Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund

Making sure our emergency services have the resources they need

Time and time again, Victorian State Emergency Service (VICSES) volunteers have stepped up to keep Victorians safe from natural disasters.

But in recent years, we’ve seen increasing floods and storms, and the lasting devastation they bring.

Between 2009 and 2013, VICSES averaged roughly 20,000 callouts a year. Over the last three years, they’ve averaged about 35,000.

We’re making sure our emergency services have the resources they need to keep Victorians safe, and to help them recover from natural disasters.

From 1 July 2025, the Fire Services Property Levy (FSPL) will be replaced by the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF).

It will help support a broader range of emergency services and for the first time include VICSES, Triple Zero Victoria, the State Control Centre, Forest Fire Management Victoria and Emergency Recovery Victoria, as well as the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV).

This will bring Victoria’s funding arrangements for emergency services into line with other states.

Exemptions for volunteers

Our emergency service volunteers give so much to our state.

That’s why active volunteers and life members won’t have to pay the ESVF on their primary place of residence (such as a house or farm).

Further details regarding eligibility will be provided following consultation with affected organisations.

How the ESVF will work

Like the FSPL, the ESVF will be calculated based on a fixed charge that varies by property type, and a variable charge based on property value.

Pensioners, veterans and single farm enterprises will continue to receive concessions.

And the ESVF will still be collected through local councils.

Every dollar raised will go towards vital life-saving equipment, vehicles, staff, training for volunteers, community education, and recovery support for when Victorians need it most.

Background

The Fire Services Property Levy (FSPL) is an annual levy collected by councils via rates notices. The levy ensures that Victorian property owners make an annual contribution to the State’s fire services. Revenue raised by the FSPL funds 87.5 per cent of Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) and 77.5 per cent of the Country Fire Authority’s (CFA) annual budget.

The FSPL was instituted in 2013 following a recommendation of the Bushfire Royal Commission.

FSPL liabilities comprise a fixed charge and a variable component.

• The fixed charge is different for residential and non-residential properties and increases annually based on the consumer price index. In 2024-25 the residential fixed charge was $132 and the non-residential fixed charge was $267.
• The variable component is based on a property’s capital improved value (CIV) and a variable rate (cents per $’000 of CIV) depending on its property classification.

Pensioner Concession Card and Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold Card holders are entitled to a $50 concession on their FSPL liability for their principal place of residence (PPR). Farmers with multiple properties that operate as a single enterprise may be eligible to pay a single fixed charge under the single farming enterprise exemption.

Changes under the ESVF

From 1 July 2025:

• The vacant land category will be abolished, with vacant land allocated to its corresponding land use classification (e.g. vacant industrial land will be reclassified as industrial land).
• Variable rates will increase to raise additional revenue to fund the services being covered by the ESVF (see Table 1).

From 1 July 2026:

• A new category will be created for residential PPR.
• Non-PPR residential properties will incur the non-residential fixed charge.

As with the existing FSPL, the ESVF will be collected by councils and will appear on rates notices. The Department of Treasury and Finance will work with councils to implement these changes.

The existing $50 concession for pensioners and veterans, and the concession for single farm enterprises, will continue to apply.

ESVF rates

Every dollar raised through the ESVF will go towards vital life-saving equipment, vehicles, staff, training for volunteers, community education, and recovery support for when Victorians need it most.

Variable rates will be higher under the ESVF than the FSPL to account for the ESVF’s larger scope. A comparison of current FSPL rates and ESVF rates for 2025-26 is outlined below in Table 1.

Fixed rates will continue to be set in alignment with CPI.

The Treasurer will set ESVF rates each year through a process similar to the FSPL.

Table 1: Comparison of 2024-25 FSPL and 2025-26 ESVF variable rates (cents per $1,000 CIV)

Entities funded through the ESVF

The ESVF will expand upon the services funded by the existing FSPL, to include funding for more of Victoria’s emergency and disaster response services.

The ESVF will fund up to 87.5 per cent of FRV’s budget, and up to 95 per cent of CFA’s budget.

In addition, the ESVF will fund up to 95 per cent of the following budgets:

• Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES)
• Triple Zero Victoria
• State Control Centre
• Emergency Recovery Victoria
• Emergency Management Victoria
• Emergency Alert Program (automatic emergency warning SMSs)
• Emergency Management Operational Communication Program
• Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic) and its support functions within the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action

These entities complement the activities of fire services agencies, including response to flood, storm, and other emergencies.

Contact

If you have any ESVF enquiries, please contact: esvf@dtf.vic.gov.au.