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Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund
Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund This past week has been National Volunteer Week with them theme ‘Connecting Communities’; a time to recognise and applaud the enormous amount of work that emergency service volunteers undertake for the communities they serve. To keep turning out 24/7/365 is a unique feature of the sector in Australia, where, unlike in almost every other country, volunteers do 90% of all disaster and emergency response.
With more frequent, complex and cascading events, it is also a time to consider how that amazing level of service is to be supported into the future. It should be a priority of all levels of government to fully and adequately fund emergency services. Here in Victoria, this week has seen the passing of the ‘Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund’; a new levy to support SES, CFA, FRV, Forest Fire Management Vic, Triple Zero, State Control Centre, Emergency SMS alerts, Emergency Operational Communication Program and Emergency Recovery Vic.
There is no confusion about what is needed: sustainable funding. Just how that is achieved is open to debate. Who should pay? In NSW, for example, funds are accumulated from councils and insurance companies. In Queensland, it is levied on property; in SA, it is both property and part of vehicle registrations (which many think is more equitable, as it is not just property-owners who use emergency services -emergencies can happen to anyone, any time). SA also fund other services such as Lifesaving SA and Marine Rescue.
Here, we can pause and reflect on the downgrading of the voices of volunteers and others who might have made a significant contribution to the issue beforehand, in the cancelling of the extremely successful Volunteer Consultative Forum (VCF), which had been set up in collaboration with EMV to provide direct consultation to the Minister. The VCF was constituted from all response and some support agencies and oversaw important research such as the development of the priorities for the sector, the Volunteer Statement, the ‘3 Vs’ project, the sector-wide roll-out of the VFBV Welfare and Efficiency Survey, and more. It provided a range of perspectives central to emergency management in Victoria and should be reinstated.
There have been different views expressed about the levy. Some rural and regional communities will be hit hard, particularly farmers and primary producers, and as we have seen this week in Melbourne, they have teamed up with their local CFA brigades and FRV to bring their concerns to Spring St. SES members from some regional areas have also expressed their concerns, and it has been pointed out that – yet again- volunteers are tacked on the end of a phrase as if they are the ‘extras’, not the main protagonists (‘Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund’). There has been some feedback from community members thinking that Volunteers were getting a special fund set up just for them to administer and use. No, the responsibility and budgeting stays with the government agency. It remains to be seen exactly how the levy will improve the volunteer experience, who will lose and who will gain, or how service improvements will be made to local communities.
In the meantime, everyone has the chance to express their views, both internally, locally and later at the ballot box. Australia is a country where diversity of approaches and thought can be openly and frankly debated, where no-one is silenced and excluded for holding contrary views to others, and where consensus can be achieved after sometimes long, difficult and emotional discussions. This is to be celebrated, not censored.
Information from the Government
The detailed information about the levy, including important information about exemptions can be accessed at Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund | dtf.vic.gov.au. We encourage everyone to inform themselves of all the details at that link. Note that a rebate is available for volunteers. Eligible volunteers include all active VICSES and CFA operational and support volunteers. To be eligible for the rebate, volunteers will need to have served for at least 12 months, have passed probation, and not be suspended on disciplinary grounds or have taken a leave of absence for the entire duration of the preceding 12 months.
Information from the Opposition
The following communication has been received from the Opposition:
Our Commitment to Repeal Labor’s Emergency Services Tax and Support the SES
Dear Volunteers and Staff, On behalf of the Liberals and Nationals, thank you for your unwavering service to your communities. Whether responding to storms, floods, road crashes or rescues, your work is vital to the safety and wellbeing of all Victorians.
We write to assure you that we have heard your concerns about the Allan Labor Government’s so-called Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF) a tax that does not deliver what its name promises. Despite being branded as a way to support emergency services, the ESVF is in fact a massive new land tax that hits homeowners, farmers and businesses hard, while providing no guarantees for better resourcing or support to the State Emergency Service. CFA and SES volunteers have been treated as an afterthought. This is wrong.
That’s why the Liberals and Nationals are committed to scrapping Labor’s Emergency Services Tax and returning to the more transparent and affordable Fire Services Property Levy (FSPL) model. Our policy will:
- Repeal the ESVF legislation passed by Labor in May 2025.
- Restore the FSPL as the sustainable and equitable funding model for fire services.
- Ensure SES funding is provided directly and sustainably from the State Budget, not through a tax that burdens families, business owners and regional communities.
- Respect the contribution of volunteers and properly fund training, equipment and capability.
Under Labor, this tax will rip an extra $3 billion from Victorians over four years, with no guarantee that any of it reaches frontline volunteers like you. We believe your work deserves proper support and not false promises and higher bills.
The Liberals and Nationals are standing up for all Victorians, especially those who give their time and energy to protect others. If elected, we will relieve this tax burden and ensure the SES is funded in a way that reflects your importance to our state.
Thank you again for all you do. We stand with you and will fight to ensure you get the recognition, resourcing and respect you deserve.
Yours sincerely,
Brad Battin MP
Leader of the Victorian Liberal Party
Leader of the Opposition
Danny O’Brien MP
Leader of The Nationals
Shadow Minister for Emergency Services
