In a major backdown, the State Government has agreed to provide automatic compensation for CFS volunteers who are diagnosed with some types of cancers.
The Government reviewed its compensation scheme as part of its package of commitments to garner the support of independent MP Geoff Brock.
Industrial Relations Minister John Rau today announced that the automatic compensation scheme would be open to all “current operational CFS volunteers” and would be applied retrospectively from 1 July 2013.
Previously the Government had refused to bring the scheme in line with conditions covering professional MFS firefighters, due to cost and claims that the risk for volunteer firefighters wasn’t as great.
Rau said today the scheme stood alongside Tasmania’s as “one of the most comprehensive in the nation”.
“Whilst our previous compensation scheme included CFS volunteers, the Government was criticised for having set a high threshold to access the scheme,” he said.
The scheme provides:
- Presumptive legislation coverage for operational CFS volunteers who are active members on or after 1 July 2013.
- The presumption will remain in place for 10 years after a CFS volunteer ceasese operational activities.
- The incident thresholds will be removed, meaning CFS volunteers will no longer be required to attend 175 incidents over five years to quality.
The scheme is funded at $7.8 million for the first year, rising to $13.4 million in year 10.
