Funding Arrangements for the State Emergency Service Volunteers Association
In the late 80’s the then WA Association for Volunteer Emergency Services (WAVES) was formed to assist the SES Volunteers in having a voice at different levels of Government. Out of this the first SES Consultative Committee was formed to assist the parent organisation in ensuring the most well informed decisions were made where the SES Volunteers were or could be affected.
In the early 2000s the then FESA decided to set up ESAMC (Emergency Services Associations Management Committee) to provide support to some of the Associations (SESVA is one of those)and also provide a conduit for FESA/DFES communication and assistance to the Volunteers. This was covered by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Volunteer Associations and FESA/DFES. For more than a year now DFES has been advising that they will cease the MOU and have now advised the Association that they will withdraw the staff in December 2013.
SESVA Treasurer John Capes and myself, have researched the funding for the new models proposed by DFES, and with assistance from the ESAMC staff, were able to determine the approximate costs in setting up a new support base and secretariat. For the SESVA this could be in a partnership with the Association of Volunteer Bush Fire Brigades.
At a special meeting of ESAMC (27July) the SESVA, ESVA and the AVBFB met with DFES (Commissioner Gregson and Executive Manager Wilks) to discuss the future.
As a result of this meeting there has been some positive outcomes which will see the SESVA work with DFES and ESAMC to migrate to an independent based support secretariat. The final outcome of this is expected to see DFES no longer having staff dedicated in this area however, they will provide direct financial funding to ensure the secretariat is set up effectively and allowing the SESVA to more effectively serve their membership.
The migration to this model will take 6 to 12 months however it must be in place before the end of the 2013/14 financial year. Please direct any enquiries either to myself or John Capes.
Gordon Hall
SESVA Secretary
