Australian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|---|
|
|
Australian Chamber of Commerce and
Industry |
|||||
|
|
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) is one of Australia's enduring institutions. It is a venerable organisation with more than a century of history serving the interests of business. It is an institution that has played an enormous part in the shaping of Australia, not only in economic but in social and cultural terms. The history of the chamber movement in Australia dates back 178 years to 5 June 1826 when the Sydney Chamber of Commerce was first established. This does not long follow the establishment of chambers in Great Britain with the first chamber of commerce in the English-speaking world being founded on the island of Jersey in 1768, then in Glasgow, Dublin and Belfast in 1783, Edinburgh and Leeds in 1785, Manchester in 1794, Birmingham, Greenock and Plymouth in 1813 and London not until 1881. The Association of British Chambers of Commerce (now the British Chambers of Commerce) was established in 1860. However, it should be noted that the International Chamber of Commerce (of which ACCI is a member) recognises that the Marseilles Chambre de Commerce, founded in 1599, was the first such business organisation in the world. ACCI is part of that four centuries old tradition of serving the business community. With various false starts it is known that the Adelaide Chamber of Commerce was created in 1839, the Melbourne, Hobart and Launceston Chambers of Commerce during the years 1850-51, the Brisbane Chamber of Commerce in 1868, and the Perth Chamber of Commerce in 1890. Chambers of Manufacturers also were established throughout the country including the Victorian Chamber of Manufacturers (1865), the South Australia Chamber of Manufacturers (1869), the New South Wales Chamber of Manufacturers (1885), Chamber of Manufacturers of Western Australia (1890) and the Queensland Chamber of Manufacturers (1911). A number of Employer Unions sprung up around the country between 1885-90, including the Victorian Employers Union (1885), the New South Wales Employers Union (1888), the South Australian Employers' Federation (1889), and the Queensland Employers' Federation (1886). During the period 1901-08 the Employer Unions were disbanded or transformed into Employers' Federations in all except Western Australia, which formed its Employers' Federation in 1910. Prior to the federation of the colonies in 1901 to form the Commonwealth of Australia there were a number of continent-spanning gatherings of business leaders with the first formal meetings probably being the Federal Council of Employers in 1889 and the Inter-colonial Employers' Conference of 1891. As well during 1899 the various chambers of manufacturers held no less than three 'Inter-colonial Conferences'. ACCI is the ongoing amalgamation of three federal business organisations each of which has a continuous history stretching back to the time of Australia's federation. They were the Associated Chambers of Commerce of Australia created in 1901, the Federal Council of the Chambers of Manufacturers of the Commonwealth of Australia created in August 1903 and the Central Council of Employers of Australia created in February 1904. For the sake of continuity it should be noted that the Federal Council of Chambers of Manufacturers of the Commonwealth of Australia was renamed the Associated Chambers of Manufacturers of Australia (ACMA) in 1908. The Central Council of Employers of Australia was renamed the Australian Council of Employers Federations (ACEF) in 1942 and the Associated Chambers of Commerce of Australia was renamed the Australian Chamber of Commerce (ACC) in 1972. In the first of two watershed moves consolidating the voice of business in Australia ACMA merged with the ACEF on 1 December 1977 to form the Confederation of Australian Industry (CAI). The second watershed move was the successful merger of the CAI with the ACC on 31 August 1992 to form what is now known as ACCI. During that time the headquarters of the various entities have moved between Melbourne and Canberra, with ACMA moving from Melbourne to Canberra in 1936, ACEF being based in Melbourne, CAI being headquartered in Melbourne between 1977 and 1992, ACC being long headquartered in Canberra, and ACCI being based in Melbourne between 1992 and 1996 at which time it moved to Canberra. The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) is the peak council of Australian business associations. Our member network has over 350,000 businesses represented through Chambers of Commerce in each State and Territory, and a nationwide network of industry associations. That makes ACCI the largest and most representative business association in Australia. The role of ACCI is to represent the interests of business at a national level as well as internationally. Through its network of businesses, each ACCI member organisation identifies the concerns of its members and plans united action. In this way business policies are developed and strategies for change are implemented. ACCI operates at a national and international level, making sure the concerns of business are represented to government at the federal level, and to the community at large. ACCI takes a lead role in representing the views of business to government. ACCI's objective is to ensure that legislation or proposed policy approaches at a national level address the needs of Australian businesses, whether they are one of the top 100 Australian companies or a small sole trader. Our activities include:
ACCI's operations are governed by articles of association administered by a General Council comprising representatives of all our member organisations. The General Council meets during the year to set policy and appoints a Board which oversees operations, policy strategy and policy implementation. Members of the Board are industry leaders with expertise in a wide range of business activities, who collectively have created a powerful base of knowledge and experience for ACCI. Supporting General Council and the Board are a number of committees that undertake policy research and make recommendations on policy approaches. Policy expertise within ACCI's committees is drawn from a wide spectrum of experience and knowledge, and includes representation from ACCI's members as well as business leaders and executive staff from large companies and small to medium sized businesses. A range of publications are available from ACCI, with details of our activities and policies. ACCI Review a monthly analysis of major policy issues affecting the Australian economy and business. Issue papers commentary on business' view of contemporary policy issues. Policies of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry a compendium of ACCI's policy platforms. ACCI-Westpac Survey of Industrial Trends the longest, continuous running private sector survey in Australia. A leading barometer of economic activity and the most important survey of manufacturing industry in Australia. ACCI-Survey of Investor Confidence direction of investment and constraints placed on investment by various economic and institutional factors. Commonwealth Bank - ACCI Business Expectations Survey Australia's largest private sector survey of business expectations, which aggregates 12 separate surveys by all of the State and Territory Chambers of Commerce, as well as a number of industry associations. Labour relations reports and discussion papers. Occupational health and safety guides and updates. Education and training reports and discussion papers. Trade briefs for trade related policy and activities. ACCI Annual Report a comprehensive summary of major activities and achievements for the year. A range of information including media releases, parliamentary submissions and reports are also available on our website.
| |||||||||