News

SitRep 21/2025

July 11, 2025

FRNSW’S ‘TANKER STRATEGY’

FRNSW’s ‘tanker strategy’ – discussed here in Sitrep 20/2025 – has continued to bewilder union officials this week as FRNSW blundered their way through yet another consultation meeting.

From what the FBEU can decipher, FRNSW is seeking to cut safe staffing levels for primary response across 10 separate retained stations, citing increased Ministerial pressure on the Department’s bottom line. FRNSW has developed several sources of external material in an attempt to ‘sell’ the initiative to members, local government, and other stakeholders. ‘Is it just about saving money?’ their FAQ (found here) asks. No, it’s about ‘optimising resource allocation’.

For those unaware of the history, FRNSW ‘optimised’ Peak Hill some time ago, resulting in this Code Red from the Union, which remains in place to this date. FRNSW has been quick to assert that Peak Hill was never a ‘trial’ – turning out with two is the new norm. FRNSW’s latest IR boffins are confident of this. Diplomatically, the FBEU has referred these legal wonders back to their own briefing material, specifically the following line – ‘The model was trialled at Peak Hill, and it’s worked really well. It’s safe, efficient, and much more suited to their needs.’

 If turning out with two is safe, and works ‘really well’, that’s news to the FBEU, and the vast majority of fire brigades for that matter. If you read FRNSW’s peer-reviewed research ‘Adverse Structure Fire Outcomes 2016–2021’, it’s likely news to you too.

Safety is union business, and this week, the FBEU met with HSRs across the state who have today provided direct to FRNSW their serious reservations about the initiative. Separately, the Union has also engaged SafeWork NSW on the matter and will continue in good faith to participate in consultation with FRNSW.

To FRNSW’s credit, the ‘tanker strategy’ goes where the Plus Plan feared not, and that is a high threshold.

We will continue to update members as discussions progress.

 

COVID PRESUMPTIVE WORKERS COMPENSATION

Members will recall that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the NSW Government introduced provisions in favour of the presumption that workers who tested positive for COVID-19 obtained it while on duty and could therefore access workers’ compensation.

This provision still remains in place, so if you test positive to COVID-19 and you are not on leave or otherwise absent from the workplace, it will be presumed that you obtained it while on duty. You can read more here.

EMAIL ACCOUNT BREACH

Members are advised that an FBEU email account was compromised today, with a ‘phishing’ link sent out to a small number of members and officials

Anyone who received an email titled ‘ZOOM MEETING INVITE’ from an FBEU email account today is advised to delete the email. If you clicked the link, you should conduct a virus scan on your computer and consider changing your passwords.

The Union have taken further steps to prevent email accounts being compromised moving forward.

In Unity,

Leighton Drury
State Secretary

Click here to download a printable version of this Sitrep.