Frontline firefighters gear up with $365m boost

The state government has announced a $365m investment into CFA and forest firefighter upgrades as part of its upcoming 2026/27 budget. The funding includes $100m to be allocated to expand CFA’s fleet of new tankers and pumpers, and $26.2m will to go towards station builds, planning, land acquisition at 10 CFA brigades across Victoria. A further $22.4m will go towards CFA volunteer wellbeing support, training and new protective gear. A $217m investment will go to Forest Fire Management Victoria to purchase 17 new assets including heavy tankers, dozers and graders, deliver upgrades to the vehicle fleet, secure the critical aviation fire fleet and conduct more planned burns and fuel management. A state government spokesperson said the funding is designed to support volunteer CFA firefighters and forest firefighting services as Victoria faces more frequent and severe fire seasons, particularly in regional and rural areas. “Our volunteer and forest firefighters are on the frontline, protecting us when we need it most,” Minister for Emergency Services Vicki Ward said. “We’ll keep delivering the equipment and facilities they need to keep Victorians safe. “With this investment, our emergency services volunteers can keep doing this vital work for years to come.” The state government spokesperson said a majority of the investments would be distributed by CFA and FFMVic based on operational requirements and need. The investment comes on the back of a horror bushfire season in the state which included large-scale fires in the North East including at Longwood, Walwa and Markwood. It was not clear how much of the funding came from the Emergency Services Volunteer Fund levy, which was controversially implemented in July last year. The state government introduced a two-year rate freeze for farmers under the levy in December last year, while planned increases to the levy were deferred to 1 July, 2027 for investment properties, citing time was needed to finalise and test "information sharing arrangements". The property value threshold under the new tax for volunteer exemptions also rose from $5 million to $10 million. The full 2026/27 Victorian government budges will be announced on 5 May.

Frontline firefighters gear up with $365m boost

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