The top category of membership – the Platinum category, made up of three tiers – has membership costs of between $50,000 and $20,000 per year and is intended for large businesses “or those seeking greater participation in the association’s delivery of services” according to the prospectus, with members in this tier getting invites to an exclusive Chair’s Luncheon, as well as complimentary invites to most of the associations gatherings, including a leaders’ forum, the association’s conference and awards night and networking events. These organisations also get larger discounts on training offered by the association.
For the gold and silver tiers, membership fees are determined on the size of the organisation or its annual turnover, with Tier One gold members expected to turnover $15 million or more per year or have 50 or more staff and Tier Three silver membership aimed at organisations which have up to $1.5 million in turnover or between one and six employees. For both these corporate categories, membership fees represent 0.1 per cent of the targeted turnover. However, for sole traders, the membership is likely to be a significantly higher proportion of income, with sole traders needing to turn over $500,000 a year to keep the percentage in line with corporate categories. Sole traders are also the only membership category which receives no discount on any membership activities and are not listed in the membership directory.
Membership costs are higher than those at Meetings and Events Australia (MEA) – one of the associations that, at this stage, has indicated it will not be amalgamating into ABEA – but lower than membership costs for the Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) which is one of the founding associations of ABEA.
All members will receive voting rights and access to the full spectrum of the association’s events – aside from the Chair’s luncheon – and benefit from the research and advocacy efforts of the organisation.
“In order for our industry to grow we need to take into account the wide variety of businesses that serve or work within the business events network,” says ABEA chair Peter King.
“The Board have carefully considered that these businesses have different needs and face unique challenges, so it was crucial to create membership options to suit these individual experiences.”
Members will be encouraged to participate in state and territory chapters, sector pillars for different parts of the industry, from venues to destinations and organisers to suppliers, and special interest groups, which will advance key issues for the industry, such as sustainability, risk and education.
The membership prospectus also lays out the core pillars for the association, which will be advocacy, research and policy, industry development, members services and promotion of the industry and the association.
Those interested in becoming members can apply now via ABEA’s new website.
