Emergency services tax: delivers lots of ‘empty promises’, say volunteers

The Victorian government has left CFA and VICSES volunteers in the dark over what funding – if any – is available for truck replacements and training.

The Victorian government has failed to deliver the $70 million it promised to help replace the CFA’s ageing tankers – 230 are more than 30 years old and another 743 are 20 to 30 years old.

CFA and VICSES volunteers have been left in the dark on the Allan Government’s promise to spend $50m a year of its new $1.623bn emergency services tax on volunteer training, trucks and equipment.

In announcing the tax last December, then Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes committed $50m annually over the next five years to “support CFA and VICSES volunteers across the state”.

At the time, Ms Symes said $70m of the $250m five-year allocation would be spent on a rolling fleet replacement program for VICSES and the CFA, doubling the Volunteer Emergency Services Equipment Program to $62m, and $30m to deliver training and support programs.

But in her first budget as Treasurer, Ms Symes failed to list any of the volunteer programs, leaving the CFA and VICSES with no idea of what – if any – extra funds were available for truck replacement, the VSEP or training.

CFA sources said the service had been “left in limbo”, not knowing if and when funds would be allocated, delaying its ability to order new tankers for a firefighting fleet that is the oldest in Australia.

Farmer rallied at state parliament last week against the tax.

The budget’s only mention of truck replacement programs was $40m over four years for FRV’s fleet and another $10m for Forest Fire Management Victoria vehicle replacement in 2025-26.

Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria chief executive Adam Barnett said “volunteers looking for reassurance in the government’s 2025-26 budget will be sorely disappointed”.

“Far from the assurance that every dollar of extra revenue collected by the new tax would go to volunteers and frontline emergency services, just a paltry $13.5m has been announced for more CFA regional stations. Not a CFA tanker to be seen in the budgets ‘new projects’,” he said.

“This confirms our worst fear that the government’s theatrics and empty promises would not match actual budget allocations.”

Current Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward’s office dismissed volunteer concerns, saying $200m was allocated over the next four years in last December’s 2024-25 budget update, plus another $53.1m in the budget.

However the update and the budget state the funding is for “supporting our emergency services and volunteers”, leaving the door open for the government to spend the money on whatever emergency service or agency it likes, such as Triple-0 Victoria, the State Control Centre, Forest Fire Management Victoria or the Emergency Alert Program.

Ms Ward said: “This year’s Budget delivered more funding to our emergency services – giving them the resources they need to keep Victorian safe”.

Premier Jacinta Allan has also repeatedly stated every dollar of the new tax would be used to fund emergency services.

But Mr Barnett said the overall budget allocation for emergency management capability -which funds CFA, FRV and VICSES – is forecast to decline from $2.176bn this financial year to $1.973bn, a $203.1m cut.

Ms Ward’s office said there was no cut, given other emergency service funding was allocated to other emergency assets and services in other parts of the budget, such as to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.

But the budget shows DEECA’s fire and emergency management funding will be cut from $484.9m in 2024-25 to $400.6m in 2025-26.

The government has also argued the 2025-26 allocations come off the back of higher than expected allocations this financial year, due to unexpected response costs to storm and bushfires.

Opposition emergency services spokesman Danny O’Brien said: “If the Labor government was genuine that the new emergency services tax revenue is all going to support our emergency services, why isn’t it in the budget?

“Budget papers show spending on emergency management capability and Forest Fire Management being cut, not increased. It’s the exact opposite of what the government claims.

“This proves the lie of this great big new tax. Victorians, especially our farmers, are being slugged with massive tax hikes to cover financial incompetence, not to support our frontline, because Labor can’t manage money.”