SOCIETIES OF APOSTOLIC LIFE DIFFER FROM INSTITUTES OF CONSECRATED LIFE IN NOT TAKING FORMAL RELIGIOUS VOWS BUT NONETHELESS LIVE IN COMMUNITIES DEDICATED TO A SPECIFIC MISSION. THREE SUCH SOCIETIES HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN AUSTRALIA OVER THE LAST CENTURY, TWO OF THEM FROM THE VINCENTIAN FAMILY OF ORDERS. THEIR WORK HAS BEEN PRIMARILY IN THE FIELD OF MISSIONS, EDUCATION AND WELFARE AND MOST RECENTLY THE CELEBRATION OF THE LITURGY.