CONDITIONS OF WIRES MEMBERSHIP
Each person must read this information before completing their application for membership or membership renewal.
The Licence to Rehabilitate Injured, Sick and Orphaned Protected Animals (being Licence No MWL000100285 (Licence)) is granted to Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service Ltd. (WIRES) by the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS), a directorate of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, in accordance with the provisions of Part 2 of the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW).
Under the Licence, WIRES is (amongst other things) authorised to rescue and rehabilitate specified Australian native wildlife. As a member of WIRES, you will also have authority to rescue and rehabilitate specified 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 for or 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 (apply at members@wires.org.au). The Board of WIRES may, at its sole and exclusive discretion, grant or deny such permission.
Conditions of membership:
1. You do not currently hold any rehabilitation authorisation or licence from NPWS (other than by virtue of your membership of WIRES Ltd.)
2. You are not a member of an organisation or entity that does work which is similar to the work carried out by WIRES Ltd.
3. You have never had your membership of WIRES Ltd, or of any other organisation or entity that does work which is similar to the work carried out by WIRES Ltd., terminated or suspended.
4. You have never been refused membership of WIRES Ltd, or of any other organisation or entity that does work which is similar to the work carried out by WIRES Ltd.
5. You have not been convicted of an offence under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 No 63, or the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals act 1979 no 200 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 members of your Branch, nor is it required when fulfilling statutory obligations such as a valid request by a member of WIRES Ltd. for the Register of Members under the Corporations Act 2002 (Cth). When you first joined WIRES, you gave us permission to disclose to the 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 your basic personal information from time to time and you agree to continue to permit WIRES to disclose to the 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 WIRES policies, procedures, guidelines and handbooks and the NSW Department of Environment and Heritage Codes of Practice for Injured, Sick and Orphaned Protected Fauna (as detailed on the WIRES Members’ Website) of the Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service Limited (WIRES) and undertake not to contravene wildlife or animal cruelty laws, such as the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 No 63, and the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals act 1979 no 200. All native animals remain the property of the Crown, whether alive or dead.
2. Contact the appropriate Species Coordinator when attending a rescue (or shortly thereafter) to ensure a care plan is made for the animal if required, and the Species Coordinator is made aware of the specifics of the case.
3. Ensure all animal records are completed and updated in WIRES systems as soon as possible after the animal is rescued, updated accordingly with all required information pertaining to that animal including but not limited to cause, injury, weights, age, veterinary visits, and the fate details of the animal as soon as they are known.
4. Comply with directions given by the Species Coordinators, Wildlife Welfare Team or WIRES Veterinarian with regard to the fate, and the movements of animals in care including a direction to present an animal to a Vet. Non-compliance with Branch/Species Coordinator, Wildlife Welfare Team or WIRES Veterinarian or authorised WIRES Ltd representative 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 Ltd.
5. Acknowledge that any animal held in care for over 1 month must undergo evaluation by the Species Coordinator (or nominated Branch Officer). In the case of an animal held in care for over 3 months, subject to any WIRES policy in place in relation to appropriate rehabilitation timelines for specific species, the Species Coordinator must nominate a third party, preferably the treating Vet, WIRES Vet, the Wildlife Welfare Team, or experienced species specific member, to determine whether rehabilitation of the animal will continue and provide a written report.
6. Take full responsibility for any WIRES facilities and equipment, ensuring that you properly manage, maintain and safeguard all property and equipment held and acknowledge that the said property and equipment shall always remain the property of WIRES.
7. Pay the annual WIRES membership renewal fee if applicable and renew membership each year by agreeing to WIRES conditions of membership.
8. On joining, members agree to contribute an amount of $1 to the Company’s property ONLY if WIRES Ltd. is wound up, as per WIRES Constitution Section 2.14.
9. If for any reason the holder resigns or has their authorisation cancelled, they agree to return all items belonging to WIRES to the Branch Equipment Officer or nominated contact.
10. All WIRES members must permit an inspection of facilities and fauna at the premises of rehabilitation of wildlife held in care under WIRES Licence to Rehabilitate Injured, Sick and Orphaned Protected Animals (being Licence No MWL000100285 (Licence)) when requested to do so by a member of the Wildlife Welfare Team, WIRES Veterinarian, authorised NPWS officers or other persons authorised by the WIRES Board or WIRES Head Office.
11. WIRES members must notify WIRES head office immediately, so that they can notify NSW DPIRD (Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development) & NPWS, should they acquire a non-native (exotic) reptile.
12. WIRES members must notify the Wildlife Welfare Team (who will notify the relevant Species Team) immediately should they rescue or acquire a threatened Species.
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, participate in volunteer activities, and rehabilitate wildlife for 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.
Social Media and Media Engagement
By joining WIRES or renewing your membership, you are agreeing that you have read and understood WIRES Social Media and Media Engagement Policy.
Whenever WIRES members are interacting on social media or engaging with media, whether in an official or personal capacity, the following guiding principles should be adhered to. Members are:
• Expected to engage with others and WIRES respectfully and professionally.
• Encouraged to share and repost information that is relevant, appropriate to WIRES objects and activities, and aligned with WIRES policies,
• Not to knowingly publish, post or share incorrect, confidential, defamatory, or misleading information about WIRES’ work, or the work of other organisations or individuals.
• Not to publish, post or share any content in contravention of any WIRES policies and codes of conduct, Enterprise Agreements, Awards, employment contracts, volunteer agreements, Codes of Practice, or Australian laws or regulations.
• Not to publicly post or share any images or footage of animals under the care of WIRES Biodiversity Conservation Licence, except for Official Use, without permission from WIRES Media Manager or Marketing Manager.
Your Privacy and WIRES Ltd.
WIRES Ltd. collects and holds personal information from its members for the purposes of administering membership, ensuring compliance with WIRES’ biodiversity conservation licence and related statutory obligations, including those under the Corporations Act, and facilitating the rescue, rehabilitation and care of wildlife. Such personal information may include:
• your name, residential address, telephone numbers, email address, date of birth and occupation;
• details of any previous membership of comparable organisations and any suspensions or terminations of membership;
• details of any conviction of an offence under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW), the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 (NSW), or any other relevant legislation;
• health information, including vaccination records and blood titre results (for example, rabies titres (SS), where relevant to your eligibility to rescue or care for bats);
• your availability for rescues and details of any equipment available for use in rescues, and details of any equipment, assets, or resources in your possession that may be reasonably available for use in rescues and/or wildlife rehabilitation;
• your experience and skills, including details of wildlife courses attended and the dates of completion.
WIRES considers the collection of the above information necessary for the proper functioning, good governance and objectives of the organisation. The information is required in order to confirm eligibility to act as a rescuer or carer within WIRES’ network of volunteers, to meet licence and statutory obligations, and to enable WIRES to communicate effectively with members.
WIRES will use and disclose personal information only for the purposes described above, for the furtherance of WIRES’ objectives, or as otherwise authorised or required by law. In particular:
• WIRES may disclose personal information to external organisations such as the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), relevant regulatory authorities, courts and law enforcement agencies;
• WIRES may also disclose personal information to third-party service providers, contractors or collaborators engaged to support WIRES’ operations, in accordance with WIRES’ Privacy Policy; and
• sensitive health information, such as titre results, will not be disclosed to any non-member except as required by NPWS, a law enforcement officer or a court of competent jurisdiction;
• as a result of a valid request by a member of WIRES Ltd. for the Register of Members under the Corporations Act 2002 (Cth)
All WIRES members acknowledge that certain communications issued by WIRES, including but not limited to operational notices, compliance updates and other matters integral to volunteering and membership, constitute transactional communications. Such communications are essential to your membership and are not subject to any unsubscribe facility.
All personal information collected, used and disclosed by WIRES will be handled in accordance with WIRES’ Privacy Policy and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).
By maintaining membership with WIRES, you acknowledge and consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your personal information on the terms set out above and in WIRES’ Privacy Policy.
WIRES Insurance and You
WIRES Ltd. 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 WIRES member in the pursuit of WIRES Ltd. business.
Volunteers 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 the rehabilitation of native animals.
• No cover is provided for sickness / illness.
• 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 each year, they are no longer a member of WIRES Ltd. They are therefore no longer covered under WIRES Ltd. insurance policies and no longer authorised to rescue and rehabilitate Australian native animals.
A copy of the current WIRES Volunteer Personal Accident Insurance Certificate of Currency here.
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 of WIRES Ltd. I agree to abide by the conditions of membership as outlined above including Constitution, Code of Conduct, Code of Ethics and WHS Policies.
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