Rosemary Goldie was commissioned to bring the IMCS to Australia in 1938 by General Secretary Rudi Salat. This lead to the affiliation of the Sydney University Newman Society in 1938 at the 18th Congress of Pax Romana. From this 1940 was set as the time for the first National conference. However, due to the out-break of WWII, this was not able to take place. Little then happened until 1942 when the first conference took place from January the 24th and 25th in Sydney. Those who attended decided to start the University Catholic Federation of Australia, which was the first title under which the movement was known.

The founding members of the movement were Mr T Burke (Sectary), Rosemary Goldie (Assistant Sectary), Dr John Eccles, and Mr TA Herbert. At this conference the first constitution was developed. From this point began the National Movement of Catholic Students in Australia.

The structure of the International Movement of Catholic Students Australia as part of the National and International movement is complicated. It will thus be explained here so that the discussion on what has taken place within the movement can be understood. Pax Romana is the body under which the International Movement of Catholic Students is affiliated with.

The Australian movement has three levels. The first is the campus level with campus groups being affiliated to the national movement. The second level is the regional level where different campus groups within the region work together to complete objectives, carry out social justice work, and bring issues to the notice of the national movement. The third level is the national level. This works to bring together the movement through information about what is happening on a campus and regional level through publications and a once yearly national conference.

Between 1942 and 1950 the organisation, then known as University Catholic Federation Australia (UCFA), was run by university graduates who volunteered for positions of secretariat over the years. This was usually in the state in which the conference was being held that year. In 1950 it was decided to employ a part-time worker for the movement, although there was recognition of the need for a full time worker and greater monetary support. Nothing was done about this until 1976 when the movement received its first grant from the Australian Episcopal Conference (AEC). This funding body later became the Australian Catholic Bishops Committee for the Laity (ABCL).

In 1968 the movement was restructured and its focus moved from social activities to community building and social justice issues. In 1974 it was decided to re-structure the movement to make it more relevant to university students at the time. It was re-named the Tertiary Catholic Federation Australia (TCFA).

The Movement then went through another restructuring period in 1990 when it was re-named the International Movement of Catholic Students Australia, (IMCSA) by which it is still known. In 1994 the movement lost ten per cent of its funding. From this point the funding has continued to drop. This means that it also lost the resources to employ a full time worker. This happened in 1998, and two part time workers shared the role.

Between the end of 1997 and mid 1998 the movement went through another period of re-structuring and reflection At this time the movement was under control of an administrator until a new leadership structure could be worked out. Out of this came the current running structure of four national positions (unpaid) and two state representatives (unpaid).

The role of campus Catholic groups in Australia was discussed in 1951 in University for Christ: The University Apostolate in Action. This discussed the need for individual campus groups to support each other in living their Christian ideals, supporting each other in living their life, as well as giving them access to the sacraments and Church teaching. Regional Level

At a regional level a group would join together for camps at the beginning of the year to organise balls and other social activities as well discuss social justice issues. One example of participation in social justice activities on this level is the Sydney region St Vincent de Paul Meal Room. Students went and helped in the room giving out meals to the homeless. Regions also got involved with reaching out to year twelve students who were leaving school and offering them a Catholic group to join on campus.

The role of the organisation on a national level is to make sure that conferences are held and to respond to issues that are of importance to the whole of the movement, like the issue of East Timor. The role is also to help regional and campus groups wherever possible. From the national level people are chosen to be sent to international conferences.

Communication has mainly been done through the work of Campus Chaplains as well as the yearly conference and the movements' publication. When the movement was called UCFA the publication was known as Veritas. When the movement became TCFA the publication was known as the Newsletter of the Territory Catholic Federation Australia, or Imprimatur. When the movement changed its name to IMCSA the publication became known as Whispers. In recent years the newsletter has been published through an e-mail list as well as mailed out. Recent History

In 2001, after several years of having been reduced in terms of funding and activities, ACSA began a new revival and its annual conferences have grown each year since. In 2007, over 350 delegates attended the Towards2008 Congress in Canberra. Its other activities include representing Catholic students on relevant issues including abortion, stem-cell research, euthanasia, freedom and social justice. The latest version of its regular publication is New Springtime, a bi-monthly online journal of faith, culture and society.

In 2008, ACSA hosted a range of events during World Youth day in Sydney, and is poised to continue its main work with planning underway for its July 2009 conference in Brisbane