ALARA stands for Australian Ladies Amateur Radio Association.
ALARA was founded in 1975 when Norma VK2YL (then VK3AYL), found herself to be the only Young Lady at club meetings.
In those days, amateur radio was somewhat different to today.
Entry was difficult as there were no novice licences, exams were essay style and study material was limited.
In Australia very few ladies had licences and most of those were not active on the air.
Norma was young and enthusiastic and felt it was time women were encouraged to participate in the hobby
and enjoy the wonders and friendship of amateur radio.
There were only 32 known YL's in Australia at that time.
Membership has now grown to over 200, with many Australian members sponsoring overseas YLs into ALARA on a reciprocal basis. (The term YL stands for Young Lady, regardless of age.)
ALARA offers a limited number of grants to women applying for an ACMA recognition certificate (Foundation) or upgrading to a Standard or Advanced recognition certificate. The grant is equal to half the cost incurred for obtaining the recognition certificate and callsign. In addition, we will provide a complimentary membership to ALARA for one year. For more details go to the grants section of the membership page.
Meets ON-AIR 3.635+- MHz each Monday 10:30 UTC (1000 UTC during daylight saving)
The ALARA Contest is held over the last full weekend of August.
ALARAmeets are held every three years and are a good time for members to meet members from other states.
A program of activities and outings is planned and OMs attend too.
The next ALARAmeet will be held in Bathurst in 2027.
State representatives are listed on the CONTACTS page. Please contact them about local activities.
We produce a quarterly newsletter to keep everyone in touch.
