Message from the President re the new SES funding model

The New South Wales Government's announcement in the mini-budget that the SES funding structure will be brought into line with other Emergency Services, namely the NSW Fire Brigades and the Rural Fire Service is welcome news to SES Volunteers.

This funding structure essentially guarantees the funding for SES and the Minister for Emergency Services Tony Kelly’s office has assured me that current legislation requiring Local Government to provide such things as Unit Headquarters and Office Equipment, Emergency Vehicles and Fuel etc, will remain in tact.

Under the proposed funding structure Councils will now be required to provide 11.7% of the emergency services budgets, an actual decrease of 1.7% and the Minister’s office indicated to me that some Councils may even pay less under this new funding structure than they are paying with the current funding structure.

SES Volunteers are still concerned because they still do not know the intricate workings of the new funding arrangement and I have requested a meeting with the Minister of Emergency Services Tony Kelly and the SESVA Executive so those concerns can be addressed.

I will notify you of the outcome of that meeting in due course.

David Lane
President NSW SESVA