Association News Victorian Division *All upcoming meetings and events listed are COVID-19 dependent.
ZONE MEETINGS The first Zone Meeting for the year was held on 5 February at the Mid City Hotel in Warrnambool. The guest speaker for the evening was Jason Kelly from Dementia Australia. Jason has been a Counsellor and Dementia Consultant at the Warrnambool office for over ten years, supporting families living with dementia and carers across South West Victoria. Jason will also present at the April Zone meeting at The Caledonian Hotel in Echuca. Jason provided invaluable information about how to better support colleagues, family and clients who may present with the signs and symptoms of dementia, advice to assist people in how to understand ways to respect and acknowledge the voice of someone with dementia, especially when it comes to making decisions about funeral arrangements. Jason also afforded suggestions about how to interact with and support a person living with dementia.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING The Division is currently exploring options to hold the AGM Weekend on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 July in Bright. The VIC Division is also in the early planning stages with the TAS Division discussing the possibility of holding another joint AGM in 2021, after the positive success of the 2019 joint AGM at the Pepper’s Silo in Launceston on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 August 2019.
MEMBER SUPPORT PROGRAM Members are encouraged to chat with their Member Support contact about any issues or concerns ahead of each Divisional Council meeting, Industry Stakeholder meeting or when an item of concern arises. A template covering off specific Government and Industry topics has been generated to assist Councillors when talking to their member firm. This template also includes an overview 32
about the most recent Zone meeting and the guest speaker, and the date for the upcoming Divisional events.
DIVISIONAL COUNCIL The first VIC Divisional Council meeting for 2020 was held on Tuesday 25 February 2019 at the National Office in Kew East. Councillors discussed the release of the tender for the Coroners Court of Victoria’s (CCoV) contract for ‘Transport of Deceased Persons’, Birth Deaths and Marriages (BDM) service delivery and the upcoming meeting on Thursday 19 March 2020 with Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (SMCT) staff to discuss SMCT’s internal policy change to lowering devices.
BIRTHS DEATHS AND MARRIAGES Divisional Councillors continue to meet with BDM Registrar James Lawson and Jo Clements to maintain awareness of the AFDA’s concerns about ongoing issues of the RIO system. Regular quarterly meetings have been added to diaries with the next meeting scheduled for early May, just prior to the next VIC Council meeting on Thursday 21 May 2020.
CORONERS COURT OF VICTORIA (CCOV) On Wednesday 29 January 2020, AFDA received confirmation that the Coroners Court of Victoria’s Transport of Deceased Persons tender contract was released. A public briefing for registered parties was held on Tuesday 5 February 2020, with deadlines for the submission due on Wednesday 26 February 2020. The scope of Services in the tender includes the following Service Categories: • Melbourne Metropolitan Collections; • Regional Collections; and • Regional Repatriations. Respondents may offer Services in one, two or all three Categories.
