Membership



	Benefits to members The AIOH membership offers many benefits tailored to meet your needs. Benefits to members include: Recognition for Professional level of membership allowing the letters MAIOH or FAIOH to be used Newsletter produced quarterly Annual Membership handbook with contact details of all financial members of the Institute Networking opportunities at state level meetings and the annual national conference Membership Certificate Participation in Institute activities (i.e. Conferences, Committees and Council) Savings off of Institute run activities such as training seminars and conferences The opportunity to apply and win prestigious awards

Grades of membership
The Institute offers a number of different membership grades which reflect various levels of knowledge, experience, and contributions to the profession.

Associate Membership (Membership for students is complimentary)

To be working in or have a professional interest in one or more of the following fields: occupational hygiene, occupational medicine, occupational health and safety, environmental health or in a closely allied field acceptable to Council; or
To have, or to be studying for, a post-secondary educational qualification, as defined in By-law 6, in occupational hygiene, a relevant discipline or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the Council.
An application for student status under Associate Membership must be accompanied by proof of a relevant full or part-time course of study by the applicant as defined in By-law 6 and proof of work that is not full-time in occupational hygiene.

Provisional Membership

To have a first degree or diploma in Science or Engineering acceptable to Council
At the time application of membership is made to be working in the field of occupational hygiene or one of its specialist branches
To have worked for at least one year in a professional capacity in the field of occupational hygiene or one of its specialist branches
To demonstrate to the Council that an acceptable level of understanding of the basic principles of occupational hygiene has been achieved

Full Membership

To have a first degree or diploma in Science or Engineering acceptable to the Council, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the Council
At the time application for membership is made to be working in the field of occupational hygiene or one of its specialist branches
To have worked for more than five years in a professional capacity in the field of occupational hygiene or one of its specialist branches
To demonstrate to the Council that he possesses a satisfactory level of professional competence

Fellow Membership

To have been a Full Member of the Institute for at least five years
To have worked for more than fifteen years in a professional capacity in the field of occupational hygiene or one of its specialist branches
To have made a distinguished contribution to the advancement of the profession of occupational hygiene
To be nominated by a Full or Fellow member of the Institute and to be seconded by a Full or Fellow member of the Institute

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Eligible members can apply for Retired Status, Student Status or Certification Status.

Retired status and Student status are not membership grades. They are a special financial status relating to membership dues. Retired Status can apply to any grade of membership. Student status applies only at the Associate grade of membership. It is intended for students studying full or part-time, without full-time work in occupational hygiene.

The Institute runs a certification scheme. Under this scheme members can attain the designation of Certified Occupational Hygienist (COH). This is the highest level of professional expertise recognised by the AIOH and also by international agencies. Certification is available to all levels of membership, subject to fulfilling strict criteria with respect to qualifications, experience and knowledge.

Certification

Certification is not a membership grade, rather it is a Status available to any member of the AIOH who is able to meet stringent criteria. A Certified Occupational Hygienist (COH) has demonstrated professional knowledge and skills through successful completion of an oral examination and through the continued maintenance of this knowledge and skills via education and active participation in the field of occupational hygiene. Details of the AIOH certification scheme are available on our website at http://www.aioh.org.au/product_cert.asp.

Benefits of being a COH

Career Opportunities: Earning certified occupational hygienist (COH) status verifies your expertise in the occupational hygiene field. COH status shows that you are a technical leader with the ability to successfully implement occupational health workplace solutions for your organisation or client.
Professional Credibility: The OH&S industry, your employer, clients and peers will recognise your COH credential as validation of the knowledge and skills proficiency you have gained through experience.
A Firm Foundation of Skills: Preparation for certification requires that you cover all aspects of occupational hygiene. The rigorous written and oral exams ensure the relevancy and accuracy of each certification.
Access to career-related tools, private discussion group and a one-stop product resource centre in the membership area of AIOH website (http://www.aioh.org.au).
AIOH COH certificate and stamp to identify you as a COH to colleagues and clients. An electronic file of the stamp will be sent to you upon certification and your request.

Experience in the Field of Occupational Hygiene

For the purposes of qualifications for membership, the concept of "work in the field of occupational hygiene" shall be taken to mean that at least fifty per cent (50%) of the candidate's working time is, or has been as the case may be, directly involved with occupational hygiene including for example the design and implementation of occupational hygiene programmes, the performance of industrial hygiene surveys, the interpretation of survey results and the making of recommendations for hazard control, teaching and research in occupational hygiene, the writing of codes of safe working practice and of regulations and standards governing health and safety in the workplace, and in general the performance of work which is accepted by professional occupational hygienists as being within their special field of interest and competence.



	Membership fees The annual membership fees for these categories of membership are: Application fee.........$33 Student....................N/A Associate.................$99 Provisional...............$132 Full..........................$165 Fellow......................$165 Honorary Fellow........N/A Retired Status...........N/A Late fee....................$55 (Levied for late payment of membership subscriptions, COH fees and late submission of COH Maintenance Report) Note: Fees are inclusive of GST and are due and payable on 1st July each year.
	Notes for Applicants Please complete all sections on the Application Form in block letters, ensuring that the following documents are enclosed with your application. Curriculum Vitae’s will not be accepted for the purpose of providing application details. Incomplete applications will not be processed. New applicants only (not required for upgrading of membership) A small autographed photography of yourself; New applicants except those applying for Student status (not required for upgrading of membership A cheque or money order (payable to AIOH) for $33 (incl GST). This is a non-refundable application fee. Payment can also be made by credit card - please contact the AIOH office for further details. Applicants for Student Status Proof of current enrolment. Please note those working more than 50% in occupational hygiene are not eligible for Student status.. Applicants upgrading from Associate to Provisional, or from Associate to Full A photocopy of your academic record/s comprising a transcript of subjects studied and examination results. Overseas applicants are responsible for providing evidence that overseas qualifications are equivalent to the Australian qualifications required. Refer to the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition(AEI-NOOSR) - www.aei.dest.gov.au/AEI/QualificationsRecognition/Default.htm Full and Provisional Membership applicants only References from two referees, who shall testify to your professional competence, duties, responsibilities, work performance and length of experience. Preferably one referee should be a member of the AIOH. Preferably one referee should not be your employer. References are to be forwarded to the AIOH WITH the Application for Membership, by the applicant. One (1) report for a Provisional membership application and two (2) reports for a Full membership application are required. The reports should demonstrate that you can approach a practical occupational hygiene problem using the occupational hygiene principles of recognition, evaluation and control that are appropriate to the level of membership for which you are applying: applicants for Full membership are expected to be able to demonstrate a high level of expertise in applying the occupational hygiene principles. Reports are normally occupational hygiene survey or inspection reports and must be the work of the applicant. The reports can be published papers, thesis, lecture notes, company procedures and policies of a generic nature. Such documents, and joint reports, must be accompanied by a statement detailing the proportion and nature of the contribution of the applicant. Generally, brief reports with little or no explanation or interpretation do not meet the requirements. Hazardous materials audit reports and asbestos survey reports, with no professional interpretation of results, are generally not acceptable, as it is very difficult to use such reports to assess professional knowledge and skills. At least one (1) report should be less than one (1) year old. All reports submitted are treated in a confidential manner and are kept in a secure facility. NB: Applicants should note that processing of applications can take some time, particularly for Full Membership applications. It may be 6 months from when an application is received at the AIOH office to when an offer is made. The delay is due to the following procedure which is necessary to comply with the Institute’s Rules of Incorporation: the application is received and is sent to a six member review committee; the decision of the committee is reviewed by Council at their next meeting (held every six weeks). For Full Membership, an interview is then arranged; The interview is conducted by two Full members of the AIOH and there are often delays in finding a time suitable to both interviewers and to the applicant; the interview panel decision is then reviewed by Council at their next meeting (up to six weeks later); an offer is then sent to the applicant.

Membership

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