Paper Number: 629
Improving competency and professionalism in the Australian Institute of Geoscientists
Spilsbury, T. W.1
1Australian Institute of Geoscientists, PO Box 576, Crows Nest, NSW 1585 Australia | email: president@aig.org.au
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The Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG) was formed in 1981 and is the preeminent professional institute for geoscientists in Australia. AIG is a self-governing and volunteer-run organisation. Its officers and members are primarily involved in mineral exploration. Fee-paying members, excluding students have more than doubled to about 2,800 in the past 15 years.
The AIG has a voluntary registration scheme for accreditation of experienced practitioners - . Registered Professional Geoscientist (RPGeo). Unlike ordinary Members RPGeos must commit to mandatory Continued Professional Development (CPD). RPGeo membership is designed to be self-regulatory but meet the minimum requirements of any State or Federal legislation for professional standards but since no legislation governing the practice of geoscience exists in Australia the number of RPGeos remains small.
A comparison is made with similar professional bodies to AIG operating in both regulated and unregulated environments to formulate a list of recommendations to improve competency and professionalism amongst AIG’s members [without lobbying for legislated licensure]. Some of the recommendations are internal to AIG but most require coordination with the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) [1], the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and Australia’s other professional body, the Australasian Institute of Mining Metallurgy (AusIMM).
References:
[1 JORC (2012) The Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves