From 1 July 2025, the Fire Services Property Levy will be replaced by the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF).
It will help support a broader range of emergency services and for the first time include Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES), Triple Zero Victoria, the State Control Centre, Forest Fire Management Victoria and Emergency Recovery Victoria, as well as the Country Fire Authority and Fire Rescue Victoria.
If you have a query about the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF) itself (not the rebate), please visit the Department of Treasury and Finance Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund site.
The Eligible Volunteers Rebate Scheme
Our emergency service volunteers give so much to our state.
That’s why eligible Country Fire Authority, VICSES, and Shepparton Search and Rescue Squad volunteers and life members will be entitled to a rebate on the ESVF liability on their principle place of residence or farm.
Further details about the Eligible Volunteers Rebate Scheme will be made available on this page soon, including information on how to apply and who to contact if you have queries.
Volunteer eligibility
Rebates are available on the principal place of residence or farm for eligible volunteers and life members from:
- the Country Fire Authority
- VICSES
- Shepparton Search and Rescue Squad.
An eligible volunteer is a current volunteer member who:
- has not been determined by the relevant emergency service to be inactive, or suspended due to disciplinary action
- has not received remuneration in their capacity as a volunteer except reimbursement for any out-of-pocket expenses
- has completed 12 months’ service, including any probationary period required by the relevant emergency service to become a volunteer member, and
- has not been on a leave of absence from their service for the entire duration of the last 12 months.
A person who has been declared a life member of the relevant emergency service (excluding where the person has been declared a life member by a brigade or unit) is also eligible.
To claim a rebate for the 2025–26 levy, volunteers and life members must meet the criteria above on 31 May 2025.
Property eligibility
The rebate can be claimed for one of the following:
- your principal place of residence if you are on the title, or
- one parcel of farmland in which you have a direct ownership interest, or farmland in which you have an indirect ownership interest (for example, as a shareholder of a company, or a trustee or beneficiary of a trust, that owns the land), or
- two or more parcels of land in a single farming enterprise that you have a direct or indirect ownership interest.
Note: Farmland includes land with a farming-related use as specified in legislation.
Eligible volunteers may choose which of their properties the rebate applies to as long as it falls into one of the above categories.
Scheme opening dates
Applications for the rebate will open in July 2025.
Frequently asked questions
Updated