Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Port Phillip Men’s Shed Association Incorporated will be held on Monday 16 November 2020, 7.30pm using Zoom online conferencing. Please refer to the attached AGM Notice and agenda.

All members are welcome to join. Zoom laptop/phone login details will be issued before the meeting.

Members may also submit a proxy voting form if they wish to vote but cannot attend the AGM – refer attached proxy voting form.

Members will be aware that our shed is run by a committee and all members are encouraged to consider joining the committee in an office bearer position (President; Secretary or Treasurer) or as a general committee member. New committee members not only bring new ideas to the sheds’ operations and vision, but also provide a break for those who have been on the committee for some time. Attached is a committee nomination form should you wish to nominate.

Our current secretary, Tony Donohue is planning to step down from the committee after the AGM. Any member wishing to discuss nominating for Secretary can contact Bob Small or Tony Donohue for more information. A role description for Secretary is also attached.

Other meeting documents to be presented at the meeting will be issued in due course.

Any questions, completed forms or meeting apologies should be emailed/mailed/hand to Tony Donohue, secretary@ppmsa.org.au

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

The Annual General Meeting of the Port Phillip Men’s Shed Association Incorporated was held at 6.30pm, Monday 11 November 2019 at SPUC Head Office meeting room, 317-329 Dorcas St., South Melbourne. 20 members and guests attended.

Bob Small, President delivered his president’s report for the period 1/7/2018 – 30/6/2019 (refer attachment below). Bob referred to our continuing membership growth; strong financial position and our ongoing support for local communities. He also acknowledged the continuing accommodation support from Southport Uniting Care and National Storage. Bob also focussed on our current safety record and the need for all members to be fully aware of their own and other members safety at all times.

The meeting endorsed our current fee structure of:

• $20 joining fee
• $40 annual membership fee

Regarding committee elections, there being no contested positions re-endorsed Bob Small (President); Tony Donohue (secretary) and the continuing election of Rod Hall (Workshop Manager), John Stirling, Barry Bevan and Peter Harkin as committee members. In addition two new committee members Peter King and Bill Tsialtas were also elected.

Bob especially thanked Justin Gates (Treasurer) and Stephen Ingrouille (Membership) who are stepping down from the committee for their invaluable support over a number of years. The role of Treasurer is currently vacant.

Any questions regarding the AGM should be directed to PPMSA Secretary,  Tony Donohue, secretary@ppmsa.org.au  

PPMSA President’s Report 2018-19

Rod (workshop manager). Frans and Tim assembling our new SawStop table saw, which has a number of new operational and safety features.

We will be providing supervisor and member training on this new saw once assembly and testing is complete.

The new saw was purchased utilising a grant received from the Australian Government, Dept. of Social Services.

Michael and Miguel constructing a bench using our new Festool plunge saw and guide rail system. This system allows timber edges to be cut, which are free of splinting, damage or burn marks. The system is quick to setup and use.

Members keen to use this system can review the following Youtube link:

This system was purchased utilising a grant received from the South Melbourne Community Chest.

We recently had an enquiry from a Port Melbourne resident regarding making a custom designed  cabinet to complement their existing furniture.

The detail and finish required a level of skill and expertise much finer than our usual projects and Tim Smith put his hand up to take on the challenge. After a “meeting of the minds” with Peter Greenacre the two of them decided on the best way to produce the required result – the cabinet had a  20 degree angle on the front edging.

The finished article was excellent and the resident was extremely happy with the result:

“Thank you Bob and Tim for organising and building of our bespoked cabinet. It is just as we imagined and perfectly crafted.

Thanks again

John & Elaine Folino“

In appreciation John made a $100 donation to the Shed.

Great craftsmanship and an excellent result Tim (“with a little help from his friends”).

The PPMSA committee has recently reviewed and updated our Privacy Policy – refer attachment below.

There is no change too core content, but rather some wording has been changed to reflect current wording published by AMSA.

PPMSA Policy 004 Privacy Policy 8 July 2019

On 10 June 2019, the PPMSA committee reviewed and approved an update to our OH&S Policy – refer attached document.

All members should read this and be guided accordingly.

PPMSA Policy 003 Occupational Health & Safety 190610

Message from Kathleen Wesley at Verto:

My name is Kathleen and I am working alongside the federal government and I work from Verto Employment.

We’re working on a new federal Government program providing discounted training for mature age workers.

Verto is a not for profit organisation backed by the federal Government offering discounted training and free employment support for mature aged adults.

We also do career support and redundancy support.

I would love to get some exposure about the financial support that is available for individuals.

I just thought I would flag this with you as you may know of any mature aged (45-70) need support in regards to employment support options in areas of Port Phillip.

https://www.verto.org.au/what-we-do/skills-checkpoint?fbclid=IwAR1Z2Ygz4-qdKR_sLCqTjyfJ93Q9-keTqjfxfwITi0p_-t25cFgtY0eczR0

Here is some extra info about the Skills and Training Incentive:

Government website: https://www.jobs.gov.au/skills-and-training-incentive

On the news recently: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2081430801952050

Many thanks for helping this small but mighty not for profit organisation.

So if this is something that interests you, get in touch with Kathleen on 0455 936 252 or KWesley@verto.org.au

All members are alerted to the following exclusions in regard to claiming related medical costs under our AMSA Voluntary Workers (members) Personal Accident insurance arrangement.

The principal exclusions applying are as follows:

• Pre-existing medical conditions
• All costs where Medicare covers any part of the cost.

The latter point above is particularly important because all general insurers are prohibited by law to insure what is knows as the “Gap” i.e. the difference between the full medical cost and any Medicare refund.

If a member is injured at the shed and seeks treatment at a Doctors General Practice, then Medicare would generally cover part of this service and our insurer would not cover the subsequent out-of-pocket expense. The out-of-pocket expense would be the member’s responsibility.

If a member has private medical insurance, then this may provide further reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses.

Depending on the injury circumstances, the AMSA Insurance Program provides a number of defined injury benefits and for some, other insurance exclusions/limitations may also apply.

Members can read the full AMSA 2019/2020 Insurance Program Frequently Asked Questions, which are available at the SPUC shed.

The PPMSA Committee has recently reviewed, and approved, our shed rules to ensure these provide a framework for member safety and operational efficiency.

All members should take time to read these and be guided accordingly.

PPMSA Process 002 Shed Rules 190312