October 27, 2022
Queensland’s fire-fighting and emergency services will be split into separate bodies following an independent review.
The State Government announced the shake-up on Wednesday as well as a $400 million commitment to provide “more resources, more personnel, improved equipment for crews and, importantly, better services for Queensland”.
The QFES (Queensland Fire and Emergency Service) will become the Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) and the Rural Fire Service (RFS) with its own dedicated budget.
It will have a clear focus on fire prevention, response and control.
The SES (State Emergency Service) and volunteer marine rescue services – to be renamed Marine Rescue Queensland (MRQ) – will become separate entities “hosted” by the Queensland Police Service (QPS).
The results of the independent review by KPMG were tabled in State Parliament by Minister for Fire and Emergency Services Mark Ryan.
The State Government will set up a Reform Implementation Taskforce, led by State Disaster Co-ordinator, Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski, to oversee the reorganisation.
The report also recommended the State Government review Queensland’s disaster management arrangements.
The Inspector-General Emergency Management, Alistair Dawson, has been tasked with proposing any necessary legislative reforms and updates to the State Disaster Management Plan.
“We are committed to providing additional funding to support not only the transition associated with the reforms but to permanently uplift the resourcing provided by government for the delivery of fire, emergency and disaster services,” Minister Ryan said.
QFES Commissioner Greg Leach welcomed the review and reiterated that emergency services would still be providing communities with the highest level of response.
“I can assure Queenslanders that during this period of transition, our level of service delivery will not change from what Queenslanders have come to expect, particularly with the severe weather season on our doorstep,” he said.
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll said the changes would streamline co-ordination and improve interoperability with the existing capabilities of the QPS.
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The State Government has promised:
- A substantial increase to the SES annual baseline budget to approximately $60 million for more staff and more resources, including safety equipment, vehicles and vessels
- Establishment of MRQ with an annual baseline budget of approximately $27 million
- A resourcing boost to the RFS of more than 100 extra FTE positions and funding for new appliances, facilities and equipment
- An extra 143 firefighter positions for the FRS (bringing the total commitment to an additional 500 firefighter positions over six years from July 1, 2020); additional funding and 30 extra FTE positions for the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) to support further disaster preparedness programs and initiatives
- Dedicated annual funding of about $20 million for disaster management functions.
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The Rural Fire Brigades Association Queensland (RFBAFQ) – which represents rural firefighters – has welcomed the announcement with a statement on its website:
“Where we are going is a Rural Fire Service that has a Chief Officer, separate and empowering Rural Fire Service Act, a separate Rural Fire Service Budget, a Rural Fires Board and the autonomy to choose the number of regions and districts that are needed to service the brigades.
“There are more RFSQ Staff coming in more RFSQ Area Offices to provide more support and training for brigades and more money to buy trucks, sheds, toilets and floors.
“This is the great leap forward that other States made years ago and we are starting to journey now.”
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