IFE Australia Newsletter February 2015  Welcome  to  the  first  IFE  Australia  Newsletter  of  2015.  The  current  Australia  Branch  committee  comprises  4  Officer  Positions  and  3  Elected  Member  positions  in  accordance  with  our  Incorporation  requirements:  -­‐  • National  President  –  Frank  Mendham  • National  Secretary  –  Andrew  Sharrad  • National  Treasurer  –  Andrew  Comer  • Vice  President  –  Jeremy  Fewtrell  • Public  Officer  –  Mark  Reilly  • Elected  Member  (Acting)  –  Adam  Dalrymple  • Elected  Member  (Acting)  –  Stephen  Wise  Christine  Sharrad  is  IFE  Australia’s  National  Executive  Officer  (NEO),  which  is  a  non-­‐voting  position  that  reports  to  the  Branch  Council,  manages  the  IFE  Administration  and  Chairs  the  new  IFE  Australia  Committee.  http://www.ife.org.au/contacts/  New  Election  Process  for  IFE  Australia  Branch  Council  -­‐  An  outcome  of  the  introduction  and  acceptance  of  a  new  Constitution  for  IFE  Australia  at  the  October  2014  AGM  is  a  new  national  election  process,  which  is  currently  being  developed  by  a  committee  consisting  of  IFEWA  and  IFEQLD  headed  by  Andrew  Comer.  It  is  expected  that  this  new  process  will  be  fully  implemented  for  the  2015  IFE  Branch  Council  elections  allowing  all  eligible  members  the  opportunity  to  nominate  for  and  vote  on. IFE  Australia  Committee  –  is  now  open  for  any  members  wishing  to  get  involved  in  the  IFE  at  a  national  level  on  a  voluntary  basis.  Several  committees  currently  exist,  with  some  of  these  having  a  fixed  duration,  however  no  committee  will  extend  beyond  1  year  without  Branch  Council  approval.  For  example,  a  project  is  underway  by  Ian  Munro  who  is  working  on  the  history  of  IFE  in  Australia.  A  conference  committee  is  also  underway.  IFE  is  particularly  interested  in  members  who  have  an  interest  in  developing  relationships  with  existing  and  potential  IFE  sponsorship  and  members  who  have  similar  interests. IFE  Australia  Annual  Conference  2015  –  will  be  held  in  Canberra  between  Wednesday  7  to  Friday  9  October  2015.  The  theme  of  the  conference  is  ‘Fire  Safety:  So  much  more  than  compliance  with  the  NCC-­‐BCA’.  As  part  of  the  conference  we  hope  to  establish  where  the  NCC  is  headed  from  a  performance  perspective  and  consequently  link  this  back  to  other  emerging  factors  that  are  becoming  more  prevalent.  A  ‘Call  For  Papers’  has  just  been  released.  http://www.ife.org.au/2015-­‐ife-­‐australia-­‐conference-­‐call-­‐for-­‐papers/

Bachelors  Degree  in  Emergency  Services  –  A  new  Central  Queensland  University  degree  program  is  about  to  commence  and  can  be  studied  by  distance  education  mode.  Of  particular  note  is  the  fact  that  this  program  has  been  developed  specifically  for  the  emergency  service  sector  or  those  working  in  an  emergency  service  function  in  an  organisation.  CQU  are  awarding  block  credit  for  Vocational  Education  and  Training  (VET)  qualifications  (up  to  two  years  credit  for  a  relevant  Advanced  Diploma)  so  participants  can  select  to  specialise  in  one  of  three  areas  depending  upon  their  interest  and  career  goals.  The  website  is  perhaps  the  best  place  in  the  first  instance  for  more  information  however  further  details  can  be  obtained  from  Helen  Keen-­‐Dyer,  Development  Lead,  Emergency  Services,  CQUniversity  Ph  +61  07  41507154  (x7154)  or  h.keendyer@cqu.edu.au https://handbook.cqu.edu.au/programs/index?programCode=CC60  Ray  Manser  Fire  Engineering  Award  –  is  now  open  to  nominations  from/for  eligible  IFE  members  who  hold  IFERG  EngTech,  IEng  or  CEng  accreditation.  This  award  has  been  established  to  recognize  excellence  in  fire  engineering  and  /  or  contribution  to  fire  engineering  in  Australia. The  National  Fire  Engineers  Register  of  IFE  Australia  (NFER)  –  is  IFE  Australia’s  register  of  accredited  IFERG  members  who  hold  either  CEng,  IEng  or  EngTech  accreditation.  IFERG  members  should  review  this  register  from  time  to  time  to  ensure  their  details  are  correctly  displayed.  In  relation  to  IFERG  progress,  Andy  Sharrad  is  the  Australia  IFERG  EngTech  'go  to'  person.  So  if  you  are  considering  applying  for  Engineering  Technician  status,  please  contact  Andy.  MOU  -­‐  A  Memorandum  of  Understanding  has  been  developed  by  IFE  Australia,  which  will  be  used  as  a  vehicle  to  establish  working  relationships  with  like-­‐minded  organisations.  The  purpose  of  this  is  primarily  to  offer  benefits  to  our  members  through  mutually  agreed  reductions  in  conference  attendance  fees  and  to  improve  networking  between  members  of  the  various  organisations.  

I  look  forward  to  meeting  as  many  as  possible  of  our  IFE  Australia  members  at  future  conferences  or  local  events  around  Australia.  Please  feel  free  to  contact  me  if  you  wish  to  discuss  any  issues  in  relation  to  IFE.  Frank  Mendham  CEng  FIFireE  President  IFE  Australia  http://www.ife.org.au/contacts/