DFES Meeting – 12 April 2013
The SESVA Presdent David Price and Secretary Gordon Hall met with DFES’s Dave Caporn Executive Director, Governance and Strategy to discuss a number of matters as outlined below.
Insurance equity for Volunteers
Overview: Insurance equity is about to have a common insurance coverage for Volunteers under the DFES umbrella. This is now a project within DFES and a Consultative Group is being setup. The SESVA has called for expressions of interest from SES Volunteers who wish to be considered as a member of this group.
Amalgamation of legislation
Overview: This project is about DFES carrying out a review into the amalgamation of the Fire Brigades act of 1942, the Bush Fires act of 1954 and the Fire and Emergency Act of 1998. The first phase of this project, about creating an awareness of the legislative review process, getting views, ideas, submissions and issues raised (fact finding) is nearly completed. The next phase will involve DFES developing an Options Paper for dissemination and discussion to many groups throughout the state. This next phase is quite involved and the SESVA feels it is likely to be July/August before the briefing of Volunteer groups on the Options Paper will eventuate.
Presumptive legislation
Overview: This legislation is about coverage for the 12 occupational cancers caused by fire and chemicals. Development of models for presumptive legislation for career staff and Volunteer responders will be carried out by DFES. There are already a number of models and precedents that already exist in this country for career staff however there are no models or precedents to assist DFES for Volunteer responders. DFES will be working on models for both career staff and Volunteer responders however as there are currently no models for Volunteers, the WA model for the career staff will be done much quicker than the development of a new model for the Volunteers in this state.
Reported by Gordon Hall
