Statutes of the association

Name, seat and field of activity of the Association

Name: The Association is known as the Association of Austrian Orthodontists (German: VERBAND ÖSTERREICHISCHER KIEFERORTHOPÄDEN, VÖK). It is registered in the official register of associations, societies and clubs.
Seat: The seat of the Association of Austrian Orthodontists is Vienna.
Field of activity: The field of activity of the VÖK extends over entire Austria.

Goals and task of the Association

Goals of the Association

The goals of the Association of Austrian Orthodontists are to organise and establish the practice of the profession of orthodontics in Austria for the benefit of the patient. The VÖK demands orthodontic care that is oriented towards the current level of science and can be provided under reasonable economic conditions.
It is the express goal of the Association that all colleagues who are regular members of the VÖK should have the same legal status as dentists specialised in orthodontics.
The aim of the VÖK is to adequately represent orthodontists in official dental committees and the VÖK demands that the interests of its members as a minority group within dentistry be protected.
The VÖK is not profit oriented. It is a purely non-profit organisation in accordance with the BAO (Bundesabgabenordnung; Federal Fiscal System). It is not entitled to pursue any commercial activity or any other activity aimed at profit. The members have no share in the assets of the Association or in the achieved surpluses. They will receive no personal allowances from the resources of the Association. The VÖK may not favour any person by way of administrative expenses for purposes extraneous to those of the Association. They may also not favour such persons by way of disproportionately high remuneration.
All holders of official positions within the Association will work on an honorary basis. To the extent that the financial resources of the Association permit, expenses incurred for the purpose of achieving the goals of the Association will be reimbursed. As far as possible, bills or invoices should be presented. The general meeting is entitled to sanction lump-sum allowances for special expenditures.
The business year will be in conformity with the calendar year.

Tasks of the Association

The VÖK will represent and protect the professional, economic and professional-political interests of its members. The following tasks of the Association deserve special mention:

The political implementation of matters directly associated with training, continued training and advanced training as well as with the actual practice of the profession for all colleagues who work in the field of orthodontics in Austria.
To represent and safeguard the professional, professional-political and economic interests of orthodontists.
Public presentation of orthodontics.
To support and counsel its members in questions related to the tasks of the Association.

Means of achieving the goals of the Association

It is planned that the aspired goals of the Association be achieved by the following conceptual and material means:

Conceptual activities

Holding meetings and other events,
organising the Austrian Board of Orthodontists (ABO),
participating in meetings of national and international orthodontic societies,
personal and written contact between members, and between members and the Association,
nurturing personal contact with representatives of orthodontics and associated specialities within the country and abroad,
meetings and negotiations with politically relevant private and governmental institutions,
widest possible integration of representatives of the VÖK into the corresponding official committees of the Austrian Medical Chamber (Österreichische Ärztekammer, ÖAK) and into official committees of dentists,
membership of the Association in the European Federation of Orthodontic Specialists Associations (EFOSA)

Raising the necessary financial resources

The financial resources required to achieve the earlier mentioned goals will be raised by the following means

membership fees,
allowances devoted to specific purposes,
other donations.

Types of membership

The Association will have regular members, special members and honorary members.

Regular membership

In principle, every dentist working in the field of orthodontics, residing and practising his profession in Austria, and fulfilling at least one of the following requirements can be accepted as a regular member:

A member of the Austrian Board of Orthodontists
A member of the European Board of Orthodontists
A university professor / university lecturer in the teaching speciality of orthodontics at the University of Graz, Innsbruck or Vienna.
A dentist with a completed advanced specialist training in orthodontics

Special membership

In principle, every dentist working in the field of orthodontics, residing and practising his profession in Austria, who fulfils none of the prerequisites mentioned under item 4.1 can be accepted as a special member.

Honorary membership

Outstanding personalities whose work has particularly promoted the field of orthodontics as a whole or has greatly supported the goals of the Association may be nominated as an honorary member.

Acquisition of membership

The acquisition of membership is regulated as follows:

Acceptance of a member requires a written application from the applicant. An application for regular membership must include evidence of the qualification specified in item 4.1. The application must be presented to the Executive Board of the VÖK. Provided the information given by the applicant is appropriate, the applicant will be accepted as a member by the expanded Executive Board. If the expanded Executive Board rejects the application, the applicant is entitled to permit the next general meeting to decide about his application for membership. The decision of the general meeting will be final.
The membership will start from the day of receipt of the certification of acceptance which, if positive, must be issued immediately by the Executive Board.
Honorary members will be nominated upon application of the expanded Executive Board. The general meeting must pass a unanimous resolution in favour of the nomination. The honorary member is obliged to accept the nomination.

Rights and duties of members

Rights

All members are entitled to use the facilities of the Association and to seek counsel and protection from the organs of the VÖK in all professional issues.
All members are entitled to participate in the general meeting.
All members are free to participate in meetings and events of the Association at a reduced fee.
All regular members have the right to vote in the general meeting; they possess the right to vote as well as the eligibility to be elected.
Honorary members only have the right to vote.
A member's retirement from active service will cause his right to vote and his eligibility to be elected to lapse.

Duties

All members must protect the interests of the Association, adhere to the statutes and exercise their rights. The members are obliged to support the goals of the Association, to promote the purposes of the Association, to maintain solidarity in the implementation of majority-based decisions of the Association, and to avert damage to the Association. The members undertake to be loyal to their colleagues, to perform their professional duties and to adhere to the principles of professional law. The VÖK expects its members to practice their profession in keeping with the standards of excellent training and continued advanced training, and with the responsibility of the medical profession.
By being a member of the Association, the member agrees that the Association will represent, externally, his professional, economic and professional-political general interests.
All regular and special members will have to pay an annual membership fee. The fee will be collected in the form of annual contributions and must be paid at the latest at the end of the second quarter of the calendar year. In appropriate cases, the expanded Executive Board may decide about a complete or partial exemption of the fee or deferment of the same. In the event of termination of membership, the contributions will not be reimbursed.
The membership fee for the current calendar year will be decided by a 2/3 majority of vote at the general meeting.
The members are obliged to immediately inform the office of the VÖK about professional changes, especially about shifts in the location of their office.

Organs of the Association

The organs of the Association are as follows:

The general meeting,
The Executive Board,
the expanded Executive Board and
the court of arbitration.