Governance
This page describes the Society’s governance and includes the following matters, accessible from the links below:
- Governance Arrangements
- Council Committees
- Council and Office-Bearers
- Royal Society of NSW Act, Rules and By-Laws
- Recent Annual Reports
Governance Arrangements
The current governance arrangements date from the formal incorporation of the Royal Society of New South Wales by an Act of the New South Wales Parliament in 1881. (For the period from 1821 to 1881, see History.)
The Society is governed by a Council that is elected annually. The Council manages all the Society’s business in accordance with its Act, Rules and By-Laws.
The Council consists of the President, three Vice-Presidents (one of whom is the immediate past-President), the Treasurer, the General Secretary (who is responsible for minute-taking and membership matters), the Editorial Secretary (who edits the Journal and Proceedings), the Librarian, the Webmaster, the chairperson or nominee of each of the branches, up to ten Councillors, and representatives of the Hunter and Southern Highlands branches. All Council members must be Members or Fellows of the Society.
The Executive Committee of Council, consisting of the President, the Vice-Presidents, the Honorary Secretaries and the Honorary Treasurer, deals with any matters referred to it by Council and with matters that ought not be postponed until a meeting of the Council.
Council Committees
The President chairs meetings of the Council and general meetings of the Society.
The Council appoints other committees from time to time to attend to specific matters. Committees may comprise both Council members and other Society members. The current committees, together with the names of their Chairs and Secretaries are shown below. The link associated with a Committee name accesses the Terms of Reference of that particular Committee.
| Committee | Chair | Secretary |
| Awards | Emeritus Professor Eugenie Lumbers | Professor George Willis |
| Bicentennial | Emeritus Professor Ian Sloan | Mr Bruce Ramage |
| Business Continuity | Dr Susan Pond | Dr Donald Hector |
| Community Engagement | Ms Judith Wheeldon | Ms Nyrie Palmer |
| Events | Emeritus Professor Christina Slade | Professor Elizabeth Deane |
| Fellows and Members Assessment | Emeritus Professor Brynn Hibbert | Dr Erik Aslaksen |
| Fundraising | Emeritus Professor Ian Sloan | |
| Library and Assets | Mr John Hardie | |
| Publishing | Mr John Hardie | |
| RSNSW and Four Academies Forum | Emeritus Professor Ian Sloan | Emeritus Professor Robin King |
Council and Office-Bearers 2020–21
The current Council and office-bearers of the Society are:
| Patron | Her Excellency The Honourable Margaret Beazley AC QC, Governor of New South Wales |
| President | Emeritus Professor Ian Sloan AO FRSN |
| Vice-Presidents | Emeritus Professor Brynn Hibbert AM FRSN (immediate past President) Dr Susan Pond AM FRSN Ms Judith Wheeldon AM FRSN |
| Hon. General Secretary | Mr Bruce Ramage MRSN |
| Hon. Editorial Secretary | Emeritus Professor Robert Marks FRSN |
| Hon. Treasurer | Mr Richard Wilmott MRSN |
| Hon. Librarian | Mr John Hardie FRSN |
| Hon. Webmaster | Emeritus Professor Lindsay Botten FRSN |
| Councillors |
Mr Ian Bryce MRSN |
| Secretary, Hunter Branch Secretary, Southern Highlands Branch |
Emeritus Professor Eugenie Lumbers AM DistFRSN Ms Anne Wood FRSN |
Act, Rules and By-Laws
The Act of Incorporation, Rules and By-Laws are here: Act, Rules and By-Laws (PDF)
Annual Reports
Recent Annual Reports (in pdf format) are available as listed below:
