Frontline firefighters gear up with $365m boost

The Victorian government has announced a $365m investment into CFA and forest firefighter upgrades as part of its upcoming 2026/27 budget. The funding includes $100m to be allocated to expand CFA’s fleet of new tankers and pumpers, and $26.2m will to go towards station builds, planning, land acquisition at 10 CFA brigades across Victoria. A further $22.4m will go towards CFA volunteer wellbeing support, training and new protective gear. A $217m investment will go to Forest Fire Management Victoria to purchase 17 new assets including heavy tankers, dozers and graders, deliver upgrades to the vehicle fleet, secure the critical aviation fire fleet and conduct more planned burns and fuel management. A state government spokesperson said the funding is designed to support volunteer CFA firefighters and forest firefighting services as Victoria faces more frequent and severe fire seasons, particularly in regional and rural areas. “Our volunteer and forest firefighters are on the frontline, protecting us when we need it most,” Minister for Emergency Services Vicki Ward said. “We’ll keep delivering the equipment and facilities they need to keep Victorians safe. “With this investment, our emergency services volunteers can keep doing this vital work for years to come.” The state government spokesperson said a majority of the investments would be distributed by CFA and FFMVic based on operational requirements and need. The investment comes on the back of a horror bushfire season in the state which included large-scale fires in the North East including at Longwood, Walwa and Markwood. It was not clear how much of the funding came from the Emergency Services Volunteer Fund levy, which was controversially implemented in July last year. The state government introduced a two-year rate freeze for farmers under the levy in December last year, while planned increases to the levy were deferred to 1 July, 2027 for investment properties, citing time was needed to finalise and test "information sharing arrangements". The property value threshold under the new tax for volunteer exemptions also rose from $5 million to $10 million. The full 2026/27 Victorian government budget will be announced on 5 May. Fire truck funding a "Joke" The $100m commitment by the Victorian government to replace ageing CFA tankers and pumpers has been labelled a "joke" by Nationals leader and Shadow Minister for Emergency Services, Danny O’Brien. He said the government conveniently left out that it will be distributed over 10 years and it "doesn’t come anywhere near what is required to adequately replace the CFA’s ageing fleet”. "There are at least 630 old single cab tankers in the fleet, and more than 10 per cent of tankers are more than 30 years old – this funding will not even begin to modernise the fleet," Mr O'Brien said. “It’s also a fraction of the $3 billion extra the government is collecting from Victorians in emergency services tax. "Where is the rest of the money going? “This petty cash announcement will leave volunteers still sitting on the back of single-cab tankers, exposed to heat, smoke and dust for many bushfire seasons to come." Much more needed, says VFBV Volunteer Fire Brigade Victoria (VFBV) estimates have shown a $28 million shortfall in the annual investment being made by the state government into new CFA tankers to what the VFBV say the CFA needs to “stop going backwards”. VFBV estimates say $60.48m was needed to replace 100 appliances each year and Thursday’s funding announcement brought CFA’s total annual spend to $32.5m. Given the cost of new tankers ($465,000) and new pumpers ($1 million), the extra funding will allow the CFA to replace about 21 tankers and five pumpers each year. Estimates in January said some 800 tankers across Victoria were out of date and unreliable, with some within brigades across the North East. CFA welcome funding boost CFA welcomed the investment of $148.6 million into their fleet, and a funding boost for fire stations and critical equipment. CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan said the significant funding will not only improve conditions for brigade members right across the state but also help meet the needs of future generations of firefighters. “The $100 million over 10 years will see us be able to get a better negotiation with industry to ensure we get the trucks that we need, when we need them and I look forward to starting that process,” he said. “This will go a long way to replacing those single cab tankers where our volunteers are riding on the back. “Victoria’s firefighters, both operational and those who play a role behind the scenes, deserve the best tools and protection, and this funding will only enhance their ability to respond more efficiently and effectively to emergencies.”

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