1. Meeting overview and key information
Present
- Joel Addison (President)
- Jennifer Cox (Vice-President)
- Russell Stuart (Treasurer) [after 20:20]
- Neill Cox (Secretary)
- Jonathan Woithe (Council)
Apologies
- Harrison Oates (Council)
Not Present
- Elena Williams (Council)
Meeting opened at 19:37 AEDT by Joel and quorum was achieved.
Minutes taken by Neill
2. Log of correspondence
- [LACTTE] luv.asn.au domain renewal – Joel has responded to Russell Coker.
- Re: Fwd: [⚠ ACTION REQUIRED] Unsuccessful event payout – DrupalSouth 2026 Wellington NZ – Query from DrupalSouth Treasurer. Russell has responded.
- Amazon Web Services Billing Statement Available [Account: 103334912252] – notification from AWS
- Insurances for PyCon AU 2026 – Response from Jack Skinner acknowledging receipt of insurance certificate.
- Upcoming Domain Renewal Notice – Please Do Not Reply – notification from Digital Pacific x 2 (taslug.org.au and zookeepr.org)
- Spreadsheet shared with you: ‘EO2027BNE Draft Conference Budget’ – Arjen has shared a budget spreadsheet with the council
- Draft budget for EO2027 Brisbane/Meanjin – Discussion between Arjen and Joel about the EO2027 bid, budget and a meeting between the LA council and the EO bid team
- DrupalSouth – Exhibition proposal for PSN NSW 29 July 2026 – request from the DrupalSouth steering committee for funding for an exhibition. Joel has notified them of the LA Council’s approval of the request.
- [LACTTE] Request for insurance cover for a Perth Linux User Group event – request for clarification about insurance cover.[Has anyone responded?]
- 60 Day Renewal Reminder 2026-08-07 – notification from Digital Pacific
- PyCon AU and Everything Open | Interest from Business Events Perth – Offer from Business Events Perth to discuss hosting either PyCon Au or Everything Open
- From G7’s Vision on AI Openness to EU’s Tech Sovereignty Package – OSI newsletter
- Public liability insurance certificate – request from the DrupalSouth steering committee – Joel has responded
- [LACTTE] Enquiry from Ken Mathers via the Linux Australia Website Contact Form – Ken Mathers points out that the jobs board is out of date. Jonathan has responded
- [LACTTE] Enquiry from Dawn Burke via the Linux Australia Website Contact Form – Neill has responded.
- Upcoming Domain Renewal Notice – Please Do Not Reply – notification from Digital Pacific about renewing slug.org.au
- Request for Payment Approval: PyCon AU – Sofitel Brisbane Central and Next Day Video – from the PyCon Au Treasurer. Russell has responded.
- Hi-res Linux Australia logo with transparent background – request from Rowland Mosbergen for a logo to use at the RSAA26 conference. Joel has responded
- Application for charity registration [SEC=OFFICIAL] CRM:001260978824 – Acknowledgement of LA’s application to register as a charity
- [LACTTE] Enquiry from Marina Levi via the Linux Australia Website Contact Form – request for guidance for a year 7 student. [Jonathan will respond pointing at flounder and LA membership/announce lists, pyconau education track]
- Tax Invoice #1949834 – Please Do Not Reply – from Digital Pacific for the renewal of slug.org.au
- Remittance Advice – from Redbubble
- LA is applying to become a charity – Russell Stuart has notified Jack Skinner of LA’s application to register as a charity
- PyCon AU 2026 Update for 16 June 2026 – update from the PyCon Au committee
- [LACTTE] Enquiry from Robbie Burgess via the Linux Australia Website Contact Form – enquiry about LUG meetings in Melbourne [Response Needed] Jonathan will respond pointing at LV and Flounder matrix
- Joomla Steering Committee Update – from Nathan Morrow
3. Items for discussion
- Drupal Subcommittee 7:35 pm – Julia Topliss and Margery
Agencies are meeting weekly to organise the exhibition.
The community day will be held on the 11th of November, as an in person event (possibly). Budget is still under development, being contingent on the venue.
The Gold Coast event is still looking for a venue. The steering committee had hoped to use a community venue but so far have not found a suitable location.
Julie is working on closing the books in Xero for Wellington. Xero being in AUD and the event having been run in NZD is complicating the process slightly. All payments and invoices have been received.
Elections are coming up for the steering committee. Call for nominations in September and the election will be held in October. Three committee positions are due for election. Details are on the DrupalSouth website.
- PyConAu 7:45 pm – Jack Skinner
Hi Council,
Apologies a day late due to… er… life happened recently.
As always, slide attached and a copy in the shared drive for archiving (link).
There are now only 70 days until PyCon AU 2026!
Recently:
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- The conference schedule is live. Our primary goal now turns to sell sell sell (tickets). A handful of sneakily masked gaps in the schedule are for sponsors where we’re still finalising their proposals/contracts etc.
- We’re working on workshop announcements (expecting 3x), likely in the next week.
- We think we’ve resolved a multi-year complexity of Google’s procurement platform and incorrect bank account payments. There are up to 5x supplier accounts Google has for Linux Australia. I’ll explain more at council on Wednesday.
- Some sponsors have been very slow on the contracting and drafting, We’re seeing movement in the past few days (as fate would have it, while I’ve been off devices with some a family emergency). Expecting the majority of $60k in contracts to land this week or early next.
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In the next month
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- We’re coming to the end of the window of time to secure larger sponsorships. Intending to turn our attention to local industry in and around Brisbane for digital + Industry sponsorships. These are low COGS packages so we can price according to local business needs too.
- Sell Sell Sell (tickets). We’ll be ramping up our marketing efforts significantly.
- This time next month will be closing in on several supplier deadlines (artwork, various merch, venue draft numbers) and final deposits.
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In addition to the above:
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- the call for volunteers is now open.
- Linux Australia has multiple email accounts in Google’s procurement system.
- Four more sponsors ready to go onto the website.
- The conference schedule is live and looks really good.
- About to start focusing on local Brisbane businesses
- Jack will be in Brisbane next week to help the community with development.
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- Joomla Subcommittee 8:05 pm. No one in person, but an email report was sent
Budget status (if applicable):
Budget has been substantially revised and is submitted for approval
We’ve completed our sponsors/partnership packages/prospectus and the budget reflects some increased ambition in that area.
More accurate and confirmed costs are included for marketing/sponsorship.
Key achievements:
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- Budget finalised
- Partnership packages and prospectus almost completed – draft attached – just waiting on setup of online form in next couple of days.
- Attendance of 20+ at last weeks online user group which is consistent with gradual increases over the last six months.
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Any concerns?
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- Not at the moment.
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How can LA assist?
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- Approval of budget or specific direction on what needs fixing in budget so that we can proceed to organise seed funding for the venue deposit.
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Question from Council re Sponsorship:
There are a few potential sponsors in the pipeline. A hosting company and some Joomla developers.
Nathan will provide an update at the next subcommittee meeting.
- Admin Team 7:55 pm
- SSL cert has been renewed. The public facing TLS certificate has been removed for now.
- Planning upgrade for the LA webserver.
- Domain renewals will be processed in the next week or so.
- Once the upgrade is done Steve will clone the WP/CiviCRM VM so that Neill can do some work on enhancements to the current system.
- Steve will be in the UK for the next meeting.
- WordPress 8:10 pm – Wil Brown
- Not much currently happening.
- Sydney, Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast are meeting.
- Perth is just starting up again.
- No conference planned for 2026 as no one has volunteered to run one. A few people have asked if one was happening.
- Wil is considering a casual end of year networking event in Sydney.
- Sydney meetups are virtual and likely to stay that way as venue costs are too high.
- Attendance is fairly low, there’s no appetite for 30+ minute video talks. Wil is looking at running shorter talks with more engagement from the audience. This seems to be generating more enthusiasm. Other meetups are in a similar position.
- Wil may run a small workshop next year, aiming for 25-30 people around a table. Probably just a single day or a ½ day. Nominal ticket price ($99) to cover costs.
- Flounder 8:10 pm
- No update
- LUV 8:10 pm
- No update
4. Items for noting
5. Other business
- JoomlaDay Australia 2026
MOTION: That Linux Australia establishes an event subcommittee for JoomlaDay Australia 2026 as per the provided proposal.
Moved by: Joel
Seconded by: Neill
Result: Passed.
Joel will inform Nathan
- EverythingOpen 2027
The meeting with the organising committee was encouraging.
The team seemed motivated and a good mix of new and experienced people, local and remote participants.
They have a venue and a budget that looks achievable.
We will propose that they run specialist tracks on one of the days and not run a fourth day.
We will need to stand up a session selection committee. A possible timeline would be to open a call for papers for the specialist day this coming weekend and then for the main conference in two weeks.
MOTION: That Linux Australia establishes an event subcommittee for Everything Open 2027 as per the provided proposal.
Moved by: Neill Cox
Seconded by: Jonathan Woithe
Result: Passed
- Perth Linux User Group (PLUG) insurance
MOTION: That Linux Australia provides insurance to PLUG for the purposes of their installfests held from 17 June through to 31 December 2026 under our existing policy.
Moved By: Jennifer Cox
Seconded by: Russell Stuart
Result: Passed
6. In camera
- One item was discussed in camera
7. Action items
7.1 Completed Items
7.2 Carried Forward
Meeting closed at 20:47
Next meeting is scheduled for 2026-07-01
