Finding one: Agencies have implemented all the recommendations made in FSIM’s previous annual reports and are starting to realise the benefits at a strategic level
In response to FSIM’s recommendation in the 2022/23 annual report, DJCS completed a review of all the remaining actions in the Year 2-5 Implementation Plan. This review was completed in consultation with CFA, FRV and the FRB and the revised actions were approved as a change request by the Minister in July 2024. The scope of the review was narrower than FSIM had envisaged in its recommendation, with several actions moving to business-as-usual. FSIM will continue to monitor the implementation of these completed actions through effectiveness assessments in future to examine impact (i.e. intended and unintended outcomes) and better understand implementation challenges.
FSIM is satisfied that agencies have a shared understanding of the definition and principles of complementary fire services and looks forward to its application in decision-making. This was a recommendation in FSIM’s 2021/22 annual report but this was completed in 2023/24.
FSIM is also satisfied that DJCS has established relevant governance arrangements to address financial sustainability for agencies in the emergency management sector, including CFA and FRV. This was in response to a recommendation in FSIM’s 2021/22 annual report.
Lastly, in response to FSIM’s recommendations in its 2022/23 annual report, CFA and the Community Safety Building Authority (CSBA) jointly established operational procedures to evaluate station replacement and upgrade projects managed by CSBA as part of action 3.2. CFA also developed a fire services reform dashboard tracking tool to be used as a shared resource by CFA and FRV to monitor the progress of the agreements and guidelines being developed under action 3.9 against the consultation workflow process.
Finding two: Long-standing systemic issues are a significant barrier to progressing actions jointly led by CFA and FRV c
The long-standing systemic issues outlined below have been extensively commented on by FSIM in all previous annual reports. These systemic issues continued to impact on the completion of relevant implementation plan actions in 2023/24.
FSIM continues to observe that while agencies have made progress delivering actions they are leading individually, systemic issues relating to FRV’s consultation requirements and the current framework for community infrastructure service delivery continue to present barriers to delivering joint actions that underpin the reform.
FRV is required to consult with the UFU and reach consensus via the Operational Consultative Committee process before implementing any matter or change relating to FRV employees. As FSIM has noted in previous annual reports, and has continued to observe in 2023/24, this requirement presents a significant barrier to progressing important reform-related matters, with the Operational Consultative Committee’s outcome falling outside the control or ability of any one agency to influence. This has often resulted in significant delays to completing an action or important matters being put on hold with no clear pathway for resolution. It has also stymied proposed workarounds by agencies to address entrenched problems, resulting in significant operational implications for career and volunteer firefighters. In addition, due to the industrial bans in this reporting period, the Corporate and Technical Employees Consultative Committee only met twice and, on neither occasion considered matters pertaining to the Year 2-5 Implementation Plan actions (e.g. the Information Sharing MoU under action 3.12). As a result, there is a backlog of items for the Committee to work through, which could further delay progress on Year 2-5 Implementation Plan actions that require consultation.
Further, the barriers for delivering end-to-end services in the Country Area of Victoria (CAoV) continue to exist in the absence of necessary amendments to the Victorian Planning Provisions. While agencies have developed workarounds to address some of these barriers by co-delivering services in the CAoV, these workarounds have not been able to resolve issues of service duplication and inefficiencies. FSIM has commented further on this in its assessment of progress for action 3.9.
If these systemic issues are not addressed, and if agencies do not find another pathway to completing actions that require consultation and agreement with the UFU, there is a risk that actions 3.8, 3.9, 3.12 and 5.1 will not be delivered on time.
Finding three – Joint operational governance has not been effective in progressing interoperability initiatives between CFA and FRV
Establishing the Fire Services Operational Committee (FSOC) was a deliverable under action 3.7. CFA and FRV established FSOC in 2021 to identify and promote collaboration and interoperability opportunities and to strengthen working relations between the two agencies. FSOC has six sub-committees.
FSOC did not progress any work against a formalised workplan in 2023/24. FSIM has been advised that FSOC responded to ad-hoc issues instead. In this reporting period, FSOC and four of its sub-committees did not have a workplan. In addition, FSOC and one of its sub-committees cancelled up to six meetings this financial year due to key personnel not being available to meet. This presented a significant opportunity cost for CFA and FRV, who have important interoperability initiatives to progress, and contribute to, under relevant actions in the implementation plan (e.g. actions 3.8 and 3.9).
FSIM commented on these very same issues in relation to FSOC in its 2022/23 annual report and notes that these issues persisted for most of 2023/24. Towards the end of the reporting period, CFA and FRV heads of agencies (HoA) developed a draft workplan for FSOC’s endorsement and communicated expectations about FSOC meeting regularly in 2024/25 and reporting back to HoA on progress against the agreed workplan every quarter. FSIM will closely monitor FSOC’s quarterly progress updates to HoA and recommends that HoA take early action when FSOC is not delivering on its agreed workplan.
FSIM has also observed that there is some overlap in the responsibilities for joint operational working groups (i.e. FSOC, the Joint Child Safety Working Group and the Joint Secondment Workforce Advisory Group) in relation to ensuring FRV secondees are compliant with the Child Safe Standards (e.g. actions 3.8 and 5.1).
There is a risk that this overlap in responsibilities could result in duplication of effort, inconsistent messaging, reduced accountability and key deliverables not being completed. There is an opportunity for agencies to review these arrangements to streamline operational governance for delivering actions 3.8 and 5.1 to mitigate these risks.
Finding four – There continues to be challenges filling Assistant Chief Fire Offer (ACFO) and Commander vacancies in CFA, on both a permanent and relief basis
In 2023/24, CFA experienced a deficit of, on average, 17 senior operational leaders (i.e. Commanders and ACFOs) each week. This equates to 11 per cent of CFA’s operational workforce. At its worst, CFA experienced a deficit of 33 operational positions (i.e. 20.6 per cent of its operational workforce) for one week in 2023/24.
CFA reports that the vacancies have resulted in impacted CFA districts, groups, brigades and volunteers not receiving the dedicated operational support and leadership they need to ensure operational preparedness and readiness. CFA also reported that the vacancies are impacting on CFA’s ability to maintain operations against its statutory obligations and provide safe systems of work in relation to fatigue management of its seconded workforce.
The challenges filling vacancies and non-relief is a complex, multi-faceted issue that pre-dates the reform and is likely caused by a combination of factors. This includes personnel and organisational culture issues, staff being on medical leave, FRV’s ageing workforce, implementation of the secondment model, and FRV’s enterprise agreement and related corporate policies. FSIM has seen evidence of correspondence from CFA to FRV in 2023/24 raising concerns about the scale of the vacancy and non-relief issues experienced by CFA and acknowledging FRV’s efforts to address these issues.
Since the reform, there have been repeated instances where the interaction between FRV’s enterprise agreement and the secondment agreement has constrained CFA’s ability to effectively manage secondees and for FRV to address vacancy and non-relief of the seconded positions within CFA. FSIM acknowledges that CFA and FRV leadership, including FRV’s secondment management department, have made repeated attempts to address the vacancy and non-relief issues but these efforts have had limited impact due to these barriers.
FSIM may further investigate the matter in 2024/25 to better understand the extent to which these barriers are contributing to the vacancy and relief issues and the effectiveness of agency actions to address the issue.
Recommendation: Strengthen governance oversight and reporting for the outstanding actions
Agencies have established governance arrangements at the strategic and operational levels to support increased joint-agency collaboration and to progress reform activities.
FSIM recommends that agencies maximise the utility of these governance groups by increasing active governance oversight for all outstanding actions. This can be achieved by:
- FSR SEC providing active oversight of all the remaining actions in the implementation plan, with a priority focus on action 3.8, 3.9, 3.12 and 5.1, as these are at high-risk of not being completed on time.
- HoA providing active oversight of all the joint governance and working groups that report to it (e.g. FSOC and its sub-committees, the Joint Secondment Workforce Advisory Group and the Joint Child Safety Working Group).
- FSR SEC and HoA taking clear and decisive action to resolve issues, where there is a risk of an action not being completed on time or in line with the action objectives.
Active governance oversight must be supported by high-level implementation timelines and regular reporting of progress against these timelines. FSIM therefore recommends that to provide increased transparency and reporting of progress, agencies must:
- document the expected completion dates and key milestones for each of the remaining deliverables in the outstanding implementation plan actions, including issues and risks that are being actively monitored.
- provide HoA and FSR SEC regular reports of progress against the expected completion dates, with increased frequency of reporting (e.g. monthly) for the actions that are at high-risk of not being completed on time.
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