As ICOM Australia is operated on a volunteer basis, we have developed an extensive set of FAQs below that we hope can assist you get the most out of your membership! Including information on:

• Applying for ICOM Membership for the purposes of International travel
• Renewal of membership
• Membership payments
• How to use IRIS (Member portal)
• How to update information

Q: I am travelling overseas soon and want to join ICOM for free museum entry, when will i receive my membership card?
ICOM membership is more than accessing museums for free or at a discount, it is a commitment to engaging with the global museum community. The 4 – 6 week turn around for membership cards is an estimate only and we cannot guarantee your card will arrive within that timeframe. In some instances, we may be able to issue a letter of authority that can be used to access ICOM venues – this is up to the discretion of the Executive Board and is not a guarantee. If your membership card does not arrive prior to travel, no refunds will be issued.

Q: How do I renew my membership and pay the annual fee?
The easiest, quickest and preferred way to renew your membership is via direct deposit to the ICOM Australia account:
EFT (electronic funds transfer)

BSB: 013 030
Account number: 1980 08971
Account Name: Aust. National Comm. ICOM

Membership fees

Still Working: $162.
Students or Retirees: $75.
(see the membership rates page for discounted membership rates for existing AMaGA members)

As we receive many payments to our account for memberships, it is essential to include a reference that we can identify your payment and allocate it to your membership. This reference should be: [MEMBER SURNAME] and [ICOM MEMBERSHIP NUMBER] with no spaces, for example: SMITH1234. Failure to do this will result in significant delays in identifying your payment and processing your membership as we will have to take additional steps to correctly identify and allocate your payment. If you forget to include this as your reference, please email: members@icom.org.au. at

Q: I want to pay my membership renewal by credit card
Unfortunately ICOM does not have the physical credit card processing facilities. To pay via credit card, this is done via PayPal (accessed via the IRIS ICOM database). To pay via PayPal:

Log-in to IRIS (ICOM database)
Go to: https://icom-museum.force.com/login
Enter:
Username: [your email address registered with your account]
Password:  [Enter password or select ‘Forgot Password’ to re-set your password]

When you have successfully logged into the IRIS database:
– Scroll down to the ‘My memberships and payments’ section.
– Select ‘Pending Payments’
– Find the appropriate invoice and click ‘Proceed to payment’
– Under ‘your payment method’ select ‘PayPal’
– This will open a link to PayPal where you can pay your membership via Credit Card

Please note that this will not immediately change your payment status to ‘Paid’ – this is done when our memberships team internally process and receipt the payment.

Q. Can I pay my membership fee over the phone?
ICOM Australia has recently undertaken a transfer of membership administrative duties and will no longer have the capacity to facilitate over the phone payments.

Q. Can I pay via cheque? 
Unfortunately ICOM Australia is no longer able to accept cheque payments. You can make payment for your membership via direct transfer or PayPal as outlined above.

Q. Why are there multiple invoices for a membership year and which should I pay?
Occasionally the system will create duplicate invoices for the same membership year – you are only required pay one invoice. (If you view both invoices, one will be missing information such as the membership year). We manually remove the duplicate invoice when we receive and process your payment.

ICOM MEMBER PORTAL (IRIS)

Log-in to IRIS (ICOM database)
Go to: https://icom-museum.force.com/login
Enter:
Username: [your email address]
Your email address is the email address that you elected when you submitted your ICOM application.
Password:  [Enter your password or select ‘Forgot Password’ to re-set your password]

Access the IRIS ICOM database to update your personal information such as employment, studies, address, e-mail and contact numbers.

Q: How do I change my email used for the ICOM IRIS portal?
If you still have access to the email (which is your user name for the IRIS system) you can do this simply by logging in and updating your information. If you no longer have access to the original email address, please contact members@icom.org.au and they will update this for you.

Q. I have requested a password re-set, but have not received e-mail instructions?
Ensure you are using the e-mail address you elected when you first created your ICOM membership (for example, have you changed institutions since becoming a member?)
If you are using an institutional or organisation address, the incoming e-mail may have been marked as spam. In the first instance, please contact your IT administrator to enquire if they are blocking incoming e-mails from no-reply@icom.museum  (these may be marked as ‘Salesforce’ emails).
Gmail accounts also often detect the incoming e-mails as spam or junk. If you have completed the above steps and are still not receiving an e-mail to re-set your password, please contact members@icom.org.au and we will provide further advice.

JOINING OR RENEWING YOUR ICOM MEMBERSHIP

Q: My ICOM sticker has not arrived even though I paid my renewal days/weeks/months ago, what do I do?
Stickers can take 2 to 3 weeks to arrive. Log in to the IRIS ICOM database to ensure your address is correct. If it is correct, contact members@icom.org.au who will investigate further.

Q: I am interested in joining ICOM, how do I do this?
ICOM Membership is available to individuals working in museums, Retirees who were working in a museum (still currently in a volunteer capacity) and to academics studying, researching or teaching Museum and Heritage Studies. The definition of a Museum is available on the ICOM website. All information is on our website: https://icom-australia.mini.icom.museum/ and the link to apply is here: https://icom-museum-membership.secure.force.com/ICOM_Adhesion?CodeLangue=EN

Q: I was a member a few years ago but have not renewed for some years. Do I need to submit a new membership application?
Memberships are allowed to lapse for a maximum of 1 – 2 years. If you would like to re-join ICOM Australia, while this will be considered a renewal, please submit a new application so your eligibility can be assessed and your most recent contact information can be updated. Please reach out to members@icom.org.au if you have any questions regarding this process.

Q: I am going overseas soon, if I join ICOM will my ICOM card be delivered in time?
The membership process can take 6 – 8 weeks. All membership applications need to be presented to the ICOM Board and cards received in Australia from the Paris head office – it is not possible to expedite this process. If you wish to utilise your ICOM membership and you have not received a membership card, a letter confirming your membership may be able to be provided (at the discretion of the Executive Board). Please email members@icom.org.au to enquire about this.

Q: I will be in Paris, can I collect my ICOM card from the office there?
Unfortunately it is not possible to collect you ICOM card directly from Paris. All cards are sent to Australia to be sighted by the National Committee Secretariat and posted out to members.

Q: Is my information kept secure and confidential?
Preservation of ICOM Australia member’s private information is important to ICOM Australia. Data that you communicate to us when you visit our website, become a member, submit an application, or take part in any activity organised by ICOM Australia is kept strictly confidential. When you access the IRIS membership site or ICOM International your privacy is securely held as outlined in the ICOM policy: https://icom.museum/en/privacy-policy/