Think You Don't Need to Fit Snow Chains to your 4x4? Think Again!

For those that have driven up to Falls Creek and other Resorts when it's been snowing, you will have noticed that sometimes the signs will say fitting chains to two-wheel-drive (2WD) and when the snow is really heavy the signs will say fitting chains to 2WD and four-wheel-drive (4WD) vehicles. For those of us that own 4WD and All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) vehicles, we have enjoyed the freedom of usually not having to fit snow chains unless it's been really heavy snow and/or ice. Well, from this year onwards, unless you have recognised 'snow tyres' on your 4WD/AWD vehicle, you might still have to fit chains to your vehicle 4WD/AWD.

Coming into this winter, rumours around the mountain have been rife with comments about 4x4 and AWD vehicles needing to be fitted with snow tyres to avoid having to fit snow chains when the conditions require. Snow tyres are prevalent in Europe but not so much here in Australia. Snow tyres are not the same as All Terrain (AT) tyres or even traditional Mud and Snow tyres. Snow tyres have a special tread pattern and a special soft compound that improves performance when driving in snow and ice.

The Alpine Resorts (Management) Regulations 2020 was released last year with an important update regarding the fitting of snow chains (see page 30). Essentially, VicRoads have created a new 'class of vehicle' which is "vehicles that have Snow Tyres fitted to all wheels of the vehicle". In addition, there are other important changes as follows:

• Firstly, the new VicRoads regulations will include a requirement that wheel chains comply with the European ON-V5117 Standard. Ladder chains will not be approved
• There is likely to be a special classification for AWD vehicles fitted with identified winter/snow tyres in relation to wheel chain fitting
• Winter/snow tyres will be required to comply with ECE 117.02 snow test and be identified by the 3PMSF ‘snow flake’ alpine symbol
• All terrain tyres, and tyres with only the Mud + Snow (M+S) marking, will not be recognised in this new classification.

How do you tell a snow tyre? It will have on its sidewall (the side of the tyre) the 3PMSF 'snow flake' alpine symbol of a mountain with a snowflake inside it like this:

 

 

 

 

 

  

So what does all this mean? The bottom line is, depending on the snow conditions when you are driving up the mountain, even if you are in a 4WD or AWD vehicle, the likelihood of you having to fit your chains is higher than prior years, unless your vehicle is fitted with the recognised 3PMSF 'snow flake" snow tyres.

So, with a snow forecast that is very positive for 2021, our recommendation is to make sure your snow chains meet the regulations and if you don't have recognised snow tyres, then you might want to practice fitting your chains before you leave. And, most importantly, consult your owners' manual regarding whether to fit your snow chains to the front wheels, or the rear wheels of your vehicle, regardless of whether you drive a 2WD, 4WD or AWD vehicle.

Safe driving everyone! 

 

 

 

Last Updated: 09 June 2021 09 June 2021

Notice of 2021 Annual General Meeting

Notice is given that the 2021 Annual General Meeting of AAC Falls Creek Inc will be held:

DATE: Tuesday, 18 May, 2021
VENUE: via Zoom videoconference
TIME: 7:30 pm - Annual General Meeting to commence

RSVP by 9 May 2020 is essential

AGENDA

1. Apologies
2. Receive and adopt the minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting
3. Business arising from the Minutes
4. Correspondence
5. Receive and adopt the Committee's Reports
6. Receive and adopt the Profit And Loss Account and Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2020
7. Proposed New Annual Subscription & Levy for 2022
8. Receive and adopt the Auditor's Report
9. Appoint an Auditor for 2022
10. Election of the Committee
11. A.A.C. Business
12. General Business
    • Covid-19

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Preparation and conduct of the meeting

• To be admitted to the meeting you must RSVP by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5pm Sunday 9th May. Prior to the AGM you will be sent a link to join the meeting.
• The meeting will be kept as succinct as possible. We also need to make voting as uncomplicated as possible, while ensuring that it is done faithfully.
• Therefore all nominations, proxies, items of general business must be submitted to the Chairperson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5pm Sunday 9th May. Any proposed Motions must also be provided to the Chairperson by this date.
• You are strongly encouraged to send any questions to the Chairperson by the same date. There will be an opportunity to submit some questions on the night but questions with notice will be more manageable with the technology.
• If you will be attending the meeting, please prepare in advance. Install Zoom on your computer, tablet or phone and use Zoom’s facilities to test that your audio and video are working. If you have a headset with microphone, please use it to reduce background noise.
• Please keep your mic muted during the meeting unless the chairman recognises you to speak. The chairman or his assistant may mute you if necessary. We prefer having all cameras active during the meeting but you may be asked to “mute” cameras if there are difficulties.
• Voting may be a bit laborious. Please be patient if votes need to be counted.
• The meeting will be conducted in accordance with the amended Rules of Association adopted by the Special General Meeting on 13th April 2021.

Election of committee members

The committee recommends that a total of 7 committee members be elected (3 executive members plus 4 ordinary committee members). At the committee meeting after the AGM, the committee elects members to specific positions. At the time of this notice, all current committee members are intending to stand again.

Documents

• Minutes of the previous Annual General Meeting can be downloaded from aacfallscreek.com/pdf/AGM2021/MinutesAGM2020.pdf
• Proxy Forms may be downloaded from aacfallscreek.com/pdf/AGM2021/ProxyForm2021.pdf
• Nomination Forms may be downloaded from aacfallscreek.com/pdf/AGM2021/NominationForm2021.pdf
• Financial reports (including Auditor's report) can be downloaded from aacfallscreek.com/pdf/AGM2021/FinancialStatements.pdf
• Committee reports can be downloaded from aacfallscreek.com/pdf/AGM2021/CommitteeReports.pdf

 

Jenny Hughes (Secretary)
C/- ProAcct Advisors & Accountants Pty Ltd
PO Box 140 BALWYN VIC 3103
Phone: (03) 9880-9600
Fax: (03) 9880-9699
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Last Updated: 03 May 2021 03 May 2021

2021 Lodge Working Bee

To prepare the Lodge for what is hopefully going to be a bumper snow year, a dedicated team descended on Falls Creek on the weekend of May 1 and 2. With plenty of painting, cleaning, sorting and filling the firewood cabinet, the Lodge is looking 'spic n span' and ready for another season!

Thanks to JB for this selecton of photos of everyone hard at work!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Falls Creek's "The Bachelor" getting some painting in.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lynn in her Aussie green & gold wicket keeping gloves. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Risty showing his prowess on the ladder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reeve supervising mum and Tash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

John and Lodge Manager, Julia, checking for tadpoles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Will, renovating the BBQ with new knobs and a deep clean.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

David "Mr Lighting" illuminating the drying room.

Last Updated: 16 May 2021 16 May 2021

General Meetings - SGM report and save the date for AGM

The Special General Meeting on 13 April approved the proposed changes to the Rules of Association. Thanks to all those who took part.

The minutes of the meeting are at aacfallscreek.com/pdf/SGM2021/Minutes_SGM2021.pdf

The amended Rules can be found at aacfallscreek.com/xDocs/rules/Rules2021.pdf or via the Member page on the club website

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Save the date - AGM  on 18 May

This year's  AGM will again be a videoconference. We hope that next year we will be able to have a meeting where peolple can attend in person, or by videoconference. 

Last Updated: 19 April 2021 19 April 2021

2021 Easter Eggstravaganza!

Sorry, couldn't help myself with an Easter pun!

Easter 2021 at AAC Falls Creek was a sight to behold! Fantastic weather, pristine walking and riding trails, beautiful views and most importantly, people in the Lodge!! It really was great to be back at Falls Creek, our home away from home.

Granted, for those travelling from Melbourne the drive was longer than usual with plenty of complete stops on the Hume highway to keep you on guard, but thankfully it seemed most took their time and kept their cool.

A huge thanks again to John B, Jenny H and Justin C for all they did getting the Lodge COVID-friendly for Easter, it was great to see everyone socially distancing, disinfecting and checking in using the QR code when they arrived.

Wish you were there? Well here's a selection of photos which hopefully let's you feel like you were there and might inspire you to visit in 2022.

Last Updated: 06 April 2021 06 April 2021

Notice of Special General Meeting

Notice is given that a Special General Meeting of AAC Falls Creek Inc will be held:
DATE: Tuesday, 13 April, 2021
VENUE: via Zoom videoconference
TIME: 7:30 pm – Special General Meeting to commence
RSVP by Friday 9 April 2021 is essential

AGENDA

1. Apologies
2. Update the Rules of Association

Special Resolutions to be voted on

A. That the proposed changes to replace the term President with Chairperson be adopted

B. That the proposed changes to better support videoconference annual general meetings be adopted

C. That the proposed change to update the means of giving notice be adopted

D. That the proposed change to the example age for a progressive debenture/joining fee payment be adopted

Preparation and conduct of this special general meeting

• To be admitted to the meeting you must RSVP by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5pm Friday 9 April. Prior to the meeting you will be sent a link to join the meeting.

• The meeting may only address items on this notice.

• All proxy forms, must be submitted to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 5pm Friday 9 April. Proxy Forms may be downloaded from aacfallscreek.com/pdf/SGM2021/ProxyFormSGM2021.pdf

• If you will be attending the meeting, please prepare in advance. Install Zoom on your computer, tablet or phone and use Zoom’s facilities to test that your audio and video are working. If you have a headset with microphone, please use it to reduce background noise.

• Please keep your mic muted during the meeting unless the chairman recognises you to speak. The chairman or his assistant may mute you if necessary. We prefer having all cameras active during the meeting but you may be asked to “mute” cameras if there are difficulties.

Jenny Hughes (Secretary)
C/- ProAcct Advisors & Accountants Pty Ltd
PO Box 140 BALWYN VIC 3103
Phone: (03) 9880-9600
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

​Note: The AGM is planned for Tue 18 May.

 

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Explanation of Proposed Changes

Why do we need to change the Rules?

Elections for committee members have rarely been required. When the Rules of Association (aka the constitution) were updated in 2014 to comply with new legislation for Incorporated Associations, we simply adopted the default election procedure from the Model Rules provided by government. Our focus at the time was more on ensuring that our membership and debenture provisions were properly included in the new Rules.

In 2019 and 2020, however, the club was in the fortunate position of having more willing candidates than positions to fill. The election in 2019 showed some weaknesses in the procedure laid down in the rules. In 2020 the AGM was held as a video conference. It became clear that while the Rules allowed for members to attend the AGM and vote using technology, this was not well supported by some of the other rules pertaining to AGMs and elections.

The videoconference AGM was very successful, allowing members to participate who had previously been unable to attend in person. The Committee has determined that even after the pandemic has subsided, AGMs should encourage remote attendance. Accordingly the Rules should be revised to explicitly include measures that were beneficial in the running of an AGM that includes members attending via technology. After reflecting on the ballot process for videoconferences it became clear that further improvements to the process should be considered in future, such as the possibility of using preferential voting. The proposed rule changes address all these considerations and should be treated as a group.

While reviewing the Rules, some other minor items were identified that we would like to update.

Summary of the proposed changes

The specific changes proposed are detailed in aacfallscreek.com/pdf/SGM2021/Detail_of_Proposed_Changes.pdf .

The current Rules of Association can be found at aacfallscreek.com/xDocs/rules/rules2014.pdf .

Improve support for video conference AGMs

Rule 40 Use of technology

• Allow modified procedure where a video conference or similar is used for a meeting

Rule 43 Adjournment of general meeting

• Allow adjournment if there are serious technology problems

Rule 35 Annual General Meetings

• Allow election of committee and possibly some resolutions to be voted on before the AGM. Allow finalisation of results after the meeting closes.
• Allow a deadline for proxies prior to a meeting so proxy voting is efficient during a videoconference, including validation of the proxies

Rule 57 Nominations

• Allow for a deadline for nominations prior to the AGM so that a ballot can be organised if required

Rule 59 Ballot

• Allow for a ballot process other than the simplistic paper process that was in the model rules
• The new wording provides scope for a ballot to be held before the AGM, with announcement of the results at the AGM, or possibly soon after the AGM. There is also scope to move to preferential voting without mandating it

Rule 39 Proxies

• Allow for a situation where there is a direct ballot of members and proxy votes will not be used

Rule 46 Determining whether resolution carried

• Allow for electronic equivalent of a written poll in a videoconference

Other proposed changes

In revising the Rules, we also identified a number of minor changes that would be beneficial

• Use the term Chairperson rather than President (numerous occurrences throughout the Rules)
• Remove faxes as a means of giving notices and make allowance for direct electronic messaging such as SMS (Rule 80 Notice Requirements)
• Change an example of when junior membership payments may be due from 17 to 18 to reflect our current practice. It is only used as an example so this is not essential, but it would be clearer (Rule 12 Debentures)

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Last Updated: 17 March 2021 17 March 2021

Welcome New Lodge Managers!

After a thorough recruitment process, we are extremely pleased to announce the new AAC Falls Creek Lodge Managers are Julia Mitas and Craig Moegel.

Julia and Craig are Falls Creek locals and have previous experience managing a member lodge on the mountain. Julia will have primary responsibility for the day to day management of the Lodge while Craig will also provide assistance as required. For those that have visited “The Pass” for a coffee or snack, you may recognise Julia from there, while Craig is well known as Falls Creek Ski Patrol Leader and SES volunteer.

Julia and Craig are planning on moving into the Lodge in March and we will provide further updates as details are finalised.

Welcome Julia and Craig!

Last Updated: 16 November 2020 16 November 2020

2021 Summer Season Rates

The Club is pleased to announce the 2021 Summer Season rates will remain unchanged from the 2020 Rates when they come into effect on January 1, 2021. The Club hopes this provides an excellent opportunity for Members and their guests to escape to the Lodge to enjoy the beauty of Falls Creek in Summer.

The nightly rates for the 2021 Peaks Challenge along with the 2-night minimum stay for this event also remain unchanged from 2020. Please also be reminded that for the Peaks Challenge weekend linen is provided by The Club and all cleaning at the end of the stay will be done by the Lodge Manager.

There is one change to the Summer booking policy for 2021, which is the minimum booking cost increases from $300 to $400. Note this minimum booking cost does not apply to the Peaks Challenge weekend, or any other time that may be advertised by the Club from time to time.

2021 Summer Rates	AACFC Member	AAC Member	Guest And  Summer Associate
Nightly Rate	$31	$37	$43
Peaks Challenge Nightly Rate (2 night min booking required)	$70	$80	$90
Minimum Summer Booking: $400

Last Updated: 27 October 2020 27 October 2020

AAC 70th Anniversary Neck Buffs For Sale

 To mark the 70th anniversary of AAC, the Club is making available for purchase a limited quantity of neck buffs for a price of $10.00 each, including GST. The buffs are dark navy in colour and are only available to Club Members. For any Member interested in ordering a neck buff, please send an e-mail to Justin C. on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Last Updated: 27 October 2020 27 October 2020

New AAC Falls Creek Committee

Post the elections held at the AACFC AGM on August 25, and the subsequent Committee Meeting on September 1, your 2020/21 Committee is as follows:

President	Justin Checcucci
Treasurer	Will Zacharin
Secretary	Jenny Hughes
Lodge Supervisor	John Burnett
Membership & Events	Lynn Cameron
Bookings Officer	Alan Long
Communications	Tony Jordan

 

With COVID-19 Stage 4 restrictions in place, the AAC Falls Creek AGM held on August 25 was the first ever virtual meeting, with all attendees dialing into the secure Zoom meeting. With only a few Internet connection issues throughout the meeting for some attendees, the meeting was a success and proved that videoconferencing could be something to consider for future meetings.

The Committee would like to thank Mike Szkilnik for his services as Treasurer. Mike has overseen the financial health of the club since 2012. The significant loans from the 2012 lodge redevelopment have been repaid and he has enabled financing of the recent refurbishment as well as the rejuvenation of the spa area with very little increase in annual subs and restrained growth in accommodation fees. Thanks again Mike, we look forward to seeing you and Maureen at the Club in the coming season.

A big thank you also to Tony Ryder, who advised at the the AGM he would be standing down from his role as Membership Officer. Tony, we thank you for your services to the Club and the Committee and look forward to seeing you at the Club in 2021.

Last Updated: 27 October 2020 27 October 2020