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 (CoMs) with support and oversight from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA).

There are around 1,150 Voluntary CoMs across Victoria. Most 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.

Recent updates

Incorporation details

An incorporated organisation means that members have decided to give their organisation a formal legal structure. This legal entity stays the same even if its members change.

Voluntary Crown land reserve committees of management (Voluntary CoMs) are all appointed as Crown land reserve managers through the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 (CLRA) but the basis of their incorporation as organisations may vary:

  • The majority of Voluntary CoMs (around 85%) are incorporated through the CLRA (referred to below as CLRA Incorporated CoMs)
  • the bulk of the remaining Voluntary CoMs are Incorporated Associations (IA) governed by the Associations Incorporation Reform Act 2012 and regulated by Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV)
  • there are also some that are Companies Limited by Guarantee (CLG) governed by the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) or Cooperatives (governed by the Co-operatives National Law Application Act 2013).

All of these entities are non-profit organisations. Some IAs/CLGs/Cooperatives are also defined as charities and report to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC).  Annual accountability statements

All Voluntary CoMs are required to provide an Annual Accountability Statement to DEECA regarding the Crown land reserve(s) they manage.

CLRA Incorporated CoMs provide an Annual Return (see more below) that includes detailed financial information. This is due on 30 September each year and pertains to the previous financial year (1 July to 30 June).

The Annual Crown Land Statement required of IAs/CLGs and Cooperatives does not require the same level of financial information in recognition of the fact that these groups provide detailed overall financial information to their incorporation regulator (for example CAV or the ACNC for IAs).

Rather, the Annual Crown Land Statement focuses on:

  1. Evidence that information as required by the relevant incorporation regulator has been submitted and is up to date and
  2. a summary of land management activities for the reserve(s).

The deadline for this Statement varies according to the designated financial year of the organisation (some do calendar rather than financial years).

Annual return

As well as being a legislative requirement of the Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 (CLRA) the Annual Return provides valuable information for DEECAs overview and support role for CLRA Incorporated committees.

The original due date for the 2023-24 Annual Return was 30 September 2024. For any CoMs that have not yet submitted the 23-24 Annual Return, please lodge as soon as possible or by 30 November 2024 at the latest.

You can download the Annual Return form:

For Annual Return enquiries email: voluntary.committees@deeca.vic.gov.au.

Voluntary CoMs e-newsletter

The Voluntary CoMs e-newsletter includes a range of information for Crown land reserve CoMs across Victoria.

Stories from Crown Land reserves

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

If your committee would like to share a story with other committees through this DEECA committee of management website, please get in contact with us at voluntary.committees@deeca.vic.gov.au. Wed love to get some more stories to publish. Every reserve is unique, with many stories to tell.

You can write the story yourself or if youd like some help with the write-up, let us know and a staff member will get in touch to discuss options.

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:

  • Aboriginal cultural heritage and Traditional Owner rights
  • committee responsibilities
  • 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:

Model policies for committees of management

As outlined in Section 4 of the Committee of Management guidelines, committees are required to have policies and procedures on:

  • Gifts, benefits and hospitality
  • conflict of Interest
  • meetings and decisions
  • dispute resolution.

For each of these, see Model policies for committees of management Open in slide out for copies of model policies to assist committees. These model policies can be adopted in full or adapted to suit committee preferences.

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)
  • model policies for committees of management (see heading above)
  • quick guide summary of the Code of Conduct (DOCX, 951.9 KB) for directors of Victorian public entities
  • induction presentation for Crown land reserve committees of management (see link above)
  • induction video (see below)
  • back copies of the committee of management news bulletin, Voluntary committees of management news (see heading above).

In addition to the Induction PowerPoint, the Committee of Management guidelines and other information referenced above, this induction video (now somewhat out of date) includes useful overview information for new committee members and longer-term members.

Grants information

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

Insurance for your committee

Through the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA) DEECA provides insurance for voluntary committees of management for Public liability (and Products liability), Professional liability (sometimes known as Professional indemnity) and Group Personal Accident (for volunteers including committee members).

The Certificates of Currency provided below are for the 2024-25 financial year ending on 30th June 2025.

Combined Liability – certificate of currency (includes Public Liability, Products Liability and Professional liability)

Group Personal Accident – certificate of currency (for volunteers including committee members)

Further information about insurance for committees is included in Section 9 of the Committee of Management Guidelines. The guidelines include information about other types of insurance not provided by DEECA (for example, Building and Contents Insurance).

Declaration of use - mulch/green waste

Before mulches/green wastes are received at a Crown land reserve managed by Voluntary CoM, generators/suppliers of the mulch must ensure that the mulch is:

  • Not contaminated with other substances such as plastics or metals
  • free from weed and weed seed contamination
  • not generated from green waste which had potential diseases or pathogens such as Phytophthora cinnamomi (also known as cinnamon fungus)
  • to the required specifications (size) as agreed.

To track the source of mulches being received at CoM locations, DEECA requires completion of a Declaration of Use (DoU) form. This form requires input and signed declarations from both the mulch/green waste supplier and the CoM.

Via the signed declaration by the mulch supplier in Section G of the form, mulch suppliers are required to indicate that the mulch/green waste is not coming from known Phytophthora cinnamomi areas to an area without a history of Phytophthora cinnamomi.

Contaminated land matters for CoMs are discussed in Section 15.1 of the Committee of Management Guidelines. This includes CoMs obligations and responsibilities under the Environment Protection Act 2017 (EP Act) regarding the following Specific duties relating to the prevention and management of contaminated land:

  1. General Environmental Duty (section 25 of the EP Act)
  2. duty to Manage contaminated land (section 39 of the EP Act), and
  3. duty to Notify of contaminated land (section 40 of the EP Act).

For further information from a DEECA staff member about the mulch/green waste process, or any other contaminated land matters, please contact contaminatedland@deeca.vic.gov.au.

ATO income tax exemption issues

Starting from the 2023-24 income year, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) requires non-charitable not-for-profits (NFPs) with an active Australian Business Number (ABN) to submit an annual NFP self-review form to check if they are eligible for income tax exemption. The deadline for the 2023-24 form is October 31, 2024.

Some Crown land reserve committees of management (and/or IA user groups of the reserve) have received a letter from the ATO asking them to complete the NFP self-review. Other CoMs have not received the ATO letter and are not required to complete the NFP self-review.

A key determinant of which groups received the ATO letter (and which didnt) is the Entity Type tagging of a groups ABN. In some cases, confusion about the correct tagging of ABN Entity Type has led to CoMs receiving the ATO letter (and being asked to complete the NFP self-review) when in fact, if the ABN tagging was correct, the CoM would be exempt from the NFP self-review process.

To help CoM members understand the ATOs NFP self-review process, a detailed 10-page guide is available:

It covers:

  • Types of Incorporation and the difference between Not-for-profit and charitable
  • the importance of ABN Entity Type tagging
  • suggested actions for CoMs who have received the ATO letter (and believe they shouldnt have)
  • key ATO links for information about the NFP self-review return
  • ensuring your CoMs ATO Associate and/or Authorised Contact details are up to date
  • how to make ABN changes through the Australian Business Register
  • note on when a grant application is denied because of having a State Government Entity tagged ABN.

For further information contact:

Michael Gourlay, DEECA Project Manager Committees of Management

Email: voluntary.committees@deeca.vic.gov.au

Phone: 0404 255 317

Or the DEECA Land and Built Environment (LBE) team in your part of the State.

Contacts for committees of management

For day-to-day issues, including changes to committee member contact details, committee appointment processes, or other land management matters, committees of management should contact their regional Land and Built Environment (LBE) teams. Direct emails for these teams are below.

General enquiries related to committees of management can initially be directed to voluntary.committees@deeca.vic.gov.au or by phone to the DEECA Customer Contact Centre on 136 186. In most instances, these enquiries will be forwarded to the appropriate LBE team.

DEECA LBE team contacts

You can contact your regional LBE team by calling the DEECA Customer Contact Centre on 136 186 and asking for the LBE team that covers the geographic area of the committee/reserve you are enquiring about. Visit Regions and locations for more information on these areas.

Crown Land Kiosk

The Crown Land Kiosk is a part of DEECAs 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 committees 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 DEECA.

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 login with a password. Access can be from a mobile phone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer.

A 20-minute video from a Crown Land Kiosk training session provides detailed guidance for using the Kiosk.

How to use the Victorian Crown Land Kiosk

Page last updated: 05/11/24