Emergency services tax: Where your money really goes in Victoria

Only 20c in every dollar Victorians pay in emergency services tax will go to the CFA this financial year, outraging volunteers.

Only 20c in every dollar Victorians pay in emergency services tax will go to the CFA this financial year, with VicSES’s picking up less than 5c in 100c.

Premier Jacinta Allan and Treasurer Jaclyn Symes have repeatedly stated their emergency services tax on all household and businesses 2025-26 rate notices would deliver “a massive funding boost for new trucks, equipment and technology” for both volunteer services.

But on the ground, volunteers say they are being short changed, gaining less under the $1.54 billion Emergency Services Volunteer Fund taxation scheme than they did under $1 billion Fire Services Property levy it replaced.

Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria chief executive Adam Barnett said “despite documenting a record tax hike under its new Emergency Services Tax, less of that money is making its way to CFA than ever before”.

Former Treasurer Tim Pallas told Parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee last year the CFA’s forecast budget for 2024-25 was $337.6m.

Yet at the end of May this year Ms Symes signed a government gazette that stated $312m of the tax would be used to cover 95 per cent of the CFA’s 2025-26 budget, bringing the total allocation to $328m — equal to a $9m cut.

Ms Symes, the Premier and Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward have denied the cutback, but have refused to reveal the CFA budget allocation when repeatedly questioned by Parliament’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee.

Ms Ward told PAEC in June “that would have been a conversation between Treasury and the CFA”.

Ms Allan told PAEC there was funding “from other parts of government that goes into our emergency services”, such as $250m announced in last December’s budget update.

But the update shows the $250m is spread out over four years, with just $50m a year allocated to “supporting our emergency services and volunteers”, with no detail on whether the funds will be spent on the CFA and VicSES or other emergency services.

Mr Barnett said the government had rolled out a series of confusing figures, such as

the promise to spend $70m on “rolling fleet” replacement.

“That’s $10m a year for CFA ($40m), and $7.5m for SES over four years ($30m).

On other occasions the Treasurer and Minister have inflated the “rolling fleet” investment to $110m by adding another a $40m allocated to FRV trucks, at a rate of $10m/yr over four financial years.

“Talk about how many ways can you spin a single depressingly tiny figure,” Mr Barnett said.

Meanwhile analysis of the tax take, based on Ms Symes’ May 30 gazette, shows half the $1.54 billion tax will go to Fire Rescue Victoria, while seven other government agencies share in a $391m slice of the pie.

Under the FSPL, only the CFA and FRV could be funded using ratepayers’ levy contributions.

But the new ESVF Act has allowed the government to use the 2025-26 tax take to fund 43.3 per cent of its agencies budgets, allocating:

$174m to Forest Fire Management Victoria.

$107m to Triple Zero Victoria.

$78m for the Emergency Management Operational Communication Program.

$12.2m to Emergency Recovery Victoria.

$11m to Emergency Management Victoria.

$8.8m for the Emergency Alert Program.

$174,973 to the State Control Centre.