Fire Services Levy Review

I received my periodic Small Business newsletter from the Victorian state government today and one articl in particular caught my eye with the title - "Fire Services Levy Review"...

The State Government last week announced that it would undertake a review of the Fire Services Levy and has released a Green Paper which identifies several potential options for funding of fire services. Submissions will be called for from June 2010 with a closing date for comments on the Green Paper of 15 July 2010.

The article included a link to the Department of Treasury & Finance where the subtext of this 'headline' can be read...

Its best at this point that I quote directly from the Governments own "Green Paper" on the matter;

Following the 2009 Victorian Bushfires (the Bushfires), several questions have been raised on the funding of the fire services through the current insurance?based model. The Bushfires have understandably led to a call on both Government and the insurers to pay for the increased ongoing cost from bolstering preventative and protective fire services. In particular, some suggest that the impost on the insured is too high and has become a disincentive for property owners to adequately insure. This is exacerbated by the fact that non?insured property owners who do not contribute towards the funding of the fire services receive the same protective fire services as insured property owners. The result is a funding burden spread across a smaller proportion of insured property owners.

In 2003, the Government conducted a similar review and concluded that "...this report concluded that the current funding arrangement is stable, administratively efficient, cost?effective and ensures fire services have adequate funding." so what has changed?

Another interesting observation about the Green Paper is that it is referred to as a "...draft policy document, designed to stimulate community discussion and invite public comment on the proposed policy response...". The Government has invited public comment on the Green Paper commencing June 2010 with comments closing on July 15.

The Government also outlines the other costs associated with the preventative fire safety in the Green Paper which are not directly funded by the fire services levy. I read into this that the Government may also seeking to increase the levy to cover these costs.

The bottom line... I suspect that the current funding model will change, to distribute the cost of the Fire Services Levy more equitably between the insured and uninsured, its also highly possible we will see a change in the current model will lead to an increase in the total revenue from by the revised levy...

If you want more information you can visit the Department of Treasury & Finance or download the Green Paper.

Feedback to the Government can be submitted by post or email after June 2010 and before July 15, 2010;

By post:
Fire Services Project
Department of Treasury and Finance
1 Treasury Place
East Melbourne
Vic 3002

By email:
fireservicesproject@dtf.vic.gov.au

If your interested in this matter, I encourage you to download and read the Green Paper (its only 24 pages) and become educated. You may even have something valuable to contribute to the debate...

Russ