Navy veteran Tammy Sheply takes charge of SES North Western zone

Two weeks ago marked the start of Ms Sheply's tenure as the Zone Commander of the newly-established SES North West coverage zone, which will coordinate SES operations everywhere from Mungindi and Tambar Springs in the west through to Walcha and Tenterfield in the east.

From the soon-to-be-established HQ in Tamworth, Ms Sheply is responsible for managing the 40 new staffing roles the SES has created to support its huge network of volunteers across the state.

"I really am looking forward to being able to provide support and work with [SES volunteers] and help them build, both in their own capacity and their ability to help the community," Ms Sheply said.

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The SES were inundated with emergency calls for flood rescue over the course of 18 months up to November last year, creating a need for record investment from the state government to revamp the service.

"One of the things we recognised as an agency and we have the support of the NSW government to do, is to invest in more jobs in regional NSW. We need to provide more support to local communities," SES Assistant Commissioner Sean Kears said.

The state government allocated $132.7 million in June 2022 to the SES, followed by an additional investment of nearly $90 million in December.

Mr Kears said some of this money went into recruiting and hiring the best and brightest to fill positions as the SES expands, and that Ms Sheply stood out amongst other candidates for her leadership skills and volunteering background.

"We undertook a recruitment campaign to recruit the key positions, starting with the zone commander. From my perspective, Tammy is going to bring a great leadership style from her experience as an officer in the Royal Australian Navy to NSW SES to be able to lead people," Mr Kears said.

Before moving to Tamworth, Ms Sheply grew up on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, where she began volunteering with Surf Live Saving from the age of seven.

In 2005, Ms Sheply joined the Australian Regular Army, completing a degree in science at the University of NSW Defense Campus before transferring to the navy and spending the last 18 years in various roles in leadership and navigation, stationed in multiple locations centred around Darwin before finally moving her family out to Tamworth to join the NSW SES.

"Everyone in my family was encouraging me because I knew I wanted to do something different and I hadn't really found something until I saw what was happening here and the amazing amount of effort everyone was going to to really give our volunteers a good chance, and I thought that's really something I believe in and want to be part of," Ms Sheply said.

Both Ms Sheply and Mr Kearns said they want to shine a light on the hard work SES volunteers do every day and use the investment in the North West zone to grow closer ties with local and regional communities.

"We're extremely proud of our SES volunteers, who have been out there giving up their time not only to help their local communities, but being deployed to all parts of the state," Mr Kearns said.

Ms Sheply's new team is operating out of a temporary headquarters in Tamworth Regional Airport until the lease for the new headquarters is finalised with council.

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