Falls Creek Stakeholder Consultative Committee (FCSCC)

Current Agenda Items as identified by FCAA

Future scheduled dates for the Falls Creek Stakeholder Consultative Committee to meet in 2025:

• • Wed 3 Apr, 2pm – 4pm  (Minutes yet to be issued .  Notes will be issued once Minutes are issued)

  • Wed 21 May, 2pm – 4pm

  • Wed 23 Jul. 2pm – 4pm

  • Wed 10 Sep, 2pm – 4pm

  • Wed 12 Nov, 2pm – 4pm

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Notes from the meeting held on 5 February 2025

Lakeside Project

The Lakeside Project permit has been granted with conditions, which are being reviewed for compliance. ARV will continue to engage with all stakeholders on the project as it progresses, including the cross country skiing community. 

Early Childhood Education Centre (ECEC) snow season operations

For the 2025 winter season, there will be changes to Early Childhood Education Centre (ECEC) operations. The centre will provide long daycare and integrated kindergarten only, operating from 8:30am to 5pm, seven days a week during the declared snow season. Priority will be given to existing and seasonal bookings, as well as local working families.

All Resorts Pass

ARV discussed the All Resorts Pass and its pricing model, seeking committee feedback.

ALL RESORTS DISCUSSION POINTS

ARV Strategies

ARV has undertaken a large body of strategic work to inform the way forward for the organisation. This includes the completion of the Asset Management Strategy, reaching final draft of the Capacity Analysis framework, and draft of the Traditional Owner Engagement and Self Determination Strategy. Key insights from these strategies will be presented to the SCC. 

Alpine Resorts Strategic Plan 

Engagement for the Alpine Resorts Strategic Plan will start in March, aiming for completion by the end of 2025 and implementation from January 2026. 

ARV Board member update

At the end of 2024, four of nine ARV Board member tenures were due to expire. All existing members have been re-appointed following the State Government recruitment process, ensuring excellent continuity at the Board level for the resorts and ARV.

Climate Change Adaptation Strategy

ARV presented a summary of the Draft Climate Change Adaptation Strategy, highlighting key objectives and actions for ARV to enhance resilience and sustainability in the resorts. The SCC has been asked to provide feedback on the draft, which will be circulated with the meeting minutes. 

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Notes from the meeting on 6 November 2024

Amber Gardner - CEO of ARV

Special budget meeting on 18 Nov (online or in person) to present DRAFT Budget for FCARM to FCSCC members.    

ARV Annual report has presented to Parliament.  

https://www.alpineresorts.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/723206/arv_annual_report_2023_FA5.pdf

Enterprise Agreement for ARV staff.   This has been referred to Fair Work commission.    The sticking point is Penalty Rates for Weekends or ARV staff.  This is currently only available to Mt Buller workers. ARV think it will be concluded by Dec 24.

The Environment report is yet to be provided to ARV.  We will see it when it is finished.

VRLT – Victorian Dept of Treasury & Finance (DTF) are framing a carve out for Alpine areas for amendment to legislation.    A VERY big win.

Short Stay tax – ARV are still working on this with DTF as there seems to be some issue around some Lodges taxation  / eligibility classification.  Hope.

Medical Centre – enders closed with very good submissions.  There is a short list or suppliers that are working through the issues of all resort service.   The provision of services will be at a cost to the ARV budget (if they take this on).  Funds will have to be provided from somewhere.  Increasing taxes for Resorts is not a preferred option.

SCC members appointment,  should be notified in Dec 2024.

New GM for Falls Creek is being worked on by Davidsons Exec Search. 

Stuart Smythe – GM FCARM

Cup weekend was well attended,  some 2500 in Village.  Much activity

The new Dam pontoon is well used already.

The Waste water facility wall support work will be done over summer.

The resurfacing of the new Ropers car park is being done this Summer.

The MTB event – IGNITION, is well subscribed.  It will see the Village FULL.   MTB trails are clear.

Walker trails are being cleared.

Flower of the Alpine Sun should be completed by April 2025.

New MTB fast race track from Summit to Gateway is being prepared this summer.

Feral animals such as Deer and other pests ae being culled as per the notices from FCARM .

Digital vehicle recognition project should see a test site in a resort (not necessarily Falls Creek) next season.

Anari shed project goes back to VCAT next week.  Expect a decision before XMAS.

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Meeting # 11, 5th September 2024

All Resorts update from Amber Gardner, CEO of ARV;  

Medical Centres invitation tender has been issued and already there appears to be meaningful interest in this from a host of parties. 

The ARV budget is being prepared now and will be provided to SCC in due couse for comment. 

The Ministerial staff have recently visited Baw Baw for a site visit to vew the complexities of that resort. 

SCC membership is up for renewal and the Terms of Reference and appointment process were distributed.  [These are on the FCAA website only.  Click HERE to view].  FCAA will reapply for membership of the FCSCC.  

COO Stuart Smythe; 

The Resort will open the vilage roads on Monday 9 Sep.  [FCAA considers this way too late and have expressed our disappointment at these timings]. 30 minutes passes wil be provided to the general public to drop off and pick up from accommodation. 

Oversnow vehicle policy is again under the spotlight.  It was stated that the policy (available HERE) is to be enforced in season 2025.  This issue remains hot and will be discussed again. 

Projects around the reaining wall for the waste water faciliity are key to longer term sustainability.  This is a major project of close to $1.0mill  

ARV seek input from Stakeholders as to Resort Priorities.  [The FCAA will provide two key priorities to ARV]

Richard Phillips of FCSL / Vail Resorts highlighted that longer term cooperation between FCSL and ARV could save large amounts of money.  He sighted the following:

2 x websites (ARV Falls Creek and SkiFalls).  these should be combined 

2 separate marketing agendas. 

Duplication of ski trail grooming equipment and other hardware. 

Members of the ARV Board that were present indicated that this opportuninty required a special working group to identify the opportunities in detail.

Presentation from Consultants as to Climate change Adaptation.  The PDF of the presentaiton is available HERE.  Stakeholders may provide specific input to this project. 

A key point to bnote about the longer term Climate adaptation issue is that Falls Creek is the ONLY resort with capability to deliver man made snow at any time, provided that temperature conditions meet requirements.  No other resort can do this.  Therefore snow retention is the issue for examination, as the manufacture of snow is less of an issue for Falls Creek. 

Interestingly, in terms of commercial sustainability of the Resort,  Vail Resorts indicated that based on recent experiences of Summer / Green season acivity there is no commercial benefit to having lifting capacity operate. 

FCAA raised the following topics:

Windy Corner overnight parking.  FCARM had made this change to reduce the amount of shuttle transport to Windy corner which is inefficient.  It was offset by other longer term car parking down the road where more shuttle traffic occurs in any case. 

Access to the Village, which had been provided to red pass and Emergency pass holders in mid August when Village roads were cleared have not been open to guests until 9 September.  FCAA asked why this was the case.  It was stated by SS that the traffic of patrons would clog up the roads and reduce access for emergency services workers in an emergency.    FCAA will follow up asking for data to support this assertion. 

David Stogdale provided an update to the SCC about the ARLPSRG.  It is available  HERE. 

David Stogdale also provided a note to the SCC regarding the Vicrtorian Govt Vacant Residence Land tax, that is being extended to all of Victoria.  This has substantial implications for Alpine apartments.  The note is available  HERE. 

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Special meeting on 19 August 2024 to address:  Medical Centre and the ARV Leasing project. 

Item 1;  Medical Centre(s)

Situation is that on the 3 large resorts,  medical facilities are provided by a range of providers.

FC has Respond Global, a NFP emergency styled provider who have been engaged by ARV to provide medical services in the Village.  They provide both Trauma and GP services on a walk up basis.

Hotham has a medical centre provider but it is expected that they will cancel after this season, due to lack of return.

Mt Buller has an offshoot of Mansfield Hospital on site.  This is an expensive option also, with no Medicare rebates as it is a public Hospital.  

It was agreed at the meeting of FCSCC members that ARV should go to tender for a 3 location service provider with a view to seeing what was out there.

In terms of paying for the service,  it was felt by some that ARV needs to provide the bulk of the service cost funding. 

This aspect will be addressed in finer detail once options and their likely costs are better known.

Item 2:  Alpine Resorts Leasing Project / Stakeholder Reference Group (ARLP SRG)

Elise Armitage, GM Hotham Resort ,  Annie Volkering, head of the project and Amber Gardner, plus other ARV board members, attended this part of the meeting.

David Stogdale of FCAA had prepared a paper for the FCSCC highlighting that a number of aspects of the proposed lease matrix were disadvantageous to site lease holders.  

Michelle Lovell of the FCCC spoke in support of the issues raised and highlighted that the framework presented did not provide sufficient length of term to justify the expenditures required as indicated.

There was encouragement from ARV for the Stakeholders on the SRG to provide suggestions.  This was not currently in the TOR. 

There was also concern that under the current DRAFT matrix  it would be difficult for another NFP Lodge created in Victoria due to the very onerous requirements of the matrix elements.   This was of great concern to the FCSCC. 

ARV will address unintended consequences.  

It was also highlighted that baseline expenditure was not fairly balanced / considered here.  NFP do not receive any tax advantage via depreciation for CAPEX.  

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July 2024 - Meeting #10

The Minister has released an Economic impact report.  It shows the value of the Alpine industry.    To see the summary of the report, click  here

DEECA has provided written confirmation that the standard alpine lease can accommodate non-traditional bushfire insurance options. ARV will now liaise with ARIAG about pursuing alternate  insurance models (like mutual funds), which must be driven by stakeholders rather than ARV as a Govt entity. ARIAG will take carriage of this. 

The current state of Medical Centre services across all Resorts was advised.  Earlier this year, ARV initiated a project to explore a sustainable medical centre model that could be implemented across all resorts. This exploration yielded a range of options, with the primary focus on pursuing a request to classify these centres as urgent care centres associated with local hospitals.  There will be anotehr meeting on this in August to address a pathway. 

ARV Board appointments are up  for some.  Currently, there are nine board members, with five appointed for four years and four appointed for two years. This decision was made by the government at the board's inception to allow for continuity while potentially introducing new members who would need to familiarise themselves with the sector. 

Winter 2025 Oversnow Policy

Falls Creek had distributed the oversnow vehicle policy transition update and the draft oversnow vehicle policy documentation via email prior to the meeting.   The document outlines the program for this year. 

There was a feeling that guests are expected to walk around in their ski boots to get around the resort too much.  A suggestion was to have transport options is crucial for enhancing the guest experience at Falls Creek.  A suggestion was personalised welcomes, door-to-door service, luggage assistance, and flexible scheduling for a positive guest experience.

Some questioned the oversnow contractor's ability to expand adequately by next year to meet demand.   There was also concern about guest safety with over-snow vehicles and skiers/boarders on the roads.  

Snow ertention on the road was raised, with a suggestion that transport times be limited to a specific time of the day.  

Alpine Lease policy

A general overview of the status of the lease policy stakeholder group discussions was provided.

More on this in the FCAA Members only area.  

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May 2024 - meeting #9

Telstra 3G to 4G;  There is an upgrade in the Resort Village next week (commencing 13 May) for a few days that will see Telstra coverage within the Village temporarily disturbed. 

Road to Falls Creek  - Bogong village road quality should be satisfactory with 2 lanes by next week (13 May onwards).  There are still more works going on along the road, closer to Mt Beauty.   

Tenders:  4 Site have been retained as provider of ATS.  New Medical services provider to be announced in May.

Community Resilience Fund - this applies to local businesses, impacted by the road closure of 2022 and 2023.  Contact Lisa Logan at FCARM.  

Car parking - 200 new spots near Ropers.  We will request a Map for distribution to members.

Car season passes - lower uptake than 2023.  

Marketing Membership - FCAA to look at this for future years.  

Child Care - a Full time Kinder teacher has been engaged. 

Regional Infrastructure fund  - Nordic Bowl works are delayed 

Lakeside development - there is a legal related issue here that will delay progress.  

Works tickets have increased and there a many new jobs - please be patient. 

Presentation by Tourism North East - New focus #turnadayintoastay;  first priority visitors are families, 2nd priority are CALD (Asian and SubContinent). Commences now and continues through July and less in Aug.   FCAA to work with TNE to develop more meaningful longer term resort stays - i.e. joining a lodge. 

Southern Resorts report from ARV - new ARV report .  Highlights the mix of where Lake Mountain and Baw Baw fit into the scheme of things.  Data supports that the southern resorts do provide  amenity - but usually for snow play and first time exposure to snow.  However,  they are NOT material in this in an overall sense.  If we are able to release the report in the Members section, we will. 

Kangaroo Hoppet - the Hoppet has been included in the Classic Ski races of the world.  This will attract more International competitors.  A very good thing for the Hoppet.

March 2024

Bushfire Insurance

ARV and KPMG have presented across Government departments on the proposed bushfire insurance solution as propsoed by KPMG with a view to the needs of Alpine site Lease agreements and operational feasibility. 

Traditional Owner Strategy

ARV is currently in market to secure a specialist consultant to deliver a Traditional Owner Engagement and Self-Determination Strategy.

Integrated Water Management Plans

ARV is also currently in-market for a supplier to deliver the Integrated Water Management Plans across the resorts.

Climate Change Adaptation Strategy

There is a long term need for specialist expertise to develop a climate change adaptation strategy for the resorts, emphasising its importance in mitigating impacts of climate change. Stakeholders will be engaged with as part of the strategy development.

Ministerial engagement

ARV senior management met with Minister Dimopoulos. addressing the priorities for ARV and facilitate the Minister's visit to the region.

Resort Capacity Framework

There was a presentation on Alpine Resorts Victoria's new Resort Capacity Framework, a project which aims to achieve optimal operational balance in the resorts by maintaining comfortable carrying capacity.

Alpine Leasing Policy Update

The Stakeholder group for the review of Alpine Leases has been established.   FCAA is represented on this Special stakeholder group.   The project addresses ways to standardise leasing and planning, focusing on updating the Alpine Leasing Policy (NOT Legislation or Regulations).  It is possible that changes will streamline processes while aligning building standards and occupancy reporting. It is hoped that there will be better engagement processes addressing stakeholder engagement and transparency. There is much by way of data to be collected,  more so from Mt Buller, for capacity analysis and asset management.  Overall, the goal is to create a more robust framework for property management, ensuring transparency, efficiency, and stakeholder engagement.

Falls Creek Resort Child Care Review

A strategic review is underway for childcare. Staff shortages, exacerbated by increased government support, pose challenges in meeting demand. The resort is exploring solutions to ensure sufficient staffing levels for the upcoming winter season, which is both crucial for the local community and visitors. 

January 2024

Alpine Resorts Vic Strategic Plan

A draft plan will be sent to stakeholders shortly for review and feedback.  More on this in February 2024.

Leasing - Standardization across resorts.

A stakeholder Reference Group will be established in Feb / Mar 2024 for stakeholders to form part of the consultative process.

FCAA is part of the SRG. 

Major Roads  - Road to Falls Creek Landslip and other road quality issues

The contractor is working hard to repair the road in time for Peaks in March.  It is hoped that this will occur in time.  

Bookings at FC commercial properties have been well down over summer due to poor quality road access.

Key worker Housing:

Works will be required at Bogong village to allow for the expected population to be accommodated from a services perspective, in particular Water supply. 

Nordic Bowl development funding is on track. 

Lakeside / ANAR development appears to be on track  although delayed. due to redesign work occurring now.