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We have retired the blog as a separate way of communicating with members. Old news can still be be found at aacfallscreek.blogspot.com

Notice of 2024 Annual General Meeting

Notice is given that the 2024 Annual General Meeting of AAC Falls Creek Inc will be held:

DATE: Tuesday, 21 May, 2024
VENUE: via Zoom videoconference and at Royal Brighton Yacht Club (253 St Kilda Street, Brighton)
TIME: 7:30 pm - Annual General Meeting to commence

This will also be a Special General Meeting to make some minor modifications to our Rules of Association

RSVP by 19 May 2024 is essential

AGENDA

  1. Apologies
  2. Receive and adopt the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting
  3. Business arising from the Minutes
  4. Correspondence
  5. Receive and adopt the Committee's Reports
  6. Receive and adopt the Profit And Loss Account and Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2023
  7. Proposed New Annual Subscription & Levy for 2025
  8. Receive and adopt the Auditor's Report
  9. Appoint an Auditor for 2024
  10. Election of the Committee
  11. Special Resolutions to change the Rules of Association
  12. A.A.C. Business
  13. General Business

Preparation and conduct of the meeting

  • To be admitted to the meeting, and to participate in the election if required, you must RSVP by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5pm AEST Sunday 19th May. Prior to the AGM you will be sent a link to join the meeting, whether you intend to attend in person or via zoom.
  • The meeting will be kept as succinct as possible. We also need to make voting as uncomplicated as possible, while ensuring that it is done faithfully.
  • Therefore all proxies, items of general business must be submitted to the Chairperson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5pm AEST Sunday 19th May. Any proposed Motions must also be provided to the Chairperson by this date.
  • You are strongly encouraged to send any questions to the Chairperson by the same date. There will be an opportunity to submit some questions on the night but questions with notice will be more manageable with the technology.
  • Voting may be a bit laborious. Please be patient if votes need to be counted.

For Zoom attendees

  • Please prepare in advance. Install Zoom on your computer, tablet or phone and use Zoom’s facilities to test that your audio and video are working. If you have a headset with microphone, please use it to reduce background noise.
  • Please keep your mic muted during the meeting unless the chairman recognises you to speak. The chairman or his assistant may mute you if necessary. We prefer having all cameras active during the meeting but you may be asked to “mute” cameras if there are difficulties.

For in person attendees

  • Please wait to be recognised by the chair before you speak. You will need to use a microphone so that you can be clearly heard by zoom attendees.

Eligibility

  • Only financial full members aged 18 and over may participate in the meeting, This includes nominating candidates for election, standing for election, voting in elections or on motions at the meeting, assigning or receiving proxies and speaking at the meeting. For Proxies and Nomination forms to be valid, both nominator and nominee must be financial at the time of lodging. Attendees must be financial by close of business on Monday 20th May. To be recognised as financial, any outstanding payments must be received in the club's bank account.

Election of committee members

The committee recommends that a total of 9 committee members be elected (3 executive members plus 6 ordinary committee members). At the committee meeting after the AGM, the committee elects members to specific positions. If a ballot is required, ballot papers will be sent to all who RSVP-ed. Completed ballot papers are to be to returned by 10pm AEST Sunday 19th May 2024. (If you RSVP after 16 May, you may not receive a ballot paper until 19 May and still need to return it by 10pm.) Results to be announced at the AGM or shortly thereafter.

If you are interested in serving on the committee, you can find out more by contacting the Chairperson or other committee members. Nomination forms are available from the link below and must be returned by 5pm AEST Sunday 12th May 2024. If a ballot is required, you will be advised by Monday 13th May and asked to submit a short candidate statement by Thursday 16th May which will be included with ballot papers. 

At the time of this notice, all current committee members are intending to stand again this year, however some are considering retiring in 2024. To ease the transition we would also like to hear from any members who have the time and skills to serve the club by joining the committee. Meetings are held approximately monthly by Zoom. 

Special Resolutions to modify the Rules of Association (our constitution)

  1. That the proposed changes to replace the provision for written polls at General Meetings with “counting of hands” be adopted
  2. That the proposed changes to improve Disciplinary hearings and appeals be adopted
  3. That the proposed changes to introduce a Conflict of Interest Register be adopted
  4. That the proposed changes to expand the Purposes of the club to explicitly include summer sports be adopted
  5. That the proposed changes to simplify wording on use of technology be adopted

An explanation of the proposed changes follows below.

Documents

 

Jenny Hughes (Secretary)
C/- ProAcct Advisors & Accountants Pty Ltd
PO Box 166 Heidelberg Vic 3084
Phone: (03) 9880-9600
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Explanation of Proposed Changes to Rules of Association

A. Summary

Incorporated Associations, of which Australian Alpine Club Falls Creek Inc is one, are governed by Victorian legislation and regulations. These are updated from time to time. There is also a set of model rules, the default constitution for incorporated associations. These reflect general good practice but clubs are free to modify them to suit their circumstances.
Ten years ago, when the regulations and model rules were last updated, we were compelled to change some of our rules to be consistent. Even where not compelled, we made some rules consistent with the model rules for the sake of simplicity.
In November 2023 the Victorian government confirmed changes to regulations for incorporated associations and changes to the model rules. Some of the model rules have changed for the better and we propose to change ours to match the improved versions
Changing the Rules can only be done at a Special General Meeting. This can coincide with the AGM with additional notice. A 75% majority is required to adopt changes to the Rules. There is also a fee (currently $413.40) from Consumer Affairs Victoria whenever we lodge changes to Rules. If changing one Rule, it makes sense to consider whether there are other beneficial changes at the same time. 

We propose making changes to

  1. Replace the provision for written polls at AGMs with “counting of hands” (and proxies). This would not change the need for secret ballots for elections.
  2. Improve provisions for disciplinary hearings and appeals, in particular to have appeals heard by an appointed subcommittee rather than general membership
  3. Introduce a Conflict of Interest Register
  4. Expand the Purposes of the club to explicitly include summer sports (eg cycling)
  5. Simplify wording on use of technology

The specific changes are detailed in aacfallscreek.com/pdf/AGM2024/Details_of_Proposed_Changes.pdf

The current Rules of Association can be found at aacfallscreek.com/xDocs/rules/Rules2021.pdf

B. Reasons for Proposed changes
1. Replace the provision for written polls at AGMs with “counting of hands” (and proxies)
The new model rules improve the provisions for running general meetings and elections with attendees using zoom etc. We identified the inadequacies the model rules about elections a few years ago and modified our rules to allow better procedures. Our rules are still generally better than those in the new model rules.
 
However, our Rule 46 talks about polls (written votes other than for an election) to be consistent with the old model rules. But the new model rules have changed this to just a count. It would be much simpler to have a count rather than require written votes. It would be very difficult to really conduct a written poll during an AGM except perhaps by SMS. Fortunately, the need for a poll rarely arises.
 
2. Disciplinary hearings and appeals
When we were compelled to add new provisions for disciplinary hearings and appeals to our rules, we adopted the model rules for those aspects with only minor changes. It always seemed problematic that all members were invited to vote at a disciplinary appeal meeting. The person appealing could probably round up supporters but it might be hard to get enough other members to participate and vote. It could be very hard to make a disciplinary ruling stick. Now the new model rules provide for an appeal subcommittee that is appointed. General members do not vote. There are also new provisions about procedural fairness.
 
We should update our rules to reflect the new model rules for disciplinary appeals, and also clarify that we can recover costs (eg extra cleaning or repairs) from a member without that being regarded as a fine.
 
The move to an appeal subcommittee would be a significant improvement and we should adopt the new model rule wording as far as feasible.
 
It would be a good opportunity to add some other grounds for disciplinary action. In particular breaching of the Equal Opportunity or Privacy policies. The club has legislated responsibilities in these areas but our disciplinary rules need to be broadened to support enforcement. E.g. Our Equal Opportunity Policy states
 
Members reasonably suspected of sexually harassment in these circumstances may be asked to terminate their stay. They may also be subject to disciplinary measures in accordance with the Rules of Association. This also applies to members whose guests sexually harass others.
 
Under our current Rules of Association, we would have to rely on “conduct prejudicial to the Association” to discipline someone for policy breaches.
 
It would also be good to clarify that recovering cost of extra cleaning or repairs is not included in the rule against fining members.
 
3. Conflict of Interest Register
It would be prudent to add the conflict of interest register provision from the new model rules. 
 
4. Expand the Purposes of the club to more explicitly cover cycling and other summer sports
There is a greater focus of ATO on non-profit status. In particular they are concerned about revenue from things not covered under the Purposes of the Association that form part of the Rules.  Explicitly adding summer alpine sports (incl cycling) to the Purposes section of the Rules of Association may strengthen our position with the proposed tax free status reporting.
 
5. Simplify wording on use of technology
While Rule 40 (Use of technology in a General Meeting) and Rule 68 (Use of technology in a Committee Meetingg) are not inconsistent with the new model rules, the new wording is a bit simpler. This is not a high priority but would be an improvement if we are changing the rules anyway
Last Updated: 27 April 2024 27 April 2024

Opening of Bookings 2024

It's almost time to book your winter stays, so this article highlights changes in booking procedures and at the lodge.

There are no major changes in the booking system this year, but there are a few minor tweaks:

  • Room 7 will no longer be included in the rooms available for exclusive single occupancy. It is being converted to a twin room similar to rooms 5 and 12.
  • Some members have asked if waitlist bookings can be confirmed earlier. This needs to be a balance between optimising lodge occupancy, giving members some certainty, and preserving member booking priority. Eligible waitlist requests will now be confirmed in early April, not on 1 June as previously. Eligible means: 
    • only members, spouse and their children, and
    • the preceding midweek is full, and
    • the booking is paid for immediately on request from the booking officer.

Other waitlist requests will continue to be confirmed 19 days prior to stay for members (16 days prior for other AAC members and 15 days prior for guests). See the Book page for an explanation of waitlisting.  

Here are some timely reminders of changes that have been made in the last few years:

  • Sadly we need to be more aware of hackers and scammers. Invoices and emails from the booking system no longer include EFT details. You can log onto the booking system to pay using the Eway secure payment gateway or to see the club's EFT details. If you see EFT details in emails from the booking system, the email has probably been modified by hackers. Do not pay into that account.
  • You are encouraged to nominate an emergency contact by updating your member details in the booking system.
  • Members can register their immediate (non-member) spouse and children in the booking system to make it easier to book them in, especially during the Family priority booking period from 8-14 March. If you haven't already done this then you might like to consider doing it ahead of making bookings for 2024. See Registering Family Members in the booking system for more information.
  • Prompt payment for bookings is expected. The Booking Officer will cancel bookings not paid for in the appropriate time. This is within 7 days for normal bookings and 1 day for approved waitlist requests.
  • Continental breakfasts will be provided on peak season Sundays, not cooked breakfasts. 

The Ski Lodge Details tab in the booking system and the Book tab on the club website cover most of the information you need to make a booking and prepare for your stay. The email that is sent 7 days prior to your stay has important information about your stay, including the door code. Please check these resources to see if they answer your questions before contacting the booking officer.

Last Updated: 27 April 2024 27 April 2024
Hits: 221 221

Renovations update, January 2024

In recent months the bathrooms in Rooms 13 and 14 have been renovated with new basins, vanities, flooring, toilets and shower bases that double as baths for small children.

Here are some photos as the work progressed, through to the finished product.  

AAC FC Room 13 14 bathroom 1 Nov2023    AAC FC Room 13 14 bathroom 2Nov2023   

  AAC FC Room 13 14 bathroom 2 Nov2023  AAC FC Room 13 14 bathroom finished 1 Nov2023

 AAC FC Room 13 14 bathroom finished 2 Nov2023  AAC FC Room 13 14 bathroom finished 3 Nov2023

Meanwhile, work has been completed to find and repair the leak in the spa.

It's now back fully functioning, but from these pictures you can see just how much work it took!  Thanks to all involved. 

AAC FC spa floor plumbing repair 1 Dec2023   AAC FC spa floor plumbing repair 3 Dec2023 

AAC FC spa floor plumbing repair 4 Dec2023   AAC FC spa floor plumbing repair 5 Dec2024

Work has started to convert Room 7 from a double with a single bunk above to two singles, so it will have the same layout as Rooms 5 and 12.

A few photos will be taken over the coming weeks and we'll show the progress and finished product in an upcoming newsletter. 

Last Updated: 27 April 2024 27 April 2024

Minimum fee Green Season weekends

Each year during the green season there are several weekends the minimum fee and occupancy will not apply to open and use the Lodge.

This year these are The Peaks Challenge, a 235 km road cycling event equivalent to a mountain stage of the Tour de France. It's held on Friday 8 March through until Monday 11 March, more details available from the Bicycle Network and Falls Creek. 

Falls Creek Easter Festival is on from Thursday 28 March until Tuesday 2 April. With cafes and restaurants open, mountain bike shuttles, walks and eggs everywhere, perhaps this is the time to see our mountain without the snow? Check out all the Easter fun here. 

Last Updated: 28 January 2024 28 January 2024

2023 Interclubs race weekend

Falls Creek hosted the Australian Alpine Clubs Interclubs race weekend on Saturday the 9th of September 2023. Dinner Plain, Perisher, Niseko, Anton and of course Falls Creek were represented.  

The Rosyln Wesche Memorial Cup is the trophy everyone is keen to win, named to honour and remember, Roslyn, who at 18 was the only person killed at Kunama Huette ski lodge when the avalanche hit on Mount Kosciusko in 1956.  

Perisher came third in the Rosyln Wesche Memorial Cup, while Falls Creek won the Masters.

Top results and teams in order were:

1 Anton Huette - James, Thomas, Caitlin - 128.42 seconds

2 Falls Creek B team - Tash, William, James, Harry - 130.23 seconds

3 Falls Creek A team - Ross, Mel, Matt, Tim - 131.44 seconds

4 Falls Masters - Ross, Viv, John, Nigel - 134.92 seconds

Last Updated: 28 January 2024 28 January 2024

Non-essential emails

You may have noticed that the our newsletters are a little different. We are moving away from the bulk email system that has sent out our newsletters for over a decade. Instead newsletters will be sent using the booking system.

We like to think that our newsletters provide useful information and interesting news about the club and Falls Creek. However, in line with the Spam Act, you have the right to opt out of non-essential emails. This mainly relates to our newsletters.

All booking emails and important emails about membership (eg AGM notices and annual subs) are essential emails. If you choose to opt out of non-essential emails, you will still receive these.

To opt-out of non-essential emails from AAC Falls Creek, log on to the booking system and go to menu Member/View My Details

At top right you can tick the Opt out of non-essential emails box and the click Save Updated Member Details

opt out box

Email from other AAC clubs

Each AAC club makes its own judgement about which emails are non-essential. If you opt out and later opt in again, other clubs may not know until you log in there again.

Last Updated: 28 January 2024 28 January 2024

Village News, January 2024

Retaining Wall - Falls Creek Alpine Resort has completed work to solidify the retaining walls below the Lodge along Falls Creek Road. A couple of pictures of machinery in action are below. 

AAC FC retaining wall works 2 Nov 2023  AAC_FC_retaining_wall_works-Nov_2023.jpg

Stormwater and drainage improvements above, around and beside the Lodge are also underway, photo below shows the downhill, fire escape side of the Lodge. 

AAC FC drainage above lodge

Landslip roadworks progress - check out the ABC News story on remediation of the landslip which closed the Bogong High Plains Road to just one lane of traffic during 2023. Works are on schedule to have both lanes open before the ski season. Fingers crossed it’s safe to re-open both lanes. 

Vale David Risby - former President of the Falls Creek Alpine Association (FCAA, the Chamber of Commerce for the village), passed away on 10 January 2024. Read the FCAA tribute here. 

Last Updated: 28 January 2024 28 January 2024

Early end of season announced - Wed 20 September

Falls Creek Ski Lifts have announced that the season will end on Wed 20 September because "this last week of warm and windy weather, along with the forecast of more of the same, with some rain, means we will not be able to operate safely past this Wednesday".

Time to start planning your Green Season visit to the lodge. 

Last Updated: 28 January 2024 28 January 2024

Race Results 2023

The race was held in foggy conditions on Father Fosters. A good course, with few icy sections but very low visibility.

Thanks to Ella B for the video

Sam Barker Memorial

Sam Barker podium - 12 and under

  1. Reeve R
  2. Carrie H
  3. Gerard B

Women

women's podium

  1. Melissa C
  2. Emma P
  3. Natasha P

Men

men's podium

  1. Ross B
  2. Mathew W
  3. Tim C

Masters - Women

masters women's podium

  1. Vivienne W
  2. Bronwyn W
  3. Lynn C

Masters - Men

masters men's podium

  1. Ross B
  2. Gerard G-S
  3. John C

Overall Results

14

Ross B

36.31

37.85

1:14.16

 

17

Mathew W

36.81

37.55

1:14.36

+0.20

19

Tim C

37.97

38.22

1:16.19

+2.03

18

Harry C

38.55

37.88

1:16.43

+2.27

20

William C

40.04

38.86

1:18.90

+4.74

15

Melissa C

38:91

40:16

1:19.07

+4.91

15

Gerard G-S

40.06

39.11

1:19.17

+5.01

5

Emma P

41.46

44.05

1:25.51

+11.35

8

Natasha P

42.75

43.15

1:25.90

+11.74

24

Jonathan G-S

47.00

45.18

1:32.18

+18.02

23

Andrew R

46.52

46.15

1:32.67

+18.51

6

Vivienne W

45.55

47.74

1:33.29

+19.13

22

John C

45.42

48.21

1:33.63

+19.47

7

Sophie W

51.11

52.10

1:43.21

+29.05

30

Malcolm M

54.55

49.41

1:43.96

+29.80

13

Jess M

56.45

53.88

1:50.33

+36.17

10

Bronwyn W

56.58

58.31

1:54.89

+40.73

33

Paul B

56.84

58.59

1:55.43

+41.27

31

Robert H

59.23

57.71

1:56.94

+42.78

25

Noel P

1:00.50

1:00.46

2:00.96

+46.80

32

William H

1:02.93

1:00.28

2:03.21

+49.05

11

Susan H

1:01.29

1:02.14

2:03.43

+49.27

3

Reeve R

1:03.87

1:04.47

2:08.34

+54.18

1

Carrie H

1:06.04

1:09.53

2:15.57

+1:01.41

9

Lynn C

58.26

1:21.78

2:20.04

+1:05.88

2

Gerard B

1:10.78

1:16.84

2:27.62

+1:13.46

12

Deborah K

1:21.40

1:25.25

2:46.65

+1:32.49

Last Updated: 28 January 2024 28 January 2024

A great start to the season

June snowfalls meant that most lifts were open for school holidays. And by 13 July, even International was running. 

snowfall graph

This graph from This Week in Falls Creek still tells the story of our June snow against the average year. There is still time to grab a few vacancies in August and plenty in September

The resort is trying to reduce waste so information is mainly online. The Insider Guide has all the most important info about Falls Creek, including taril maps, ski lesson information, places to eat. You can download it here of via a QR code poster in the foyer at the lodge. There is also a QR code for making bookings for the Windy Corner toboggan slope.

Jess is posting some beautiful photos as the season unfolds. You can see images like this at @lodgemanageraacfc on Instagram.

summit

 

 Also check out @aacfc on Instagram and @fallshuette on Facebook for more snowy goodness

 

Last Updated: 28 January 2024 28 January 2024
  1. Emergency contacts - add one in the booking system
  2. Lodge Manager extending!
  3. Annual Subscription Invoices - improved security
  4. Race Dinner 23
  5. Sunny September
  6. Busy weekends
  7. Christmas in July
  8. FCAA discount cards 2023
  9. Welcome to winter 2023
  10. Mountain Muster 2023
  11. Peak bookings still available
  12. Committee positions for 2023 - and a vacancy
  13. AAC Falls Creek 2023 AGM
  14. Race Weekend 2023
  15. Christmas in July
  16. Booking system payment issue for some
  17. Reminder of return to normal health measures
  18. 2023 Resort News
  19. Notice of 2023 Annual General Meeting
  20. New Proacct Contact Details