Voluntary Committees of Management News

December 2023

Cover photo: Bennison Recreation Reserve

In this edition:

New Tiny Towns Fund
Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund
Flood Recovery Funding Projects
Bennison Recreation Reserve
Buckareeyoo on the Barwon Coast
Women and girls and sport

New "Tiny Towns Fund"

Through Regional Development Victoria (RDV) the VIctorian Government recently announced a new "Tiny Towns Fund" to support projects in communities with a population of up to 5,000 people. Applications close 5pm 25 February 2024.

For details see the Tiny Towns Fund section of the Regional Development Victoria website.

Background available from the website includes:

The new Tiny Towns Fund will support local communities to deliver quality tourism and community facility projects, such as splash parks and bike trails, playgrounds, community hall and library upgrades, public art and more;
Towns with a population of up to 5,000 people in the 48 local government areas of regional Victoria are eligible to apply, as well as Melbourne’s 10 interface outer metropolitan local government areas;
From barbecues to community centres, the Tiny Towns Fund will back community-driven projects that enhance small towns to strengthen community connections and encourage more visitors to all corners of Victoria;
Grants between $5,000 and $50,000 will be available for each project;
Applicants will be required to make a co-contribution towards the proposed project budget in line with the requirements outlined in the Program Guidelines.

Crown land reserve committees of management are eligible to apply, subject to meeting the relevant population and other criteria.

As with all grant processes, it is recommended your committee read and assess the Program Guidelines and other relevant background as part of considering whether to proceed with an application.

The RDV Tiny Towns website includes a very useful section of Frequently Asked Questions.

Further information: For advice and support with your application, applicants are encouraged to contact the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions on 1800 878 969 between 9am – 5pm, Monday to Fridays.

Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund

The Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund was announced by the Victorian Government on 5 December 2023. The first of two funding rounds close at 5 pm on Wednesday 27 March 2024.

For more details and guidelines see the Regional Community Sports Infrastructure Fund page of the Sport and Recreation Victoria website.

It is important to note that Crown land reserve committees of management cannot directly apply to the Fund. Applications can only be made by local government authorities (shires/councils) in Victoria’s 48 rural and regional council areas.

Committees of management are therefore advised to contact their council if they wish to express interest, seek support or be involved as a partner in applications to the Fund. Project applicants must confirm matched funding at levels set out in the Fund guidelines.

The Fund’s four streams are:

Indoor Stadium and Aquatic Facilities Stream to develop or upgrade multi-sport indoor courts and aquatic facilities (up to $3 million per council);
Community Facilities Stream to build or upgrade sports pavilions, sports lighting, play spaces and active recreation facilities (up to $1 million per council);
Women and Girls Facilities Stream for new female friendly change rooms or sports courts to help level the playing field (up to $1 million per council);
All Abilities Infrastructure stream to renovate existing facilities to ensure they are accessible for people with disability (up to $1 million per council).

Complementary grants of up to $50,000 are also available to help boost wider community participation at the upgraded facilities, in partnership with sporting organisations and local disability service providers.

Flood Recovery Funding Projects

The Victorian floods which started in October 2022 caused varying degrees of damage to community infrastructure and assets including recreation reserves, public halls and other reserves managed by voluntary committees of management on Crown land.

DEECA has distributed over $11.8 million in flood recovery grants to assist 125 committees of management to clean up and reinstate the reserve or facility they manage. These projects are at varying stages of implementation.

For further information, see Victorian flood recovery grants for voluntary committees of management on the DEECA website.

Bennison Recreation Reserve

Bennison is in South Gippsland between the towns of Foster and Toora about 3km north of Port Franklin. A section of the 109km Great Southern Rail Trail runs through the area.

The Bennison Reserve Committee of Management manages two Crown land reserves, one of which is a "Public Hall Reserve" with just a toilet block on it these days after the hall fell into disrepair and was demolished in the 1990s. The area of both reserves is known as Bennison Recreation Reserve.

The reserve has two horse riding user groups with approximately 100 members - Corner Inlet Pony Club & Bennison Adult Riding Club. The grounds are comprised of native bush and grassed areas with two carparks, clubrooms, an equipment shed and a sand all-weather riding arena. The Reserve is also popular with members of the public and local dog walkers and bird watchers who share the reserve with all sorts of wildlife, including koals, wombats and swamp wallabies. The user groups take part in quarterly working bees with members of the reserve committee.

The committee aims to identify all native trees, flora, fauna and bird life. Recently a local naturalist visited and said the reserve is one of the best pieces of remnant bush in South Gippsland. The committee has started a replanting program to replace trees lost due to age or storm damage. Two new members are propagating the trees from seed collected at the reserve. Pittosporum & blackberry removal is an ongoing challenge!

Two long term members continue to note the locations of native orchids and flora in the reserve and an information board with photos will be installed in the future. This will assist in education and preservation of this piece of natural bush.

In the years ahead, the committee will need to upgrade or replace the old toilet block. Built in the 1970's, it was assessed as part of the DEECA Buildings Assessment Project in 2022 as needing a structural engineers report to address current issues and inform future planning. The report has been done and the proposed fix is going to present the committee with a significant financial challenge.

Story and photo supplied by CoM Secretary Deb Collins with assistance from committee member Janne McPhie

Bukareeyoo

Barwon Coast Committee of Management (Barwon Coast) manages 19km of the coast along Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula. This includes the beaches and foreshores of Ocean Grove, Barwon Heads, 13th Beach, and Breamlea.

In partnership with Traditional Owners, Barwon Coast’s charter is to protect and enhance the natural environment and provide opportunities for residents and visitors to enjoy these areas.

Barwon Coast and Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation were proud to receive the 2023 Victorian Excellence in Geographic Place Naming’ award for the Bukareeyoo naming process at the Geospatial Excellence Awards. The awards celebrate the achievements of outstanding individuals and organisations within the geospatial sector.

The naming proposal was to name the area of Wadawurrung Country informally known as the Ocean Grove Spit, to ‘Bukareeyoo’ (pronounced Book-ar-ee-you) – a Wadawurrung word which means ‘between’. The name was given to the area by Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation.

Women and girls and sport

As outlined on the website Change our Game the Victorian Government is committed to increasing the number of women and girls participating in sport and active recreation.

If you are involved with a sporting group or club, you might have already heard about the Change our Game Fair Access Policy Roadmap.

For committees of management overseeing reserves including a sport/active recreation focus, your local Council/Shire will be involved in the Fair Access Policy Roadmap process which is being lead by Office for Women in Sport and Recreation (OWSR).

To get up to speed with all things Fair Access:

Check out the Change our Game website
Contact your local Council/Shire to learn about their approach to Fair Access and what it means for your committee/reserve and clubs that use the reserve
Give some thought to any Fair Policy actions your committee or clubs might be inspired to initiate to increase the number of women and girls participating in sport and active recreation

For further information email: FairAccess@sport.vic.gov.au

Website for committees

Just a reminder that the committees of management section of the DEECA website includes a range of information for Crown land reserve committees of management, including the Committee of Management Guidelines and model policies. See:

https://www.deeca.vic.gov.au/boards-and-governance/committees-of-management

DEECA Financial Management and Governance Survey

Big thanks to the 30 committees of management across the state that participated in the DEECA Financial Management and Governance Survey earlier this year.

This annual survey will be undertaken again in early 2024. Your committee may be included in the sample chosen, which covers all areas of the state.

The survey seeks information about committee approaches to various aspects of governance, including committee of management policies and procedures outlined in the Committee of Management Guidelines.

This information assists DEECA to improve information and support provided to committees of management. For example,the 2023 survey highlighted the importance of committees maintaining a volunteer register to ensure compliance with the volunteer injury insurance cover DEECA takes out on behalf of committees - see Sections 9 (Insurance) and 10 (Volunteers) of the Committee of Managemnt Guidelines.

Contacting DEECA

For day-to-day issues, including changes to committee member contact details, committee appointment processes, or other land management matters, the key DEECA staff for committees of management work in our six regional Land and Built Environment (LBE) teams.

Phone: You can reach your LBE Team by phoning the DEECA Customer Contact Centre on 136 186 and asking for the LBE Team that covers your part of the state.
Email: DEECA Customer Contact Centre on customer.service@delwp.vic.gov.au or one of the following emails for the regional LBE teams:

Barwon South West LBE Team

publicland.bsw@delwp.vic.gov.au

Gippsland LBE Team

Traralgon.PropertyServices@delwp.vic.gov.au

Grampians LBE Team

publicland.grampians@delwp.vic.gov.au

Hume LBE Team

landadmin.hume@delwp.vic.gov.au

Loddon Mallee LBE Team

Publiclandenquiries.Northwest@delwp.vic.gov.au

Port Phillip (Melbourne Metro) LBE Team

Property.Portphillip@delwp.vic.gov.au

We acknowledge Victorian Traditional Owners and their Elders past and present as the original custodians of Victoria’s land and waters and commit to genuinely partnering with them and Victoria’s Aboriginal community to progress their aspirations.

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