Jacinta Allan pauses on fire services tax for farmers after backlash

Victorian farmers will get a one-year reprieve from paying a higher emergency services levy after the Allan government backed down on the contentious tax.

Victorian farmers will be given a one-year reprieve on the tax hike. Picture: Ian Wilson

Victorian farmers will get a one-year reprieve from paying increased Emergency Services Levies as part of a drought package announced by the Allan government on Friday.

Under the new $37.7m commitment, farmers will be able to access grants of up to $5000 to support on-farm drought management improvements and mental health support.

Farmers with a primary production property will have payments for the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF) levy, capped to the same amount they paid in 2024-25.

It’s expected the hike to the levy will be applied from 2026/27.

Drought assistance payments will also be increased to $10,000 across 11 council areas and parts of West Wimmera.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has backed down after a backlash from farmers. Picture: Aaron Francis

It comes after Premier Jacinta Allan faced weeks of backlash and pressure from farmers, CFA members and volunteers over the new reforms.

The Emergency Services Levy is set to replace the current Fire Services Property Levy and will be collected by local councils to fund firefighting services, the state emergency service (SES), triple-0 and the state control centre.

The levy is calculated based on a person’s property type and property value — with farmers, landlords and commercial businesses set to be hit the hardest as the Allan government tries to raise $2bn.

Farmers would be required to pay 83 cents per $1000 of value in the 2025-26 fiscal year, representing a three-fold increase on the previous levy.

A CFA or VicSES volunteer can apply for a maximum rebate of $4150, meaning many farmers across the state that own larger properties for livestock and cropping would be left with bills between $5000 and $10,000.

Thousands of farmers and CFA volunteer firefighters protest against the levy on budget day. Picture: William West

Premier Jacinta Allan announced the new package in Ballan on Friday a week and a half after thousands of CFA members, volunteers and farmers flooded into Melbourne to protest the levy at Parliament House.

“The increasingly devastating effects of drought aren’t confined by postcode or region – its impacting farmers across Victoria. It’s why we’re expanding support statewide,” she said.

“The new Taskforce will bring together Victorians from different communities, different backgrounds and different political parties. Most importantly, it’ll be focused on delivering real relief for farming communities.”

United Firefighters Union secretary Peter Marshall said the tax was still hanging over the heads of farmers.

“Today’s announcement is a temporary pause on the collection of this tax for some people. It is not a full moratorium and the tax will hit businesses and homeowners hard this year,” he said.

“The government has made clear that the pause for farmers is for this year only.

“The laws will remain on the books, and the tax will hang over the heads of every Victorian — including farmers, business and homeowners — for every year to come. The tax will simply continue to pay for the continued attacks on firefighters and their safety.

“We need to see this extra tax discarded entirely, and the laws that enable it repealed so it cannot be reintroduced when the government is no longer facing the intense political pressure that recent protests have produced.”

The UFU has warned the tax still hangs over the head of every Victorian farmer. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra called the suspension of the tax hike for farmers and primary producers the “right first step”.
“But, we remain clear that the increases in the levy need to be dropped for everyone,” he said. “Businesses across the state cannot incur additional cost given the current high cost of doing business that we are experiencing.”

Victorian Farmers Federation President Brett Hosking welcomed the package.

“This announcement offers a glimmer of hope and is recognition that the pressure we’ve applied is being heard,” he said.

“It’s a step in the right direction, but plenty more remains to be done.”

Mr Hosking said that the 12-month pause was not enough but allowed more time to talk with the government.

“It doesn’t change the underlying problem: this levy is an unfair cost shift onto farmers.”

“We’ll use this extra time to continue making the case that it needs to be scrapped altogether, not simply paused,” Mr Hosking said.

Originally published as Jacinta Allan pauses on fire services tax for farmers after backlash