During the war years, the Supreme Council for the Liberation of Lithuania, VLIK, and other senior Lithuanian leaders, gave consideration to the possibility that the outcome of W.W.II may be unfavourable to Lithuania and that preparations would be needed to organise and structure any Lithuanians displaced by the war. Within the DP camps Community structures were formed, Cultural, Sporting, Social and Educational organisation undertaken. The foundations for what was to become and is now the organisational base for the Community were put in place. Additionally, there were historical roots to Community organisation that pre-ceded the W.W.II induced migration. These historical roots are the organisation of Lithuanian Communities in the U.S.A. and South America by Lithuanians who had left Lithuania as either economic refugees, between the two world wars, or as departees from Lithuania under Czarist rule prior to 1918. The organisational forms undertaken by these earlier Communities are in many ways similar to those developed and adopted by the post W.W.II refugees.
The original sources of post-war Community organisation and structure in Australia are traced in part as deriving from the organisational abilities and pull of the Lithuanian Chaplains, and the existence of a small but active pre-war Lithuanian Community, Australian Lithuanian Society - Founded 1929, in Australia's major urban centres. The forms of Community organisation begun in the DP camps were then superimposed, developed and refined. At the core of the organisational structure were, and are, the principles of democratically elected Community leadership. All people with a Lithuanian heritage are considered to automatically form the Community and are entitled to a vote and have a say in the leadership and direction of the Community. These same rights are granted automatically to non-Lithuanian spouses through marriage, and to their children. There are no age, sex, or religious demarcations.
A central co-ordinating executive, (Federal Executive), elected by a council of community representatives, (Federal Council), acts at the National level. At the State or Local Community level members of the Community elect their own executives. Their mission is to co-ordinate, facilitate, and develop Community activities, and in umbrella fashion those of the Cultural organisations, Sports Clubs etc., and to act as the official representatives of the Community within the broader Australian Society. The operation of the State and Local Executives is co-ordinated by the Federal Executive. The foundation date of the current Federal and State organisational structures is the 1/8/1950 when the Australian Lithuanian Society was reconstituted into the Australian Lithuanian Community.
Each State and Local executive committee is elected for a two year term by universal suffrage within the Community. Secret ballots are held under the auspices of an Electoral Council firstly approved by Community members. Federal Council members are elected from within the State and Local Communities every two years, and represent the interest of each Community during the biannual Federal Council Conference. This is the major decision making and review body of the Australian Lithuanian Community (ALC). Whereas State and Local Executives are co-ordinated by the Federal Executive, the Federal Executive itself reports back at the biannual Conferences to the Federal Council. Federal Executives are elected by members of the Federal Council. In this manner a series of checks and balances occurs within the Community ensuring that the democratic voice and opinion of the Community is both represented and acted upon. As at the end of 1992, the Federal Council had convened on 23 occasions, generally once every two years, more frequently if required.
The Federal Council comprises of 65 elected members, The Federal Executive and State Executives each comprise of 5 members. Local Councils may comprise of as few as 1 to 5 members depending upon the size of the local Lithuanian Community. The organisational structures enjoy broad support within the Community. This is attributable to the democratic nature of the organisation and the universal suffrage principle of elections. The location of the Federal Executive is rotated every two years between Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney. Canberra held the Federal Executive Office for two years commencing 1990. The current Federal Executive is located in Adelaide. The next Federal Council Conference scheduled for the 29 - 30 December, 1994, in Adelaide. By rotation, it is expected that the next Federal Executive will be sited in Melbourne.
The Executive Committee of the Australian Lithuanian Community - Sydney, is the State Community organisation and voice of Australian Lithuanians living in Sydney and within N.S.W. excluding Newcastle which has its own Executive Committee. (A Local Executive was operating in Wollongong in earlier years, however, with a declining Lithuanian population it was disbanded by the local Community).
The aims and obligations of the Australian Lithuanian Community - State Executives' are defined in the Statutes of the Organisation. The current Statutes are as revised and updated by the Federal Council at its XXI Conference held on the 30 December, 1988.
The aims, functions and responsibilities are defined in paragraph 36 of the Statute, and as translated from the Lithuanian text are: