SSAA NSW

Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (NSW) Inc. 3 From Diana's Desk Attendances – SSAA NSW courtesy reminder letter… The SSAA NSW Office has recently sent a courtesy reminder letter to members who, as at 8 December 2014 had not yet completed their required number of longarms attendances. It's important to understand a number of things regarding this letter. Firstly, it is sent as a courtesy to remind members of their obligations and that they have until 31 March 2015 to complete their attendances. Secondly, the information used to compile this letter is based on the Attendance Book data submitted to the SSAA NSW Office by Branches and Clubs using the books. If the SSAA NSW Office has not received the information from the Branch or Club managing the Attendance Book at the range you attend, we are unable to include this attendance information in our database. Members using their membership of SSAA to satisfy their genuine reason are required to complete mandatory range attendances. This is a legal requirement for Firearms Licence holders set out in the Firearms Regulation 2006. It's not a SSAA requirement. However, SSAA NSW is required by law to report those members who do not complete their required attendances to the NSW Firearms Registry. For each activity listed on your SSAA membership you are required to complete a minimum number of attendances: • 4 for Target Shooting, • 2 for Hunting, and • 1 for Collecting – usually attendance at the Collecting Club AGM or another meeting. You are able to complete a Target and a Hunting attendance during the same range visit. To ensure both attendances are recorded make sure you specify the activities by circling T for Target and H for Hunting when completing the Attendance Book slip. Be sure to retain your slips as proof of attendance. One of the most common enquiries received from members concerns R Licences or where the member has a letter of permission from a landowner that has been approved by the Firearms Registry. If this is the case, you should advise the SSAA National Membership Office in writing that you wish to change your activity from 'Hunting – H' to 'Hunting Other – O'. This will inform SSAA that you have another method to support your genuine reason of Hunting & Vermin Control and therefore you will not have to complete the two attendances for hunting. However, members who also have 'Target – T' and/or 'Collecting – C' listed as activities for their SSAA membership will still be required to complete the required attendances for those activities. We've published a number of Frequently Asked Questions for attendances in this edition of the NSW Shooter and I encourage you to have a read of these. If you have any questions at all about attendances, your membership activities and your obligations, please contact the SSAA NSW Office by phone on 02 8889 0400 or email at attendances@ssaa.nsw.ssaa.org. Annual General Meetings – a chance to have your say… The first six months of the year is AGM season and many of you may have already received your meeting notice or even attended your Branch AGM. It's a legal requirement for all Branches, SSAA NSW and SSAA National to hold an Annual General Meeting each year. Branch AGMs are a perfect time for members to become involved in their Branch, as well as receive reports and updates from their Branch Committee on the activities of the previous year and elect Committee members for the coming year. It's also important to note that in order for a Branch AGM to be 'legal' it requires a minimum number of members to attend the meeting. This is a requirement under the Branch Constitution and also the Associations Incorporation Act 2009. Many Branches struggle to get their quorum at an AGM so it's extremely important that as many members as possible attend their Branch AGM. Each member must be sent a meeting notice at least 2 weeks prior to the meeting; this is also a requirement of your Branch Constitution. Some Branches may also publish the details in the NSW Shooter. If you're not sure when your AGM is, make contact with your Branch Secretary to get the details – I'm sure they'll be only too happy to assist you. NSW Shooter Quarterly Review launched in March… As of the March edition of the NSW Shooter, SSAA NSW will be launching a printed quarterly edition called the NSW Shooter Quarterly Review. The Quarterly Review will be delivered to all members who are subscribed to the Australian Shooter magazine each quarter starting with next month's March edition. The Quarterly Review will also be available online. If you have any stories for either the NSW Shooter or the Quarterly Review, please email them to nswshooter@nsw.ssaa.org.au. Diana Melham Executive Director - SSAA (NSW) Inc.

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