Membership Principles

Your interest in Freemasonry is welcomed.

Whilst the exact nature of Freemasonry may be unknown to you it is important that you satisfy the following basic requirements for membership.

• Your decision to join is made without inducement by others, nor for personal gain or reasons of idle curiosity.
• You believe in the Supreme Being.
• You are a law-abiding person.
• You fully appreciate that, although Freemasonry requires of every member that he firmly believe in a Supreme Being, Freemasonry is not a religion, nor a substitute for religion; that it teaches no doctrine of salvation; and that it is only a philosophy, expounded through its rituals, based upon self-improvement and self-discipline, the universal virtues of temperance, fortitude, prudence and justice, and further, the practice of tolerance and charity.

The Mission Statement of the United Grand Lodge of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory

Our Mission is to build and support a network of Lodges to achieve:

• Self development of the individual
• Well planned and enjoyable Lodge meetings
• Charitable activities within the Community
• Increased membership through promotion of Freemasonry in NSW & ACT

Our Vision Statement

Our vision is to have Freemasonry recognised within the Community as an organisation of high moral and social standards that benefits its members and the Community.

Our objectives are achieved by careful selection of members in the first instance followed by progressive encouragement for them to conduct all their activities honourably and harmoniously. Their duties to their families and the community are emphasised and through symbolic teachings the merits of virtue, integrity and mutual respect are demonstrated.

Freemasonry intrudes on neither politics nor religion and these topics are not discussed in Lodges.

Freemasonry is not a benefit society. No person should join unless he is reasonably certain that he will never need help from its funds. Masonic Charity is intended only for those members who unexpectedly or unintentionally encounter misfortune and for members of the community who are less fortunate than ourselves.

Your membership of a Lodge will involve you in financial obligations which you should be able to afford without adverse effect to yourself or those dependent on you. In addition to costs associated with joining, there will be an annual membership fee to your Lodge and further voluntary donations from time to time to Masonic Charities or for other purposes. The Lodge Secretary can give you details of these costs and fees which are not uniform in all Lodges.

We are confident that you will derive great satisfaction from your membership of one of the longest established and most honourable institutions in existence.