www.compassioninscience.com.au    

Scientific  and  Support  Staff  Benevolent  Association  

Supporting  people  in  need  in  the  Science  Community  and  beyond.            Newsletter  July  2014      

 

SSSBA  –  who  are  we?  The  Scientific  and  Support  Staff  Benevolent  Association.  The  SSSBA  was  formed  by  a  group  of  people  who  work  in  

the  defence  science  field.  It  was  established  primarily  to  

operate  a  Benevolent  Fund  that  can  provide  financial  

assistance  to  people  in  necessitous  financial  need  due  to  

personal  circumstances  including  natural  disasters,  

sickness,  and  misfortune.  Here  at  SSSBA,  we  have  a  

particular  interest  in  helping  those  people  presently  

working  in    defence  science  or  those  that  worked  in  the  

field  in  the  past.  They  can  be  scientists,  engineers,  

technical  staff,  or  support  staff,  who  have  supported  

defence  science  and  technology.  The  request  for  

assistance  can  be  for  the  individual  or  members  of  their  

family.  

This  newsletter  aims  to  provide  information  about  the  

Association  and  how  you  can  be  engaged  in  its  aims.  

 

   

Compassion   “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”

― 14th Dalai Lama, The Art of Happiness

 

 

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Benevolent  Fund  SSSBA  is  a  Charity  registered  with  the  Australian  Charities  

and  Not  for  Profit  Commission  (ACNC).  It  is  also  recognised  

by  the  Australian  Taxation  office  as  having  Deductibility  Gift  

Recipient  or  DGR  status.  This  means,  any  donation  of  $2  or  

more  made  to  the  benevolent  fund  it  administers  is  tax  

deductible.  

SSSBA  is  an  incorporated  association  registered  in  the  ACT  

but  operates  nationally  and  is  run  by  volunteers,  in  their  own  

time  and  often  expense.  The  interim  membership  committee  

(right)  helps  run  the  association  and  establish  the  

governance  and  business  framework  required  by  legislation  

to  run  a  charity  and  maintain  DGR  status.  

The  benevolent  fund,  let’s  call  it  the  Fund,  under  legislation  

must  be  administered  by  a  separate  committee,  called  the  

Benevolent  Fund  Committee.  This  committee  will  accept  

nominations  from  the  public  for  people  who  may  be  eligible  

for  support  from  the  Fund.  

The  members  of  the  association  will  assist  the  Association  in  fulfilling  its  obligations,  assist  in  providing  future  

committee  nominees,  and  voting  in  representatives  on  the  Benevolent  Fund  Committee.  Membership  fees,  

currently  $5  per  year,  will  help  pay  for  the  running  costs  of  the  Association  such  as  association  running  costs,  

banking  and  audit  costs.  We  encourage  people  to  become  members  and  help  the  committee  run  the  

Association.  We  encourage  members  to  participate  in  annual  general  meetings,  promote  our  cause,  and  to  

nominate  for  the  committees  that  are  central  to  maintaining  and  growing  the  Fund.  

 

The  Association  Member  committee  

Here  is  the  team  and  their  current  role  in  running  the  association.  

Len  Sciacca,  President  

Nigel  McGinty,  Vice  President  

Pina  Dall’Armi-­‐Stoks,  Treasurer  

Nathan  McGill,  Secretary  

Helen  Cartledge,  General  Member  

 

Len  is  the  Office  Bearer  for  the  Association.  

All  enquiries  should  be  sent  to  

SSSBA_charity@outlook.com  

 

From  little  things  big  things  grow….  If  500  people  make  regular  donations  of  $2  per  pay,  

this  will  add  up  to  $26,000  per  year.  

This  is  our  target  for  2014/15  

 

 

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Benevolent  Fund  and  Association  information  

How  to  make  donations  

1. Automatic  salary  sacrificing.  If  you  work  in  The  APS/Defence,  it  is  easy  to  make  regular,  tax  deductible  

donations  to  the  Benevolent  Fund  through  the  defence  payroll  system.  In  PMKEYS,  go  to  the  deductions  

area  and  select  “Workplace  Giving”.  Do  a  search  for  the  Scientific  and  Support  Staff  Benevolent  

Association  and  select  it.  Enter  $2  deduction  per  pay,  for  instance.  Check  your  next  payslip  to  ensure  

everything  is  working.  The  donation  will  come  out  of  your  pretax  pay,  meaning  you  will  not  have  to  

claim  the  donation  at  tax  time.  You  will  not  require  a  receipt  from  the  Association,  as  the  payslip  will  be  

a  tax  record  of  your  deduction.  The  tax  has  essentially  been  automatically  given  back  to  you.  You  may  

wish  to  seek  advice  from  your  tax  agent  however  for  any  financial  decisions  you  make  in  this  regard.  

2. Direct  debit.  You  may  direct  debit  into  the  Benevolent  Fund  association  from  our  website.  We  are  using  

secure  banking  with  Westpac  and  a  tax  record  of  your  donation  will  be  made  at  the  time  of  your  

donation.  This  will  be  your  receipt.  Please  keep  this  for  your  records.  We  are  trying  to  avoid  manual  

processing  of  receipts  to  keep  costs  down.  

3. To  keep  our  costs  down,  we  will  not  issue  hard  copy  receipts  by  mail  or  correspond  by  postal  mail.  All  

correspondence  will  be  by  email  unless  there  are  exceptional  circumstances.  Your  assistance  in  keeping  

the  Association’s  administrative  costs  down  would  be  greatly  appreciated.  Note  that  all  office  bearers  in  

SSBA  are  doing  this  on  a  volunteer  basis  and  in  their  own  time.  

Be  a  part  of  the  charity  with  Membership  

1. Firstly,  you  do  not  need  to  be  a  member  to  donate  to  the  Fund.  

2. The  Association  requires  a  reasonable  cohort  of  members  to  enable  a  healthy  continued  representation  

at  the  committee  level,  to  help  us  communicate  our  cause,  and  to  help  us  with  the  governance  of  

donations  and  distributing  the  funds  to  people  in  need.  

3. We  have  set  membership  fee  at  $5  per  year  and  hope  this  will  cover  the  costs  of  running  the  

Association.  Membership  fees  are  not  tax  deductible.  Ideally  we  would  like  at  least  100  members  

from  across  the  nation.  Our  costs  include  registration  of  the  Association,  online  banking  costs,  website  

hosting  and  tax  auditing.  

4. Membership  will  give  you:  

a. Ability  to  nominate  for  and  voting  rights  for  Association  Member  Committee  positions  

b. Voting  rights  for  nominations  of  people  to  be  on  the  Benevolent  Fund  Committee.  

c. The  knowledge  that  you  are  part  of  something  bigger,  your  modest  $5  membership  fee  will  help  

run  the  Fund  and  cover  the  running  costs  of  the  Association.  

d. Regular  communications  about  Fund  status.  

e. Ability  to  submit  ideas  to  the  Association  to  do  things  better  and  ability  to  initiate  and/or  

volunteer  for  Association  initiatives.  

f. Attend  the  Annual  General  Meeting.  This  will  be  facilitated  using  video  conferencing  facilities  

wherever  possible.  

 

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5. Membership  fees  may  be  paid  into  the  Association’s  Membership  Account.  Please  visit  

www.compassioninscience.com.au,  or  email  SSSBA_charity@outlook.com  for  further  information.  

The  Benevolent  Fund  

A  separate  Committee  administers  the  Fund.  Nominations  for  assistance  are  assessed  by  the  Committee  and  are  

based  on  individual  circumstances.    

Funds  may  be  used  in  a  number  of  ways  but  the  current  options  are:  

1. One  off  payment.  This  will  be  determined  based  on  a  number  of  factors  including  the  amount  of  funds  

available.  No  other  limit  has  been  set  at  this  stage  apart  from  Funds  availability.  Should  there  be  a  

circumstance  that  Funds  are  too  low  to  make  a  meaningful  contribution,  a  separate  funding  drive  may  

be  initiated  to  raise  funds.  

2. Payment  of  bills.  For  instance,  direct  payment  to  medical  or  utility  bills  as  determined  by  the  

Benevolent  Fund  Committee.  

3. Regular  payments  per  month  for  a  limited  period.  In  this  case,  payments  of  say  $200-­‐$500  per  

month  may  be  made  to  the  recipients  for  a  limited  time  period  to  help  their  cash  flow.  

4. Interest  free  loan.  An  interest  free  loan  may  be  suitable  for  people  with  a  short  term  cash  flow  

problem.  For  instance,  they  may  be  receiving  insurance  payout  if  their  home  burnt  down,  but  require  

some  cash  quickly  and  are  happy  or  able  to  repay  at  a  later  date.  

The  Benevolent  Fund  Committee  

Nominations  to  access  the  Fund  are  submitted  using  a  nomination  form  available  from  the  website.  The  form  

will  generally  require  personal  information  including  financial  information  of  the  individual  in  financial  

trouble.  The  form  will  also  request  referees  from  their  accountant,  bank  representative  or  other  people  of  some  

standing  in  the  community  who  may  be  aware  of  their  situation.  This  information  will  be  helpful  because  of  the  

strict  governance  that  a  charity  with  tax  deductibility  status  must  follow.  

The  Benevolent  Fund  committee  will  consist  of  at  least  5  persons,  two  of  whom  are  from  outside  the  

Association  and  the  others  may  be  members  of  the  Association  who  are  nominated  by  the  membership.  The  

external  representatives  will  be  people  of  some  standing  in  the  community.  This  is  a  requirement  of  the  ATO.  

The  first  person  on  the  Committee  is  Professor  Lisa  Jackson  Pulver  AM  who  is  well  respected  in  the  academic  

and  Aboriginal  and  Torres  Strait  Islander  community.  

The  Benevolent  Fund  Committee  will  be  established  shortly.  

Privacy  and  the  Association  

The  Association  is  committed  to  member  and  donor  privacy.  All  requests  for  assistance  will  be  handled  with  

care  and  treated  confidentially.  Personal  information  of  members  will  only  consist  of  email  addresses,  

addresses,  names  and  membership  number  and  will  not  contain  any  banking  information.  This  will  be  

maintained  by  the  Secretary  and  only  available  to  the  Association  Committee.  The  list  will  not  be  used  for  any  

 

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other  purpose  or  be  passed  to  a  third  party.  Email  distribution  to  members  will  not  reveal  individual  email  

addresses.  See  the  SSSBA  privacy  policy  provided  on  the  website.  

Successful  nominees  for  the  fund  will  be  asked  whether  they  are  prepared  to  have  people  know  that  they  were  

assisted.  Otherwise  just  very  brief  and  non-­‐identifying  details  will  be  provided  to  the  public.  Please  note,  people  

requesting  support  may  be  required  to  provide  some  detailed  financial  information  of  a  very  personal  nature  

e.g.  Mortgage  liabilities,  bills,  living  expenses,  sources  of  other  funds  including  investments.  Because  this  is  a  

registered  charity  and  essentially  using  tax  deducted  monies,  people  requesting  financial  support  will  be  

expected  to  source  emergency  funds  from  other  sources  as  much  as  possible.  It  does  not  mean  you  have  to  be  

destitute  to  get  support,  but  payouts  from  insurances  and  or  grants  from  government  etc.  must  be  taken  into  

account.  There  is  no  hard  and  fast  rule  that  determines  a  person’s  suitability  for  assistance.  The  fund  committee  

will  consider  each  case  individually  and  determine  the  best  way  to  financially  help  the  nominees.  We  will  have  

selected  people  for  that  committee  who  will  be  pragmatic  and  have  a  strong  understanding  of  what  being  in  

need  means.    

 

General  enquiries  

Website:  www.compassioninscience.com.au  

Email:  sssba_charity@outlook.com  

 

 

 

 

The  Association  is  there  to  help  people  in  financial  dire  straits.  If  something  in  this  newsletter  has  affected  you  adversely  or  you  are  experiencing  hardship  and  you  need  to  talk  to  someone:  www.beyondblue.org.au  |  Lifeline  13  11  14