1994年，一群南島語言學家聚在多倫多大學，目的是要建立一個具有正式觀點的南島語言學習的組織。從1994年的第一次會議開始，任務就是鼓勵語言學家或年輕學者研究南島語言。網站中提供每年會議的議程，其中部分附有會議論文。

In 1994, a small group of Austronesianists met at the University of Toronto. Their purpose was to create an organisation that promotes the study of Austronesian languages from a formal perspective.

From that initial meeting in 1994 onwards, each meeting has furthered the unwritten mandate of AFLA to encourage the formal study of Austronesian languages, especially work by speaker-linguists and by junior scholars.