ACTJC Membership Overview - ACT Jewish Community Inc

A little about the ACT Jewish Community

We offer you a vibrant, engaged and growing group of friendly and welcoming people, as well as an array of cultural, social and educational programs for all Jewish people, both religious and secular, in the region.

Unlike other Australian cities, Canberra is small and different and so is our very own Jewish community. In larger cities, communities tend to form around different synagogues. By contrast, our Jewish community brings everyone together under one roof to serve the religious and cultural interests of our community across the full spectrum of Jewish identity.

The ACTJC is more than a synagogue or a religious centre. While we provide for religious needs through Orthodox and Progressive services, our breadth of cultural activities and social events are major attractions rivaling the quality of those of larger Jewish communities.

As in the broader ACT community, the membership of the ACTJC is very diverse. There are probably as many different ways of feeling, displaying and debating being Jewish as there are Jews.

We welcome all opinions and suggestions to help us improve the organisation.

If you would like to join our vibrant community please submit the 'Expression of Interest' to join the ACTJC

form, located at the bottom of this page.

1. Membership with the ACTJC

The ACT Jewish Community (ACTJC) is home to both Orthodox and Progressive Congregations and is the centre of cultural, social and educational programs for all Jewish people in Canberra.

The ACTJC is an incorporated association under the ACT Associations Incorporation Act 1991 and is a registered charity with the Australian Charities and not-for-Profit Commission.

All applicants/members must agree to abide by the ACTJC Constitution and policies as amended from time to time.

The membership period is from 1 July to 30 June each year and membership fees must be paid by the nominated deadline.

2. Membership Classes:

The ACTJC Constitution sets out 5 classes of membership with the ACTJC:

Ordinary members

Honorary members

Honorary Life members

Associate members

Diplomatic members

More information on these membership classes can be found in the ACTJC Constitution.

Individuals may be eligible to apply for Ordinary, Associate, or Diplomatic membership; the Board may offer Honorary Membership to persons residing outside of the ACT, and Honorary Life Members can be elected at General Meetings of the ACTJC.

Membership Options

The left column describes a scenario and the right column outlines the applicable membership type.

OPTION 1: One (1) Ordinary Membership
I am Jewish, over the age of 18 and single. I do not have children.	1 x Ordinary Membership. You will be charged a single fee* and discounts you are eligible for will be automatically applied.*
I am Jewish, over the age of 18 and have a partner who will not be engaging with the ACTJC. We do not have children.	1 x Ordinary Membership. You will be charged a single fee* and discounts you are eligible for will be automatically applied.* If your partner attends any event, you must pay the non-member attendance fee.
I am Jewish, over the age of 18 and have a partner who will not be engaging with the ACTJC. We have dependant children who will be engaging with the ACTJC.	1 x Ordinary Membership. Your children under the age of 18 will receive membership discounts for activities they engage with. You will be charged a family fee* and the discounts you are eligible for will be automatically applied.*
I am Jewish, over the age of 18 and a single parent. I have dependant children who will be engaging with the ACTJC.	1 x Ordinary Membership. Your children under the age of 18 will receive membership discounts for activities they engage with. You will be charged a family fee* and discounts you are eligible for will be automatically applied.*
OPTION 2: Two (2) Ordinary Memberships
My partner and I are both Jewish and over the age of 18. We have dependant children.	1 x Ordinary Membership for you and 1 x Ordinary Membership for your partner. Your children will receive membership discounts for activities they engage with. You will be charged a family fee* and discounts you are eligible for will be automatically applied.*
My partner and I are both Jewish and over the age of 18. We do not have children.	1 x Ordinary Membership for you and 1 x Ordinary Membership for your partner. You will be charged a family fee* and discounts you are eligible for will be automatically applied.*
OPTION 3: One (1) Ordinary Membership and one (1) Associate Membership
I am Jewish, over the age of 18 and have a partner who is not Jewish but has a bona fide reason for joining the ACTJC (i.e. undergoing conversion, interested in supporting my desire to engage in Jewish life). We do not have children.	1 x Ordinary Membership for you and 1 x Associate Membership for your partner. You will be charged a family fee* and discounts you are eligible for will be automatically applied.* Note: there is also an additional one off fee for undertaking conversion tutoring through the ACTJC.
I am Jewish, over the age of 18 and have a partner who is not Jewish but has a bona fide reason for joining the ACTJC (i.e. undergoing conversion, interested in supporting children to engage in Jewish life). We have dependant children.	1 x Ordinary Membership for you and 1 x Associate Membership for your partner. Your children will receive membership discounts for activities they engage with. You will be charged a family fee* and discounts you are eligible for will be automatically applied.* Note: there is also an additional one off fee for undertaking conversion tutoring through the ACTJC.
OPTION 4: One (1) Associate Membership
I am not Jewish. I am over the age of 18 and am interested in becoming an Associate Member of the ACTJC for a bona fide reason, for example, I am: Converting to Judaism; In a relationship/marriage with someone who is Jewish; Another reason assessed as bona fide by the Membership Committee and Board of Management.	1 x Associate Membership. You will be charged an Associate membership fee and discounts you are eligible for will be automatically applied. Note: there is also an additional one off fee for undertaking conversion tutoring through the ACTJC.
OPTION 5: One (1) Diplomatic Membership
I am a Member of the Diplomatic Corps and am interested in becoming a Diplomatic Member of the ACTJC.	1 x Diplomatic Membership. You will not be charged a fee.

3. Who does this new membership application form relate to?

New membership applications should be submitted on the Membership Application form.

Current member/s – if you are already a member and wish to renew your membership, the ACTJC Office will automatically prompt you to renew your annual membership by issuing an invoice each year. Please contact the office at act.admin@actjc.org.au if you do not receive a renewal notice by mid July.

Previous member/s – if you were previously a member with the ACTJC, you are always welcome to reinstate your membership by contacting us at act.admin@actjc.org.au.

New member applications go through an assessment process conducted by the ACTJC Membership Committee before applications are recommended to the Board of Management for acceptance.

The Membership Committee may require further information from the applicant/s, so please ensure you provide us with your best contact details. The applicant/s will be advised of the outcome of the Board’s consideration.

Once a membership application is approved by the Board, membership of the ACTJC comes into effect on payment of the applicable annual membership fee, which are pro-rated based on the date of approval by the Board.

4. Membership Fees

Membership Fees are decided each year at the AGM. For 1 July 2023 to 30 June 2024 and for the following year (1 July 2023 to 30 June 2025) the fees are as follows:

Family: $835

Single: $510

Associate: $325

Student / Concessional / Unwaged: $100

Please note: To receive a concessional discount:

A member seeking a concessional fee must be in receipt of a Centrelink or Veterans’ payment and provide evidence of their status.

A student must present evidence of their current full-time student identification.

A member seeking an unwaged fee will be contacted by the Treasurer.

Discounts:
A new ordinary member will receive a 20% discount on the annual membership fee for the first two years of membership.
A member under 30 who is not a student will receive a 50% discount on the annual membership fee per year.

Note:
Only one of these discounts is applied, whichever is the greatest.
Student/concessional/unwaged fees are not eligible for the new member 20% discount as fees are already heavily discounted.

Please only complete the form below if you wish to make a formal membership application.

For any other enquiries, including conversion, education or general requests, email the ACTJC office act.admin@actjc.org.au

Expression of Interest Form for Membership of the ACTJC

Please complete the following details to commence your membership application process.

Following receipt of your application, the ACTJC Office Manager or a member of the ACTJC Membership Committee will contact you to support you through the application process.

You will be requested to complete a more detailed form and provide documents in support of your application. The link to do this will be provided when the office receives your Expression of Interest form (below).