9 Emergency services for fire and other events CONTENTS 9.1 Profile of emergency services for fire and other events 9.1 9.2 Framework of performance indicators 9.4 9.3 Key performance indicator results 9.6 9.4 Definitions of key terms 9.22 9.5 References 9.22 Attachment tables Attachment tables are identified in references throughout this chapter by a ‘9A’ prefix (for example, table 9A.1) and are available from the website www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report- on-government-services. The focus of performance reporting in this chapter is on emergency services for fire events. Descriptive information is included on emergency services for other events, with performance reporting to be developed for future Reports. Further information on the Report on Government Services including other reported service areas, the glossary and list of abbreviations is available at https://www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report-on-government-services. 9.1 Profile of emergency services for fire and other events Service overview An emergency event is an event that endangers or threatens to endanger life, property and/or the environment, and requires a significant and coordinated response. A fire event is an incident that is reported to a fire service organisation and requires a response. Fire events include (but are not limited to): EMERGENCY SERVICES FOR FIRE AND OTHER EVENTS 9.1 structure fires (that is, fires inside a building or structure), regardless of whether there is damage to the structure landscape fires, including bushfires and grass fires, regardless of the size of the area burnt other fires, including vehicle and other mobile property fires, and outside rubbish fires. Other events that require an emergency response from fire and/or state and territory emergency services include road crash rescue, floods, storms and other natural disasters. Roles and responsibilities Fire service organisations and state and territory emergency services (STES) are some of the primary agencies involved in providing emergency services for fire and other events. The role of these organisations varies across jurisdictions but commonly includes prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery activities. Detailed activities by jurisdiction for fire service organisations and STES are available in tables 9A.1 and 9A.18 respectively. Each State and Territory government operates multiple emergency service agencies, which service different populations and geographic areas according to specified governance arrangements (table 9A.2). Fire and STES service organisations work closely with other government departments and agencies that also have responsibilities in the case of fire and other emergency events. This chapter covers the finances and activities of urban and rural fire service agencies and, for selected tables and jurisdictions, the fire event finances and activities of land management agencies (tables 9A.4–17), and STES (tables 9A.18–23). Funding In 2017-18, the total revenue of fire service organisations was $4.1 billion and for STES was $226.5 million (table 9.1). 9.2 REPORT ON GOVERNMENT SERVICES 2019 Table 9.1 Revenue of fire service organisations and STES organisations (2017-18 dollars) ($ million)a NSW Vic Qld WA SA Tas ACT NT Aust Fire service organisations 2017-18 1 165.9 1 424.6 666.3 420.4 230.5 97.4 72.9 44.4 4 122.3 2016-17 1 102.2 1 318.8 630.9 399.0 226.6 87.6 66.9 40.1 3 872.1 2015-16 1 073.6 1 246.2 614.4 403.4 226.8 139.3 70.5 35.5 3 809.7 2014-15 1 053.7 1 177.4 643.3 377.6 219.3 76.4 70.5 40.0 3 658.4 2013-14 1 153.7 1 252.9 651.4 357.2 217.6 77.6 65.8 34.1 3 810.4 STES organisationsb 2017-18 112.7 64.9 19.2 na 20.2 5.1 2.0 2.3 226.5 2016-17 132.5 65.4 20.5 na 20.5 4.9 1.6 3.9 249.4 2015-16 116.1 56.0 20.6 na 17.0 5.5 2.1 3.4 220.6 2014-15 109.6 56.6 9.6 na 16.4 5.7 2.2 na 200.1 2013-14 92.6 58.2 10.7 na na 5.2 2.1 3.3 172.0 a See tables 9A.4 and 9A.19 for detailed footnotes and caveats. b Total of jurisdictions where data are available. na Not available. Source: State and Territory governments (unpublished); tables 9A.4 and 9A.19. Jurisdictions have a range of funding models to resource fire service organisations and STES organisations. For fire services, government grants are the largest source of revenue (47.5 per cent of total funding in 2017-18) (table 9A.4). Levies are the largest source of STES revenue (57.2 per cent of total funding in 2017-18) (table 9A.19). The Australian Government provides funding to State and Territory governments through programs including: The Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements provides assistance with relief and recovery efforts following an eligible natural disaster event. Total cash payments to states and territories in 2017-18 totalled $334.9 million (Australian Government 2018)1. Allocations vary across jurisdictions and over time depending on the timing and nature of natural disaster events The Natural Disaster Resilience Program provides funding to strengthen community resilience to natural disasters. In 2017-18, funding was $48.2 million (table 9A.5). The Australian Government also provides financial support to eligible individuals affected by a disaster, with payments in 2017-18 of $1.5 million (table 9A.5). 1 This figure differs from the estimates in table 9A.5, which reflect payments to states on an accruals basis. EMERGENCY SERVICES FOR FIRE AND OTHER EVENTS 9.3 Size and scope Human resources Nationally in 2017-18, 20 297 full time equivalent (FTE) paid personnel were employed by fire service organisations, with the majority (77.0 per cent) firefighters. A large number of volunteer personnel (212 293 people) also participated in the delivery of services in 2017-18. The proportion of volunteer personnel and the nature of their role varied across jurisdictions (table 9A.6). For STES, the majority of personnel were volunteers, with 23 897 state and territory emergency services volunteers and 731 paid staff in 2017-18. The proportion of volunteer and paid personnel and the nature of their roles varied across jurisdictions (table 9A.21). Demand for emergency services Fire service organisations and STES provide emergency response and rescue services for a range of fire and other emergency events. Nationally in 2017-18, fire service organisations attended a total of 387 939 emergency incidents, of which 100 227 were fire events (table 9A.11) and STES organisations attended a total of 52 310 incidents (excluding Queensland), of which 39 933 were storm and cyclone events (table 9A.22). 9.2 Framework of performance indicators The performance indicator framework is based on governments’ common objectives for emergency services (box 9.1). Box 9.1 Objectives for emergency services for fire and other events Emergency services for fire and other events aim to reduce the adverse effects of events on the community (including people, property, infrastructure, economy and environment). Governments’ involvement is aimed at providing emergency services that: contribute to the communities management of risks and its preparedness, through the promotion of risk reduction and mitigation activities are accessible, responsive and sustainable. Governments aim for emergency services to meet these objectives in an equitable and efficient manner. The performance indicator framework provides information on equity, efficiency and effectiveness, and distinguishes the outputs and outcomes of emergency services for fire 9.4 REPORT ON GOVERNMENT SERVICES 2019 events (figure 9.1). In future reports, the scope of performance indicators will be extended to include other emergency services that prepare for, respond to, and recover from, any emergency event. The performance indicator framework shows which data are complete and comparable in the 2019 Report. For data that are not considered directly comparable, text includes relevant caveats and supporting commentary. Chapter 1 discusses data comparability, data completeness and information on data quality from a Report-wide perspective. In addition to section 9.1, the Report’s Statistical context chapter contains data that may assist in interpreting the performance indicators presented in this chapter (chapter 2). Chapters 1 and 2 are available from the website at www.pc.gov.au/research/ongoing/report-on-government- services. Improvements to performance reporting for emergency services are ongoing and include identifying data sources to fill gaps in reporting for performance indicators and measures, and improving the comparability and completeness of data. Figure 9.1 Emergency services for fire and other events performance indicator framework Response times by geographic area Equity Access Access by special needs groups Fire death rate Objectives Response Response times Accidental residential structure fires Prevention/ Effectiveness Fire injury rate mitigation Confinement to room/ PERFORMANCE object of origin Households with a Preparedness smoke alarm Value of asset losses from fire Sustainability Firefighter workforce events Efficiency Expenditure per person Outputs Outcomes Key to indicators* Text Most recent data for all measures are comparable and complete Text Most recent data for at least one measure are comparable and complete Text Most recent data for all measures are either not comparable and/or not complete Text No data reported and/or no measures yet developed * A description of the comparability and completeness of each measure is provided in indicator interpretation boxes within the chapter EMERGENCY SERVICES FOR FIRE AND OTHER EVENTS 9.5 9.3 Key performance indicator results Different delivery contexts, locations and types of clients can affect the equity, effectiveness and efficiency of fire services.