The fact the constant increase in costs we face in our daily lives has hit the SSAA will surprise no-one and unfortunately it means we’ve had to raise the price of membership from $100 to $105. Insurance, computing, production costs and staff salaries among others have all increased, though the biggest rise has been in Australia Post charges, up this year by 13 per cent on top of a sizeable hike last year.
It’s becoming more and more expensive to produce and post Australian Shooter to those tens of thousands of members who, like me, prefer a print magazine. The increased costs of postage mean we’ve had to raise the charge of receiving a printed copy of the magazine from $15 a year to $25, though the digital edition remains included in your base membership.
We’re managing our costs as best we can and doing everything possible to minimize the impact on members yet, like so many aspects of modern life, these increases are unavoidable. Check out SSAA TV on YouTube for an explanation by our President, Andrew Judd, on how your membership fees are distributed. Despite the rise, SSAA still remains outstanding value for members who, for just $105 a year, receive the following:
11 digital issues of Australian Shooter,
$20 million of public liability insurance cover,
Accident and income protection insurance,
Advocacy on members’ behalf from state associations,
Regular updates on member news, association news, competitions and politics,
Access to members-only firearms protection,
Access to hundreds of ranges around Australia,
Access to shooting competitions nationwide,
Discounts on other SSAA publications,
Discounts on SSAA merchandise,
Range upgrades around the country.
As part of our efforts to make your membership work better for you, we’ll be introducing digital membership cards you can store on your mobile phone. If you’re like me and hate carrying too many plastic cards in your wallet (or don’t use a wallet), having the membership card on your phone will make life a lot easier. This will be available as you renew your membership from October, though if you’d prefer to retain a plastic card, simply ring our membership office on (02) 8805 3900 and we’ll send one out. As ever, thanks for being part of the SSAA community.