Chairman’s Report

It is heartbreaking to see the devastation from Australia’s bushfire emergency. Lives have been lost, properties destroyed, large scale evacuations have forced many from their homes and wildlife devastation. My thoughts go out to all who have been impacted by the current bushfire emergency.

It has been wonderful to see the fundraising efforts by many across Australia and from around the world and our Self Storage Family are no exception and we have received many examples of how they have helped.

Every little bit counts and giving back to your local community will help the community rebuild. I am very proud of how community focussed the storage industry is and I would like to share with members some of these stories.

THE WILSON GROUP WHICH INCLUDES WILSON STORAGE

Have matched dollar for dollar up to $100,000 of public donations via two gofundme accounts.

Ivor Morgan, Chairman SSAA

The Victorian based businesses Storage / Parking / Security / Medic One will match $50,000 of this and all funds go to the CFA.

The remainder of the Wilson Group outside of Victoria have matched $50,000 of donations and all funds go to the Red Cross. At the time of printing they have raised over $33,000 in donations.

STORCO

Storco has donated in excess of $5,000 to the Rapid Relief team since December for their operation Fire Relief and they have been volunteering on the RRT food tents and water pumps providing food for the firies and water for their tankers.

STORELOCAL

To show their support to the affected communities, StoreLocal is donating $10,000 towards the Australian Red Cross and WIRES.

KENNARDS SELF STORAGE

Kennards Self Storage has donated approximately 1,100 boxes to community organisations and charities and packing goods to go to affected areas. In addition, storage spaces have been donated to 6 charities/community organisations for use to pack donated goods.

FORT KNOX STORAGE, QLD

A $10,000 donation was made towards the victims of the bushfire devastation whilst encouraging the support of the public through their website for a donation towards Country Women’s Association of NSW General Fund and their Disaster Relief Fund.

KANGAROO FLAT SELF STORAGE

Have made 2 storage units available to emergency relief organisations collecting food and toiletries that have been taken to evacuated sites.

JIMS SELF STORAGE

The Mallacoota Surf Lifesaving Club lost their caravan which housed valuable lifesaving first aid equipment. As Life Saving is a big part of my life, Jim’s Self Storage wanted to do something to contribute towards helping this community rebuild, through an initial donation and ongoing fundraising at the facility. Although this is on a smaller scale than what many others have done, I would encourage all members to do whatever they can, as every bit helps.

At times like these it’s great to be a part of such a compassionate family that exists within the SSAA. l

SSAA Members Tip

Writing the date in 2020

When dating all Self Storage Agreements during the current year, it is best practice to ensure the full year is used - eg. 31/1/2020 and not as 31/01/20.

The importance of ensuring you do not shorten the year is the risk of someone back dating and/or forward dating an Agreement.

An example to demonstrate the importance to the storage industry:

A Storage Fee cannot be increased during the initial fixed period of storage – it can only be increased once the storer is on ‘continuing’ storage. Additionally, our Agreements allow for termination of the storage agreement once the initial fixed period of storage has ended. Unless the Storer goes into arrears or is engaged in illegal activity, the Facility is unable to terminate the Storer’s agreement during the fixed period. You don’t want any confusion over end dates on Agreements."