By Victoria Stone-Meadows
The Victorian State Government has begun releasing more detailed information on how the newly structured Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) will be managed.
The shake-up of fire services in Victoria proposes massive structural changes to the CFA and MFB but also brings long-awaited changes to presumptive cancer legislation for firefighters.
The State Government has introduced the Firefighters’ Presumptive Rights Compensation and Fire Services Legislation Amendment (Reform) Bill 2017 that will see paid and volunteer firefighters eligible for compensation for cancers developed in the line of duty.
Specifically, the legislation works on the presumption the cause of the cancers are a direct result of the inherent dangers of firefighting.
The new legislation will apply to any firefighter in Victoria who has been active for the necessary number of years for the type of cancer they are claiming against, diagnosed after 1 June last year.
The presumptive rights legislation will also not have any restrictions on the number of fire incidents a firefighter must have attended to be eligible for the compensation.
Firefighters who have attended any particularly dangerous or exceptional incidents and have become ill as a result will have the minimum years of active service clause waived under the new scheme.
The new legislation will also see 35 integrated stations on Melbourne’s fringes – including Cranbourne, Pakenham and Dandenong – become FRV jurisdiction.
However, the government announced on Wednesday 24 May that the volunteer CFA members at these stations will have to change the way they operate.
The government has assured CFA members that they will retain leadership under the CFA Chief Officer and the CFA will have additional operational powers in FRV districts though details of these additional powers have not been released.
Minister for Emergency Services James Merlino said the changes to the CFA and the extension of presumptive cancer rights will strengthen fire services in Victoria.
“Long-awaited presumptive cancer rights for volunteer and career firefighters were denied by the previous Liberal Government, but they will now be delivered,” he said.
“These important changes will deliver more modern fire services for a growing Victoria, making our state even safer.”
