Bulletin Board - Community News

Safeguarding and Integrity Series - Focus for Session Three (Large Scale Netball Events, Activities and Carnivals, Where Multiple Member Associations are Participating)

The next session in Netball Queensland's Safeguarding and Integrity Series (on Monday 29 April 2024) is going to have a focus on safeguarding in large scale netball events and activities, run, but also attended, by Netball Queensland's Member Associations and Community Members.

So, what can help this session provide the most value for attendees? Be aware of your own Association's processes, policies and be willing to provide feedback for how your Association deals with handling a major netball event's (e.g. if your Association attended the Senior State Age Championships or what is in place for your Association's upcoming major carnivals and events that will bring together multiple Netball Queensland Member Associations) safeguarding aspects. How does your Association manage?:-

* travel,

* communication,

* officials under the age of 18,

* accommodation, and;

* unforeseen circumstances.

With this session, the more interaction and input from attendees will lead to a better session for all in attendance, but Netball Queensland staff are happy to meet with you (and other representatives of your Association) to assess your Association's current processes and offer assistance after the session.

If this sounds like something that your Association would want to contribute to / be a part of, register now (it's free for representatives of Netball Queensland's Member Associations and Community (Category Five) Members) through the following link:-

2024 Safeguarding and Integrity Workshops - Register Now

Please note that this session (as with other sessions in the series) is not being recorded for publication as a training resource. The recording of the sessions will be done for internal review, to assist in the development of future sessions in the series.

Renewal of Netball Australia's Insurance Program

The Netball Australia Insurance Program was renewed on 1 April 2024.

The following information refers to specific policies within the Program.

Public and Products Liability

Updated Certificates of Currency are now available for download from Howden's Netball Australia Insurance Centre:-

Download your organisation's Certificate of Currency for the remainder of 2024*

* To be eligible to obtain a Certificate of Currency, your organisation needs to be a recognised member of Netball Queensland's Community, either directly affiliated to Netball Queensland (as a Category One (Member Association) or Category Five (Community) Member) or affiliated to a Member Organisation of Netball Queensland.

Personal Accident 

• There is a new insurer for Netball Australia's Personal Accident insurance policy, Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance Company.  Due to this change, there is also a new claim form to complete for injuries sustained on, or after, 1 April 2024.  Information regarding the claim process and associated forms can be found at https://www.howdengroup.com/au-en/netball-how-to-make-a-claim
• The claim form for injuries sustained between 1 February 2023 and 31 March 2024 is still available on the website and can be accessed through the above link.
• For claims that have not been initiated relating to injuries sustained prior to 1 February 2023, contact Howden directly.
• Currently in development is an electronic claim lodgement process, with a potential release in late 2024, this will be through Howden's Netball Australia Insurance Centre.
• Completing the incorrect claim form (based on when the injury was sustained) will delay the processing of the claim and likely require the process to be repeated, using the correct form.  Any questions regarding the claims process (prior to the submission of the claim) are to be directed to Howden.
• For updates on the status of your claim, the contact point will differ, based on when the injury occurred and what claim form you are needing to complete and submit.  The details of who to contact regarding update requests will be on the claim form you are submitting, in any case, it will not be Howden or Netball Queensland.

Property

• All Member Associations and Clubs are automatically covered for up to $20,000 contents cover and $2,500 for stock.
• For Member Associations and Clubs that require a higher level of cover, who have not already done so, contact Howden for a quote.

Cyber

For Member Associations or Clubs that would like advice and a quote for Cyber insurance, please contact Howden to discuss this insurance coverage in more detail.

For more information regarding the Netball Australia Insurance Program (including exclusions, prohibited activities, scope / limitations of coverage, etc.) regarding any of the policies within the Program, or to discuss your organisation's individual circumstances, to determine whether the coverage offered in the Program is sufficient for your organisation's Netball Activities, please visit Howden's Netball Australia Insurance Centre or contact Howden directly via:-

Telephone:  1300 420 370

Email:  netball.aus@howdengroup.com

Netball Queensland's primary contact regarding the Netball Australia Insurance Program is Shawn Fitzgerald (Member Services Manager), you can direct your enquiries to him here.

2024 Safeguarding and Integrity Workshops

Netball Queensland are hosting a series of 2024 Safeguarding and Integrity Workshops for its Member Associations (Category One Members) and Community (Category Five) Members, commencing on Wednesday 28 February (6:30 p.m.) with an in-person event at Nissan Arena, followed by further virtual offerings every month through to, and including, September.

The first virtual workshops are booked for Tuesday 26 March (6:30 p.m.) and Monday 29 April (6:30 p.m.).

The topics to be covered are:

1. Netball’s National Integrity Policy Framework

2. Safeguarding Children and Young People

3. Member Protection and Respectful Behaviours

4. Complaint Handling/Management

5. Managing Sideline Misconduct

6. PLUS Relevant NQ Governance Updates

Netball Queensland have engaged Not On My Watch to run the workshop sessions.

REGISTER HERE

Who from Member Associations and Community Member Organisations should attend?

Attendance is targeted at roles with a governance or complaints oversight within Member Associations and Community Members (President/Vice President, Secretary or Complaints Manager).

Member Associations and Community Members are encouraged to bring more than one representative to the workshops, but with a limit of three (3) at the February in-person event.

Note: The content and topics covered will be the same in all three workshops, but feel free to attend multiple workshops for continued education and development. 

Any questions regarding the workshops can be directed to Netball Queensland's Governance, Policy and Integrity Manager, Michael Wright.

FairPlay Voucher Updates - Rounds 9 and 10

Round 9 Update

The redemption deadline has been extended to Wednesday 12 June 2024 (the deadline for parents, legal guardians, carers and other authorised persons to present vouchers is Wednesday 29 May 2024).

Round 10 Update

Key dates:-

• Wednesday 24 January 2024:  Round 10 opens at 9:00 a.m. for parents, carers or guardians to apply for vouchers.
• Wednesday 1 May 2024:  Round 10 applications close.
• Wednesday 29 May 2024:  Round 9 and 10 vouchers must be presented to an activity provider.

More information about the FairPlay voucher scheme:-

https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/sports/funding/fairplay

Information for approved activity providers in the scheme, including those seeking to apply for approved status:-

https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/sports/funding/fairplay/providers

The Queensland Government and Netball Queensland both recommend approved activity providers within the Netball Queensland Community receiving FairPlay vouchers redeem the vouchers as they are received.

Questions or problems regarding the FairPlay voucher redemption process in the Enquire platform, please email pdu@dtis.qld.gov.au, as soon as possible.

Questions regarding the redemption process in NetballConnect are to be directed to the Netball Queensland Helpdesk.

Trialling Members - Season 2024

Does your Association or Club run Netball Activities to try and get people who are not already registered with your Association / Club or Netball Queensland members to join (e.g. Gala Days, Come and Try events, or similar) or wants to try before becoming registering with your Association or Club and incurring a charge for Netball Queensland Membership?

Do you want these people to be able to participate in your organisation’s Netball Activities and be able to access the personal injury insurance coverage available to registered players, should an incident occur during the Netball Activities that you are staging?

If so, Netball Queensland has a simple webform (that should not take longer than five minutes to complete) for individuals seeking to register themselves (anyone under the age of 18 needs to have a parent complete some sections and sign) as a participant or their child as the participants in the Netball Activities.

Participants (or parents, for those under 18) seeking to become a Trialling Member of Netball Queensland need to agree to Netball Queensland’s policies, as well as consent to the details provided in the trialling membership application being provided to the Event Organiser (and Association, if the Event Organiser is a Club), be it an Association running the event or a Club affiliated to an Association.

The webform is available at the following URL and is ready to accept applications for Netball Activities commencing 1 January 2024:-

https://netballqld.formstack.com/forms/trialling_member_application

Any questions regarding the Trialling Member process, please direct them to Shawn Fitzgerald, Netball Queensland’s Member Services Manager.

Season 2024’s Local Area Marketing Kits Have Been Released

Looking for marketing collateral that you can amend and use to attract new players and officials for the Season 2024, Netball Queensland has created multiple variations that can be used in multiple platforms to assist your Association or Club in becoming part of the Netball Queensland Community.

To access these marketing templates and materials, please visit the Local Area Marketing section in Netball Queensland's Member Toolbox.

Opening Date for Season 2024 Registrations in NetballConnect - 1 December 2023

Season 2024 registrations will be available to create in NetballConnect from 1 December 2023.

As a representative of a Member Association, Member Association Affiliated Club or Community Member, if you have any difficulty or require any assistance in this matter, please contact the NetballConnect Helpdesk.

Issuing of 2024 Netball Queensland Membership Tax Invoices to Its Organisational Members

Please be advised that tax invoices for Netball Queensland’s Category One (Member Associations) and Category Five (Community) Members to cover Netball Queensland’s 2024 Membership Period (January – December) will be generated and distributed during January 2024.

There is no change to the Category One’s 2023 membership pricing for Netball Queensland’s 2024 Membership Period.  For the avoidance of doubt, the pricing tiers are as follows:

The prices above include G.S.T.

The price of Category Five (Community) Membership for Netball Queensland’s 2024 Membership Period is $150.00, including GST, which is also the same price as 2023.

Any questions regarding the above can be sent to Shawn Fitzgerald, Netball Queensland’s Member Services Manager.

Deadline for Finalisation of Season 2023 Deregistrations – 31 December 2023

As Season 2023 draws to a close, now is the time to review and finalise any pending deregistrations within your organisation (in box titled ‘De-Registrations’ after you first log into NetballConnect on an organisational profile or when you navigate to the ‘Home’ module) to make sure that you have completed the action required to progress the deregistration to the next level for eventual finalisation by Netball Queensland.

Season 2023 deregistrations need to be completed by the end of Netball Queensland’s 2023 Membership Period (31 December 2023).

If you have any queries at all regarding any pending deregistrations that are sitting with your organisation, or you need to understand what is required to progress or complete the deregistration, please feel free to contact the NetballConnect Helpdesk during the stated operating hours on the following webpage of the Netball Queensland website:-

https://qld.netball.com.au/netballconnect

If you want to be assisted while completing the deregistration process for a player or non-player, as you haven’t done one for a while or just want reassurance that you are completing the deregistration correctly, again, please contact the NetballConnect Helpdesk.

Redeeming Government Vouchers for Players’ Registration Fees

With the end of the year fast approaching, now is the time for the Netball Queensland Community to ensure that all government vouchers (FairPlay (QLD) and Active Kids (NSW)) have been processed and redeemed in NetballConnect.

For any government vouchers (FairPlay (QLD) and Active Kids (NSW)) that have not been redeemed and have a Netball Queensland component that is unpaid and outstanding, Netball Queensland will be issuing invoices to the organisations within the Netball Queensland Community that the player has registered with to finalise the resolution of these players’ 2023 Netball Queensland memberships prior to the end of the year.

To see what parts of a government voucher are allocated to which entity as part of a player’s registration, you will need to go to the ‘Finance’ module’s dashboard and enter the player’s name into the search section (towards the top right-hand corner of the screen).  Once the search results appear, find the registration you are seeking to find out about (use the registration date for additional clarification) and slide the scale underneath the players to the right, looking for the ‘Govt. Voucher’ subheadings under the ‘Competition Organiser’ and Membership headings.  You can also see what the voucher’s unique identifier at the end of the scale.

If you need assistance with redeeming the Queensland Government’s FairPlay vouchers through Enquire – please see the following Queensland Government webpage:-

https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/sports/funding/fairplay/providers/register#redeeming

If you need assistance with redeeming the New South Wales Government’s Active Kids’ vouchers through Service NSW – please see the following Queensland Government webpage:-

https://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/redeem-vouchers-as-an-active-kids-provider

If you need assistance with redeeming vouchers through NetballConnect – please contact the NetballConnect Helpdesk during the stated operating hours in the following link.  Contact details (email, telephone and support requests) are available through the following Netball Queensland webpage:- 

https://qld.netball.com.au/netballconnect

For the removal of doubt, to obtain the funds linked to the FairPlay voucher, the redemption process needs to be undertaken through the Queensland Government’s dedicated redemption platform for these vouchers – Enquire (https://sr-cp.sr-enquire.cloud/register/business).

For the removal of doubt, to obtain the funds linked to Active Kids vouchers, the redemption process needs to be undertaken through the New South Wales Government’s dedicated redemption platform for these vouchers – Service NSW (https://account.service.nsw.gov.au/).