CFA Regulations review falls short on fair compensation access for volunteers

16 October 2025

Country Fire Authority (CFA) volunteer firefighters are entitled to compensation for a physical or mental injury sustained during their service with the CFA.

While the CFA compensation scheme is influenced by WorkCover, it operates differently and is governed by its own legislation, the Country Fire Authority Regulations 2025 (Regulations). These Regulations not only govern compensation entitlements but also many operational matters for the CFA and are reviewed every 10 years.

Earlier this year, the Australian Lawyers Alliance made submissions to the Victorian Government advocating for changes to improve the delivery of compensation to volunteer firefighters.

New Regulations governing the CFA compensation scheme have now come into effect for the next 10 years. The new Regulations have not implemented any of the changes outlined, missing an opportunity to strengthen the rights of volunteers, and provide clarity, transparency, and greater effectiveness to the compensation scheme.

Making a claim

Under the new Regulations, volunteers must make a claim directly with the CFA using the approved claim for compensation form. If they are claiming lost income, volunteers will need to submit the form with a medical certificate and proof of their pre-injury earnings.

Time limits

The Regulations do not stipulate timeframes for CFA to consider applications, seek further information, or make determinations. Some members wait unreasonably excessive times for decisions on time-sensitive matters like medical treatment and weekly payments.

We have been advocating for specific timeframes to be introduced to the Regulations, to tighten CFA’s obligations and reduce the impact on injured volunteers.

The new Regulations include an objective to enable the effective and expeditious rehabilitation and recovery of injured members, and to ensure appropriate compensation is paid as expeditiously as possible to injured members. However, ‘expeditiously’ is not defined, and no timeframes have been introduced.

Disputing decisions 

Unlike WorkCover, the CFA compensation scheme does not provide avenues for injured people to dispute or appeal decisions. If the CFA has made a decision affecting a volunteer’s compensation entitlements that they disagree with, they cannot have the decision re-assessed on its merits. Instead, they have 60 days to seek judicial review by issuing proceedings in the Supreme Court.

Entitlements under the Regulations 

Medical expenses 

• Volunteers are entitled to claim the cost of reasonable medical and like expenses incurred as a result of injury.
• The CFA may vary, reduce or terminate payments for medical and like expenses if it reasonably believes that they are not or are no longer entitled to them. The Regulations do not set out the CFA’s consideration process or provide an avenue to have the merits of the decision reviewed.
  

Weekly payments for lost earnings 

• If volunteers miss work as a result of injury, they can claim lost earnings. This will be paid based on their pre-injury average weekly earnings for 156 weeks. After this period, the amount payable may be reduced depending on their capacity for work. They will need to provide the CFA with certificates of capacity from their treating medical practitioner.
• The CFA will determine their pre-injury average weekly earnings based largely on earnings information they provide.
• If it has been determined incorrectly, the rate of weekly payments can be altered by request. It still remains at the discretion of the CFA whether to alter the decision and if the decision is altered, the date the alteration applies from.

Interim payments 

• While a volunteer waits for the CFA to determine their claim, they may be entitled to an interim payment of a maximum of six weeks of lost income and medical and like expenses.
• If they have suffered a mental injury, the CFA must pay them reasonable medical and like expenses while it is considering their claim, for a maximum of 13 weeks.
  

Dependent benefits 

• If someone were wholly, mainly or partly dependent on the earnings of a CFA member who has passed away as a result of an injury arising in the course of their CFA duties, they may be entitled to compensation.
  

Permanent disability lump sun 

• If a volunteer has been left with a permanent injury, they may be entitled to claim a lump sum benefit.
  

Missed opportunity 

In the matter of Sumner v Country Fire Authority [2024] VSC 403, her Honour Richards J noted at [58] that a purpose of the CFA Legislation is:

"to assist the CFA to achieve its objective of supporting ‘the effective and sustainable recruitment, development and retention of volunteer officers and members’ in order to provide a fully volunteer fire fighting service. The volunteer compensation scheme is an organisational arrangement designed to ‘encourage, maintain and strengthen the capacity’ of volunteers to provide the CFA’s services … All of these objectives would be more difficult to achieve if volunteers did not have the comfort of knowing that, if they are injured in the course of their service, they are entitled to compensation including their medical and like expenses."

In failing to incorporate changes to the compensation scheme, the Victorian Government has missed an opportunity to provide volunteer firefighters with this comfort, and to ensure the scheme is clear, transparent and accessible for all.

The ALA thanks Isabella Thomas for this contribution.

This is an edited version of an article first published by Robinson Gill Lawyers

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the authors and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the Australian Lawyers Alliance.

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