History

Queensland had a professional association for home economists, the Home Economics Association of Queensland (HEAQ), for many years prior to the formation of the national organisation, the Home Economics Association of Australia (HEAA). Membership of HEAA was separate from and additional to membership of HEAQ. Like many of the other states and territories, many Queensland home economics professionals were staunch supporters of HEAQ but did not belong to HEAA. In the 1980s, the Queensland Association of Home Economics Teachers (QAHET) was formed as an organisation to specifically meet the needs of home economics teachers. In the early 1990s, all the state and territory home economics associations (not the teacher organisations) voted unanimously to establish the Home Economics Institute of Australia. The formation of this body meant that members join the national Institute and automatically become members of the Division in the state or territory where they reside. In 1996 the QAHET ceased operating in a move towards one united professional association for home economists in Queensland the Home Economics Institute of Australia (Qld) Inc..