What We Do
We support the volunteer firefighters of the
ACT Rural Fire Service.
The ACT Volunteer Brigades Association (the ACT VBA) is a not-for-profit organisation which provides a forum for its member volunteer firefighting brigades of the Australian Capital Territory Rural Fire Service (ACTRFS) to come together to raise issues of concern on behalf of their volunteer rural firefighter members.
There are more than 480 volunteer rural firefighters, 19% of whom are women, within the ACTRFS. Most of our volunteers work in paid employment across a range of professions and careers including policing, ambulance, career firefighting, nursing, the law, the ADF, and across the public service and private sectors. Many of our volunteers are retirees, while others are school and university students.
Our volunteer firefighters give generously and freely of their time to protect life, community, property and the environment from bush and grass fires across Canberra and within the Territory’s rural areas. Our volunteer firefighters are also frequently deployed interstate and internationally to assist with bush and wildfire fighting efforts outside our local communities and overseas.
The ACT VBA aims to provide a voice for our volunteer firefighters and works to ensure a ‘fair go’ for them, to improve volunteer morale and well-being, and to generally further the best interests of our firefighters. We want to help ensure that our volunteer firefighters are best placed to assist and protect our local communities and to lend a hand when needed, to national and international communities.
Without the united efforts of our volunteers, our country would be less safe, hospitable, friendly and sustainable. We value community.
The ACT VBA is run by ACTRFS volunteer firefighters.
What we do is not a normal job, we are there to help those Australians who are having the worst or last days of their life, and we do it because we care - Pat Jones (2019)
Who we are.
Our Committee
The Volunteer Brigade Association (VBA) is made up of volunteer firefighter member representatives who nominated by each of the eight ACTRFS volunteer brigades. The VBA’s Executive team in turn, is selected from the VBA brigade representatives who are members of the VBA Committee. All members of our Committee are volunteer firefighters.
Our Executive Team
President Allison Ballard, Molonglo Brigade
Vice President Matt Dutkiewicz, Rivers Brigade
Secretary Pourus Bharucha, Molonglo Brigade
Public Officer Pourus Bharucha, Molonglo Brigade
Treasurer Nathan Hansford, Rivers Brigade
Our Ordinary Committee Members
Clive Gaskin, Tidbinbilla Brigade
Neil Drummond, Gungahlin Brigade
Les Jordan, Gungahlin Brigade
Richard Bourne, Tidbinbilla Brigade
Gary Johnstone, Hall Brigade
Andrew Heron, Southern Brigade
Jessica Playford, Molonglo Brigade
Our Meetings
The VBA aims to meet monthly at one of our eight brigades to improve accessibility for our volunteer firefighters. We invite a Brigade President to attend each of our meetings and any other ACTRFS volunteer firefighter who wishes to attend one of our meetings is welcome to do so. If you would like to attend, please email us at actvolunteerbirgades@gmail.com as meeting numbers are currently limited on account of the global pandemic.
Our next ordinary meeting and AGM is on February 2024, TBC.
The ACT Volunteer Brigades Association has been representing the interests of its member volunteer firefighting brigades since 1984.
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide a forum for its member volunteer brigades of the ACTRFS to come together to promote the best interests, professional services, morale and well-being of the Territory’s volunteer firefighters so that they are best able to protect our local communities from, and educate them about grass, bush and forest fires across the Territory’s expansive rural spaces.
Volunteering promotes a sense of meaning, belonging and general wellbeing. It can allow people to develop new skills, offer potential pathways to employment, and provide a way to contribute existing skills for the common good.
— Volunteering Australia
What We Achieved in 2020-2021
formed a VBA book committee which is working on a book to reflect on the 2019-2020 bushfire season from the perspective on the ACT’s volunteer firefighters - the Committee welcomes contributions and assistance
begun preliminary work on reviewing the (current) 2013 constitution/rules of the VBA
commenced a positive ongoing dialogue with the ACT Emergency Services Agency (ESA) Commissioner and the Chief Officer of the ACTRFS
improved communication with our brigade presidents and through them, with our volunteer firefighters across the ACT
commenced holding monthly VBA meeting at different brigades on a rolling basis
invited our Brigade Presidents to attend VBA Committee meetings
commenced a program of VBA Executive team visits to all ACTRFS volunteer brigades
commenced a program of BBQ ‘Meet & Greets’ across all eight of our brigades so that our volunteers are more aware of the VBA and what it is doing on their behalf
established a new one-stop website for our volunteer firefighters
explored the application of presumptive legislation to ACTRFS volunteer firefighters to bring compensation protections for them in-line with all other volunteer firefighters across the nation
The ACT VBA represents the interests of Canberra’s volunteer firefighters, through their brigades, and may also represent volunteer firefighters personally, where that is appropriate.
While the ACTVBA is not a trade union, it does share many of the same values and visions as unions do. For example, the ACTVBA believes in fairness, equality, diversity and opportunity for our volunteer community. We support a democratic Australia and democratic decision-making. We value our members and their aspirations. We believe our volunteer firefighters should be consulted and informed about issues affecting their volunteer work.
We respect the First Nations people who are the original owners and custodians of the lands upon which we meet, work, and live. We believe in a multi-cultural Australia, a sustainable environment. We are opposed to discrimination in all forms including discrimination based on race, religion, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual preference and political beliefs.
We believe that our volunteer workplaces should be safe, secure, healthy and free of harassment, intimidation, violence and discrimination.
Our volunteer firefighters are protected by law from unsafe workplaces and from workplace violence, including bullying, harassment and discrimination and we will support any members facing these issues. Our volunteers are ‘deemed’ employees for the purposes of workers compensation legislation and work health and safety legislation. The ACTVBA we will also support our volunteer firefighters in respect of claims or complaints under these laws so far as we are able to.
Also like unions, we believe Australian businesses and their executives should engage in legal and ethical conduct and environmentally sustainable practices at all times in relation to their workers - whether these workers are paid or volunteer - other stakeholders, and the community.
So, while we are not a union, we do share many of the same values.
Our volunteer firefighters are professional firefighters, even though they are unpaid.
We encourage our volunteer officers and representatives on the VBA to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with our values.
We support equity, diversity and a volunteer workforce which reflects our community
Three of our female volunteer firefighters at a burn at the Australian National University in May 2019 (Photo: The RIOT ACT)