Wildlife Victoria would like to acknowledge the dedication, devotion and incredible workload that all volunteer wildlife carers and rescuers perform every day of the year. Without their tireless efforts the state’s injured, sick and orphaned wildlife would be left to die possibly long and painful deaths. The incredible actions of these relatively few people across the state need recognition and acknowledgment in the wider community.

We would like to try and bring some balance to the recent media comments and subsequent personal opinion currently being aired around Wildlife Victoria; what we do and how we use the generously donated funds, our ONLY source of income.

Wildlife Victoria provides an emergency phone service giving the community a place to call and report a native animal in distress. This call may lead to a rescue where we draw on our extensive database to locate and call the nearest available volunteer rescuer or shelter, but many calls result in offering some basic advice by our operators or engaging the caller to actively assist by taking the animal to a vet for consultation. Recognising this as a vital community and animal welfare service Wildlife Victoria made the decision to move away from voluntary staffing to employing trained and dedicated staff. This service is currently manned 24/7 and costs in excess of $400,000 per year to provide.

We employ five full time staff who manage an incredible workload co-ordinating the emergency service, managing the needed database that this service relies on, servicing our 26,000 donors, ordering, selling and distributing subsidised wildlife food to carers across the state, co-ordinating training and information sessions on wildlife, managing over 800 volunteers and liaising with all external government and associated bodies. We employ contracted accounting staff to process the donations, issue receipts, banking, invoicing, memberships, debt collections, reconcile trust account, BAS, payroll and associated statutory requirements.

All of these activities are focussed on bringing to the community a professional service that aids the plight of wildlife. The figures quoted are not representative of our organisation on an on-going basis.

Wildlife Victoria recognises that the transition from a small organisation with a budget of several thousand dollars to one with several million was inadequately handled by unskilled management. In particular, during 2009, management systems and the introduction of necessary policies and procedures were inadequately managed. This was recognised and remedied by the 2010 board of management replacing the long standing CEO in January 2011 with an experienced and more highly trained CEO. This year, management instigated several cost saving measures with the reduction of two full time staff positions along with other refinements. These measures resulted in a reduction in operating expenses in the last six months of the financial year 2010/11 of $135,000 as compared to the preceding six months June to December 2010. While this is a sizable reduction in the cost base the current management and Board recognises that more needs to be done.

Wildlife Victoria is confident that with the recent installation of a new board of management with exceptional professional skills and experience will ensure a robust governance structure into the future.