Following the 2021 Annual General Meeting, AAUS is pleased to announce that its members voted with overwhelming support to change the name of the association. The subtle but significant update to the name means the association will now go by the Australian Association for Uncrewed Systems. The change is effective immediately, whilst keeping the acronym AAUS and retaining our brand identity.
Over the last decade AAUS has seen a significant maturation in stakeholder understanding and expectation in relation to our industry. Further, there has been change in broader societal and cultural expectations that, while not associated directly with our industry, are changing the socio-political environment within which our association exists.
The name change proposal was put to members by way of a special resolution prior to the AGM held on Thursday 18th November, with the result announced as part of the meeting formalities.
Formally known as the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems, the change to include the word uncrewed is consistent with the association’s commitment to fostering diversity and inclusion.
“This change reflects AAUS’ core values,” explains AAUS President, Reece Clothier.
“It’s the first step in our journey to encourage greater diversity in our sector, and as the peak representative body, we need to lead by example.”
“While it is acknowledged that “uncrewed” is still an emerging term, it is the one prominently being adopted by key stakeholders including Government, CASA, Australian Defence and the FAA, and one we as an association believe encompasses the gender-neutral language being supported by the aviation industry.”
As part of the change of name the Association has released a suite of new logos which include the revised name.