Consultancy costs balloon for Fire and Rescue NSW amid soaring fatalities

Fire and Rescue NSW’s strategic rebrand has seen spending on consultants more than doubled over the past six years amid fire fatalities and falling retained firefighter numbers.

Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner Paul Baxter. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

Fire and Rescue NSW’s strategic rebrand has seen spending on consultants more than doubled over the past six years amid rising fire deaths and falling retained firefighter numbers, raising questions about the priorities of commissioner Paul Baxter.

A five-year report compiled by FRNSW showed the number of deaths per 100,000 people has ­averaged upwards since there were four fire-related deaths in 2016, with 88 recorded since then, 52 of which were identified as being preventable.

Soaring fatalities have come as significant resources have been injected into a strategic revamp known as the Plus Plan – an ­effort by FRNSW to demonstrate it does more than fight fires – ­despite the number of firefighters falling over the past decade.

“While we have refreshed our brand, we have not changed our name. In fact, we have given it more meaning by swapping the ‘&’ for a ‘+’ symbol. Our PLUS represents all the things that we do beyond fire and rescue,” the FRNSW’s website states.

When pushed on the cost of the program at budget estimates last September, Mr Baxter ­refused to give a ballpark figure, instead saying it had cost “millions” and deciphering the exact amount would “depend on how you unpack that and look at the costs”.

“I doubt very much whether we would be able to actually give you a completely accurate figure of what we did because, as I’ve said, the whole idea of a strategic plan is that you align the work that the organisation wants to do,” he said.

FRNSW did not respond to questions regarding the exact cost of its Plus Plan rebrand.

NSW Emergency Services Minister Jihad Dib defended the implementation of the FRNSW strategy, but criticised the levels of spending on consultants.

“We’ll be looking at all available options when it comes to ­reducing the number of fatalities in residential fires to … ensure public confidence in our firefighters is maintained,” he said.

“The current government has been very clear dating back to its time in opposition that excessive funds have been used towards consultants. A whole-of-government approach will be undertaken to reducing this expenditure.”

FRNSW’s rebranding exercise has been accompanied by soaring spending on consultants. The ­organisation has booked $11.8m on several consultancy firms – ­including marketing and branding – since 2016-17, a big increase on the $4.9m spent in total over the preceding six years.

This has included nearly $500,000 engaging the Sydney-based Brand Council, $425,000 on advertising, marketing and PR agency Oglivy, and $376,000 on branding consultancy ET ­Collective.

Marc Stigter, a strategy consultant, and his business Critical Management Group have been major beneficiaries of the Plus Plan revamp. Mr Stigter and his firm have been paid more than $700,000 across various engagements since mid-2017.

According to answers provided to the NSW parliament, Mr Stigter received $351,000 for 58.5 days of consultancy work, averaging at a cost of about $7500 a day.

Responding to questions, Mr Stigter would not confirm his daily rate but did say the figure was “far less than what is ­suggested”.

He said he had provided an “overall blueprint, methodologies and practices that contributed to the strategic and cultural repositioning of FRNSW transforming from a traditional fire brigade to a world-leading emergency service prepared for anything”.

Comparatively, the NSW Police Force and Royal Firefighting Service have spent $371,100 and just over $1m, respectively, on consultants since 2010-11.

The number of FRNSW senior executives has ballooned from 13 in 2011 to 26 a decade later; all while retained firefighting positions have fallen over the same period.