Rotary International is a  worldwide organisation of more than 1.2 million business, professional, and community leaders. There are 33,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. 

Motto: service above self and one profits most who serves best.

Mission: to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through our fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders.

Diversity: we cultivate a diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture is essential to realising our vision of a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change.

Core values: 

• Fellowship
• Integrity
• Diversity
• Service
• Leadership

Clubs are the basis of Rotarty and are independent incorporatedare bodies within  Rotary International structure and are  non-political, non-religious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds. 

The object of Rotary is is `service above self’ and to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster:

• The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service
• High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying by each Rotarian of their occupation as an opportunity to serve society
• The application of the ideal of service by every Rotarian to their personal, business and community life
• The advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional people united in the ideal of service

Rotarians aspire to ‘The Four Way Test’: ‘

    1. Is it the TRUTH?

    2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?

    3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?

    4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Clubs are the most important and fundamental part of Rotary. They are independent entities that direct their its energies and activities as they chooses. However, an organization of over a million members in over 200 countries needs an overall administrative structure.

Rotary International has three levels of management:

• The Club – independent (while meeting the objectives of Rotary) and incorporated
• The District, which includes a number of Clubs - Murrumbidgee Canberra Rotary is in District 9705
• Rotary International is responsible for overall policy and management

Rotary International exists:

• for the protection, development, and worldwide propagation of the Rotary ideal of service
• for the establishment, encouragement, assistance, and administrative supervision of Rotary clubs
• as a clearing house for the study of their problems and, by helpful suggestion but not compulsion
• for the standardisation of their practices and of community service activities.

Rotary’s five Avenues of Service are the philosophical and practical framework for the work of the Rotary club.

1. Club Service, involves action a member should take within their club to help the club  and other members function successfully.
2. Vocational Service, has the purpose of promoting high ethical standards in businesses and professions, recognising the worthiness of all dignified occupations, and fostering the ideal of service in the pursuit of all vocations. 
3. Community Service, comprises varied efforts that members make, sometimes in conjunction with others, to improve the quality of life of those who live within thrie club’s district by striving for positive peace in the community.
4. International Service, comprises those activities that members do to advance international understanding, goodwill, and positive peace by fostering acquaintance with people of other countries, their cultures, customs, accomplishments, aspirations, and problems, through reading and  correspondence and through cooperation in all club activities and projects designed to help people in other lands.
5. Youth Service, recognises the positive change implemented by youth and young adults through leadership development activities, involvement in community and international service projects, and exchange programs that enrich and foster positive world peace and cultural understanding.

Rotary is a philosophy of life that undertakes to reconcile the ever present conflict between the desire to profit for one’s self and the duty and consequent impulse to serve others – "Service Above Self” and “One Profits Most Who Serves Best”.

Rotary clubs are a group of people  who have accepted the Rotary philosophy of service and are seeking to:

• accept that service is the true basis of success and happiness in business and in life;
• give, individually and collectively, practical demonstrations of service to themselves and their community in business and in everyday life and to stimulate its acceptance by all non-Rotarians as well as by all Rotarians.

Those who serve must act: Rotary members and the Rotary clubs put the theory of service into practice by sponsoring community service activities, varied from year to year, based upon a real community need that desirably require the collective cooperation of all its members. 

Rotary clubs have absolute autonomy in the selection of community service activities

that appeal to its members and are suited to its community.

Clubs encourage and foster members to serve the community by the application of the ideal of service in the personal, business, and community life of every Rotarian.