Introduction

Overview

The Fire Services Implementation Monitor (FSIM) Annual Report 2024–25 delivers on our functions under s 131(1) of the Fire Rescue Victoria Act 1958.

This annual report provides our independent observations and analysis of progress made by the Country Fire Authority (CFA), Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV), the Department of Justice and Community Safety (DJCS) and the Firefighters Registration Board (FRB) in implementing the Year Two to Five Fire Services Reform Implementation Plan (Year 2–5 Implementation Plan) actions.

This annual report looks at the delivery of the residual Year 2–5 Implementation Plan actions for the period from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025. June 2025 marked the end of the fifth and closing year of the plan. This annual report therefore also considers the final outcomes from the agencies in their efforts to realise the visions of the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan.

Fire services reform

The Victorian Government’s 2017 Fire Services Statement¹ outlined the government’s vision for a modern, sustainable and interoperable fire service that will keep Victorians safe. It also offered a roadmap for how it could be achieved.

On 1 July 2020 the government began implementing Victoria’s new fire services model by establishing FRV as a career firefighting organisation and restoring the CFA to a community-based, volunteer firefighting organisation.

The Year 2–5 Implementation Plan mapped how agencies will work individually and jointly to achieve the government’s 10-year vision for reform. The Year 2–5 Implementation Plan concluded on 30 June 2025.

Fire Services Implementation Monitor

The FSIM was established as an independent entity in July 2020 under s 122 of the Fire Rescue Victoria Act to provide assurance to government and the community on progress towards a modern fire service for a safer Victoria.

The Hon. Niall Blair was appointed as Victoria’s inaugural FSIM in December 2020 and was reappointed for a further term from 15 December 2023 until 30 June 2027.

Under the Act, we have the legislative responsibility to monitor and report on agencies’ progress to deliver relevant actions in the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan and to assess the effectiveness of the agencies’ actions.

Section 142 of the Act requires us to prepare annual reports that are tabled in Parliament on our operations each financial year. The 2024–25 annual report is our final one against the concluded Year 2–5 Implementation Plan.

Measuring success at year 5

At the end of the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan, it is only fitting to circle back to the success statements delineated by government under the plan.² These following sections of the report will discuss each of the priority areas and the progress of work conducted by the agencies in acquitting the actions, and how this progression contributes to meeting the success statements.

We do note that the acquittal of each action’s deliverables, for the most part, helps establish a strong foundation to fulfil those success statements in the longer term. Benefits realisation and the impacts of these changes, however, require analysis over a period far beyond the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan.

Note that, for consistency, we use the terms ‘completed’ or ‘partially completed’ in our assessment of all actions. This is slightly different from the assessment schema in prior annual reports, where 3 categories were used: implemented, partially implemented or closed. Refer to the Appendix for more information on our assessment status definitions for this report.

In this annual report, we report on:

• work completed by the CFA, FRV, DJCS and the FRB from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025 to deliver against the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan
• post-acquittal work undertaken in the year 5 reporting period that significantly contributes to the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan. Noting this is the final year of reporting against the Year 2–5 Implementation Plan, commentary has also been made on progress beyond 30 June 2025, showing continual progress where important.

Our assessment of agencies’ progress in delivering relevant actions was informed by:

• meetings with key stakeholders – CFA, FRV, DJCS, Victoria’s Emergency Management Commissioner and chief executive, the United Firefighters Union of Australia – Victoria Branch (UFU) and Volunteers Fire Brigades Victoria
• observations made in governance meetings, including at fortnightly CFA/FRV Heads of Agency Steering Committee (HoA) meetings and monthly Fire Services Reform Strategic Executive Committee (FSRSEC) meetings
• reviews and follow-up queries of information and evidence provided by agencies informing status and/or progress against an implementation action, which may include those provided after 30 June 2025 before publication of this report.

We have triangulated evidence from these sources to develop an understanding of agencies’ delivery against relevant actions and to ensure our conclusive assessment is based on reliable information.