Joint Statement - Labor's great big new fire tax increase

Joint Statement – Labor’s great big new fire tax increase

Danny O’Brien, Leader of The Nationals

James Newbury, Shadow Treasurer

The Allan Labor Government’s tabling of the Fire Services Property Amendment (Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund) Bill 2025 (Bill) has confirmed it is a great big new tax, that will hit Victorians harder than expected.

The new tax will slug Victorians an extra $2.1 billion over the next three years, including an additional $610.9 million in 2025-26, by expanding the scope of its collection.

Not only will the new tax hit Victorians harder and more broadly, the draft Bill confirms that the government is tightening the screws on tax exemptions.

Despite promises of exemptions for volunteers, the government will implement a rebate system that will be administered by a yet to be named agency.

In a further attack on farmers already facing a levy increase of 189 per cent, the legislation states that exemptions on farmers will be capped at a yet to be determined land value (Section 20D(b)).

Third party rights will be cut, with the government flagging amendments to the Constitution Act, prohibiting the Emergency Services and Volunteer Fund rate from being reviewable by the Supreme Court (Section 19).

Shadow Treasurer, James Newbury, said: “The Labor Government has confirmed what we had feared, they are brazenly turning a funding mechanism that should have been focused on emergency service funding into a great big new tax”.

“What’s worse is that the Labor Government is nastily tightening the screws on our emergency services volunteers by forcing them to pay the tax and offering a miserly and complicated rebate scheme to seek re-imbursement. No-one will be surprised when volunteers seeking a rebate see their calls go unanswered by this government”.

Shadow Minister for Emergency Services, Danny O’Brien, said the increased tax was evidence Labor can’t manage money.

“Under the pretext of supporting volunteers, what Labor is actually doing is taxing Victorians more for services that have always been core government business funded from consolidated revenue.

“Victorians already pay for public service agencies such as Emergency Management Victoria, Forest Fire Management Victoria and Triple Zero, and now they’re being asked to pay even more.

“Labor can’t manage money and Victorians are paying the price.”

Danny O’Brien, Leader of The Nationals

James Newbury, Shadow Treasurer