The Trojan Horse is a timeless symbol of deception. A legendary military strategy born from Greek mythology dating back to 12th or 13th century BC. 

The story goes that after ten years of battle, the Greeks remained frustrated at their inability to breach the walls and conquer the city of Troy. According to legend, Odysseus, the king of the island of Ithaca devised the plan to construct a giant hollow horse that was disguised as an offering to the gods, but large enough to hide 30 or 40 skilled warriors concealed inside. The Greek army then engaged with the City of Troy, feigning retreat, and leaving their prized offering behind as a subterfuge. 

As the horse was a revered symbol in Troy, the unsuspecting Trojans, believing the horse to be plunder hastily left behind by the retreating Greeks, pulled the horse into their city, and celebrated their great victory. During the night, as the Trojans slept - the hidden warriors crept from the insides of the horse, dispatching the guards and opening the gates for the returning Greek army who then conquered the city, winning the Trojan war.

And henceforth why today’s generation call computer hacking software that masquerades as something less sinister - a trojan horse.

A fitting metaphor for the Government’s new Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund, a new tax to replace the existing Fire Services Property Levy that is due to be debated in the upper house tomorrow. (Thursday 2nd April).

The government media release heralded the creation of this new levy as a way to make sure “our hardworking emergency services have what they need to keep Victorian’s safe – with a massive funding boost for new trucks, equipment and technology.”

Fantastic we thought. Later that day, the Budget update papers laid out the clever deception.

As I outlined for members back in January, the original Fire Services Property Levy was due to collect $1,038 million dollars in the 2025/26 fiscal year. ($1.04 Billion)

The budget update shows us that the new levy is expected to raise an additional $610.9M. Combining those two numbers, we can calculate the new levy is expected to raise $1.65 Billion in the first year.

In the second year (2026/27), the Budget tells us the old levy would raise $1,035M and the budget update tells us they estimate the new levy will raise an additional $765M. That tells us revenue for the second year grows to $1.8 billion.

Now we calculate 95% of CFA’s budget last year would be $320M and SES would be $71M. In other words - $391M or just 22% of $1.8 billion is going to volunteer agencies. You would hardly think so by reading all the governments justifications for the new hike.

Ok, so with all this extra money, where does the budget say they intend on spending it? The media release goes on to say “…more frequent natural disasters and population growth mean Victorians are asking for more from our volunteers than ever before.”

Yep. That’s certainly true, so let’s look for this “massive funding boost”.

In Table A.8 of the Budget update paper, under output initiatives for Justice and Community Safety, we find a single line item called “Supporting our emergency services and volunteers.” And this line allocated just $50M from that extra $610.9M to “help support those hardworking volunteers”, repeated for years 26/27, 27/28 and a foot note saying it will extend to the 28/29 financial year also. So, let’s get this straight. The new levy will raise an additional $610.9M in the first year, and an extra $765M in the second year, and CFA and SES receive just $50M extra each year split between them. That’s just 8% of the extra in year 1, and just 6.5% in the second year. Hence why I refer to only 7 cents in the dollar actually going to boost CFA and SES’s budgets.

And unpacking the $50M, only $10M of that is for CFA’s annual fleet program to replace new trucks. This will buy just 20 tankers. Given CFA need $55M per year to replace 100 trucks to just stop the age of the fleet going backwards – this is far less than what CFA needs just to maintain current ages. This means, our trucks will continue to get older. How much older can we get with some trucks now more than 35 years old? If we can’t get rid of aging fire trucks with their definition of “a massive funding boost” I’m not sure how else to describe the job at hand just to bring CFA’s truck fleet up to scratch. So, moving money from consolidated revenue onto land holders to fund government agencies is more important than actually investing in a genuine plan to replace aging fire trucks over 20 years old? Apparently, we must be waiting for an ultra-ponderous-massive funding boost. 

Another $15M of the $50M is for the doubling of VESEP, which requires volunteers to match $1 of their money for every $2 of government funding. So, while the government takes a bow for the extra $15M they are providing, the silence is deafening on the $7.5M that most volunteers will need to provide to get their grant in the first place doing - you guessed it – fundraising. Sausage sizzles and tin rattles. How much more difficult will fundraising be with a new tax called a “Volunteer Fund” being mailed to all property holders. VESEP also covers 4 other organisations, so CFA’s cut is closer to $10M.  

That leaves $30M which has been allocated to the SES. A welcome injection for sure, and not one that we object to.

So where is the rest of the money going. Well, if the $50M represents just 8% in the first year – that leaves 92% allocated to others. Looking for any other additional spending in the budget update we find estimates in Table C.1 of concessions and exemptions attributed to the new levy. The note explains that the amounts for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 years remains unchanged from the estimate provided under the previous budget for Fire Service Levy concessions, but is adjusted by $6M for each of the 2026/27 and 2027/28 years.

To put this into perspective, $21.5M is the cost for concessions for pensioner and department of veteran affairs cardholders, $9.5M for the exemption for municipal single farm enterprises, which leaves us $6M for the volunteer exemption which is now described as an offset or rebate. In other words, you will pay your full levy, and then apply to an unknown government department, using an unknown form, of which only some volunteers deemed to be ‘active’ are eligible to apply to have your money paid back at some time in the future that is currently unknown. The $6M ‘gift’ accounts for less than half a cent, for every dollar raised. 

As your representative body, and with the government having a statutory obligation under S6 of the CFA Act to consult with VFBV on all matters affecting CFA volunteers, it should be very telling that I cannot tell you how any of this will work. Municipal Councils have slammed the lack of consultation with themselves also and the Victorian Farmers Federation is also demanding further consultation occur.

As predicted, volunteer feedback to the exemption has been broad and diverse. From those that don’t want it at all, to those who object to the cap and point out they will still be paying more even with the capped exemption in place. Then there is the mine field of how we determine who is eligible, is it equitable and how it will be managed at brigade level to avoid disputes.

Which puts VFBV in a very difficult position. How can we possibly support an initiative, that while it sounds like it might be a good thing, has not been consulted on with us or CFA volunteers, and when we do not know any of the detail, and have no idea how it will all work. We simply cannot support something we have no detail on.

And for those that might like to characterise this as looking a gift horse in the mouth, if you recall the Trojan Horse metaphor at the start, the trusting Trojans were in fact warned by a Trojan priest named Laocoon, as they came upon the Trojan Horse and were debating on whether they would bring it back to the city. He exclaimed to his people that it was all a trap – and said “Trust not this horse, o countrymen, whatever it may bring! I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts.” The Trojans ignored his warning.

An issue as important as an exemption, and all its complex workings and sensitivities upon a volunteer ethos deserved robust and careful consideration in full consultation with emergency service volunteers. We have not been part of those discussions, and volunteers have not had an opportunity to weigh the pros and cons. Councils did not have a say and the people affected the most – the ratepayers of Victoria have certainly not had a say. 

Many volunteers have contacted me in recent weeks to make it clear that if their exemption comes at the cost of ripping the plate from farmers dinner tables, or the house over their heads – then how in good conscious can that be ok. What a horrible position to put volunteers in. The notion that the only way we can support volunteers is to support a $765M tax hike and throw volunteers a few scraps along the way is deeply offensive.

And while the government points to the fact that the Fire Services Property Levy was recommended by the 2009 Bushfires Royal Commission, they forget that the then Government went through an exhaustive green paper in 2010 and options paper in 2011 with full public consultation and transparency to arrive at the current Fire Services Property levy in the first place. To think you can make fundamental changes to a levy without any consultation or due process is just incredulous. 

Which leads us to the poor ratepayer, who is expected to cop a near doubling of their current levies, some in the tens of thousands of dollars. And knowing how hard a sell it would be to try and convince Victorians in a cost-of-living crisis that the government needed to fleece $610-765M in extra revenue to cover cost overruns elsewhere in the budget – they came up with the bold PR plan to call it a “Volunteer Fund” – thinking this would surely protect them from any criticism.

When I talk about the need for governments to respect emergency service volunteers, I wonder how anyone in their right mind could think that using volunteers as a human shield to sell your outrageous tax hike on the Victorian community even remotely qualifies. How could this possibly be considered as paying due respect to our hardworking volunteers? Can you remember any time that governments have called for a new staff levy to raise funds from the taxpayer for each of the enterprise bargaining deals they sign each year? How insulting would that be to employees. Well, the same holds true for volunteers.

To call their new levy an “Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund” is the most outrageous and despicable act since they labelled their reform bill after sick firefighters calling for presumptive legislation. VFBV has been publicly demanding the words ‘Volunteer Fund’ be dumped since December last year. 

Astute volunteers have pointed out that the Government do not pay the levy on crown land. Previously, the argument was that because the government contributed money to each of the fire agencies through consolidated revenue and funded FFMVic, that that was how their contribution was made. But now the government wants to transfer 95% of the costs of FFMVic and support functions from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action to landholders - they are in effect saying to Victorians - you must pay more for your own private land, but by the way – you can now pay for the protection of our crown land also.

We support funding arrangements that will provide CFA and SES with a fair, equitable and sustainable means to ensure that every community in Victoria is entitled to a strong volunteer emergency service that is fit for purpose with modern trucks and equipment. This bill isn’t it. We do not support the government trying to add 7 government bodies to the levy, and abdicating its responsibilities and pretending it is doing this all for volunteers. We certainly do not support regional and rural communities being asked to absorb an unfair proportion of the pain, asking regions to cross subsidise cost overruns of city services and bureaucracies that will drive many farmers to the brink. 

If you haven’t yet contacted your local upper house MP’s, and especially cross bench MP’s such as the Greens, your time is running out. As volunteers - we put the community at the centre of everything we do. Surely our elected representatives to Parliament must do the same. 

2025 marks the 80th Anniversary of CFA, an organisation quite literally - forged by fire.  VFBV pays tribute to each of the amazing men and women of not only today's CFA, but all those past and future.

The Country Fire Authority was forged by fire. Created by an Act of Parliament following a Royal Commission into the devastating bushfires of 1939, the architects sought more effective control of the prevention and suppression of fires. 

But from a volunteer perspective, Victorian fire brigades existed long before.

CFA’s origin story over its first year involves 185 brigades transferring from the Country Fire Brigades Board, and 776 brigades from the Bush Fire Brigades Committee. The volunteer associations predate CFA also, with our genesis grounded by the formation of the Country Fire Brigades Association in 1885, and the Bush Fire Brigades Association in 1928. These associations would become the Urban (VUFBA) and the Rural (VRFBA) associations, which merged to form the VFBV of today.

And while many volunteers were cautious of centralised organisation and the perceived loss of their brigade identity and equipment, CFA’s early successes would prove resounding. CFA benefited from the skill and local knowledge of its volunteers, and brigades benefited from the shared leadership and resources of the authority.

Over time, each has contributed to the evolution of the other, forever establishing that CFA as a united force in defence of its communities would always be greater than the sum of each of its individual parts.
The innovation and ingenuity of CFA volunteers has led CFA to be amongst the preeminent fire services in the world, the contributions of its members central to its success.

Countless innovations pursued, such as the first 800-gallon tanker followed by the 400-gallon composite small-town tanker - both born from brigade experiments, a tradition that continues to this day. So too was the introduction by volunteers of field radio’s, leading to CFA adopting mobile radio and base stations that revolutionised comms.  The grassland fire spreader plotter invented by a CFA volunteer was the precursor to today’s fire prediction modelling, with even the term ‘Total Fire Ban’ adopted after volunteer insistence that the precursor term ‘Acute Fire Danger Day’ did not properly capture the imperative intended.

And while fires have significantly impacted CFA’s history, legislation and operating model, it is impossible to quantify the positive impact CFA, and its brigades have had on our communities and the people of Victoria. And while history only captures the losses, the ‘saves’ are no doubt exponentially higher still. 

Thank you to all the generations that have come before, and those who will proceed us. For surely the true value of the organisation is found within its people - the brave and selfless CFA men and women who not only stand in defence of their communities when required but tirelessly educate, plan and prepare for the prevention of fire and other disasters in the first place. This rich legacy is cause for optimism that the next 80 years will be just as profound as the first.

The 2024-25 annual VFBV Volunteer Survey will close shortly.

Scan the QR code below or visit the VFBV website to take part in the survey today.

Paper copies of the survey are also available by calling the VFBV office on (03) 9886 1141.

Held in Mooroopna for the fifth year in a row, close to 900 competitors took part in the 2025 State Rural and Urban Championships across the two weekends of competition with more than 200 judges and officials also attending to ensure that all four state championships are run at a high standard. 

Napoleons-Enfield A were the clear winners of the State Rural Junior Championship, winning the 11-13 years aggregate, 11 – 15 years aggregate and the Champion Team marking the third time that they have won the State Rural Junior Championship.  Leopold A took out the Division 1 Aggregate at the State Rural Senior Championship for the first time, while Moorooduc A won the Division 2 Aggregate and Napoleons-Enfield B won the Division 3 Aggregate. 

Melton A had two successful weekends with the team winning the State Urban Junior Championship and the Under 14 years aggregate and the senior team also won the State Urban Senior Championship. This is fourth year in a row that Melton A has won both the urban junior and senior championships.  The Melton B team were also successful winning the Female Aggregate at the senior championship.  Echuca A took out the Under 17 years aggregate at the junior championship and Swan Hill A had success winning the B Section aggregate at the senior championship.

The Torchlight Procession was also conducted on the second weekend of competition in Mooroopna with Knox Group winning this accolade with 91%.  The full results from each of the State Championships are available from the VFBV website and can also be found in this month’s edition of Fire Wise. 

The two weekends of Championships would not have been the success that they were without the hard work of the Mooroopna State Championships Committee who for six years now have worked tirelessly to prepare the competition venue with the support of the Greater Shepparton City Council. 

Thank you also to the competitors, coaches, supporters and families of the competitors who keep the competitions going, not only at the State Championships but all the local competitions held in the lead up to the State Championships each year. VFBV also thanks the CFA staff who contribute to the success of the championships, particularly the DMOs. 

VFBV’s competition committees will be meeting in the coming months to review this year’s State Championships, if any brigades, competitors or spectators have any feedback that they would like to be considered for either committee please email the VFBV office via championships@vfbv.com.au  

VFBV is calling for nominations from volunteers interested in being a VFBV appointed trustee to the CFA and Brigades Donations Fund. 

The Fund was established in 2004 to ensure brigades continued to have deductible gift recipient status following the introduction of the GST and changes made to the charities law that required the associations to advocate for the retention of individual brigade charity status.  
 

Following nominations, five new or reappointed members will be appointed by the VFBV Board to serve as VFBV Trustees on the Fund for a term of two years. All current Trustees are eligible for re-appointment. The Trust Fund committee meets quarterly, either virtually or at CFA headquarters. 
 

Nominations close Monday 16th June 2025 and further information including how to apply can be found on the VFBV website. 

The draft CFA Regulations 2025 have now been released for full public consultation.

The Regulatory Impact Statement and a copy of the draft regulations can be found on Engage Victoria. Feedback to the proposed changes are due 13 May 2025.

Due to the draft regulations not being available to VFBV prior to the public consultation period, it is important that members participate in the public process by flagging any items you do not feel comfortable with.

VFBV has published a change matrix of the issues we feel are likely to be of interest to volunteers and brigades/groups. While VFBV asked for consideration of improving the imbalance of power between volunteers and the Authority for both discipline and compensation matters, it appears that improvements in these areas is fairly limited. We also hold concerns with the brigade and group model rules being removed from the regulations and converted to a CFA Board instrument.

We highly encourage members to review the changes, and participate in the public process. If you submit to Engage Victoria, we ask you please provide a copy to vfbv@vfbv.com.au so we can consider your feedback as we prepare our own submission.
 

Visit Country Fire Authority Regulations 2025 & Regulatory Impact Statement for more information. 

The 2025 CFA Annual Memorial Service which pays tribute to firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty will be held on Sunday 4 May 2025. Commencing at 2pm, the service will be held at the Victorian Emergency Services Memorial in Treasury Gardens, East Melbourne. 

Please RSVP to memorial@cfa.vic.gov.au by 21 April 2025 and include any accessibility requirements.    

Expressions of interest are now open for members wishing to undertake a Certificate IV in Leadership and Management course. This course is an integral part of the Volunteer Leadership Development program. 

The nationally accredited course equips graduates with transferable skills in essential leadership and management, enabling them to apply their knowledge across various roles, including those within CFA, the private sector, and community roles. 

Whether you are an existing leader seeking further training or a formal qualification, or an aspiring leader looking to formalise your qualifications, this program offers a clear pathway to enhance your capabilities.

It is a 12 month program, predominately online and self-paced allowing flexibility. It requires a notional commitment of around 10 hours per week. 

The EOI is open for those interested in participating in the August 2025 course or beyond. EOI’s are made to CFA here.  

The April 2025 edition of Fire Wise has been published online only, this edition and past editions are available from the Fire Wise website.

You can support Fire Wise and the role it plays as an independent voice in keeping volunteers informed by becoming a subscriber. To become a subscriber visit the Fire Wise website or contact the Managing Editor of Fire Wise, Gordon Rippon-King either by phone 0402 051 412 or email gordon@fire-wise.com.au 

Now Open - 2024-25 VFBV Volunteer Survey

Nominations for CFA and Brigades Donations Fund Trustees

CFA 80th Anniversary

2025 State Urban Junior Championship Results

2025 State Rural Senior Championship Results

2025 State Rural Junior Championship Results

2025 State Urban Senior Championship Results

Certificate IV in Leadership and Management EOI

Presumptive Legislation Update