Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund

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 most other states.

All property owners are required to contribute to the ESVF unless eligible for a rebate, which can be valued up to the total ESVF liability (see below). Land previously in the Vacant category under FSPL will be reallocated under the ESVF.

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 continue to be collected through local councils.

The levy is calculated using the following formula:

• Levy = fixed charge + variable charge – concession (if eligible)

If eligible, after you receive your rates notice you can apply for the Volunteer Rebate and/or Partial Drought Rebate.

The fixed charge is different for residential and non-residential classified properties and increases annually based on the consumer price index.

The variable charge depends on the property’s classification and capital improved value (variable charge = variable rate × capital improved value).

The proposed variable and fixed charge rates for the ESVF are detailed below.

Eligible CFA and VICSES volunteers will receive a rebate for their ESVF liability.
*PPR = Principal Place of Residence
**Land previously in the Vacant category will be reallocated.

That depends on the type of property, and your eligibility for a rebate.

For some eligible Victorians the new ESVF will result in a reduced or no required contribution due to the Volunteer Rebate being available for the first time.

We want to ensure that our emergency services have the resources they need to keep Victorians safe, and to help them recover from natural disasters.

An indicative comparison of the ESVF to the FSPL is detailed below.

Eligible CFA and VICSES volunteers will receive a rebate for their ESVF liability.
*Land previously in the Vacant category will be reallocated.

Just like the FSPL, the ESVF is calculated annually and is payable annually or via instalments alongside your rates.

The capital improved value is the value of your land, buildings and any other capital improvements made to the property.

The capital improved value of your property is determined by the general valuation process, which is displayed on your council rate notice.

The land use classification for your property is on your rates notice or the levy assessment notice issued to non-rateable property owners.

This describes the primary use of your land and each classification has its own rate. There are 6 property classifications:

• residential PPR
• non-residential PPR (from 2026/27)
• commercial
• industrial (also includes infrastructure and extractive properties)
• primary production
• public benefit
  

Increasing frequency of fires, floods and storms continue to be a reality of life in Victoria. The new ESVF will make sure all our emergency services have the tools and resources they need to help keep Victorians safe. Importantly, the new ESVF provides increased funding certainty for a wider range of emergency service organisations, including the critical work of VICSES.

We have to put our emergency services on a surer funding footing – which is what the bushfire royal commission recommended we do for fire services.

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

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

The ESVF will be used to fund 90% of Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV)’s budget, and 95% of the Country Fire Authority (CFA)’s and Victoria State Emergency Service (VicSES)’s budgets.

In addition, the ESVF will fund up to 95% of the following annual budgets:

• Triple Zero Victoria.
• Emergency Management Victoria (including the State Control Centre) and responsibilities for emergency management within the Department of Justice and Community Safety (including Emergency Recovery Victoria).
• Forest Fire Management Victoria and its support functions within the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change.

In December 2024, the Victorian Government announced $250 million in funding for emergency services, including:

• $62 million to double the Volunteer Emergency Services Equipment Program providing funding to emergency services volunteers for critical equipment, vehicles and facility upgrades.
• $70 million to establish a rolling fleet replacement program for VICSES and the CFA – ensuring volunteers right across Victoria can receive new and upgraded trucks, tankers and pumpers (the first round of new Next Generation Medium Rescue Trucks will be delivered to VICSES units in Glen Eira, Geelong, Alexandra, Kinglake, Essendon, Chelsea, Otway, Beechworth, Kyabram and Murrayville. CFA brigades in Darraweit Guim, Corop West, Barmah, Erica, Lubeck, Goroke, Crowlands, Modewarre, Kawarren and Moe South will also be the first recipients of new Medium Tanker).
• $30 million to deliver training and support programs for emergency services volunteers.

On top of this the Victorian Government has announced $40 million for a rolling fleet replacement program for Fire Rescue Victoria.

Volunteers and life-members from the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and the Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) are eligible to receive a rebate on their principal place of residence (PPR) or farm.

Eligible volunteers include all active VICSES and CFA operational and support volunteers. Volunteers need to have served for at least 12 months, have passed probation, and not be suspended on disciplinary grounds or have taken a leave of absence for the duration of the preceding 12 months.

The Volunteer Rebate will be administered by the Victorian Government through the Department of Government Services.

Eligible volunteers will be able to apply for the Volunteer Rebate online following receipt of the local government issued rates notice.

No, you can claim your rebate once you receive you rates notice.

We understand that people may pay their rates and ESVF in instalments.

If you are an eligible volunteer applying for the Volunteer Rebate on your principal place of residence (PPR), you will be entitled to a rebate to the full value of your ESVF contribution.

Alternatively, volunteers can choose to seek a rebate for their farm or single farm enterprise. If you are claiming in respect of a farm, the rebate will be available up to a cap.

The Victorian Government intends to set this cap at $5 million of the capital improved value of farmland.

Where a cap applies, the maximum rebate is $3,865.

This means that in these circumstances, a partial rebate will still be available, up to a ‘maximum amount’ which is equivalent to the ESVF on a $5 million farm.

The rebate can be claimed for either of the following:

• your principal place of residence (PPR) if you are on the title, or
• farmland in which you have a direct ownership interest, or
• farmland in which you have an indirect ownership interest (for example, as a shareholder of a company, or a beneficiary of a trust, that owns the land), or
• two or more parcels of land in a single farming enterprise and in which you have a direct or indirect ownership interest.

Eligible volunteers may choose which of their properties the Volunteer Rebate applies to as long as it falls into one of the above categories.

Only one claim can be made per volunteer and each property can only be claimed on by one person.

Farmland includes land with a farming-related use as specified in legislation.

No. The rebate is available for eligible volunteers on their principal place of residence (PPR) or farm only.

Please visit your CFA or VIC SES volunteer portal to update your details.

CFA and VICSES volunteer portals are being updated, and the Department of Government Services will release information before 1 July 2025.

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).

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.

Eligible CFA and VICSES volunteers and life members will be entitled to a rebate on the ESVF on their principal place of residence (PPR) or farm, which will be administered by the State Government through the Department of Government Services.

Yes.

Under the ESVF rebate scheme, volunteers can claim a rebate on two or more parcels of land in a single farming enterprise in which they have a direct or indirect ownership interest, up to the rebate cap. 

Primary production properties comprising multiple parcels of land are eligible for a single farm enterprise fixed charge exemption, which means the owner only pays the ESVF fixed charge on one property within the enterprise.  

A single farm enterprise means two or more parcels of farmland which are occupied by the same person(s) and are farmed as a single enterprise. This can include one parcel of land that is a PPR of the person(s), provided the PPR is contiguous to the farmland. 

No. Only one claim can be made per volunteer, and each property can only be claimed on by one person. Volunteers may choose which of their properties the rebate applies to as long as it falls into one of the categories described above.

No. The rebate can only be applied once in relation to the same farm property.

There is no cap if the Volunteer Rebate is being sought on the eligible volunteer's principal place of residence (PPR).

In these circumstances eligible volunteers are entitled to a rebate equal to the amount they are otherwise required to pay in relation to their property.

Alternatively, the volunteer can choose to seek a rebate for their farm or single farm enterprise. The maximum rebate for farmland will be capped based on the capital improved value of the land. The value of the cap will be declared by the Victorian Government following passage of the Bill. The Government intends to set this cap at $5 million of the capital improved value of farmland.

The Victorian Government intends to set this cap at $5 million of the capital improved value of farmland.

Where a cap applies, the maximum rebate is $3,865.

This means that in these circumstances, a partial rebate will still be available, up to a ‘maximum amount’ which is equivalent to the ESVF on a $5 million farm (capital improved value).

The rebate will be equal to the ESVF liability printed on your rates notice for the eligible volunteer's principal place of residence (PPR).

Alternatively, the eligible volunteer can choose to seek a rebate for their farm. The rebate will be equal to the ESVF liability printed on your rates notice for the eligible volunteer's farm, up to a maximum $3,865.

A rebate to the full value of your ESVF contribution is available for a principal place of residence (PPR). 

Alternatively, a volunteer can choose to seek a rebate for their farm. The Victorian Government has adopted a very broad definition of ownership in relation to when the rebate can be applied to farmland (including where the volunteer has a direct or indirect ownership interest for example, as a shareholder of a company, or a beneficiary of a trust). Therefore, a cap will apply as the rebate is not intended to provide a full exemption from the ESVF for very large commercial farming operations.

The increase for a $1 million farm is about the same as the increase for a $1 million warehouse or factory.

The median increase is a bit bigger for primary production land because the median property size is significantly larger – more than $1.2 million compared to about $700,000 for commercial and industrial properties.

Primary production land will continue to have a variable rate that is well below the variable rate for commercial and industrial properties.

This is in addition to other significant tax benefits provided to the majority of primary production land – including exemptions from land tax.

As they do with rates, councils can waive or defer the whole or part of the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF) payment for ratepayers experiencing hardship.

Most councils have a policy to assist ratepayers in financial hardship. They may offer options including payment plans or extensions of time to pay. The details of these policies and the application process will vary between councils.

A council can only waive or defer payment of the ESVF if it also waives or defers payment of rates for that property. Councils cannot defer the ESVF while still requiring the payment of rates.

This is in addition to the general requirement that most council rates notices are payable in 4 instalments.

Eligible volunteers will receive one volunteer rebate per annum and can nominate whether that rebate applies to the levy they pay on:

• their principal place of residence (PPR); or
• farmland in which they have a direct or indirect ownership interest (for example, as a shareholder of a company, or a beneficiary of a trust, that owns the land); or
• two or more parcels of land in a single farming enterprise and in which they have a direct or indirect ownership interest.

The rebate cannot be claimed twice on any parcel of land. However, if multiple members of a family or a couple are eligible volunteers they can each claim a rebate, provided their rebates apply in relation to different parcels of land and they are owners of that land.

Following consultation with councils, emergency services and the Victorian Farmers Federation, the Victorian Government is also providing an additional partial rebate of the ESVF for farmers eligible for the infrastructure grants program in the Government’s drought support package.

The infrastructure grants program, On-Farm Drought Infrastructure Grants, provides practical support to farmers impacted by drought in Victoria. The program supports on-farm upgrades that provide immediate support in managing drought and build future resilience.

To find out more about the program, please visit the Agriculture Victoria website.

The additional partial rebate of the ESVF is for farmers eligible for the infrastructure grants program in the Government’s drought support package.

A full list of eligible LGA’s can be found on the Agriculture Victoria website.

The rebate also applies to non-volunteer farmers eligible for the infrastructure grants program in the Government’s drought support package.

Active CFA/VICSES volunteers can claim the volunteer rebate on one property and drought relief rebate on others. If property is valued over $5 million, volunteers could claim the volunteer rebate on first $5 million and drought relief rebate on the capital improved value above that amount. Volunteers are not eligible to claim both rebates on the same property below $5 million.

The rebate will continue to be assessed annually, as per the broader Drought Support Package.

The additional drought rebate means that farmers who aren’t eligible for the Volunteer Rebate, but own eligible farms in drought affected LGAs, will have no increase in their Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund levy rates compared to those they paid the previous year for their Fire Services Property Levy (refer to table above for 2024-25 FSPL rates for Primary Production land).

The additional partial rebate of the ESVF is for farmers eligible for the infrastructure grants program in the Government’s drought support package.

To find out more about the program, please visit the Agriculture Victoria website.