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VFBV News (201)
Family Day supports the Firefighters' Cancer Law
Updated 18 December - click here for SA volunteers' angry protest over cancer backdown
Lilydale: Volunteers turn out to support cancer campaign
One hundred CFA volunteers have lined the main street of Lilydale with fire trucks, at a family day in support of the campaign for fairer and simpler cancer compensation for Victoria’s firefighters.
Local volunteer representatives, including Lilydale Captain Warren Davis and VFBV District 13 President Bill Watson AFSM, met with Liberal MP Christine Fyffe to discuss the issue, and she offered her advice and assistance in organising meetings with other key MPs. Labor MP Danielle Green also attended to show support, and both MPs addressed the crowd.
Volunteers are pursuing the issue because current Victorian law leaves firefighters with an almost impossible task; they are entitled to cancer compensation, but to get it they must show evidence of fires or incidents they attended that might be 10 or 15 years ago, and prove on the balance of probabilities which incidents or which toxic exposures caused the cancer.
Volunteers are calling for presumptive legislation that would reverse the onus of proof; if a firefighter suffers one of the known firefighter cancers, it would be presumed to be work related. That would allow the firefighter to concentrate on treatment and recovery, instead of a lengthy and expensive court case.
So far, the Australian, Tasmanian, West Australian and South Australian Governments have changed their laws, but Victoria is lagging behind.
As the CFA volunteers’ association, Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria (VFBV) is calling on all volunteers to write to their local MPs, or meet with them, to explain the importance of the issue and ask them to introduce and support presumptive legislation for volunteer and career firefighters in Victoria.
VOLUNTEER FORUM TO ADVISE POLICE & EMERGENCY SERVICES MINISTER
VFBV Media release - 22 November 2013
VOLUNTEER FORUM TO ADVISE POLICE & EMERGENCY SERVICES MINISTER
The CFA volunteers’ association has welcomed the announcement of a Ministerial volunteer
consultative committee to provide direct input and advice to the Minister for Police and
Emergency Services on major changes to the emergency management sector.
Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria (VFBV) CEO Andrew Ford said the new Volunteer
Consultative Forum will give the Minister direct access to the valuable practical knowledge
of the people at the front line.
It will provide a forum for volunteers to provide direct advice to the Minister, on;
- Issues affecting Victoria’s emergency management volunteers
- Matters relating to the capacity of volunteers to deliver emergency management services in Victoria
- Strengthening the culture of volunteerism in Victoria
- Maximising the capacity, capability and utilisation of volunteers
- Monitoring the health and wellbeing of the volunteers, and
- Volunteer views about how to achieve changes proposed for the Emergency Management sector
The State Government’s announcement of the new Forum follows many discussions
between VFBV and the Government, and comes with the endorsement of the Fire Services
Commissioner.
“The new Forum is being initiated at an important time; with the move towards a more
joined-up emergency management network,” Mr Ford said.
“For the new arrangements to work it will be extremely important that decision makers
listen to the volunteers on the ground, and take advice from volunteers about what it will
take to achieve improvement on the ground,” he said.
“It’s a matter of common sense; when making major decisions, nothing works as well as
listening to the people at the front line.”
“Engaging with volunteers should not be seen as a burden. Engaged and empowered
volunteers are tomorrow’s volunteers. Engaging and empowering volunteers must become
a core mindset of everyone in Victoria’s emergency management sector,” Mr Ford said.
“VFBV has committed its support to help the State Government to engage with volunteers,
and have regard to their practical advice about what works on the ground, what has or has
not worked in past, and what needs to be factored in to make sure things keep working into
the future,” he said.
The Volunteer Consultative Forum will include volunteer representation from the CFA, SES,
Life Saving Victoria, Australian Red Cross, Ambulance Victoria, Volunteer Fire Brigades
Victoria, St John Ambulance, Volunteer Coast Guard, Salvation Army, Volunteer Emergency
Service Association and the Victorian Council of Churches, plus management nominees from
the various agencies.
“The decisions being made now will have a strong influence on the capability and capacity
of volunteers to contribute to emergency management in Victoria into the future,” Mr Ford
said.
In addition to the establishment of the Volunteer Consultative Forum, the State
Government introduced the Emergency Management Bill 2013 into Parliament earlier this
month. The Bill continues the move towards a more joined-up emergency management
network, co-ordinated by an Emergency Management Commissioner.
In introducing that legislation, Police and Emergency Services Minister Kim Wells said
“Volunteers play a critically important role in the emergency management sector, and the
Bill recognises this by including specific measures to ensure volunteer capacity and
capability is encouraged, strengthened, and maintained.”
The Bill requires both the Emergency Management Commissioner and Emergency
Management Victoria to have regard to this important feature of Victoria's emergency
management arrangements in the carrying out of their functions. The Bill requires that
agency work plans include specific actions and measures to encourage, strengthen and
maintain the capacity and capability of volunteers and the community.
Minister Wells said, “Volunteers have been and will continue to be fundamental to
emergency management service delivery in Victoria. They do a magnificent job for this
state. Equally, they will be fundamental to the successful implementation of these reforms”.
Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria, the Victoria Emergency Service Association and the
Volunteer Coast Guard made a joint submission on behalf of their volunteer members, to
the Government’s White Paper on Victoria’s Emergency Management reform and amongst
other things requested the establishment of a Ministerial-level Volunteer Consultative
Forum. VFBV’s representatives will be President Hans van Hamond AFSM and CEO Andrew
Ford, the SES volunteers’ association is represented by President Neil Hedger and David
Rowlands, and the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard volunteers by Richard Burgess and
David Goldfinch. All of those representatives are active emergency service volunteers.
Ends…
Volunteer Emergency Services Equipment Program
VESEP GRANT APPLICATIONS HAVE CLOSED FOR 2013
Planning for 2014? See below for Case Studies that show how Brigades made successful applications in previous funding rounds.
We will be posting more useful information, including an Application Help Pack for the coming year, shortly.
Any questions? Contact VFBV’s VESEP Project Officer Mary Anne Egan on 0428 937 210 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Digital Listening Sets/Scanners Update
CFA’s change to digital radio dispatch channels is set to begin on 8 December in District 12, the first CFA District to migrate to the new digital frequencies on CFA Tait Radios.
The change will roll out District by District, with radio traffic still available on existing analogue radio frequencies for a period of time while the change to digital radio is bedded in.
VFBV has important advice for everyone using a listening set or scanner to monitor local Brigade activity;
- Don’t dispose of your existing analogue set – analogue radio frequencies will still be used for incident management channels for the foreseeable future, even after regional dispatch goes digital
- CFA will make regional dispatch available online, which means your computer, tablet or smart phone could monitor sufficient radio traffic to know when Brigades are called out or returning from calls.
- CFA is now looking at digital scanners/listening sets, with the intention of partnering with a vendor(s) to select digital sets that will be available for members to purchase at a competitive price – VFBV representatives are on the working party that will assess the machines’ suitability
The project was built into CFA’s Regional Radio Dispatch Project after VFBV’s 2010 Scanner and Listening Set Stocktake confirmed that there were thousands of sets being used by Brigades, volunteers and their families to monitor the movement of appliances and the escalation of jobs in their local area. For operational volunteers, their scanner provided a way of predicting when their own pager might light up, and for family members, the listening set offered a way of providing support or just keeping tabs on how things were going for a volunteer in the field.
Well done to all Brigades that responded to the stocktake, which gave VFBV solid facts and figures to back what had been common volunteer wisdom up until that point, and well done to CFA Headquarters staff and in particular the Regional Radio Dispatch Project and CFA Technology Services Teams for working with VFBV and Brigades to provide flexible options that will help keep volunteers, Brigades and communities in touch with their crews in the field.
Digital radio promises more range, sensitivity and voice quality in radio communications and dedicated dispatch channels for each CFA District.
With Telstra contracted to build the new Regional Radio Dispatch network, the infrastructure build program is well advanced and once District 12 migrates across, a schedule for all CFA districts will cascade in quick succession.
Progress reports and project updates are being posted on the CFA website www.cfa.vic.gov.au
BRIGADE ALLOWANCE REVIEW 2013
FEEDBACK DEADLINE EXTENDED TO THE END OF NOVEMBER
CFA is undertaking a review of the Annual Brigade Allowance that is made to Brigades.
As part of a consultation process with member Brigades, VFBV is seeking advice and feedback from Brigade Management Teams on the types of expenses that notionally the Brigade Allowance makes a contribution towards.
Additionally, the move of all Brigades to Risk Based Classifications over the next few years as part of the CFA’s Brigade and Member Classification Project provides a good opportunity to review the intent for the Annual Brigade Allowance, the Brigade expenses it is intended to contribute towards and the amount / form that these allowances are made based on every Brigades Classification.
All Brigades will have receivede correspondence and a questionnaire from VFBV during October (see below to download a copy) seeking feedback to equip VFBV with solid evidence of the requirements volunteers in Brigades seek as part of this Brigade Allowance Review.
Extended deadline: feedback to VFBV is due by 30 November 2013.
CFA’s DRIVER EDUCATION and ENDORSEMENT STRATEGY
UPDATE: Typing error corrected on page 4 - FEEDBACK OPEN UNTIL THE END OF NOVEMBER
VFBV is providing opportunity for all volunteers to comment on the much anticipated CFA Driver Education and Endorsement Strategy that is being considered for acceptance by the Chief Officer. Members will recall a Discussion Paper in 2009 that sought feedback on eight (8) key principles that could underpin the development of any future strategy.
Entitled 'Providing Safer Drivers & Operators for all CFA vehicles’ the Draft Strategy currently under consideration has a defined future focus that will:
‘By implementing all recommendations contained within the Strategy, it is CFA’s goal that by 2024, all members will hold CFA or nationally recognised competencies giving them the skills to drive and / or operate CFA vehicle in a safe manner.’
VFBV has developed and posted to all brigades an Information Paper (download a copy below) that provides an executive summary of the important changes proposed and the specific member and organisational impacts of adopting the strategy.
VFBV is keen for all Brigades to consider the details contained within the Information Paper and for local discussion to be held at VFBV District Councils in preparation for consideration of VFBV’s position to be ratified at the December 2013 State Council meeting.
Fire Services Levy - start the discussion
VFBV has long pressed for a Fire Services Property Levy discount or exemption for CFA volunteers, in recognition of the significant contribution they already make as members of Brigades.
Since the levy took effect this year and people have had the chance to see it in practice, it has become the subject of media coverage and some public debate, and there have been volunteers with useful opinions to contribute.
If you would like to express an opinion on the levy, possible recognition of volunteer service or any other aspects, we invite you to contact the office on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
VFBV made comprehensive submissions to Government when the levy was first mooted and being designed. You can see VFBV's full report at the time of the levy's introduction and the content of our submissions by clicking here
Some MPs Missing The Point On Cancer - Volunteers
VFBV - MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday, 24 October 2013
The CFA volunteers’ association says some MPs are missing the point on the campaign for fairer and simpler cancer compensation for firefighters.
Andrew Ford, CEO of Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria (VFBV), said Assistant Treasurer Gordon Rich-Phillips has told newspapers ‘Victorian firefighters are already able to access compensation’ but does not address the unfair obstacle they face when they apply.
“Yes the entitlement is there but because of the nature of firefighters’ work and the overly complex process requiring firefighters to prove which event caused the illness, they can’t actually access the entitlement. That is our key concern. We are not looking for a new entitlement, just a fairer process,” Mr Ford said.
“Under current Victoria law firefighters are entitled to cancer compensation, but they must show evidence of fires or incidents they attended that might be 10 or 15 years ago and prove on the balance of probabilities which incidents or which toxic exposures caused the cancer,” he said.
The Australian Government and three other states have already accepted the scientific studies that show there is a list of a dozen cancers that are clearly more common in firefighters.
“The Australian and Tasmanian Governments have changed the laws to reverse the onus of proof; if one of their firefighters suffers one of those typical firefighter cancers, it is presumed to be work related. That allows the firefighter to concentrate on treatment and recovery, instead of a lengthy and expensive court case,” Mr Ford said.
“The South Australian and West Australian Governments are in the process of changing their laws for career and volunteer firefighters, which leaves Victoria lagging behind,” he said.
“CFA volunteers and their career colleagues are not asking for something extra, just the removal of an unfair barrier to compensation to which they are entitled,” Mr Ford said.
“And with other States going through with legislation, volunteers are tired of hearing excuses. First there was the wait for extra research, when even the researchers said the wait was unnecessary. Then there was the introduction of an extra assessment process, a process that doesn’t address the problem of that unfair barrier,” he said.
CFA Brigades protect 60% of suburban Melbourne, regional cities and all of country Victoria.
CFA volunteer firefighters are on call every day and night of the year, they train to professional standards and respond to fires, road accidents, industrial incidents, chemical spills and rescues.
Victoria’s 60,000 CFA volunteers are more than 97% of CFA’s workforce, which makes them an essential part of Victoria’s Emergency Management capability.
Urban Competition Skills Workshops - for teams and coaches
Coming soon: 27 October, 9 and 17 November, 14 December.
In place of the annual VFBV Coaches/Judges School this year, there will be 4 Urban Competition Hands On Skills Workshops conducted at 4 locations around the state.
These Workshops are being organised and facilitated by experienced Competitors/Coaches, and all Brigades are encouraged to attend their nearest Workshop. Current or prospective competitors and coaches will gain an insight into the techniques of successful competitors and teams, which will not only lead to better competition but safer competition.
Each Workshop is being facilitated by your fellow competitors/coaches – so take advantage of their experience and skill, support their willingness to assist you, and attend a Workshop.
There is no limit on numbers attending, but please advise VFBV office of numbers for catering purposes by returning the reply slip (download below), or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 9886 1141.
Central area:
Co-ordinator: Leigh Schintler (Bendigo)
Date: Sunday 27th October 2013, 10am to 2pm
Venue: Bendigo track
Facilitators: Leigh Schintler, Steve Ellis, Wayne Ellis,
Barry Doye, Bruce Payne & Wayne Patterson
Gippsland area:
Co-ordinator: Robert Johnson (Maryvale)
Date: Saturday 9th November, 12pm to 3pm
Venue: Traralgon track
Facilitators: Robert Johnson, Dominic Keating, Stuart Kelso,
Col Flowers, Brian White & Rod Atkinson
Western area:
Co-ordinator: Anthony Rhodes (Melton)
Date: Sunday 17th November 2013, 10am to 2pm
Venue: Ballarat track
Facilitators: Anthony Rhodes, Steve Ellis, Wayne Ellis,
Lee Schintler Tom Waterson, Col Jordan,
Brendan Hawkes & Craig Briody
Outer metro area:
Co-ordinator: Andy Waterson (Dandenong)
Date: Saturday 14th December 2013, 10am to 2pm
Venue: Dandenong track
Facilitators: Adrian Jones, Craig Lansdown, Chris Mullins,
Andy Waterson & Rick Owen
Annual General Meeting - VFBV Appointments
The VFBV Annual General Meeting included the re-appointment of Board Members Hans van Hamond AFSM, Gary Lyttle AFSM and Tom Brodie AFSM for two years from 1 October 2013.
Mick Nunweek was newly appointed for a two year term as a Board Member, having previously served ex-officio as Vice President Urban.
State Council elected Graeme Jilbert as Vice President Urban and Bruce Vine as Vice President Rural. Whilst the titles cease to exist as a result of constitutional changes at the AGM, State Council confirmed both members as the two State Council nominated ex-officio members of the Board for one year terms, as per the new constitution.
State Council delegates nominated for the Welfare Fund Committee of Management are Ron Cole, Mary Ann Egan, Bill Maltby and Mick Nunweek.
The nine State Council Executive Committee members for the upcoming year from Brigades with predominantly bushfire risk profile are; T Brodie, M Egan, R Cole, B Conboy, K Clough, T Wyatt, R Auchterlonie, M Dumesny, G Neyenhuis.
And the nine State Council Executive Committee members for the upcoming year from Brigades with predominantly structural risk profile are; B Maltby, M Nunweek, P White, R Waterson, C Dennis, B Pickett, T Desmond, P Slender, M Jones.
Following this years AGM, State Council has also awarded VFBV Life Membership to Andy Cusack, Mike Evans, Phillip Lind, Bill Maltby and Col Pomroy, all of whom have given more than 10 years’ outstanding service to the Association.
More...
CERTIFICATE IV TRAINING ISSUE RESOLVED
Volunteers with a Certificate 4 in Training and Assessment (BSZ or TAA) qualifications) will be pleased to hear CFA has declared their qualification to be relevant and of sufficient currency to permit them to continue to deliver training and assessment services when it comes to CFA training.
OTV Executive Director Lex de Man AFSM told the VFBV State Council that his staff had successfully lobbied for the decision as part of a clarification of who can train and assess.
“The decision clears the air so some valuable volunteer trainers and assessors can put their skills to use,” Mr de Man said.
“For CFA training purposes, the BSZ Enterprise Assessor Skill Set is considered equal to the later TAA and TAE Enterprise Assessor skill sets,” he said.
The clarification also deals with situations where volunteers are subject matter experts (SMEs) working under the oversight of a person holding the TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment or equivalent.
“For CFA purposes, that oversight can consist of regular guidance, face to face interaction or contact by phone; it does not require the overseer to be present during the training unless it is necessary because of the trainer’s experience or familiarity with the package they are delivering,” Mr de Man
said.
FIREFIGHTERS’ CANCER LAW ISSUE NOT FINISHED - VOLUNTEERS
MEDIA RELEASE
Friday 20 September 2013
FIREFIGHTERS’ CANCER LAW ISSUE NOT FINISHED - VOLUNTEERS
A proposal for fairer compensation for Victorian firefighters with cancer has failed in the Victorian Parliament, but the CFA volunteers’ association says the issue is definitely not finished.
Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria (VFBV) CEO Andrew Ford said CFA volunteers are extremely disappointed and concerned at the way an issue that is so important to them has been treated.
He said the vote in the Upper House of State Parliament this week just raises the question of what the State Government plans to do next.
“Volunteers are seeking a fairer and simpler path to cancer compensation for all Victorian firefighters, and the Government say they are not ruling out this kind of legislation,” Mr Ford said.
“However, Coalition MPs voted against sending the proposed legislation to the Lower House of State Parliament this week, so the legislation has lapsed, which means the ball is now in the Government’s court,” he said.
“The issue won’t go away, volunteer and career firefighters are still more likely to get cancer, current compensation law still forces them to prove a connection between the cancer and a specific date or event, and that is still very close to impossible.”
“How do you prove which fire and which toxins might have caused your cancer when the incident might have been 10 or 15 years ago and just one of the hundreds you have attended?” Mr Ford said.
The legislation had been proposed by the Greens and supported by Labor MPs, it was the vote of Coalition MPs that ended its run in the Upper House on Wednesday.
“Now there is no legislation before Parliament and the State Government has already said it is not ruling out support for this type of legislation, we are in the hands of the Government as to when it will come to Parliament for consideration,” Mr Ford said.
“Volunteers want to know what the Government plans to do now.”
The proposed legislation is presumptive – it would accept that firefighters are more likely to get certain types of cancer and it would presume those cancers to be work-related.
“Presumptive cancer legislation would mean a firefighter with one of those typical firefighter cancers could concentrate on their treatment and recovery instead of a court case.”
In 2011, the Australian Parliament passed presumptive legislation for federally-employed firefighters (including the fire crews at Melbourne Airport) with the support of all of the major parties, after a Senate Inquiry examined the scientific evidence and recommended it go ahead.
Since then, the WA, SA and Tasmanian Governments have accepted the existing scientific evidence and begun work on presumptive legislation for their firefighters.
VFBV and the United Firefighters’ Union are campaigning for presumptive legislation for Victorian firefighters, both volunteer and career.
“We are not asking for any new or extra compensation, just the removal of an unfair barrier to sick firefighters obtaining the compensation to which they are already entitled,” Mr Ford said.
Summer Debrief
Not long ago, VFBV delegates raised the issue of volunteer dissatisfaction with pre-summer information and post-season debriefing, and we can now report a proposed solution.
CFA has agreed to implement a comprehensive centralised system that will be open to all members that will capture, log, track and report on progress against items raised throughout the season, as opposed to waiting for formal end-of-season reviews.
This should go a long way towards giving volunteers adequate opportunity to raise fireground issues that are still fresh in their minds, whilst providing much needed transparency and a direct line of communication from the grass roots to incident managers.
SERVICE DELIVERY UP FOR DISCUSSION
CFA has extended the feedback deadline on its proposal for a Service Delivery Strategy until 30 September and VFBV is pressing for even more time. VFBV expects that most Brigades will not have had a chance to review this document yet and have raised this as a concern with the CFA Chief Officer.
There's a discussion paper and a survey available on the CFA intranet and Brigades Online (About CFA>Service Delivery>Service Delivery Strategy).
After considering the feedback, CFA plans to draft the strategy, then seek further comment on the draft strategy before finalising it later this year.
The discussion paper considers issues that will influence the decisions in the strategy, including; trends in population, settlement, climate change and extreme weather, volunteerism and technology, and possible directions for CFA and the emergency service sector over the coming decades.
The issues are important to the future of CFA, volunteering and the emergency services. CFA are hoping that many Brigades will read the discussion paper and consider providing input before they begin work on drafting the final strategy.
VFBV will be working with CFA to consider feedback.
