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Proposed APNIC By-law Reform 2026

The APNIC Executive Council (EC) will present Members of APNIC with resolutions to amend the APNIC By-laws at the APNIC Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 12 February 2026 at APRICOT 2026 in Jakarta Indonesia.

The resolutions propose a number of amendments to the APNIC By-laws, including:

  • Extending EC member’s terms from two to three years and introducing term limits of three consecutive terms for EC members; and
  • Making administrative changes to the By-laws.

The full text of the proposed resolutions are available here.

Members will have the opportunity to vote on the resolutions to amend the by-laws during the voting period from 29 January to 12 February 2026 for the election of nominees to the EC.

The resolution on EC terms and term limits have been prepared in response to community feedback received at the APNIC 58 Annual Members’ Meeting in Wellington as well as following community consultations in April and September 2025.

Members will be sent a Notice of Annual General Meeting of APNIC Members.

You can find further information on the resolutions, key dates, and how to vote via the tabs below.

1. Resolution 1

A resolution to extend Executive Council (EC) members’ terms from two years to three years, introduce term limits of three consecutive terms for EC members, specify the role of the Election Chair, change the Director General from an elected to an appointed position, and maintain a limit of two elected EC members residing in the same economy at the same time.

Resolution

The resolution can be viewed in PDF format here.

2. Resolution 2

A resolution to make administrative changes to the by-laws including renumbering, consistency in language and naming, gender neutral language, notice requirements, electronic meeting attendance, election timing, Treasurer and Secretary role duration, and removal of consent in lieu of meetings.

Resolution

The resolution can be viewed in PDF format here.

Supporting information

A document outlining the proposed amendments to the APNIC By-laws is available.

Activity Date Time
Member online voting opens Thursday, 29 January 2026 14:00 (UTC +10)
Proxy appointment opens Thursday, 29 January 2026 14:00 (UTC +10)
Proxy appointment closes* Tuesday, 10 February 2026 09:30 (UTC +7)
Proxy online voting opens* Thursday, 12 February 2026 09:30 (UTC +7)
All voting closes* Thursday, 12 February 2026 14:30 (UTC +7)

*During the week of the APNIC conference, times are expressed in local time at the event location. In this case, APNIC 61 will take place in the UTC +7 time zone.

Only organizations with a current APNIC Member account are eligible to vote on the proposed APNIC By-laws reforms. All voting will be online through MyAPNIC.

Voting entitlements

Voting entitlements are only available to individuals who are Corporate Contacts or authorized contacts with voting rights given by the Corporate Contact.

The number of votes each APNIC Member organization is entitled to is determined by membership tier:

Membership tier IPv4 prefix IPv6 prefix Votes
Associate None None 1
Very small Up to and including /22 Up to and including /35 2
Small Greater than /22, up to and including /19 Greater than /35, up to and including /32 4
Medium Greater than /19, up to and including /16 Greater than /32, up to and including /29 8
Large Greater than /16, up to and including /13 Greater than /29, up to and including /26 16
Very large Greater than /13, up to and including /10 Greater than /26, up to and including /23 32
Extra large Greater than /10 Greater than /23 64

For more information about voting, please see the by-laws voting FAQ.

Member online voting

Member online voting is only available to APNIC Members via MyAPNIC. To cast votes online in the BigPulse voting system, you must login to MyAPNIC using multifactor-authentication. Online voting will be available to eligible Member contacts at any time, 24×7, during the online voting period.

Member online voting opens on Thursday, 29 January 2026 at 14:00 (UTC +10) and closes on Thursday, 12 February 2026 at 14:30 (UTC +7).

Proxy appointment
Alternatively, Corporate Contacts can appoint a proxy who can vote online on their behalf. If a proxy is appointed, the Member will lose the right to vote directly for the election. The proxy voter need not be from the Member organization, but will only be permitted to vote from 09:30 to 14:30 (UTC +7) on Thursday, 12 February 2026. To appoint a proxy, you must login to MyAPNIC using multifactor-authentication.

Confirmation emails are sent to the appointed proxy and the Corporate Contact after the proxy form is submitted via MyAPNIC.

Proxy appointment opens on Thursday, 29 January 2026 and closes on Tuesday, 10 February 2026 at 9:30 (UTC +7).

For more information, please see the by-laws voting FAQ.

Proxy online voting

Proxy online voting takes place during APNIC 61 on Thursday, 12 February 2026 from 9:30 to 14:30 (UTC +7).

Proxy voters can vote online in the EC elections via MyAPNIC using multifactor-authentication.

The by-laws vote will be conducted entirely via an independent online voting service provider, BigPulse, the same provider used for the EC and NRO NC elections. The voting transaction is carried out directly between the voter’s web client and the BigPulse system, without passing through APNIC systems.

APNIC Member Corporate Contacts, contacts with voting rights and duly-appointed proxies can vote on the proposed by-laws reforms, as follows:

  • Login to MyAPNIC using two-factor authentication and click the ‘Vote’ link on the dashboard, to access the BigPulse voting interface. (Note, there will be several election options on that page].
  • Use the online ballot form to select your chosen option for each proposed by-law amendment: Yes, No, Abstain. Once you have completed your selection, hit ‘Submit’ to confirm the ballot submission. You can click ‘Back’ to make any changes.

Refer to the key dates page to see when online voting is open for the proposed by-laws reforms.

More information on the proposed by-laws reforms is available.

  1. How can I appoint a proxy?

    2. The Corporate Contact of a Member organization may appoint a proxy to vote on their behalf on the proposed by-law reforms via MyAPNIC in the usual way.

    Confirmation emails are sent to the appointed proxy and the Corporate Contact after the proxy appointment form is submitted via MyAPNIC.

    See the Proxy appointment – FAQs for more information.

  2. How do I know if I am a Corporate Contact or a Contact with voting rights?

    3. You can check your contact type and rights in MyAPNIC. To see all contacts and types, login to MyAPNIC, go to:

    • Resource Manager
    • Admin
    • Contact Details

    Please note, only Corporate Contacts can check the voting permissions of other contacts.

  3. How many votes do I have?

    4. The voting entitlement for each APNIC Member depends on their membership tier:

    Membership Tier Number of votes
    Associate1
    Very small2
    Small4
    Medium8
    Large16
    Very large32
    Extra large64

    The BigPulse system will automatically display the number of votes you are entitled to.

    Please note that the system does not allow the ‘splitting’ of voting entitlements. Each Member submits a single online ballot carrying all of their votes, in a single submission, while proxies submit a single, separate ballot for each Member they represent.

  4. When can I vote?

    5. Member online voting opens on Thursday, 29 January 2026 at 14:00 (UTC +10) and closes on Thursday, 12 February 2026 at 14:30 (UTC +7).

    An email to announce the opening of voting will be sent to all APNIC Members.

    Proxy online voting takes place during APNIC 61 on Thursday, 12 February 2026 from 9:30 to 14:30 (UTC +7). All necessary information will be sent to Members according to the key dates.

  5. What equipment do I need to vote online?

    6. You will need a computer or mobile device and Internet connectivity that allows you to access MyAPNIC and the BigPulse voting system.

  6. How do I know that my online vote has been received by the system?

    7. The voting process consists of three steps: voting, confirmation and a thank you screen. On the final screen, you have the option to view the voting receipt, which includes the full details of your vote, for your information.

    The voting receipt will not be available again once you leave the BigPulse voting system, so please download the voting receipt if you wish to retain a copy for your records.

  7. How can I verify that my online vote has been received by the system?

    8. In addition to providing a receipt, the BigPulse system provides an online audit report that can be used to verify that your vote has been recorded (but without revealed details of the vote itself).

  8. Is it possible to determine what I voted for?

    9. While the audit report can verify that your vote was received, the system does not store any connection between your personally identifiable data and the options you voted for.

  9. Can I change my vote after it is submitted?

    10. You will be able to review your selections in a vote confirmation page before you submit your vote, and at this stage you can go back to make any changes before submission. However, it is not possible to change your vote after submission.

  10. How is the counting of votes performed?

    11. Vote counting is done automatically by the BigPulse system, with results then made available to election officials. APNIC staff and appointed scrutineers are no longer involved in the counting process, and election results are not transmitted via any APNIC systems.

  11. Who should I contact if I have any questions?

    12. Please contact the APNIC Helpdesk.

  1. What is a proxy?

    2. Members may be represented by a proxy who may vote on their behalf.

  2. Who can appoint a proxy?

    3. Only Corporate Contacts can appoint a proxy.

  3. How can I appoint a proxy in MyAPNIC?

    4. Corporate Contacts can appoint a proxy online via MyAPNIC using multifactor-authentication when proxy appointment is open. The online form in MyAPNIC is processed instantly once submitted.

  4. Who can be appointed as a proxy?

    5. Corporate Contacts can appoint any individual as their proxy. The appointed proxy does not need to be from the Member organization, but they must be registered to attend the AGM in person. The appointed proxy must present personal identification when collecting the online voting instructions from the Voting desk.

  5. How do I find out if my proxy appointment has been processed?

    6. Confirmation emails are sent to the appointed proxy and the Corporate Contact after the proxy appointment form is submitted via MyAPNIC.

  6. Can I vote online and appoint a proxy?

    7. No. Once a vote is submitted online, a proxy can no longer be appointed.

  7. How many people can I appoint as my proxy?

    8. Corporate Contacts can only appoint one proxy.

  8. Who should I contact if I have any questions?

    9. Please contact the APNIC Helpdesk.

The Executive Council held online community consultation sessions on 7 April 2025 and 11 September 2025 where Members and the community could ask questions and provide feedback on proposals. The session recordings are available below:

The recordings of these sessions must not be reproduced, published, edited, or redistributed without the prior written consent of APNIC.