Summary
Since the reform commenced in July 2020, CFA and FRV have each made notable progress to deliver relevant implementation plan actions for which they have sole responsibility and have achieved important milestones. Both agencies have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to the reform and are working towards establishing the foundations for a complementary fire service despite the complex challenges encountered in the operational and industrial environments.
The table below provides a high-level summary of key milestones jointly achieved by agencies from Years 1 to 4 of the reform. It is not intended to be a detailed acquittal of the specific actions completed by each agency – this information can be found in Appendix B.
Table 2: Summary of key reform milestones
Key milestones for Fire Services Reform
Year 1 (2020/21)
- The Fire Rescue Victoria Act 1958 commenced on 1 July 2020.
- The FRV Act established FRV as a dedicated career firefighting agency, bringing together the former Metropolitan Fire Brigade and CFA career firefighters.
- The Act also re-established CFA as a volunteer firefighting agency.
- The Act established three independent bodies to provide oversight of the reform including the Fire District Review Panel, FSIM, and the FRB.
- The Minister for Emergency Services released the Year One Fire Services Reform Implementation Plan outlining actions agencies will complete to deliver on the intended outcomes of the reform.
- CFA and FRV signed transfer statements to transfer relevant property, assets, liabilities, rights and obligations from CFA to FRV to support the delivery of reform (noting two allocation statements are outstanding – action 3.3).
- Agencies also developed their respective outcomes frameworks and began reporting on results every quarter.
Year 2 (2021/22)
- The Minister published the Year 2-5 Implementation Plan comprising 41 actions.
- CFA and FRV developed a governance framework to oversee and support the implementation of key reform activities at strategic and operational levels. Accordingly, agencies established HoA, FSOC and six FSOC sub-committees.
- CFA and FRV each delivered work to strengthen their respective agencies’ culture and values.
- Agencies commenced developing performance measures for implementation plan actions, which will guide future effectiveness assessments by FSIM.
Year 3 (2022/23)
- DJCS established the Fire Services Reform Strategic Executive Committee to address strategic and whole-of-reform issues and opportunities.
- CFA and FRV developed a workflow approval process that outlines the entire consultation and approval process.
- CFA and FRV completed work to recognise the contribution made by both volunteer and career firefighters. The agencies collaborated to support nominations for national awards, and CFA expanded the CFA Service Awards to ensure seconded staff can be recognised for their service and contribution to CFA.
- CFA and FRV each developed strategies and plans to improve inclusion and diversity in their respective agencies.
Year 4 (2023/24)
- The Minister for Emergency Services approved a change request for all remaining actions in the Year 2-5 Implementation Plan in July 2024 (see Table 1).
- DJCS established governance to address ongoing financial sustainability for agencies in the emergency management sector, including CFA and FRV.
- CFA developed a fire services reform dashboard to be used as a shared tool for monitoring progress on all the agreements and guidelines being developed under action 3.9.
- FRV’s Women’s Support Coordinator program was recognised at the 2024 Emergency Services Foundation’s Diversity and Inclusion Awards, winning the Women’s Equality Initiative award category (action 4.9)
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