Please take the time to read these Membership Terms and Conditions. By applying for, or renewing membership, you are agreeing to these Membership Terms and Conditions.

1. VMR Hervey Bay Inc.: Volunteer Marine Rescue Hervey Bay Incorporated (ABN: 92 424 635 054) is a Not-for-profit organisation registered under the Australian Charities and Not-for-profit Commission (ACNC) and registered for GST. VMR Hervey Bay Inc. is governed by the VMR Hervey Bay Inc. Constitution.

2. Membership covers the member and their vessel jointly together.

3. All new Membership fees (excluding Visitor Membership) are for a fixed term of 12 months from the date of joining. If a member does not renew before their 12 month term ends, the member is deemed to be not financial for any activation and the costs for a Non-Member will apply.

4. All new member applications are subject to the approval of the Management Committee.

5. Payment must be received in full before membership status is considered financial and any outstanding debts owed to VMR Hervey Bay Inc. must also be paid before the membership status is considered financial. Online membership applications are not valid for activations for the first 2 days, to allow for processing.

6. All prices are in Australian Dollars and include Goods and Services Tax (GST).

7. Area of Operation: The waters of Great Sandy Strait and the Hervey Bay area bounded in the north by a line from Theodolite Creek to Long Shoal and following the Break Sea Spit (North of Sandy Cape) along the western side of Fraser Island, through to a line between Stewart Island and Garrys Anchorage in the south. Tows outside this area are at the discretion of the duty skipper.

8. Services provided include: towing of vessels back to harbour or a boat ramp (breakdowns, fuel etc), jumpstart for flat batteries, delivery of up to 100 litres of fuel, extraction from soft groundings (tide permitting), medical emergencies and activations for emergency services.

9. VMR Hervey Bay Inc. will not normally be involved with the retrieval of a vessel only ie a salvage situation. This may include a vessel which has run aground, has sunk or is drifting due to the anchor not holding or floating off a beach. The primary role and obligation of VMR Hervey Bay Inc. is preservation of life at sea by the means of rescue operations. Recovery of property at sea is secondary to VMR Hervey Bay Inc. obligations and will only be completed at the discretion of the duty skipper in charge of the activation if a risk assessment of the conditions deems it safe to perform recovery operations.

10. VMR Hervey Bay Inc. reserves the right to decline or abort assistance at any time the duty skipper deems the situation to be unsafe or unduly dangerous to the safety of the VMR rescue vessel or the skipper and crew.

11. Duty Skipper: is the skipper appointed by VMR Hervey Bay Inc in charge of the activation.

12. Operational Cost: Is the total fuel consumed by the activated rescue vessel/s for the specific activation date and time and charged at the equivalent rate of the fuel pump price at which the fuel is sourced by VMR Hervey Bay Inc. Parts or supplies provided at the request of the activation will be at an additional cost to the operational costs as per the invoiced price of the item/s.

13. Activation charges vary dependent on the type of membership.
    SO$ Membership - The first two activations per membership year are covered, up to a maximum operational fuel cost of $500. Any subsequent tows, or once the maximum of $500 has been reached in that membership year, are charged at the normal operational cost, with a minimum fee of $50.
    Ordinary Membership - Any activations, in that membership year, are charged at the normal operational cost, with a minimum fee of $50.
    Visitor Membership - This membership is valid for a period of one month (30 days). One activation up to a maximum operational fuel cost of $200, is covered within that one month period. Any subsequent activations, or once the maximum of $200 has been reached in that membership period, are charged at the normal operational cost, with a minimum fee of $50.

14. VMR Hervey Bay Inc. will endeavour to tow a vessel back to their point of departure as long as it is within the VMR Hervey Bay Inc. area of operations, however due to safety, weather conditions or the size of vessels this may not always be possible. VMR Hervey Bay Inc. will return vessels to a safe anchorage or harbour. Drop off point is at the duty skippers discretion.

15. Privacy Policy: VMR Hervey Bay Inc. acknowledges and respects the privacy of individuals. We advise that the information that is provided is Personal Information as defined by the Privacy and Personal Information Act 1998 (the Act). This information is being collected for the purposes of processing your membership to VMR Hervey Bay, for general logon and for use when assistance is requested from VMR Hervey Bay. The provision of any of this information is voluntary, but if this information is not provided, VMR Hervey Bay may be unable to process your membership or otherwise provide details to the water police if an incident occurs. You have the right of access to, and alterations of, personal information concerning yourself in accordance with the Act.

16. The VMR Hervey Bay Inc. Membership Terms and Conditions as contained above are valid from 1 October 2016.

VISITOR MEMBERSHIP - You MUST have your Membership Receipt (electronically or printed) and your Drivers License on your person if/when you require waterside assistance. Present these documents to the Skipper of the Rescue Vessel, who will then take down the relevant information to pass onto the Admin Staff for processing - No documents, NO FREE assistance. Details on both documents MUST MATCH. You are NOT entitled to a refund for Visitor Membership.

PLEASE ENSURE ALL YOUR DETAILS ARE CORRECT AND UP TO DATE.