Supporting and Valuing our CFA Volunteers - MAKE A DONATION
SEEKING PUBLIC DONATIONS - DONATE VIA MYCAUSE cheque or bank deposit
Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria has launched a crowdfunding campaign to give the public the chance to support the work we are doing to protect, advocate and represent CFA volunteers, including our Supreme Court action.
The campaign ‘Supporting and Valuing our CFA Volunteers’ is now live on Australian crowdfunding platform, mycause at www.mycause.com.au/cfa
To donate by cheque:
Cheques should be made out to:
VFBV – Valuing Volunteers Fund
And posted to:
VFBV
PO Box 453
Mt Waverley Vic. 3151
You can also donate via Direct Deposit to this account:
| Account Name: | Valuing Volunteers Fund |
| BSB: | 633000 (Bendigo Bank) |
| Account Number: | 157 728 221 |
As you know, VFBV is fighting to maintain CFA as a volunteer based and fully integrated fire and emergency service with employees fully integrated with volunteers to provide seamless public safety services to Victorians. This is what CFA is under our CFA Act.
The community volunteer nature of CFA is under attack from the industrial deal done by the Andrews Victorian Government and Peter Marshall of the United Firefighters Union. The deal negatively impacts on CFA as a volunteer based and fully integrated organisation, its operations and support for volunteers including consultation.
It is an attempt to change the nature of CFA by using an anomaly in the Commonwealth Workplace Relations Act which enables an EBA to override state legislation once the EBA is registered by the Commonwealth Fair Work Commission.
The Supreme Court trial on the lawfulness of the new CFA Board adopting the proposed CFA/UFU Enterprise Bargaining Agreement will begin on 22 September 2016 and should run for up to five days.
The CFA/United Firefighters Union Enterprise Bargaining Agreement, approved by the new government-appointed CFA Board, would see:
• The powers of the Chief Officer overridden;
• The union given power of veto on issues affecting volunteer based and fully integrated organisation, operations and support;
• Restrictions in the EBA on effective volunteer consultation rights under the CFA Volunteer Charter;
• Other clauses that are contrary to the CFA Act, and
• Volunteers treated as second class just because they are not paid.
Only Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria is left to defend CFA from the deal and its detrimental effect for CFA services to the Victorian public.
The Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett shared our volunteer concerns, refused to support the deal and resigned in June. The CFA Board that was opposing the deal was sacked by the Andrews Government. The CEO, Lucinda Nolan and Chief Officer, Joe Buffone subsequently resigned in protest over the deal. The current CFA Board and administration are failing to stand up for CFA volunteers and kow-towing to unlawful UFU demands.
The campaign, particularly through the courts, costs money. Volunteer Fire Brigades Victoria does not intend to use government grant funds or individual brigade affiliation fees to pay for the campaign, so we are asking the community that we serve to support us. This funding will be used to pay for Supreme Court and other action to preserve and protect the powers of the CFA Act.
VFBV and volunteers have made it very clear that we are not against our paid colleagues and have no interest in interfering in their legitimate pay and conditions.
Our vision is for CFA to be a modern and contemporary emergency service where volunteers and paid staff work side by side as equals and respect one another.
Encouraging, maintaining and strengthening the capacity of volunteers is vitally important for Victoria, and we are calling on those who value the capacity, determination and service of the volunteers to please support our campaign in the Supreme Court on September 22 by donating to our campaign on mycause.
Members of the public can learn more and make a donation online here.
See the media release here.
VFBV seeks donations for cancer law campaign
VFBV is preparing to step up the campaign for presumptive legislation, the firefighters’ cancer law, by inviting donations to support the campaign.
The VFBV Presumptive Legislation Campaign Trust Account is a specific purpose trust account to meet the costs of VFBV’s campaign for presumptive legislation for firefighters, including;
• Provision of information to members and the public
• Research and analysis
• Legal support, and
• Legal representation costs relevant to the pursuit of presumptive legislation, including but not limited to test cases as deemed necessary.
We will be advertising broadly to encourage the support of the public and volunteers for this fund raising effort, and a donation facility will be added to this website in a few days. In the meantime, anyone wishing to make a donation or ask a question should call VFBV on (03) 9886 1141 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The VFBV Presumptive Legislation Campaign Trust Fund is clearly aimed at supporting our pursuit of presumptive legislation and fair protection for firefighters.
Funds raised will assist our campaign efforts and possible test case pursuit, but will not extend to covering personal illness related compensation as we clearly see this as an obligation for the CFA volunteer compensation arrangements.
What volunteers can do;
- Brigades, Groups and District Councils, as well as the public, are invited to donate to the fund - call (03) 9886 1141 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to make a pledge, an online facility will be available soon
- Raise the issue of presumptive legislation/the firefighters’ cancer law at any opportunity with Members of Parliament, local media and online
You can download VFBV’s Notes for MPs and Notes for Volunteers by clicking here
VFBV Summer Fire Safety Campaign
Information for Brigades
VFBV will again run a summer fire safety campaign through January and February 2014, telling the public that Fire Safety Starts with You.
The campaign will carry basic fire safety messages while showcasing the preparation and professionalism of CFA volunteers and reminding everyone that fire safety is a shared responsibility between the fire services and the community.
Funded by the State Government, the campaign will involve advertising through local radio, TV and newspapers and some media activity coordinated by the VFBV office, but the local component is very important and will require local involvement from Brigades.
For Brigades, there will be bumper stickers carrying the message Fire Safety Starts with You. There will also be a small printed handout that provides a simple checklist for householders. These will be available free of charge to Brigades and are designed to be useful at community events or other activities as a conversation starter. For stickers and handouts, call the VFBV office on (03) 9886 1141 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Brigades working with local newspapers
Local volunteers and local activities carry far more weight with the public and with local media than corporate spokespeople, so we invite Brigades to nominate Captains or other volunteers to talk to local newspapers about fire safety and the summer season. VFBV can assist with speakers’ notes or a media release. Call the office on (03) 9886 1141 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to get things started.
This year’s State Government campaign is “Leave & Live” and will be supported by the following four facts;
• Four out of five bushfire deaths happen close to the home
• People living in the suburbs are at risk from fire too
• Grassfires can surge up to 25 KPH on risky fire days
• Temperatures can reach 800 degrees during a bushfire
VFBV will be promoting the 5 common sense messages that we collaborated on with CFA for last year’s campaign;
1. Plan where to go and when, so you don’t have to decide at the last moment
2. Talk to your neighbours, family and friends about your plans
3. Pack your leave early kit now, so you can leave quickly when it’s time to go
4. Check Fire Danger Ratings daily. On hot, dry, windy days, check for warnings
5. Talk to your local brigade for tips & advice
Call the office on (03) 9886 1141 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to get things started.
2 Minute Briefing - Community Safety Advisory Committee
Issue 5, 19 May 2013
Quick snapshot of the priority issues and actions worked through at the most recent Joint Committee meeting between CFA and VFBV. (Meeting held 19/05/2013)
PLANNED BURNING SURVEY 2013
Continuing on from our last 2 Minute Briefing the Committee has suggested refinements to the content of the survey which will canvas the attitudes towards, experiences with and brigade expectations of planned burning.
Many brigades already use planned burning as excellent training and skills maintenance activities, and recognise that participating in planned burning contributes significantly to our understanding of fire behaviour and tactics. And yet brigades do not have the ability to track, report or recognise their members’ involvement through a CFA centralized system.
Recognising there are significant limitations on how much planned burning volunteers can do and that planned burning is a high risk activity requiring trained and experienced fire fighters and resources, the survey asks questions about brigade participation, past, present and future. The survey explores possible future brigade capacity to be more involved in planned burning operations, and the support volunteers would require, and allows members to indicate the barriers to brigade participation they see such as volunteer availability, access to training, skills maintenance opportunities, and equipment and resourcing requirements.
CFA is under increasing pressure to be more involved with planned burning, so it is vital that members assist with identifying any barriers or frustrations that prevent volunteers from being more involved. Your feedback to this survey will shape future CFA & Government policy.
RESIDENTIAL FIRE SAFETY CAMPAIGN 2013
Facts: More people die in Victoria each year from house fires – than they do from bushfires. Most fatal fires occur in the home! They can be prevented. One third of all residential fires occur in the kitchen. Under the CFA Act, Brigades are not only required to respond to these fires when they occur, but also to assist their community prevent these kind of fires in the first place.
The Home Fire Safety Campaign is a joint MFB/CFA campaign and it acknowledges the fact that house fires happen all year round. The campaign will commence in late May and will feature high profile chef ambassadors attracting the media and spreading the message about understanding fire risks in the home.
Delegates were briefed in the campaign details and are working with CFA to ensure the message reaches local and regional communities as well as metropolitan Melbourne.
VEGETATION MANAGEMENT
In addition to the Planned Burning Survey, the committee has requested CFA perform a review of its Vegetation Management Program to better understand the successes of the program as well as any barriers preventing VMO’s from assisting brigades with their needs. Brigades will be asked to contribute specific examples of vegetation management issues to the review as well as their feedback regarding their involvement with Vegetation Management Officers since the program commenced in 2010.
