Foreword

Message from the Fire Services Implementation Monitor, the Hon. Niall Blair

I am pleased to present my fifth and final annual report at the conclusion of the government’s Year Two to Five Fire Services Reform Implementation Plan (Year 2–5 Implementation Plan).¹

This annual report offers my observations and analysis on the final outcomes from the Country Fire Authority (CFA), Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV), the Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) and the Firefighters Registration Board in their efforts to realise the visions of the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan.

In my year 4 annual report, I reflected on some of the systemic challenges and barriers facing agencies as they worked through the remaining actions in the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan. For the year 5 reporting period I was heartened to see agencies coming together to work through these barriers. Using a complementary fire services approach, the agencies worked to strengthen existing governance arrangements to deliver the residual actions and address joint operational matters such as vacancy and non-relief issues.

As I reflect on the past 5 years of reform, there have been complex and trying times, but people have stayed the course and made great strides. However, this is not to say that the challenges facing agencies since the inception of the reform have gone away. Rather, I have observed that agencies have developed and embedded tools, mechanisms and cultures to work through these impediments.

In my first annual report as Fire Services Implementation Monitor (FSIM) for 2020–21, I identified 3 areas of focus:

• capacity and capability
• collaboration
• culture and workplace safety.

It is interesting to note that 5 years on, these 3 areas have shown some of the greatest achievements of the reform while containing some of the foremost, and in some cases constant, challenges.

It is important to acknowledge that the operating environment has evolved since the reform began 5 years ago. This said, I am confident that agencies are on the right path towards realising the government’s vision for a modern, interoperable and sustainable fire service.

With the end of year 5, the agencies have now acquitted all actions and either completed or transitioned to business as usual any remaining deliverables in the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan. They are embedding key programs such as the CFA’s training programs and FRV’s health model, strategies such as FRV’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy and organisational initiatives such as the CFA’s Operating Model, to lay the foundations for sustained positive change. But it is important to remember that the reform is more than the implementation plan actions alone.

Going forward from the conclusion of the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan, continued and meaningful collaboration that is guided by the principles of a complementary fire services approach will be important. Agencies will need to carry on planning effectively for the challenges facing them now and into the future, including climate-related risks, changing community risk profiles, an ageing career and volunteer workforce, and to ensure Victorian communities receive a timely and efficient service. I encourage the agencies to reflect on their progress and achievements from 5 years of fire services reform (FSR) and to harness this energy to keep driving forward.

From the outset my work has relied significantly on continual collaboration with key stakeholders, particularly the fire agencies. Therefore, I would like to thank the CFA and FRV for assisting me with monitoring and reporting activities throughout the past 5 years.

I also recognise the involvement and drive of other key stakeholders in FSR: Emergency Management Victoria, the United Firefighters Union of Australia – Victoria Branch (UFU) and Volunteers Fire Brigades Victoria.

I acknowledge the ongoing support of DJCS through their consolidated contributions on behalf of the various emergency services agencies and entities they administer.

Over the past 5 years it has been my pleasure to travel across Victoria and meet the firefighters, volunteers and employees who dedicate their career and time to serve their communities. Their passion, dedication and professionalism are easy to identify and always on display. Many of them have been traumatised and impacted by the reform. Their honest accounts of their experience and efforts to share their stories with me has been very beneficial in my deliberations. I thank them one and all for the trust they have put in me to maintain confidentiality and influence positive change.

It has been a privilege to have served in this role for the past 5 years, and I am humbled and proud of the many achievements not only across FSR but also that of my work over this time. This has included driving outcomes data collection improvements and building and brokering ever-strengthening relationships with agencies.

I would like to express my appreciation to the staff of my office, both past and present, for their expertise and dedication to this work. They have enabled me to discharge my legislative responsibilities and to optimistically make a positive contribution towards the ongoing implementation of the government’s vision for a modern and interoperable fire service.

Reflections on 5 years of the reform

FSR arose out of devastating evidence that Victoria’s fire services needed urgent attention. Changing climatic conditions have led to longer and more intense fire seasons, while population growth and dispersal across the state has magnified the operational footprint demanded of fire services. Other pressures, including the increased attendance of fire services in emergencies involving terrorism, public infrastructure and mass casualty incidents,² has meant Victoria’s fire services had to evolve and work differently. Volunteer and career firefighters were protecting the community using an outdated model. The multiple reviews and reports into these arrangements since the Black Saturday Royal Commission confirmed the dire need for investment, cultural transformation, new governance structures and a modernised way of responding to emergencies.

FSR introduced important legislative changes to Victoria’s fire services. The CFA was recognised in legislation³ as a volunteer firefighting service, and FRV was established as a career firefighting agency under the Fire Rescue Victoria Act 1958.

FSR also created 3 entities:

• the Fire Services Implementation Monitor(opens in a new window)
• the Firefighters Registration Board(opens in a new window)
• the Fire District Review Panel(opens in a new window).

These entities have served different but connected purposes relating to modernising Victoria’s fire services. The FSIM has provided ongoing monitoring and assessment of the progress made by the CFA and FRV on actions developed in both the Year One Fire Services Reform Implementation Plan and the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan and against each of their outcomes frameworks.⁴

The Firefighters Registration Board was established to administer the Firefighters Registration Scheme,⁵ which registers officers and employees of FRV who apply to the CFA under the Secondment Agreement.⁶ The scheme also sets competencies necessary for the registration of these officers and employees and the process to assess whether applicants satisfy these requirements.

The Fire District Review Panel was established to review FRV’s fire district boundaries and to advise the Minister for Emergency Services on whether changes in fire risk warranted changes to the boundaries. Reviews are legislated to occur at least once every 4 years and to consider factors including population growth, service demand and land use.⁷

These entities have contributed important monitoring and review functions to the reform. While FSR has limitations (refer to ‘Challenges’ below),⁸ the collaboration involved in developing the scheme is an example of the relationships and goodwill I have seen throughout the reform period.

Years 1–5 Implementation Plans

To guide the government in achieving FSR, it published an implementation plan in 15 October 2020. To ensure relevancy and efficiency of agency collaboration and individual efforts, this implementation plan was updated in May 2023 and again in July 2024, following a review conducted by DJCS.

The implementation plan set out 41 actions for the agencies to deliver against the following 5 key priorities:

• Strengthen CFA as a volunteer firefighter agency.
• Strengthen FRV as a career firefighting agency.
• Plan and build for the future.
• Valuing our people.
• Ensure the future sustainability of the fire services.

I have reported on progress achieved in delivering these actions in my annual reports.⁹

Key achievements

During the past 5 years, I have seen close and dogged collaboration between the agencies to agree on core principles and deliver joint actions. This partnership has occurred in an environment fraught with tension, stress and ever-present competing priorities, particularly during the fire seasons. I witnessed ongoing determination to complete actions that would protect and provide for the community while the individual agencies were undergoing significant cultural and operational change.

With this in mind, I note the key achievements:

Complementary fire services

The July 2024 iteration of the implementation plan required the agencies under action 3.9 to issue a joint statement on complementary fire services. The intent of the joint statement was explained through principles that clarified the values on which actions and decisions would be based, and how resources would be allocated.

The definition reinforced the government’s commitment that all Victorians will receive high-quality fire services regardless of their location and noted that:

…[this] complementary fire service will be delivered through the provision of interoperable resources underpinned by compatible doctrine and an agreed understanding of the strengths and opportunities of each agency to achieve a shared goal of a safer Victoria.¹⁰

I saw the agencies use this definition to work through joint challenges during the reform. In April 2024 the CFA and FRV issued a joint statement of intent that set out how they would collaboratively ensure communities were empowered to prepare for and respond to local fire risks. The statement of intent described how the agencies would ‘share engagement and education programs, resources and content to ensure consistency in community safety’. It aligned with the complementary fire services principle that the ‘CFA and FRV shall have common messages, shared programs and a joint engagement strategy’.¹¹

The joint statement on complementary fire services also informed the development of new service delivery plans for key functions required by the community. During the reform period the agencies progressed plans to deliver services relating to fire investigation, tower overseers, and fleet mechanical services. The plans reflect concerted efforts to ensure ‘fire and rescue functions and responsibilities [are delivered] through a shared recognition of the capability and capacity of Victoria’s fire agencies’.¹²

The practical experience in applying the definition and principles of complementary fire services to areas requiring joint action will position the agencies to work well together after the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan concludes.

Governance

The shared understanding of complementary fire services underpins much of the governance mechanisms the CFA and FRV have set up and taken part in during the reform period. The various committees enacted to oversee issues relating to joint training, service delivery and the development of guidelines, protocols and procedures have all referred to the principles included in the complementary fire services definition.

I have witnessed robust and open conversations in these forums as the agencies have worked to reach agreed pathways forward on sensitive and complex matters.

The CFA and FRV showed a strong and commendable commitment to supporting Victoria’s fire and rescue capability¹³ when it was recently agreed at the CFA/FRV Heads of Agency Steering Committee that a manageable way for FRV to provide specialist response training to the CFA was to increase the number of instructor positions seconded to the CFA.

The Heads of Agency Steering Committee has successfully overseen the other committees and subcommittees set up to work through reform-related issues. The relationships and processes that predicate this forum have guided this success.

Modern fire services

I have witnessed extensive organisational change during the reform period. The CFA was tasked with ‘restoring’ itself to a true volunteer organisation while also modernising to meet the demands of the Victorian community. FRV had the complicated undertaking of rebranding, expanding its operational area outside of metropolitan Melbourne and identifying as the organisational home for career firefighters.

The challenge to modernise through a series of intricate and interconnected actions, while continuing to deliver crucial protective and educational services, was immense. I have witnessed the agencies progress individual and joint actions designed to build complementary and interoperable fire services during the past 5 years.

The CFA’s Operating Model, completed under action 1.7, was a significant piece of work. The framework of initiatives, which included a cultural review, diversity and inclusion strategy, people capability framework and cybersecurity plan, will assist the CFA to operate as an organisation that is responsive to change and better connected to the needs of its members and the community.

In particular, the CFA undertook a series of projects focused on enhancing and building the heart of its organisation – its volunteers. Actions 1.2, 1.3, 1.4 and 1.6 delivered on a whole-of-lifecycle support and capability for volunteers across the recruitment, engagement, training and support domains, and I am most pleased to see the CFA’s efforts in building that direct bridge between volunteer feedback and input into its improvements.

I have witnessed FRV design and implement a robust health model for its employees under action 2.3. The breadth of services available to staff through this health service reflects a detailed understanding of the potential impacts of working in fire services. The health model also underscores FRV’s appreciation that its people are its most important asset and that protecting their health from the beginning to the end of their employment with the organisation is an indication of FRV’s strength as a fire service.

FRV showed further commitment to strengthening the organisation’s reputation as a modern fire service through purposeful campaigns to increase diversity among its staff. I have been particularly impressed with the systems developed to track the progress of women at each recruitment stage. The valuable data that can be potentially gathered through this process will significantly enhance FRV’s ability to drive cultural change and continue building its reputation as an organisation that will not tolerate inequity among staff.

I was also pleased to learn about FRV’s successful connections built with regional and rural communities. The focus on ‘at-risk’ groups is particularly commendable.

Secondment model

The secondment model has obviously represented an especially challenging hallmark of FSR. While I have seen robust and protracted conversations between the CFA and FRV on how to approach the secondment of FRV employees to the CFA, it was gratifying to see both agencies reinforce their resolve to address the issue of secondees having a valid Working with Children Check (WWCC). The actions involving the CFA’s organisational requirement for all staff to have a WWCC has brought out some of the most intense inter-agency discussions on implementation approach, and I am confident this commitment to work through challenging situations will continue beyond the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan.

Inter-agency collaboration

Actions involving the secondment model and other mechanisms central to interoperability and complementary fire services have relied on strong inter-agency collaboration. I have observed valuable collaboration between the CFA and FRV on matters including the setting up of governance arrangements, protocols and procedures that support operational and corporate staff working together. Despite the complex and sensitive content, I have clearly perceived this collaboration, making it an obvious key achievement of FSR to this point.

Challenges

FSR has been a challenging journey for all concerned. From the start of the work in 2020 when COVID-19 and the associated impacts were starting to unfold, the CFA and FRV embarked on immense operational, organisational and cultural change. While the process has been carefully monitored and adapted as needed, the agencies have implemented the reform in a setting where environmental conditions, the nature of emergencies and the broader agency conditions have constantly shifted. The resilience and capacity to respond to these challenges demonstrated by the CFA and FRV has been remarkable.

As well as the challenges presented by the broader context, key components of the reform have been particularly complex to work through. I have commented extensively on the secondment model and intersecting matters in previous reports and do so again here. While progress has been made on some of these issues during this reporting period, the process has been arduous and slow. I have witnessed some goodwill on behalf of the agencies to deliver outcomes in difficult circumstances. I believe there is a risk that this momentum, however slow it has been, will struggle with the absence of another implementation plan and without changes to the consultation and decision-making environment.

Secondment model

A core achievement of FSR was the collaboration between the agencies to understand and dissect the secondment model, as it was defined in the Secondment Agreement.¹⁴ Implementing the model, however, has been a central challenge for all stakeholders. Considerable resources have been expended on working through its implementation, the actions that intersect and underpin the secondment model, and the alternative measures developed to manage issues caused in part by its design.

The CFA’s requirement that all staff and volunteers, including FRV secondees, must hold a valid WWCC is one of the most sensitive and symbolic issues to stem from the secondment model. As noted in my 2023–24 annual report, the CFA must rely on FRV secondees to self-elect to get a WWCC and complete relevant training to comply with these standards. I took part in a meeting where the agencies acknowledged there continued to be privacy-related challenges in the sharing of personnel data to ascertain whether a FRV secondee held a WWCC.

In the absence of all FRV secondees holding a valid WWCC and the CFA having a mechanism to check and record this information, the potential for the secondment model to relieve the CFA’s resourcing pressures is severely limited. This has been an issue from the beginning of the reform, and although this is a live issue with substantial resources dedicated by both agencies, it remains unresolved.

Vacancy and relief issues

I have been advised repeatedly by the CFA that its resourcing needs have not been met through the secondment model and that significant work is still required before this may happen.

The problem of filling vacancies and providing relief, including to cover long service and unplanned leave, at the commander and assistant chief fire officer levels in the CFA remains critical. While factors other than the design of the secondment model have contributed to this issue, particularly in peri-urban areas, the reform has not reduced the impact of workforce shortages on fire agencies.

As noted in my previous annual report, several mechanisms have been trialled to address this issue. Funding for more positions early in the reform period, increased reporting at the Heads of Agency Steering Committee and the CFA’s Capability Statement in recent years, have all enabled some, but not enough, progress to occur. These mechanisms have not been able to overcome or significantly address the barriers, including an ageing workforce and the need for FRV to consult with the UFU and reach consensus via the Operational Consultative Committee to providing adequate staff to the CFA.

I have found it frustrating to observe how the structure of the secondment model has curtailed the CFA’s involvement into how vacancy and relief issues are managed. Currently, the CFA has limited input in the recruitment, and skills set, of FRV staff seeking secondment into the CFA. And whilst the CFA has operational oversight of seconded staff through the CFA Chief Officer, there are complexities that limit the ability to allocate resources to where they are most needed.

The flow-on effects are concerning, particularly in relation to fatigue management and reduced wellbeing outcomes for those who cover these vacant or non-relieved positions, particularly in the country area of Victoria (CAoV),¹⁵ where they may have to travel long distances. The community ultimately also experiences these consequences, with a lack of senior decision-makers available on the ground for operational incidents.

A revolving door of relievers can also impact the resolution of CFA’s volunteers’ issues or concerns, with a lack of CFA command staff at middle management levels. Volunteers face the prospect of having their issues delayed, and there are potential long-term impacts on recruitment if membership with the CFA is known to involve unrelieved stress and burnout. Noting that volunteer numbers improved in 2025, the challenges presented by the secondment model in conjunction with an ageing workforce, could drastically reduce recruitment in the coming years.

I have repeatedly commented that the reforms have not been fully tested under widespread catastrophic fire conditions. The seasonal outlook for this fire season means we are more than likely to see the opportunity for such conditions to occur.

As we move into the summer fire season, the vacancy and relief issue poses a significant challenge for both agencies. A concerted effort to address this issue is needed to ensure operational capability is available to adequately cover the whole state.

Cultural change

FSR developed from a broad understanding of the need for change. I understand, however, that adopting new ways of working can be challenging at the best of times. Change is disruptive and can be messy. Learning new practices in a context where protecting lives and educating the community on fire safety are the core reasons for turning up to work is stressful. I have received considerable feedback from the agencies on the slow but gradual, and indeed successful, approaches taken to bring firefighters, volunteers and employees into the new ways of working. In some cases, this has involved transitioning from manual to digital processes.

The leadership provided by the CFA and FRV to encourage, support and deliver strong messaging to volunteer and career firefighters on the unassailable need for cultural change is commendable. This same leadership approach is clearly responsible for the structural changes embedded in the agencies to guide cultural change, including creating working environments where women are welcome as valued employees and members. I believe we have witnessed the early success of this impact through the slow increases in women firefighter applications.¹⁶ This has been exciting to observe, and I look forward to learning how this work continues.

Community support for, and trust in, the CFA and FRV partially depends on the agencies engaging firefighters, volunteers and employees who are representative of the people they protect. When communities recognise, connect and even identify with the people engaged in fire protection and education activity, the agencies are more likely to be listened to, engaged with and supported. The engagement with communities-at-risk and people who experience marginalisation is commendable.

Cultural change across the CFA and FRV will have several impacts, some of which may be unexpected. I hope to see a connection between the work undertaken to address outdated cultural structures and behaviours in the recruitment rates in both agencies. An obvious solution to the imminent loss of expertise and operational support through firefighter retirement is more recruitment from cohorts traditionally under-represented. As the CFA and FRV continue in their work to strengthen their organisational cultures and take active steps to be more inclusive, I have confidence this will strengthen their organisations and their ability to better serve the Victorian community.

Legislative barriers

I note that the particularly frustrating challenge to work with during the past 5 years has been the legislative barriers that have directly impeded the intent behind some reform actions. The CFA and FRV have admirably handled examples of where legislation has complicated service delivery to the community. I have witnessed this collaboration through establishing different Fire Services Operations Committee subcommittees to explore and resolve specific matters, and the resulting workarounds to ensure the community continued to receive fire safety and educational services.

An example of this collaboration involved dangerous goods and caravan parks and moveable dwellings. As part of the reform process, the CFA and FRV entered into a Service Level Deed of Agreement, stipulating that FRV would provide some dangerous goods and caravan parks services on behalf of the CFA in CAoV. However, legislative constraints mean the CFA cannot delegate certain powers to FRV employees to deliver these services. The agencies developed an arrangement where FRV provides administrative and ancillary support to the CFA to ensure the community isn’t disadvantaged.

I am also aware that volunteers and career firefighters have continued to respond to incidents regardless of workarounds or delays in implementing the reform. Working to resolve legislative barriers has been labour-intensive for the agencies, but the community has been prioritised.

Industrial relations

In my previous reports, I have referred to – in detail – the impact of FRV’s industrial environment on implementing and progressing actions under the reform. This influence has also contributed to the need for the agencies to collaborate and develop alternative measures to achieve outcomes under the reform. I have observed the CFA and FRV working to find common ground and deliver, as much as possible, a well-intended but imperfect reform.

I noted in my 2023–24 annual report that the UFU’s ‘consult and agree’ requirement was a key impediment to completing actions under the implementation plan. I will not revisit my comments from this report except to say that despite some ongoing challenges I have seen an improvement in this area over the past 12 months.

I acknowledge FRV’s efforts to manage the demands of the reform and those of their industrial partners and encourage FRV to continue doing so.

The effort and resources expended to review and update actions according to what it was hoped would be achievable in light of FRV’s industrial environment is considerable. I have monitored extensive work conducted by DJCS and the agencies to come up with solutions that allow action deliverables to be completed within the parameters of this context. I respect the ‘consult and agree’ clause and appreciate the views of the UFU are necessary and important to consider. The process through consultative committee over the past 12 months has been constructive, and we hope this momentum can continue.

Looking forward

The government’s Year 2–5 Implementation Plan concluded on 30 June 2025. I believe this plan has contributed to creating modern fire services through the relationships cemented and actions completed that have led to tangible changes.

However, reform is long term and ongoing. The government set a 10-year timeframe on the reform, and we have only just passed the halfway mark of that period. The challenges discussed throughout this report remain, and without the guidance of a succeeding implementation plan, the risk that momentum and focus will regress is real.

It is crucial to remember that the end of the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan doesn’t mean true interoperability and complementary fire services has been completely achieved. In fact, the plan has ended without long-term and sustainable solutions for many of the issues that I have identified across my 5 annual reports. The end of the plan does not give ‘a clean bill of health’ for FSR. Workarounds are still in place and are far from efficient or suitable for the long term. In the absence of changes to legislation or the industrial environment, these issues will remain and will require ongoing attention and monitoring.

I encourage the CFA and FRV to continue referring to the agreed definition of complementary fire services and the principles that underpin this statement in future work.

I hope they draw on the guidance and feedback from the governance arrangements and install periodic reviews of their effectiveness to ensure relevance and effectiveness.

I encourage the CFA and FRV to reinforce the mechanisms in place to gather the opinions of volunteers and career firefighters and of the communities they serve. Developing responsive and trusted fire services was a desired outcome of FSR, and while significant progress has been achieved, momentum cannot be lost if this is still to be realised.

I have reflected on the systems, tools, procedures and agreements the CFA and FRV have established and refined as part of FSR. I am confident the level of consultation, thought and deliberation that underlie these practices is sufficiently extensive that the reform is leaving the agencies with a solid foundation to build on.

I have witnessed strong examples of where the agencies have worked together to protect the community on an organisational and operational level. The possibility that actions that have been partially completed and transitioned to business as usual will be subsumed by priorities other than community safety is not acceptable. While this is an extreme and unlikely scenario, I advise the agencies to manage the creep of other concerns, keep setting targets and adhering to plans to complete the actions so the intent of the implementation plan is realised.

So much has been accomplished over the past 5 years. Benefits are starting to be realised, if not already, and the foundations are in place for many more to come. I would like to congratulate the CFA and FRV for their commitment to FSR and the perseverance shown when it was really needed.

The CFA and FRV face new and emerging challenges. Several of these have been brewing for some time and are starting to become more acute. The broader societal issues of an ageing workforce and declining population growth, in conjunction with more people moving to live in regional Victoria, creates operational and organisational challenges for the agencies.¹⁷ Climate change increases the pressure on fire services to work differently with shorter preparation periods and longer emergency response times.

The CFA and FRV, along with other fire service agencies, work at the intersection of environmental and societal change and must constantly review, adjust and trial new ways of working and delivering fire services. The efforts to embed robust data collection and evaluation methods will continue to better position the CFA and FRV to respond to challenges already in focus and those yet to appear. These practices, in addition to the care taken to guide firefighters, volunteers and employees through immense change, will ensure fire agency workforces remain safe and able to protect the community while also constantly adapting to unexpected events.

I encourage the CFA and FRV to draw on the relationships, governance structures and agreed ways of working to face these challenges. The intentional collaboration in a context that was quite often tense and always involved competing priorities is one of the most successful outcomes of the reform. The CFA and FRV should recall this collaboration and continue to rely on the connections built during the past 5 years to meet future challenges for fire services.

Although this is my last annual report against the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan, the legislated role of the FSIM will remain for another 5 years and will continue to conduct the functions below:

• monitor and assess ongoing efforts to improve the interaction between the CFA and FRV and other agencies
• provide independent and impartial monitoring of unresolved FSR issues
• remain available to meet with career firefighters and volunteers to listen to their concerns and experiences that are a result of FSR
• monitor all the implementation plan actions that have been moved to business as usual, especially the partially completed actions from the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan
• consult and engage with agencies in the performance of the FSIM’s functions
• prepare quarterly and annual reports on the findings of the FSIM on performing its functions.

I look forward to observing the agencies building on the strong foundations of FSR and remain committed to working with the CFA and FRV to progress this important work for the benefit of the Victorian community.

Footnotes

1. Victorian Government (2023) Year Two to Five Fire Services Reform Implementation Plan – May 2023 update, State Government of Victoria, Melbourne.
2. Victorian Government (2017) Fire Services Statement, p. 6. In response to the changing risk environment the fire services are operating in, 4 new signals were incorporated into Signal 5-5 in 2019, which is used when CFA crews are exposed to a hostile act, involving violence or terrorism. Details of how these signals should be used appeared in the CFA Brigade Magazine, Autumn, 2025, p. 22.
   
   FRV implemented their Hostile Event Strategy 2022 which resulted in firefighters receiving training in the use of specialist equipment and enhanced counter terrorism education. Vehicles have also been equipped with more resources to provide life-saving care alongside other first responders when attending incidents such as terrorist attacks.
3. Part 1 – Preliminary, s 1c of the Firefighters’ Presumptive Rights Compensation and Fire Services Legislation Amendment (Reform) Act 2019, pp. 2–3.
4. Refer to the CFA Outcomes Framework 2020–2030 and the FRV Outcomes Framework.
5. Refer to the Firefighters Registration Scheme.
6. Section 148, Fire Rescue Victoria Act 1958.
7. The first of these reviews was completed with the finding provided to the Minister for Emergency Services on 28 June 2024. The minister’s determination on the findings is available on the Victorian Government Gazette’s website.
8. FSIM, Annual Report 2024–25, p. 7.
9. Refer to the FSIM annual reports.
10. K. Fitzgerald, personal communication, January 15, 2024
11. K. Fitzgerald, personal communication, January 15, 2024
12. K. Fitzgerald, personal communication, January 15, 2024
13. K. Fitzgerald, personal communication, January 15, 2024
14. Agencies confirmed the Secondment Agreement on 31 October 2020. This agreement establishes arrangements for seconding FRV assistant chief fire officers, commanders, instructors, practical area for drills (PAD) supervisors and PAD operators to the CFA to provide operational and volunteer support. Separately, supplementary instruments are being developed to establish arrangements related to leave, performance and misconduct management, relief and vacancy management.
15. The meaning of country area of Victoria is the same as defined in s 3(1) Country Fire Authority Act 1958: ‘country area of Victoria means that part of Victoria which lies outside the Fire Rescue Victoria fire district, but does not include any forest, national park or protected public land’.
16. ‘FRV calls on more women to choose a career in fire and rescue services’, March 2021. Women made up 15.8% of the CFA volunteer cohort and 18.5% of the CFA’s volunteer leadership roles were held by women as reported in the agency’s quarter 4 reporting against its outcomes framework. FRV reported that the number of women operational staff in 2024–25 remained at 230 of 4,081 of employees (5.6%), in the data collected for quarter 4 of its Outcomes Framework.
17. The Productivity Commission’s 2023 Report on Government Services. Emergency Management noted that Victoria had the highest attrition rate of firefighters nationally, at 7.8%. NSW’s attrition rate was 7.1%, NT and Qld were 5.9%, WA was 4.9%, Tasmania 4.4% and ACT 3.3%. The Victorian calculations included FRV, the CFA, Forest Fire Management Victoria and Victoria State Emergency Services. Refer also to Daniel Miles ‘More people considering a regional move as experts warn about infrastructure needs’, ABC News 21 November 2024.