Council
30 January, 2026
SES let down Britnell says
EMERGENCY service volunteers who generously give their time to protect lives and communities are once again being let down according to Member for South West Coast, Roma Britnell.
According to Ms Britnell, the Minister for Emergency Services (Vikki Ward), having overseen the Emergency Services Volunteer Fund,is now refusing to take responsibility for its impact on volunteers.
“The so called ‘Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund’, introduced last year despite widespread community opposition, forces SES units to pay a levy on the buildings that house their lifesaving equipment,” Ms Britnell said
“These buildings are not commercial assets, they are volunteer sheds, maintained and operated by people who rely entirely on fundraising to operate.
“Volunteer organisations do not earn an income. Their only source of funding comes from sausage sizzles, donations, raffles, and community events.
“That means this levy is not being paid by government and not absorbed by bureaucracy. It is paid by volunteers working longer hours simply to hand money back to the state for the privilege of serving their communities. The irony is staggering.”
In a statement released last week, Ms Britnell said that when she made representations to the Minister, pointing out the absurdity and asking for an exemption in these cases, she responded by handballing responsibility to the Treasurer and refused to act.
“Despite clear authority to exempt certain groups, as has rightly been done for farmers experiencing drought, emergency service volunteer sheds have been left out,” she said.
“This is not just a policy failure, it is a failure of respect. Local SES units, including Portland SES, have made it clear that there is no money with which to pay this bill.
“As the SES volunteers said, the government can wait as long as it likes, but the unit cannot pay a tax without revenue,” Ms Britnell said.
“And what is the government going to do? Sack the volunteers and close down the SES.”
Ms Britnell believes the “inevitable outcome of this approach” will be fewer resources, fewer volunteers, and weaker emergency preparedness.
“Victorians deserve better than another bill from a government that leans on the goodwill of volunteers to keep our communities safe.”
