Fire Services Implementation Monitor Annual Report 2020-21

This inaugural annual report provides an assessment of the first eight months of implementation progress of Victoria’s fire services reforms (15 October – 30 June 2021).

This report focused on 36 of the 54 Year One Fire Services Reform Implementation Plan (Year One Plan) actions fundamental to the reform’s success. The status of the 54 actions from the Year One Plan are as follows:

• 6 are complete
• 23 are progressing and on track
• 15 are progressing and experiencing minor delays
• 8 are progressing and experiencing significant delays
• 2 have not yet commenced.

These actions were categorised and assessed under three themes:

1. Agency capacity and capability under the new model
   
   CFA and FRV must align their organisational roles and responsibilities to the principle of interoperability. The Year One assessment considers CFA’s and FRV’s progress establishing agreements and work arrangements to embed the new model.
2. Collaboration between CFA and FRV
   
   Ongoing collaboration between the CFA and FRV is paramount to the success of the reform. The Year One assessment considered CFA’s, FRV’s and EMV’s governance arrangements and extent of collaboration in the first year of reform.
3. Workplace culture and diversity
   
   The long-term success of the reform requires that CFA and FRV are modern, inclusive, and reflect the communities they serve. The Year One assessment considered CFA’s, FRV’s and EMV’s developments in organisational diversity and inclusion policy, gender diversity targets and complaints management.

Implementing the reform is a complex and challenging task. It is clear that CFA and FRV are committed to reform implementation and have collaborated to progress key elements of the reform. However significant and challenging programs of work remain to embed the new fire services model.

The Fire Service Implementation Monitor acknowledges CFA, FRV and EMV, and other emergency service entities for the significant cooperation and active contribution to monitoring and reporting activities in this first year.