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. 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, you must make a claim directly with the CFA using the approved claim for compensation form. If you are claiming lost income, you will need to submit the form with a medical certificate and proof of your 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 reduced 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 your compensation entitlements that you disagree with, you cannot have the decision re-assessed on its merits. Instead, you have 60 days to seek judicial review by issuing proceedings in the Supreme Court.
Entitlements under the Regulations
Medical expenses
- You are entitled to claim the cost of reasonable medical and like expenses incurred as a result of your injury.
- The CFA may vary, reduce or terminate payments for medical and like expenses if it reasonably believes that you 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 you miss work as a result of your injury, you can claim lost earnings. This will be paid based on your pre-injury average weekly earnings for 156 weeks. After this period, the amount payable may be reduced depending on your capacity for work. You will need to provide the CFA with certificates of capacity from your treating medical practitioner.
- The CFA will determine your pre-injury average weekly earnings based largely on earnings information you provide.
- If it has been determined incorrectly, your 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 you wait for the CFA to determine your claim, you may be entitled to an interim payment of a maximum of six weeks of lost income and medical and like expenses.
- If you have suffered a mental injury, the CFA must pay your reasonable medical and like expenses while it is considering your claim, for a maximum of 13 weeks.
Dependent benefits
- If you 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, you may be entitled to compensation.
Permanent disability lump sum
- If you have been left with a permanent injury, you 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 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 volunteers with this comfort, and to ensure the scheme is clear, transparent and accessible for all.
Author: Isabella Thomas
How can I learn more?
After seeing the impact of a life-changing injury suffered by someone close to her, Isabella chose to become a lawyer driven by her passion to support people who have been affected by injustice and hardship.
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