Bureaucratic bungle costs 1000 emergency service volunteers

A dispute between Queensland government departments has resulted in the qualifications of 1000 volunteers being erased.

The qualifications of about 1000 volunteers have been erased. (File picture)

A bureaucratic bungle has erased the qualifications of about 1000 emergency services volunteers – stopping them from helping Queenslanders should a natural disaster strike today.

The bungle centres on a dispute between State Emergency Service and Queensland Fire Department over the training of SES volunteers between June 3 and December 20 last year.

The SES transferred from QFD to Queensland Police Service on June 3.

For six months, however, SES remained operating under the fire department’s registered training organisation.

It allowed the SES to continue training its volunteers while until it established itself as an independent organisation.

Under the deal, the SES was required to provide the training and administrative services of an RTO and was responsible for ensuring compliance.

Queensland Fire Department argues SES failed to ensure its trainers remained compliant with requirements.

“When instances of noncompliance were identified, SES were required to provide evidence of rectification,” a spokesman said.

“Where the SES was unable to demonstrate rectification of noncompliance issues, QFD was unable to certify units of competency for those activities.”

However, SES argues it provided evidence of compliance when requested by the fire department.

More than 1000 flood boat and chainsaw operations, four-wheel-drive and working at heights courses undertaken by volunteers over the six-month period have been voided.

Volunteers are not permitted to undertake tasks they are not qualified for, hindering the ability of some of the state’s near 6000 SES volunteers to respond to a disaster.

An SES Volunteers Association spokesman said members had given up valuable time to gain the new skills that have now been removed.

“We are frustrated on behalf of volunteers who have found themselves caught up in what appears to be administrative challenges,” he said.

“Anything that hinders our volunteers and doesn’t support them is essentially another reason why they might volunteer somewhere else.

“It is critical for everyone including the community, that we get this right.”

It is understood volunteers were not notified of the removal of skills from their training history.

Questions to Emergency Services Minister Dan Purdie’s office were referred to QFD.

The SES established itself as a registered training organisation in December and now operates independently.

Originally published as Bureaucratic bungle costs 1000 emergency service volunteers