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Victorian Speleological Association Inc.

Membership	Categories   Benefits   Unfinancial   Leadership   Application Forms   Fees
	Membership Categories The association has three categories of membership for individuals: Associate Members shall be natural persons over the age of 16 years nominated and approved in the following manner: if under the age of 18 years, have his or her application form endorsed by a parent or legal guardian, and be proposed and seconded by two (2) Full Members who are familiar with the person and his/her abilities. Once an application for Associate Membership is accepted by the Committee, it is usual practice to announce the acceptance at the next general meeting. Associate Members (Introductory) shall be natural persons over the age of 16 years nominated and approved in the following manner: if under the age of 18 years, have his or her application form endorsed by a parent or legal guardian, and be proposed and approved by a Full Member who is familiar with the person and his/her abilities, and the Full Member collects payment of the membership fee, which must be passed together with the application form to the Secretary as soon as possible, and the term of membership is limited to three (3) calendar months, commencing on any day of the month, as specified on the application form, after which the person may apply for Associate or Full Membership. the person may apply and be approved for an unlimited number of terms of Associate Member (Introductory). Once an application for Associate Membership (Introductory) has been accepted Committee, it is usual practice to announce the acceptance at the next general meeting. This category of membership enables anyone to participate in VSA caving trips and events at short notice without going through the full formalities and cost of a normal full-year Associate membership. It includes the mandatory ASF insurance coverage. Full Members shall: have attained the age of 18 years, and have considerable caving experience from a number of caves and different areas developed over a period of at least 12 months, either as an Associate or Introductory Member of this Association or as a Full Member of any other approved speleological body and to have participated in VSA activities, and be conversant with the ASF Code of Ethics and ASF Safety Codes, and show a responsible and safe attitude towards caving, and be able to competently use and maintain their personal equipment and have developed proficiency in a range of caving skills. In special cases, the Committee may recommend for Full Membership a person not satisfying all of these requirements. Note that Rule 3A (b) in VSA’s Statement of Purposes and Rules requires that a majority of Full Members present at a General Meeting approve a person for Full Membership.
	Membership Benefits All financial members are covered by the ASF caving insurance scheme on all club trips and events. Members also have access to the Association's extensive library of caving books and journals, and also access to the extensive collection of cave records, reports and maps. Members receive the monthly VSA Newsletter, the quarterly journal Nargun and the Annual Report.
	Unfinancial Members Membership for Associate members and Full members shall be deemed to lapse if the relevant membership fee amount remains in arrears for six months from the due date for payment, unless the Committee sees fit to waive this provision due to perceived special circumstances. Introductory Associate membership lapses automatically at the end of the 3 months period for which it applies.
	Leadership VSA is in the process of setting up a scheme for cave leadership and trip leadership qualifications within the association, as described in VSA Newsletter number 12 (March, 2005). A working group has been being established to build the framework of the leadership scheme, and it had its first meeting on 4th October 2005. It is hoped that this can be achieved with minimal fuss and without creating a lot of extra work. Any members who are interested in contributing to the working group should contact the chairman Nicholas White, ph (03) 9328 4154 H.
	Membership Application Forms Application For Associate Membership (24K) Application For Associate Membership (Introductory) (34K) Application For Full Membership (24K) The Application For Associate Membership and Application For Full Membership will be updated shortly to include the new membership requirements and Privacy Statement for VSA Members and the option to elect to not have some personal details published in Nargun and the Annual Report. To read PDF files you will need the Adobe Reader software: Adobe Reader is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
	Membership Fees The following fees apply for the VSA membership year 1st July 2006 to 30th June 2007: Category VSA Component ASF Component (includes insurance) Total Membership Fee Individual Ordinary (Associate and Full) $45 $68 $113 Individual (Associate Introductory, 3 months only) $10 $20 $30 Individual Concession (Associate and Full) $23 $61 $84 Individual Life (Associate and Full) - $68 $68 Family (Associate and Full) $55.50 $121.50 $177 Affiliated Organisation $50 - $50 Complete payment of fees are due at the Annual General Meeting in June. The VSA Committee may accept pro-rata payment of fees for new members on a case-by-case basis. A subscription to the Nargun journal is available to non-members for $50 per year (4 issues, postage included). (The above information concerning the membership categories, unfinancial members and leadership requirements has been adapted from the VSA Administration Guidelines, with alterations which were passed at the General Meeting of the Association on 2nd March 2005, and as published in the VSA Newletter, No. 13, April 2005)