On Wednesday the 21st of May, about 250 CFA trucks and crews drove to Melbourne in the early hours of the morning to protest the new Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF) tax. On the steps of Parliament house, volunteer fire fighters from the bush and career fire fighters joined forces to call on the government to "scrap the tax".
Many of you will have been at, or seen the protest on TV or social media, and want to know exactly how it will affect your farm finances. The table below compares the old Fire Services Property Levy (FSPL) withe new Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF). The increase is different for each class of property, with farmers having to endure the largest increase of 86%.
|
Sector
|
FSPL (2024-25) | ESVF (2025-26) | ||||
| Variable rate (cents per $1,000 CIV) | Fixed charge ($) | Variable rate (cents per $1,000 CIV) | Fixed charge ($) | Increase $ | Increase % | |
| Primary Production | 28.7 | 267 | 71.8 | 275 | $539.00 | 86.80% |
| Residential PPR | 8.7 | 132 | 17.3 | 136 | $63.00 | 32.98% |
| Residential non-PPR | 8.7 | 132 | 17.3 | 136 | $63.00 | 32.98% |
| Commercial | 66.4 | 267 | 133 | 275 | $491.00 | 65.64% |
| Industrial | 81.1 | 267 | 133 | 275 | $387.00 | 45.05% |
| Public Benefit | 5.7 | 267 | 5.7 | 275 | $8.00 | 2.50% |
| Vacant | 29 | 267 | N/A | N/A | ||
To know how much you will pay:
- Get the Capital Improved Value (CIV) of your farm from your council rates notice
- and then apply the formula ((CIV your farm/1000) x 0.718) + $275 =
Farm Levy Comparison
Compare ESVF Levy with previous FSPL
Find this value on your council rates notice
New ESVF Levy: ((CIV ÷ 1000) × 0.718) + $275
Previous FSPL: ((CIV ÷ 1000) × 0.287) + $267
Need help finding your Capital Improved Value? Check your most recent council rates notice or contact your local council.
For example
| Current rates (2024-25) | Proposed rates (2025-26) | |||||||
| Farm Value CIV | Var Charge | Fixed Charge | Total payable | Var Charge | Fixed Charge | Total payable | $ increase | % increase |
| 1,000,000 | $287.00 | 267 | $554.00 | $718.00 | 275 | $993.00 | $431.00 | 79.24% |
| 5,000,000 | $1,435.00 | 267 | $1,702.00 | $3,590.00 | 275 | $3,865.00 | $2,155.00 | 127.09% |
| 10,000,000 | $2,870.00 | 267 | $3,137.00 | $7,180.00 | 275 | $7,455.00 | $4,310.00 | 137.65% |
There will be some form of rebate available for eligible volunteers including all active VICSES and CFA operational and support volunteers. To be eligible for the rebate, volunteers will need to have served for at least 12 months, have passed probation, and not be suspended on disciplinary grounds or have taken a leave of absence for the entire duration of the preceding 12 months.
Information will be provided to volunteers about the rebate and how to access it ahead of the commencement of the ESVF on 1 July 2025.
We posted some footage of the protest on the Farmo titok account and got a record number of comments from people supporting, disagreeing and wanting to know more. If you want to see the comments you can click on the links below
Farmo titok1
