Committees of management

About committees of management

Around 1,500 Crown land reserves in Victoria (also referred to as Public land reserves) are managed by voluntary committees of management, with support and oversight from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). There are around 1,150 voluntary committees of management across Victoria. Most committees manage one reserve while some manage two or more reserves. Types of reserves include public halls, recreation reserves, rail trails, coastal reserves, caravan and camping parks and nature/conservation reserves.

Committee of Management guidelines

The 64-page Committee of Management Guidelines (last updated December 2021) provides detailed guidance to voluntary committees of management of Crown land reserves on topics including:

Committee responsibilities
Aboriginal cultural heritage and Traditional Owner rights
Standards of conduct and required policies
Financial management
Developing the reserve
Leases and licences
Insurance
Other governance and land management matters

It is expected that all committee of management members are familiar with the Guidelines. All new committee of management members should read the guidelines as part of their induction. Long-term committee members should read the December 2021 updated guidelines as they include significant new material compared to previous versions:

Committees of Management Guidelines (DOCX, 1.7 MB)

Committees of Management Guidelines (PDF, 919.1 KB)

Good Governance fact sheets and model policies for committees of management

The Good Governance Fact Sheets and model policies for committees of management provide a summary of key governance information for committees, with links to more detailed information available in model policies and the Committee of Management Guidelines.

Fact sheet topics include:

Financial management
Developing the reserve
Insurance

Model policies are provided for:

Gift, benefits and hospitality
Conflicts of interest
Meetings and decisions
Dispute resolution

The Fact Sheets are part of an Induction Kit for the new committee of management members. They also provide useful summaries of information for long-standing members.

Induction Kit for committees

The Induction Kit for committees of management for Crown land reserves provides key information for committee members, including new members. A summary is provided in a 32-slide presentation, Induction for Crown land reserve committees of management (PDF, 1.6 MB).

Note: The Induction Kit is designed for committees of management that are incorporated, or awaiting incorporation, through the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 and with income/expenditure of less than $1 million per year (approximately 90% of all committees). Crown land reserve committees of management that are Incorporated Associations or Companies Limited by Guarantee (and the larger “Category 1” committees) receive induction related material through other means.

The Induction Kit information for committees, includes:

Committee of Management guidelines (also, see above)
Good Governance Fact Sheets and model policies (also, see above)
Quick Guide Summary of the Code of Conduct for Directors of Victorian Public Entities (available as part of model policies)
Induction PowerPoint presentation (PDF, 1.6 MB)
Induction video (see below)
Back copies of the committee of management news bulletin, Voluntary committees of management news (see below)

In addition to the Induction PowerPoint, the Committee of Management Guidelines and Good Governance Fact Sheets, this induction video provides useful information for new committee members and longer-term members.

Voluntary committees of management news

Voluntary Committees of Management news includes a range of information for Crown land reserve committees of management across Victoria.

Grants

Grants to assist committees in their work may be available from a number of sources. See the links below for more information.

DELWP Grants:
Vic Gov Grants
Local councils can also provide grants.

Celebrating volunteers and reserves

Victoria’s 1,000+ committees of management of Crown land reserves rely on the goodwill and expertise of a wide range of volunteers, including members of committees of management.

A big thanks to everybody involved in committees of management. Whether it’s your first time on a committee, or you’ve been a member for many years, DELWP greatly values your skills, experience, knowledge and the time you devote to being a committee member. Thank you!

In future, this site will publish stories and photos celebrating volunteers, committees and Crown land reserves. See, for example, the story supplied by the Bacchus March Council Trench Reserve Committee of Management.

Sharing positive stories about Crown land reserves helps educate the broader community about the value of the work done by committees of management. It also helps committees to network and learn from each other.

If your committee would like to share a story with other committees through this DELWP committee of management website. Please get in contact with us at voluntary.committees@delwp.vic.gov.au.

Insurance for your committee

Through the Victorian Managed Insurance Agency (VMIA) DELWP provides public liability, professional indemnity and group personal accident (volunteers) insurance for voluntary committees of management. Further details are provided in a fact sheet on insurance as part of the series of Good Governance Fact Sheets for committees of management.

Certificates of currency for these insurances are provided below.

Annual Return

Each year, as part of accountability requirements under the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978, over 1,000 voluntary committees of management are required to provide financial and other information to DELWP through an Annual Financial Return (AFR). The AFR for 2020-21 is due by 30 September 2021.

Download the 2020-21 AFR form (DOCX, 198.4 KB) available for all committees.

The AFR form includes details for how to submit and other guidance. For AFR enquires contact the DELWP Customer Contact Centre on 136 186 or customer.service@delwp.vic.gov.au

Contacting your DELWP regional office

The Communities and regions section of the DELWP website has information about DELWP regions and locations.

DELWP Land and Built Environment (LBE) teams are responsible for supporting committees of management in each region. Relevant offices for Committees of Management include Geelong, Hamilton, Traralgon, Bairnsdale, Ballarat, Horsham, Seymour, Wodonga, Bendigo, Mildura, Knoxfield (for all of Melbourne metro).

You can also phone the DELWP Customer Contact Centre on 136 186 (ask to be put through to the LBE Team in your part of the State) or email: customer.service@delwp.vic.gov.au (and it will be forwarded to the public land email in your region).

Crown Land Kiosk

The Crown Land Kiosk is a part of DELWP’s internet-based land management information system. The Kiosk is specially tailored to assist Committees of Management with the management of Crown land reserves.

Features include:

submitting the Annual Return, including financial details (no more paper forms or envelopes/postage required)
storing copies of key documents and required committee policies, such as the Conflict of interest policy
maps of Crown land reserve boundaries
details of leases or licences
a committee's assets register can be maintained through the Kiosk

And much more! For example, there is a section to submit issues related to reserves for response by DELWP.

All committees are encouraged to make sure they have at least two or three Committee members who are comfortable using the Kiosk.

The Kiosk is designed for individual committee members to have their own unique log-in with a password. Access can be from a mobile phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer.

A half-hour video from a Crown Land Kiosk training session provides detailed guidance for using the Kiosk.

How to use the Victorian Crown Land Kiosk

For further information and to request access to the Kiosk, email: CLIP@delwp.vic.gov.au or contact a DELWP Committees of Management staff member in your region (see contact details above).

Coronavirus (COVID19) information for committees

Please see the Information and resources for land managers website for updates on the responsibilities of land managers in implementing coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions.

Official information and advice about coronavirus (COVID-19), including directions about current public health measures that Committees of Management must follow, is available on the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) website.

Committees of Management should check the DHHS website on a regular basis as the situation is very dynamic; advice and directions will change as circumstances change. It is important to reduce the risk of transmission of the virus in the Victorian community.

Page last updated: 29/04/22