APNIC Quick Guide
Corporate Structure
The corporate vehicle for APNIC is APNIC Pty Ltd, a non-profit company incorporated in Australia under the Corporations Act 2001 (ACN 081 528 010).
The company is established under its constituent documents, the Articles and Memorandum of Association.
APNIC Structure
APNIC itself is established by a set of Bylaws and a Membership agreement, which describe the rules under which APNIC operates, the rights and obligations of APNIC membership, elections, dispute resolution, and similar matters.
Executive Council (EC)
Under the APNIC Bylaws, APNIC is governed by a 7-member Executive Council, which is directly elected by the APNIC Membership. The EC functions on behalf of the APNIC Membership, and has responsibilities including:
- Appointment and appraisal of the APNIC Director General, responsible for operation of the APNIC Secretariat
- Establishment of APNIC fees
- Review and approval of APNIC financial and operational reports
- Decision-making on behalf of APNIC Members between Member meetings
The EC has elected officeholder positions including those of Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. It meets formally on a monthly basis, and minutes of those meetings are publicly available.
The EC is provided with administrative support by the APNIC Secretariat, primarily in the form of the APNIC staff position of Executive Secretary.
Member Voting
APNIC Members are assigned “Voting Tiers”, in accordance with the amount of IP address space held, and affording voting rights of between 1 and 64 votes per member. Votes may be cast online, or in person at face-face meetings of the APNIC Membership.
APNIC EC elections are held at APNIC Annual Member Meetings and serve to appoint half of the EC members (either 3 or 4 members at each election) for a 2-year term of office. The elections, including the nomination and proxy processes, are conducted in accordance with the APNIC Bylaws.
Membership Fees
APNIC is funded by membership fees which are paid in accordance with a published Member Fee Schedule. These fees are calculated for each member in proportion to the amount of IP address space (IPv4 and/or IPv6) which is held by the member.
Under the current fee structure, Members located in defined Least Developed Countries, receive a 50% discount on their fees.
Financial Controls
The APNIC EC is responsible for establishment of the APNIC Budget, which operates on a calendar year basis, and for presenting that budget to the Annual Member Meeting. The EC receives monthly financial reports from the Secretariat, in order to monitor performance against that budget. These reports and included in the minutes of each EC meeting.
Each year, APNIC voluntarily undertakes a full independent financial audit, conducted in accordance with established accounting practices. The audited financial reports of APNIC are included in APNIC’s Annual Report, and are reported by the EC Treasurer to the APNIC Annual Member Meeting.
Member Surveys
Every 2 years, the APNIC EC commissions a formal Member and Stakeholder Survey, conducted independently and allowing anonymous input by all Stakeholders. This report is a primary reference for the APNIC EC and Secretariat in developing the annual activity plans for APNIC, on which the APNIC annual budget is based. Results of these surveys are publicly available.