This is to advise you of the upcoming Annual General Meeting of the membership of TAMS. The details of this meeting are as follows:
Date: Tuesday, 16 December 2025
Time: 4:30 – 5 pm AEDT
Place: Zoom (online only, no proxies) (TAMS Members will be emailed a Zoom link)
At the meeting, members will have the opportunity to:
- listen to reports about TAMS’ operations and finances
- ask questions related to the presented reports and proposed resolutions
At the meeting, members will be asked to vote to:
- accept the minutes of the last annual general meeting
- accept the annual report
- accept the auditor’s report
- accept the annual financial statements
- elect committee members.
- vote on the proposed special resolutions
The following special resolution will be proposed at the annual general meeting:
That TAMS transition from an incorporated association to a not-for-profit charitable Company Limited by Guarantee. The Committee is authorised to take all steps necessary to complete the transition, including securing assets, maintaining insurance coverage and fulfilling all legal and administrative requirements to effect the transition.
Please see more information about the proposed transition below.
Regards,
Heather Mayne
TAMS Secretary
TAMS’ transition to a not-for-profit charitable company limited by guarantee:
TAMS is calling on its members to support the next step in our organisation’s growth and sustainability. At our upcoming Annual General Meeting, members will vote on the proposed transition of The Australasian Mastocytosis Society (TAMS) from an Incorporated Association to a Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG), following the recommendation and endorsement of our legal counsel. This transition brings TAMS in line with our charitable peers across the rare disease and chronic health community and better reflects our role as the peak charity advocating, educating and building awareness and inclusion for people with mast cell activation disorders (MCADs) and their families across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.
As part of this transition, we will be changing our name to The Australasian Mast Cell Society (TAMS). This update reflects consistent community feedback highlighting confusion around our current name, given TAMS’ long-standing equal support for both mastocytosis and mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) under the shared umbrella of mast cell activation disorders (MCADs). Please rest assured that careful planning has ensured continuity and stability across all key projects and upcoming initiatives, with the existing committee continuing throughout the transition to support progress across TAMS’ core pillars of connection, advocacy, awareness, research and support. This change will strengthen TAMS’ governance, expand access to national funding opportunities, improve accountability to corporate regulators, and ensure long-term continuity for advocacy and research collaborations.
This change will discontinue the existing paid membership structure, including its formal rights and obligations, instead, providing all people in the MCAD community with equal opportunity to engage with TAMS through its resources, events, e-news and outreach activities, without perceived barriers or hierarchy. It will also further broaden participation, by providing for TAMS to invite community members to contribute as consultants or volunteers in focus groups, sub-committees and project work aligned with their skills, interests and availability.
TAMS has proudly served our community for 14 years and is pleased to invite all members to join us for this important milestone meeting, to support our continued growth and help cement the sustainability of TAMS as the leading and only dedicated MCAD representative organisation across Australasia.
We welcome member questions at any time throughout the notice period. If you have further questions, please email TAMS at info@mastocytosis.org.au by Thursday, 11 December 2025. We will either respond to you directly or, if your question has broader relevance, we may address it at the meeting.
