The Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy (ASCIA) is a professional medical organisation, comprised predominantly of clinical immunology and allergy medical specialists.  The ASCIA membership also includes other medical practioners, scientists and allied health professionals (mainly nurses and dietitians) who work in the areas of allergy and immunology. 

ASCIA is a member society of the Asia Pacific Association of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology (APAAACI) and the World Allergy Organisation (WAO).

ASCIA mission statement 

The mission of ASCIA is to advance the science and practice of clinical immunology and allergy, by promoting education and the highest standard of ethical medical practice.

ASCIA objectives

The specific objectives of ASCIA are to:

• promote and advance the study and knowledge of allergy and other immune  diseases, including asthma
• advance and maintain the highest standards of scientific and medical practice among those professionally engaged in the areas of clinical immunology and allergy
• be recognised as the foremost authority in clinical immunology and allergy in Australia and New Zealand.

ASCIA sponsorship policy

ASCIA is a not-for-profit professional medical society. As a non-government organisation, ASCIA's educational activities are dependent on members donating their unpaid time for resource development, and funding derived from membership fees, small educational grants from some state governments for specific projects and unrestricted educational grants from industry. Providers of unrestricted educational grants have no input into resource content or development.  ASCIA does not currently receive any funding from the federal Australian government nor from the New Zealand government.

The following ASCIA Sponsorship Policy developed in 2010-2011 is still applicable in 2013:

ASCIA Sponsorship Policy 2010-2011 85.69 KB

ASCIA roles 

The main roles of ASCIA are to: 

• promote the highest standards of scientific and medical practice and education amongst its members
• provide advice and representation to government departments and other professional organisations
• liaise with relevant patient and consumer organisations
• promote research and clinical trials
• coordinate education programs for its members, other health professionals and the public.

See ASCIA Committee Members

For qualifications of members see
Allergy and Clinical Immunology in Australia And New Zealand 

ASCIA meetings 

ASCIA Annual Scientific Meetings are mostly held in September each year, with the venue rotating between the different Australian states and New Zealand on approximately a seven year cycle. Information about these meetings is available on the ASCIA website CALENDAR.

The ASCIA Annual General Meeting is usually held during the ASCIA Annual Scientific Meeting, at the same venue. Every two years a new ASCIA Council is nominated and an election is held at the AGM for these positions.

In some years the ASCIA ASM may be held in conjunction with international meetings, such as the World Allergy Congress held in Sydney during the year 2000.

In addition there are more regular educational meetings for ASCIA members which are organised by local ASCIA area representatives.

ASCIA website educational resources

To meet the challenge of increasing demand for education, ASCIA has developed several web based educational resources that are available at no charge on the ASCIA website (www.allergy.org.au). These include:

• e-training courses for health professionals, schools and childcare staff and first aid (community)
• anaphylaxis resources, including ASCIA action plans, FAQ and guidelines
• information on allergy and other immune disorders for health professionals, patients and consumers. 

All ASCIA educational resources (including e-training courses) are developed through an extensive and rigorous consultation process involving ASCIA committees, working parties and end users, followed by a review process involving the entire ASCIA membership.

ASCIA does not licence nor allow any of its web based educational resources to be hosted on other websites.   To ensure that ASCIA web based educational resources (including e-training courses) are accurate, provide consistent information and are accessible throughout Australia and New Zealand, they are only available from the ASCIA website (www.allergy.org.au) at no charge.

ASCIA provides permission for appropriate organisations to link to ASCIA webpages to access ASCIA educational resources. By linking to the ASCIA website it ensures that only current versions are being accessed, as resources are regularly updated based on changes in the medical literature and expert reviews.

ASCIA membership

Membership applications are available from the ASCIA Executive Officer or the ASCIA website www.allergy.org.au Completed applications will be considered by the ASCIA Council at one of their regular meetings.

It is important to note that ASCIA is not a credentialling organisation and as such, ASCIA membership should not be used as a qualification.

There are two main categories of ASCIA membership:

Full (ordinary) membership

These members are Specialists in Clinical Immunology and Allergy or related fields, or postgraduate qualified Immunologists (PhD), with training in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of immune and allergic diseases. Full members can be candidates for most ASCIA Council positions and have full voting rights at ASCIA Annual General Meetings.

Associate membership

Medical practitioners, Scientists, Dietitians and Nurses with a professional interest in allergy, asthma and/or immune diseases may apply for Associate membership of ASCIA. Associate members are represented on the ASCIA Council by an Associate representative and a GP Liaison representative and have limited voting rights at ASCIA annual general meetings.

For more information about membership criteria and forms visit:

www.allergy.org.au/members/apply

A brief history of how ASCIA was formed

There have been considerable scientific advances in our knowledge of how the immune system works over the last fifty years. This is reflected in how allergy, asthma and immune diseases are now treated, the training of specialists treating these diseases, and in the constitution and history of the organisation now known as ASCIA:

• 1991 ASCIA was established, by the amalgamation of the Australian College of Allergy with the Clinical Immunology Group (CIG).
• 1983 The CIG constitution was adopted by the Australasian Society of Immunology (ASI) as a special interest group.
• 1970 The ASI was established. Also in this year the Australian Society of Allergists Incorporated, established in 1963 under the auspices of the British Medical Association (Australia) became the Australian College of Allergists Incorporated, and later the Australian College of Allergy, at which time the constitution was amended to include scientifically trained, non medical graduates.
• 1953 The Australian Society of Allergists was registered under the auspice of the British Medical Association (Australia).
• (Reference: Donald, Gwen. ACA Newsletter 9; 1990)

Content updated April 2013