We have been listening to your feedback on the proposed new Fire and Emergency Management design. Formal consultation commenced on 9 December 2014 and concluded on the 9 March 2015. The proposed design is intended to reinforce our focus on delivering services to the community and to support brigades to do their job. It aims to organise resources closest to the point of service delivery.
The proposed changes need to be seen in the context of:
- a new Government with new commitments;
- the evolution of Emergency Management Victoria;
- changes at the Executive level and a reorganisation of functions and teams;
- the review of the Volunteer Support Program, which will allocate additional resources to F&EM; and
- on-going discussion and negotiation with industrial bodies.
A range of feedback has been received through the survey, briefings and detailed submissions. Some of the key themes included:
- support for a consistent scalable resource model across all Districts that must be able to be influenced by local risk and need;
- support for the service delivery model and the service delivery strategy;
- limited succession opportunities between employment streams; [needs more examination]
- requests to change role classifications [classifications continue to be based on position descriptions]
- show the linkages to other Directorates so the total picture of systems of work are apparent;
- concern that the restructure appears to be an “accounting exercise” [CFA is a public sector organisation and we have a responsibility to have the most efficient and effective structure in place]
- impact on the ability of PTA staff to provide operational and incident management support;
- a lack of clarity about how embedded functions will operate (i.e. Finance, Human Resources);
- numerous questions about the future approach to training delivery and whether training delivery should be under the Chief Officer; [this is the subject of current discussion at the Executive level]
- the need for greater support to community safety functions; [this is the subject of ongoing discussion around the utilisation of summer preparedness funding]
- differing views on operational titles; and [will be considered as part of the Enterprise Bargaining Agreement]
- gaps in provision of personnel with specialist technical ability i.e. aviation, fire investigation. [options are being considered]
As a result of feedback the following propositions will not proceed:
- replacing the Manager Community Safety role with the Manager Prevention and Preparedness; and
- removal of the Brigade Administration Support Co-ordinator role.
Where to from here:
- further discussion with industrial bodies;
- appointment of an F&EM Transition Manager and regional transition contacts;
- endorsement by the CFA Executive Leadership Team of F&EM’s final design (which has minimal departure from the F&EM HQ structure currently in place);
- finalisation of position descriptions;
- examination of substantive positions (under new design) against current workforce;
- development of a Transition Plan; and
- a re-examination of the F&EM HQ structure against the reorganisation of Directorate functions and teams announced by the CEO.
I thank you for your patience. Restructuring is never easy. We will keep on communicating progress regularly. We expect to be well progressed with the Region and District matching process by the end of May. In the meantime, enquiries should be directed to your AC/O, DC/O or Executive Manager.
Author: Euan Ferguson