On behalf of the CFA Volunteers Group, we are calling for urgent transparency around the new Emergency Services Volunteer Rebate Scheme.
The Victorian Government claims that 55,126 CFA and VICSES volunteers are “covered” by the scheme, yet provides no explanation of how this figure was reached.
The CFA’s own reporting lists more than 50,000 CFA volunteers alone, but there is no public data showing how many actually meet the rebate’s strict criteria or how many are being ruled ineligible.
Volunteers across the state are already reporting rejections without clear reasons, including long-serving members caught out by administrative or technical issues.
A scheme intended to recognise service should not become a source of confusion or inequity.
We call on the government to release full eligibility and rejection statistics and improve verification and appeals processes.
Volunteers deserve clarity, fairness and respect — not uncertainty.
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