Update from State AGM and General Meeting

CFSVA Change of President

Welcome to David Lindner who was elected the CFSVA President. Farewell and thanks to Andy Wood who retired as the CFSVA State President after 6 years in the role. Welcome also to Steve Carn who was elected CFSVA Deputy Vice President.

Sad Message

It is with great sadness that we note the passing of Dr Phil Reeve, a long term CFS volunteer and Chair of COAC. We extend our kindest thoughts and since sympathy to Sue and family.

By-election – CFSVA State Vice President

At the 2021 CFSVA AGM a casual vacancy for the position of Deputy Vice Presidents was declared, and a by-election to fill the position has been called.

CFS: Code of Conduct:

CFS recently added a Professional Standards Officer to staff – Barry Sheppard.
CFSVA to meet in the near future with him to address CFS Disciplinary Policy

CFS Volunteer Charter:

All parties (CFSVA / CFS / SAFECOM) have now signed off on the CFS Volunteer Charter. The final draft of the charter has been sent to a graphic designer to prepare document for signing
No date has been set for signing.

Return to Work:

No further update at this stage.
Current process is that volunteers who require ongoing treatment for an injury sustained in the line of duty (which is deemed to be under 30% disability) can apply for an ex-gratia payment to cover on going costs.
The payment is approved by the Treasurer and managed by SAFECOM, and is not a lump sum payment.

Fire District Boundary Review Process

Draft Boundary Changes Policy paper distributed for comment.

This continues to raise issues amongst volunteers:
RNAT tool considered flawed and other method of assessing response times must be considered.
It was felt that the longer term consequences of boundary changes were not considered.
Volunteers felt disenfranchised during the consultation process.
Disappointment expressed at the attitude of some regions during this process.

The chief has subsequently postponed the implementation of the new rules, scheduled for November 30th, to next April. – Richard

AVL Project

The successful tenderer has been announced. The rollout process to commence in the near future.

We continue to take a proactive role with an update from the SAFECOM working group scheduled for later this month.

SAFECOM Update

Welcome to Julia Waddington-Powell who was recently appointed the CEO of SAFECOM. Julia comes with a refreshing approach and we look forward to working with her.

CFSVA Future Direction – Pre-election lobbying

The CFSVA has commenced its pre-election lobbying, and will provide further details as this evolves.