The AIS is a not-for-profit organisation governed by a Board of 15 directors. Ten of these are elected representatives of member schools and five are appointed by directors. The Board includes a number of observers representing key school-based stakeholder groups from the independent schools sector, including nominees from:
- the Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australian (AHISA - NSW/ACT Branch)
- Headmasters' Conference (HMC)
- the Association of Heads of Independent Girls Schools (AHIGS)
- Heads of Independent Co-Educational Schools (HICES)
- the Bursars’ Association of NSW (BANSW)
In addition, several councils are convened by the Board to direct and guide the activities of several critical areas of AIS operations such as the Independent Schools Leadership Centre, the Independent Schools Teacher Accreditation Authority and the Combined Independent Schools Sports Council. These councils also hold observer status on the AIS Board.
On a day-to-day basis the operations of the AIS are managed by the Executive Director, an executive team and a secretariat made up of approximately 80 professional and support staff.
The AIS is also assisted in a wide range of functions, including the administration of government programs, by a number of committees including:- Independent Schools Consultative Committee
- Targeted Programs Reference Panel
- Professional Development Advisory Committee
- Secondary Professional Development Convenor Committee
- Literacy, Numeracy and Special Learning Needs Advisory Committee
- Block Grant Authority