In this edition:
- Celebrating volunteers
- DELWP website information
- Crown Land Kiosk
- Good Governance Fact Sheets for committees
- Financial management
- Committee Financial Controls Audit
- Crown land reserves in action
- Giffard West Public Hall
- Psyche Bend Pump Station
- Next edition
- Contacting DELWP about committee of management matters
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Big thanks to you!Big thanks to everybody involved in committees of management of Crown land reserves. Whether it’s your first time on a committee, or you’ve been a member for many years, DELWP greatly values your skills, experience, knowledge and the time you devote to be a committee member.
With the recent floods and storms, the bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic, the past 18 months have posed so many extra challenges for people and communities across Victoria. We hope this edition of Voluntary Committee of Management News finds you and your community in good health.
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Celebrating volunteersEvery year in May, National Volunteers Week celebrates volunteers. It is estimated there are nearly six million volunteers across Australia doing over 600 million hours of volunteer work each year.
Future editions of Voluntary Committees of Management News will feature stories from people who volunteer to assist with Crown land reserves, including members of committees of management. Look out for these stories in the next edition. Your committee might like to consider being featured in a future newsletter. Thanks to Leongatha Recreation Reserve Committee of Management for this photo from a volunteer celebration and recognition event run by DELWP's Gippsland region.
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DELWP website information
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Crown Land KioskHave you heard about the Crown Land Kiosk? It’s an on-line information system specially designed to assist committees of management with Crown land reserve administration. We are keen for all committees of management to register and use the Kiosk. For example, committees will be encouraged to submit this year's Annual Financial Return through the Kiosk.
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Good Governance Fact Sheets for committeesTo support committees with information about roles and responsibilities in managing Crown land reserves, DELWP has recently published a series of Good Governance Fact Sheets.
The Good Governance Fact Sheets provide a short summary of key topics from the Committee of Management Guidelines. Topics include:
- Financial Management
- Annual Financial Return
- Developing the reserve
- Insurance
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Financial ManagementDELWP recognises that committee members have varying degrees of experience and expertise with financial matters.
However good governance for financial management is the responsibility of the whole committee and every committee member, not just the Treasurer.
A recently developed Fact Sheet on Good Governance and Financial Management provides guidance for committees on various key financial processes, including:
- Segregation of duties
- Regular bank reconciliations
- Maintaining auditable financial records
- A register of assets
- Implementation of financial policies and procedures, including gifts, benefits and hospitality
For some people, these financial processes might sound complex and difficult. However, as explained in the Fact Sheet, implementing good governance for financial administration is relatively straightforward. The Fact Sheet can be accessed through the Committees of management section of the DELWP website.
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Financial Controls AuditDuring 2020, DELWP commissioned an audit of financial and operational processes used by a sample of committees of management. The Audit identified:
- Areas where DELWP needs to provide further information and support to committees regarding financial administration and accountability
- A range of committee financial and governance practices that could be improved. This includes completing regular bank reconciliations and financial reports, and having these presented to committee meetings and noted in committee minutes
Future editions of Voluntary Committee of Management News will include further details of findings from the Committee Financial Controls Audit, together with tips for how committees can improve financial management to meet expected standards of governance (see also the Good Governance and Financial Management Fact Sheet discussed above).
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Reserves in actionThe 1,000+ voluntary committees of management across Victoria manage a wide range of Crown land reserves. These include public halls, recreation reserves, nature/conservation reserves, rail trails, coastal reserves, caravan and camping parks, and more! Pictured is Duncan Fraser from the Bellbird Corner Riverside Reserve near Maffra.
Sharing positive stories about Crown land reserves helps educate the broader community about the value of the work done by committees of management. It can also help committees to gain inspiration and learn from each other.
In future editions, and on the committees of management section of the DELWP website, we'd like to publish stories of Crown land reserves in action. We would also like to build our bank of photos of reserves to use for publications.
Have you got some good photos of your reserve you can share for publication? Have you got a story about your reserve you'd like to share? If so, we'd love to hear from you. Contact us on voluntary.committees@delwp.vic.gov.au.
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Giffard West Public HallGiffard West is between Woodside and Seaspray, around 30 km from Sale, in-land from the beautiful stretch of country along the 90 Mile Beach in the Gippsland region. The Giffard West Public Hall is run by a committee of management and is a much-loved community facility.
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Psyche Bend Pump StationPsyche Bend Pump Station was built in 1891 to meet irrigation needs in and around Mildura.
The need to raise water from the Murray River to land approximately 28metres above river level was challenging. The solution included an off river “billabong” storage. Four pump stations sequentially lifted water from the river via the billabong storage to irrigators.
The Psyche Bend Pump Station uses a “triple-expansion” steam engine coupled to pumps. The steam engine and pumps operated successfully until 1959, when electrically driven pumps were installed nearby allowing the decommissioning of the original pump station.
In 1988 a group of volunteers began restoring the old pump station eventually recommissioning it in 1995. It now operates several times per year under the oversight of the Psyche Bend Historical Reserve Committee of Management. It is the oldest pump configuration of its type in the world, holding two international recognition awards for its ingenious design and is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.
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Next editionIf you have ideas for items you would like to see included in future editions of Voluntary Committee of Manangement news, please get in touch by email on: voluntary.committees@delwp.vic.gov.au
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Contacting DELWP about committee of management matters
DELWP Land and Built Environment (LBE) teams are responsible for supporting committees of management in each region. Relevant offices for committees of management include Geelong, Traralgon, Bairnsdale, Hamilton, Ballarat, Horsham, Bendigo, Mildura, Knoxfield (for all of Melbourne metro).
You can also phone the DELWP Customer Contact Centre on 136 186 (ask to be put through to the LBE Team in your part of the State) or email: customer.service@delwp.vic.gov.au (and it will be forwarded to the public land email in your region).
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