Conditions of WIRES Membership
Each person must read this information before completing their applications for membership or membership renewal.
The Licence to Rehabilitate Injured, Sick and Orphaned Protected Animals (being Licence No MWL000100285 (Licence)) is granted to NSW Wildlife Information Rescue & Education Service Inc. (WIRES) by the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS), a directorate of the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (formerly the Office of Environment and Heritage NSW) in accordance with the provisions of Part 2 of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW).
Under the Licence, WIRES is (amongst other things) authorized to rescue and rehabilitate nominated Australian native wildlife. As a Member of WIRES, you will also have authority to rescue and rehabilitate nominated Australian native wildlife.
Declaration by Member:
You must carefully read all of the Conditions of Membership below and ensure that you meet those conditions if you wish to apply or to renew your Membership.
If you do not meet all of the Conditions of Membership below, then you must apply to the Board of WIRES for special permission to join or renew your Membership. The Board of WIRES may, at its sole and exclusive discretion, grant or deny such permission.
If you do not meet all of the Conditions of Membership below, then you can apply to the Board of WIRES for special permission to renew, at: members@wires.org.au
It is to be remembered that under the Constitution of WIRES, each application for Membership Renewal is subject to the sole and unfettered discretion of the Board of WIRES. A decision will be made and communicated to you.
Conditions of Membership:
1. You do not currently hold any authorisation or licence from NPWS (other than by virtue of your Membership of WIRES Inc.)
2. You are not a member of an organisation or entity that does work which is similar to the work carried out by WIRES Inc.
3. You have never had your Membership of WIRES Inc, or of any other organization or entity that does work which is similar to the work carried out by WIRES Inc., terminated or suspended.
4. You have never been refused Membership of WIRES Inc, or of any other organization or entity that does work which is similar to the work carried out by WIRES Inc.
5. You have not in the past 12 months, been convicted of an offence under the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 or any other similar legislation.
6. You have not ever been convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment for 12 months or more in NSW or elsewhere.
7. Under applicable privacy laws, we are required to seek your permission before passing any of your personal information to Members of WIRES, except that such permission is not required when passing your personal information to your Branch Committee and/or Phone and Animal Coordinators. When you first joined WIRES, you gave us permission to disclose to the ordinary Members of your Branch, your basic personal information (being your name, address, email address and phone number). You agree to update WIRES with any changes to you basic personal information from time to time and you agree to continue to permit WIRES to disclose to the ordinary Members of your Branch, your basic personal information as it may be updated from time to time.
8. You are of good character and a fit and proper person, suitable for Membership of WIRES.
By proceeding to join WIRES or renew membership, the member agrees to:
1. Abide by the policies, procedures, guidelines and handbooks (as detailed on the WIRES Members’ Website) of the New South Wales Wildlife Information Rescue & Education Service Inc. (WIRES) and undertake not to contravene wildlife or animal cruelty laws, such as the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974 and prevention Of Cruelty Of Animals act 1979. All native animals remain the property of the Crown, whether alive or dead.
2. Register all animals rescued or in care with the appropriate Species Coordinator, within 24 hours of an animal coming into your possession, regardless of its origin. Unfurred, unfeathered and very young animals must be registered immediately.
3. Ensure all call sheet records are completed and updated in the system as soon as possible after the animal is rescued, updated accordingly with important information ascertaining to that animal, and updated as soon as the fate of the animal is known.
4. Comply with directions given by the Species Coordinators with regard to the fate and the movements of animals in care. Non-compliance with Branch/Species Coordinator instructions may result in withdrawal of authorisation or expulsion as a Member. In all these matters the holder has agreed to abide by the determinations of WIRES Inc.
5. Maintain all reporting requirements, including all call sheet database records, to the required standard.
6. Acknowledge that any animal held in care for over 3 months must undergo evaluation by the Species Coordinator (or nominated Branch Officer) and a third party be nominated, preferably the treating Vet or experienced species specific member, to determine whether foster care of the animal will continue. A written report will be required.
7. Take full responsibility for any WIRES equipment held and acknowledge that the said equipment shall always remain the property of WIRES.
8. Pay the annual WIRES membership renewal fee as applicable, and renew membership each year by agreeing to WIRES terms and conditions of membership.
9. If for any reason the holder resigns or has his/her authorisation cancelled, he/she agrees to return all items belonging to WIRES to the Branch Secretary or nominated contact.
10. All WIRES members must permit WIRES and authorised NPWS officers to inspect facilities and fauna held in care under WIRES license.
11. WIRES members must notify WIRES head office immediately, so that they can notify NPWS, should they acquire a non-native (exotic) reptile.
WIRES Work, Health and Safety (WHS) and You
WIRES has a primary duty of care to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of WIRES Members and other persons, while undertaking volunteer activities or duties. WIRES meets its obligations to its volunteers, so far as is reasonably practicable, to provide a safe and healthy workplace by:
• Providing WIRES WHS procedures and considerations
• Providing information about safety equipment and PPE
• Providing specialised training (RICC and Advanced Species Training)
• Requiring members to report incidents to the Volunteer Support Manager
• Requiring members to accept that safe work practices are the responsibility of the individual undertaking WIRES activities
By joining WIRES or renewing your Membership, you are agreeing:
• That you have read and understand WIRES WHS Procedures and Considerations (available in the WHS section of the WIRES Members Website).
• That you will read important WHS updates as they become available.
• That you will take reasonable care that your own acts or omissions do not adversely affect the health and safety of other persons.
• That you will ensure that you only attend rescues and volunteer activities in which you have been appropriately trained to undertake, are within your medical and physical capacity to be carried out safely, where you have the appropriate equipment and resources to do the task correctly and safely and have conducted a comprehensive risk assessment and applied appropriate risk controls.
Your Privacy and WIRES Inc.
WIRES Inc. collects the following information from you:
• Personal details including your: Name, Address, Phone Numbers, Email address, Date of birth and Occupation.
• Details of any previous membership of like organisations and any suspensions or terminations of membership.
• Convictions of an offence under National Parks and Wildlife Act, Cruelty to Animals Act, or any other relevant legislation.
• Health information: e.g. blood titres for lyssavirus vaccinations where appropriate
• Availability for rescues and available equipment.
• Experience and skills including wildlife courses attended and course dates.
WIRES Inc. believes it is necessary for the proper functioning and good governance of the Association to collect this information. WIRES Inc. will only use this information to further the organisation’s objectives. Where required member details may be shared with external organisations such as NPWS. Certain information must be collected to ensure that a member can act as a rescuer or carer within the network of members, and other information is required to facilitate communication. Health information such as lyssavirus titre results must be collected to determine a member’s eligibility to rescue and care for bats, including flying foxes. WIRES Inc. will not disclose this health information to any non-member, unless required to do so by an officer of the National Parks and Wildlife Service, or other law enforcement officer, or by a Court of Law.
Please be advised that certain emails sent to our volunteers are classified as transactional communications. These emails are essential as they provide important information related to your volunteering with WIRES: including important updates and notices that are integral to your volunteering experience. As these communications are necessary, they are not subject to unsubscribe options. By maintaining your membership, you acknowledge and accept that you will continue to receive these transactional emails.
WIRES Insurance and You
WIRES Inc. maintains a personal accident and injury insurance policy on behalf of its members as well as a public liability policy. The insurance policy provides limited cover in the event of death or disablement of a member in the pursuit of WIRES Inc. business.
Members should be aware of the following points:
• Non-authorised members of the public are not covered by WIRES insurance and MUST NOT be involved in rescue or foster care of native animals.
• No cover is provided for sickness / illness.
• Authorised members are covered for necessary travel to and from authorised WIRES activities however members’ vehicles and personal possessions are NOT covered by the Policy.
• In the event of injury, all medical costs must be recovered from other sources where possible e.g. Medicare and/or private insurance. Insurance does not cover any “gaps” between treatment costs and payments from other sources.
• Authorised reptile rescuers are covered, however milking of snakes is not covered.
• Claims resulting from pre-existing injuries are excluded
• If a member does not renew his/her membership by 31 March each year, they are no longer a member of WIRES Inc. They are therefore no longer covered under WIRES Inc. insurance policies and no longer authorised to rescue and rehabilitate Australian native animals.
A copy of the current WIRES Volunteer Personal Accident Insurance Table of Conditions can be provided on request.
By proceeding and submitting an application for membership or membership renewal I declare that the details above are true and correct and state that there are no legal, health or other reasons that would affect my performance or put at risk any other persons in my role as a volunteer member of WIRES Inc. I agree to abide by the conditions of membership as outlined above including the Constitution, Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics and WHS Policies.