Bushfire Volunteers hereby provides formal notice of its 2023 Annual General Meeting and election of State Committee members.

Volunteers from member Bush Fire Brigades are welcome. Please share and distribute this notice.

Date

Saturday 9th September 2023

Time

16:00hrs sharp. The meeting will be followed by general discussion.

Location

Studio 1, Level 2 Convention Centre, Crown Perth, Great Eastern Highway, Burswood WA 6100

Agenda

  1. Formal meeting open – Members present, Apologies and Proxies (see note 1 below)
  2. Confirmation of the minutes of the previous AGM
  3. Presentation of the Board’s annual report of the association’s activities during the preceding financial year
  4. Presentation of the Association’s financial statements and Auditor’s report
  5. Election/Declaration of 2023/24 Board Members and Zone Representatives (State Committee) (see note 5 below)
  6. Appointment of Auditor for 2023/24
  7. Confirmation or variance of membership fees (see note 7 below)
  8. Formal meeting close
  9. General discussion

Please RSVP  to

Note 1 – Proxies

  • If your Brigade is unable to be represented in person, you may choose to give your vote to a proxy.
  • If you would like to appoint a proxy, please email the Returning Officer () before 5pm Friday 8th September 2023 and include your name, Brigade name, Brigade role and the name of the person your Brigade would like to appoint as your proxy at the AGM.
  • You may choose to delegate your proxy to any specific member or a general member of the Committee, including a Zone Representative, the President, Vice President or Secretary.

Note 5 – Election/Declaration of 2023/24 Board Members and Zone Representatives (State Committee)

  • Nominations for vacant Board Member and Zone Representative (State Committee) positions are now open
  • Nominations for both must be received before 1700hrs Sunday 13th August 2023..
  • Visit our Current Opportunities  for more information and here is the Nomination Form.

Note 7 – Confirmation or variance of membership fees

This agenda item is a legally required default item and has not been “moved” or championed by any member or the Committee in any way.

However, for background and consideration:

Members are aware that the association continues to work very hard to correct the historical imbalance in government funding provided to volunteer associations to enable long term planning and respond more effectively and efficiently to the growing demands of government.

The long-held rationale for a $0 membership fee is that emergency service volunteers give enough to the community without being asked to also pay a membership fee to fund the organisation working to promote, support and represent the essential service they provide. However, senior government officers have repeatedly recommended that rather than continue to pursue equitable grant funding, the association should fund the work it does by introducing a membership fee.

While the current Committee has no current plan to introduce membership fees and continues to work hard to deliver valuable services to members and government without asking even more of our volunteer members, it is noted that this agenda item may hold greater than usual significance this year.