sciences through awards such as the WR Browne, Medal, Carey Medal, Joe Harms Medal and FL Stillwell Award, as well as Divisional and Specialist Group awards for outstanding scientific contributions.
We are a member of the Australian Geoscience Council, through which we maintain communication with the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies, who represent scientific societies to the Australian Federal Government. We also make submissions on national issues on behalf of the Australian Earth science community.