Thursday, 20 March 2025

Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund

Rikkie-Lee TYRRELL (Northern Victoria) (12:36): (868) My question today is for, you guessed it, the Treasurer. Local CFA volunteers have reached out with concerns over the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund and confusion surrounding the exemptions for volunteers. Can the Treasurer please provide clarity and definition to the term ‘active CFA member’?

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:36): I thank Mrs Tyrell for her question. As you would appreciate, this is a joint initiative between the Treasurer and the Minister for Emergency Services, but considering I am the former Minister for Emergency Services, in relation to the discussions that we have had with the CFA and the SES, we want to ensure that the exemption applies to active volunteers. I take your point that in determining that we want to work very closely with the agencies to make sure that we are drawing on their expertise in relation to their definitions of ‘active’ in relation to those that are turning up effectively. They will be able to help us verify those claims. We have also, as you might not have picked up on – and I can follow up with a briefing between the chambers in relation to the normal way that we brief on bills – life members wanting to pick up that so that we recognise past service for those who may not be able to get onto a truck and things like that, for example.

In relation to the interaction with the emergency services volunteers, their representatives and the agencies, the Minister for Emergency Services Vicki Ward is best placed to have some of these conversations with you, but I am very, very happy to continue having these chats with you.

Rikkie-Lee TYRRELL (Northern Victoria) (12:37): I thank the Treasurer for her answer. Further to the above concern, CFA members are confused as to what they are actually exempt from. Can the Treasurer clarify whether volunteers are exempt from the full Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund, the fixed levy or the variable part of the levy?

Jaclyn SYMES (Northern Victoria – Treasurer, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Regional Development) (12:38): I thank Mrs Tyrrell for her question. We will certainly be able to go over the details of the bill in the committee stage, but in relation to the exemptions that people will be able to apply for – and I have got to say I have spoken to a lot of volunteers who do not intend on claiming the exemption because for various reasons they think that they should not – for those that want to opt in to ensuring that they receive the exemption, it will be applied to the full amount, subject to the exemption applying to farmers, which will be capped. But everybody else will be able to apply for the full amount.