Starts With Us

A Fight to Stay True to Our Mission

WIRES was founded 40 years ago with a singular mission: to rescue and rehabilitate native wildlife, aiming always to release animals back into the wild. Volunteers were—and always have been—the foundation of the organisation.

In 2020, following the Black Summer bushfires, WIRES received an unprecedented $100 million in donations. This dramatic shift in financial position required a change in structure: WIRES had to transition from an Incorporated Association to a Company. This should have been a relatively straightforward process—simply transferring registration from the NSW Department of Fair Trading to ASIC, with a few tweaks to the existing constitution. Voila.

However, WIRES chose to significantly alter their constitution before the transfer. A constitution is a legally binding document that governs an organisation. It outlines the organisation’s purpose and the rights of its members—in this case, the volunteers who rescue and care for wildlife across 28 semi-autonomous branches in NSW.

Why This Is Important

Volunteer members have always had a voice within the organisation, and it’s an important one. We possess valuable knowledge and insights that help refine wildlife policy. Under the new company structure with ASIC, members are the legal owners. This means they have the right to influence the management and direction of the company through their votes.

In 2023, when WIRES first revealed their proposed new constitution, members were shocked to find that “Rescue & Rehabilitation” was no longer listed as the organisation’s core objective. Instead, the new aim was to become an “Environmental Organisation,” with the only additional activity being “advocacy for licensing and animal cruelty.” Members sought clarification, as to what this meant for WIRES, but no satisfactory explanation was ever provided. But the ‘Animal Welfare Team’ was evolving—Ex RSPCA Inspectors were now employees of WIRES. 

An alarming clause stated that members would be required to reapply annually to retain their membership—and could be refused without explanation or warning.

Another clause appeared designed to allow the bushfire donations to be absorbed into WIRES' general funds. This could lead to reduced oversight over how the remaining millions are spent and open the door for those funds to be used for purposes unrelated to wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.

We Have The RIGHT To Care & Deserve Transparency

Wildlife caring is a passion. Volunteers make significant personal and financial commitments to this work. In NSW, individuals have the right to care for wildlife if they choose. WIRES holds a privileged position—it licenses individuals to care for wildlife. It is unreasonable and, we believe, unlawful for WIRES’ management to abuse that authority by refusing to renew memberships without due process or explanation.

Members wanted—and deserved—transparency around these changes and their implications for both volunteers and wildlife welfare. Recent policy shifts have raised fears that wildlife rehabilitation is no longer the focus of the “new WIRES,” and that the proposed constitution would cement this shift in future governance.

When WIRES repeatedly failed to address these concerns, members exercised their rights and voted against the adoption of the new constitution—three times.

A Sudden and Unlawful Ultimatum

In September 2024, WIRES made a move that shocked everyone. The board announced that, as part of the transition to a company, they would adopt the new constitution anyway—and gave members just seven days to accept it or be removed from the organisation.

Wait, what?

Members were told they had to accept this new constitution or they would be out. Legal advice obtained by members (at their own expense) confirmed that the WIRES board’s actions were illegal. This advice was shared with the board, but they refused to listen.

WIRES members reached out to the regulators—National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS), the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC), and NSW Fair Trading—but none were able to offer support or guidance. We were on our own.

A small group of determined members concluded they had no choice but to initiate legal action in the NSW Supreme Court—entirely self-funded through contributions from members and supporters.

Did they want to do this? Absolutely not. But they had to protect members’ rights and ensure that WIRES’ mission remains focused on wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.

Two court cases are now underway: Emmett vs WIRES and Henderson vs WIRES. Directions hearings are set for 24 June 2025.

Both cases were instigated because we are witnessing worrying policy changes at WIRES—changes that could be legitimised under the new constitution, which we believe was not legally adopted by members.

New Policies Are Hindering Wildlife Care

New policies are hindering carers and vets from providing adequate care to wildlife. We are seeing more euthanasia and increasing reliance on smaller organisations with fewer resources. Meanwhile, WIRES is offering research grants to universities, employing more staff than ever, and outlining plans to become a national organisation. For those of us involved in day-to-day wildlife rescue, this is terrifying.

We created a Facebook page—WIRES Members: Vote to Keep Wildlife Care in Our Hands—because that’s exactly what we want. During the SGM process, WIRES shut down members’ ability to provide feedback or even talk to one another about the proposed changes, so this FB group became essential.

Click on the Facebook Icon in the menu bar to connect and/or join our Facebook page.

The Truth Emerges

On 17 April 2025, WIRES issued a letter to members finally admitting to irregularities in their transition to a Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG) and in the adoption of their new constitution.

This confirmed what our legal advice had told us: since September 2024, WIRES has been purporting to operate under a constitution that was never lawfully adopted by its members.

Yet, as of today, no attempt has been made to correct these irregularities or reinstate the members who were ousted.

Our Aim Is This

We want to Keep WIRES focused on wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.

We want ethical and transparent governance.

We want to reduce escalating head office expenses and support our dedicated volunteer workforce in their efforts to care for injured and orphaned wildlife in NSW.

Thank you for your continued support.

Together, we are strong.