CFA says sorry after review lays bare ongoing bullying, harassment

Bullying and harassment remain persistent problems in Victoria’s Country Fire Authority, a new report shows, prompting the service’s management to apologise to anyone treated poorly.

The report by former Victorian equal opportunity and human rights commissioner Helen Szoke outlines ongoing shortfalls in the culture of CFA, which has been rocked by turbulence and a “churn of leadership” in the past decade.

An independent report has found that harassment and bullying remain ongoing problems in the CFA. Credit: Getty

One former volunteer told The Age that he still carries the emotional scars from the “toxic” culture, which intensified during the time of the CFA’s controversial overhaul in 2017.

He said managers often yelled at him as tensions simmered between paid firefighters and volunteers in the lead up to the overhaul.

“It broke me in the end. I was an emotional wreck,” he said.

The report cited its own interviews with de-identified CFA “stakeholders” who spoke of being subjected to ongoing sexual comments and unwelcome treatment from workers and volunteers.

“If I have to make sure I have another person with me when I walk into a room due to fear of sexual harassment, then that is not a safe workplace,” one respondent said.

Szoke’s report makes 10 recommendations, including increasing diversity at all levels, introducing a five-year action plan for change, and more focus on the wellbeing of all CFA members.

It also recommended making dispute resolution processes more transparent, timely and effective. The CFA accepted all the recommendations.

The report comes after numerous media reports of problems in the CFA, including a 2017 investigation by The Age that found women working for the service had been sexually assaulted and harassed amid a culture of fear.

Helen Szoke has probed the culture and problems within the CFA. Credit: Chris Hopkins

Despite efforts to attract more women to its brigades, the report showed they account for just 23 per cent of the CFA’s volunteer membership. However, women make up 60 per cent of its permanent paid workforce.

Szoke also identified a lack of changing rooms and toilets for women at CFA locations.

The report cited a Victorian Public Sector Commission survey released in 2021 that found 24 per cent of respondents had experienced bullying at the CFA in the past 12 months.

It also showed 8 per cent had experienced sexual harassment, 9 per cent discrimination and 10 per cent experienced aggression and violence. One in five respondents reported they intended to leave the CFA.

CFA managers say they are taking steps to reform the service’s culture. Credit: AP

CFA management commissioned the report in September last year and acknowledged that parts of it made for “distressing reading”.

On Thursday, CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan said management apologised to anyone whose experiences at the CFA fell short of community standards.

“We are deeply and sincerely sorry to any member of the CFA past [or] current that has experienced bad behaviours,” he said.

Chief executive officer Natalie MacDonald said the service was already providing brigades with additional management support for vulnerable people, education on behavioural standards and better resources for conflict resolution.

MacDonald said CFA management had also worked to clear a backlog of complaints.

“We need to make sure that CFA is a great place to volunteer and work, and if there are issues that are not helping us attract the best and the brightest volunteers and staff, then we need to tackle it,” she said.

MacDonald insisted women should make up half of the volunteers in brigades, but conceded it will take time. She said work had started to build more appropriate facilities for women.

The latest report is separate from a review by the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission into fire services that was suppressed by the Court of Appeal in 2017.

Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria chief executive officer Adam Barnett described Szoke’s report and the CFA’s apology as a watershed moment.

He said volunteers wanted to be part of the improvements at the CFA.

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