Victoria’s volunteer firefighting force shrinks to new low while bill for paid staff soars

CFA volunteer numbers have plummeted to a new low while the bill for paid staff soars and property owners are hit with skyrocketing levies to pay for the state’s fire services.

Victoria’s volunteer firefighting force has shrunk to a new low while the bill for paid staff soars and property owners are hit with skyrocketing levies to pay for the state’s fire services.

New figures released in the Productivity Commission’s government services report revealed that as of June 2024 Victoria had just 28,906 volunteers, down from 36,823 when the Labor government first came to power in 2014.

The figure is now less than half of the NSW’s volunteer force which sat at 67,569.

The reports released on Tuesday, that showed a snapshot of emergency management across the country, also shows that Victoria had the most paid firefighters which were now costing the state a whopping $1.23 billion a year in employee costs – the highest salary bill in the country and more than $230m a year more than the NSW service.

It’s more than double the $600m the state’s fire service cost to run in 2014/15.

Victoria's volunteer firefighting force has shrunk to a new low. Picture: Alex Coppel

The reports also showed that Victorian property owners were bearing the brunt of the cost with Victoria having the highest levies on property owners who dished out $839.5m – higher than Queensland which took $659 million in property levies.

The financial hit will also only get harder for Victorian homeowners with the Allan government revealing it will replace the Fire Services Property Levy with a new Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF) from July 1, 2025.

The new levy would support more agencies including VICSES, Triple Zero Victoria, the State Control Centre, Emergency Management Victoria, Emergency Recovery Victoria and Forest Fire Management Victoria, in addition to the CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria, but its not yet clear how much will be passed on directly to the fore services.

The budget update revealed the new levy, which appears on homeowner’s rates notices, will now rake in $6.27 billion over the next five years, including a whopping $1.8 billion in 2027/28.

CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan says volunteer numbers fluctuate over time. Picture: Ian Currie

CFA Chief Officer Jason Heffernan said “Volunteer numbers will always fluctuate over time for a variety of reasons”.

“CFA recognises the current trend and emerging research that a younger generation is moving away from traditional forms of volunteering and are looking for more flexible, short duration and dynamic volunteer experiences.

“That is why CFA is in the process of renewing our operating model.”

Opposition spokesman for emergency services Danny O’Brien said: “These figures show that Victorians are paying more for fire services and actually getting less.

“Ten years of Labor disrespecting our CFA volunteers has seen a trend of numbers dropping off – from 35,000 operational volunteers when Labor came to office to now less than 29,000. “That’s less people to protect Victorians in times of emergency and yet we’re paying more than other states for the privilege.

“Labor can’t manage money, can’t manage our fire services and it’s Victorians who are paying the price.”

Fire crews in Victoria were called to 93,729 incidents last year.

In recent years, Victoria’s fire services have experienced significant changes.

Paid firefighters were transitioned out of the CFA and integrated into Fire Rescue Victoria, which replaced the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, transforming the CFA into an entirely volunteer-based organisation.

The Productivity Commission’s report also showed fire crews in Victoria were called to 93,729 incidents last year.

Just over 5700 of these were structural fires – and Victoria had one of the fastest response time in the country – 4434 were landscape fires, 2301 were road incidents and 15,657 were system initiated false alarms.

A state government spokesperson said “our volunteers put their lives on the line every day to protect Victorians and we are incredibly grateful for the work they do”.

“We know we need to support our volunteers to continuing growing the pool – that’s why we are delivering more resources, including brand new trucks fitted with the latest technology, new and upgraded stations, and advanced training opportunities, the spokesperson said.

“Victoria is one of the most fire prone areas and we have some of the most highly skilled paid firefighters and volunteers in the nation – the community should rest assured that they are well protected in a bushfire emergency no matter where they live.”