By Violet Li
Victorian farmers will be spared the hike from the new controversial emergency services levy for one year, as the State Government cited the drought concerns.
Premier Jacinta Allan announced the extension of a drought package to farmers statewide on the morning of Friday 30 May, which included the temporary pause of the recently passed Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF).
This means the ESVF variable rate on farmlands will remain the same as it was in the 2024-25 financial year for the duration of the 2025-26 financial year, which will be applied to rate notices for farmlands automatically.
“By capping the rate of the Emergency Services and Volunteer Fund for primary production properties, we’re ensuring farmers can remain fully focused on their drought response and recovery,” Treasurer Jaclyn Symes said.
The new levy ESVF was passed in mid-May to replace the Fire Services Property Levy (FSPL) from 1 July this year. Variable rates will be higher to “help support a broader range of emergency services”, including VICSES and Triple Zero Victoria.
The hike will hit the farmers the hardest as the median liability for them will grow by more than 85 per cent from $621 to $1120.
The temporary freeze means the variable rate charged on farmers for every $1000 of a property’s capital improved value will remain at 28.7 cents for the next financial year, but the charge will go up to 71.8 cents from the 2026-27 financial year.
Residential rates will not be paused. The median charge will grow by more than 30 per cent from $191 to $254 from 1 July.
Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) has welcomed the 12-month pause.
VFF President Brett Hosking said it represents a step in the right direction as Victoria endures crippling drought conditions across the state and allows more time to talk with the government.
“Pausing the ESL increases for 12 months is the right call, but it doesn’t change the underlying problem: this levy is an unfair cost shift onto farmers,” he said.
“We’ll use this extra time to continue making the case that it needs to be scrapped altogether, not simply paused.”
United Firefighters Union (UFU) Secretary Peter Marshall said the announcement is a temporary pause on the collection of this tax for some people, so it is not a full moratorium, and the tax will hit businesses and homeowners hard this year.
“The Government has made clear that the pause for farmers is for this year only,” he said.
“The laws will remain on the books, and the tax will hang over the heads of every Victorian – including farmers, business and homeowners – for every year to come. The tax will simply continue to pay for the continued attacks on firefighters and their safety.
“We need to see this extra tax discarded entirely, and the laws that enable it repealed so it cannot be reintroduced when the government is no longer facing the intense political pressure that recent protests have produced.
“There should be an immediate public inquiry into the tax, its impact on Victorians, and the political machinations behind today’s announcement.”
Shadow Minister for Agriculture Emma Kealy said delaying the emergency services tax is simply delaying what is an unjustified and unfair tax on Victorian producers, whether it’s drought conditions or not.
“The tax should be scrapped entirely,” she said.
The new levy prompted hundreds of firefighters from statewide to protest in Melbourne city on the morning of the state budget delivery day.
Star News reported then that the Casey community opposed the new levy, saying the new levy was a “cash grab” that would deepen the cost-of-living crisis.
