Many Victorians are opening their Rates Notice and asking the same question: “What is the Emergency Services Levy and why has it increased so sharply?" The answer lies in the new Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund, often called the Victorian Emergency Services Levy, passed by the Victorian in May 2025.
What was once the Fire Services Property Levy has been expanded into a much larger charge on property owners, collected through council rates and administered via local councils.
For many people, this new emergency services levy in Victoria has meant increases of over 150 per cent, particularly for regional properties, primary production land and farm enterprise operations.
How the Emergency Services Levy Works
The levy appears on council rates notices and is calculated using a fixed charge and a variable charge based on the capital improved value of land. Different property classifications under the Australian Valuation Property Classification Code determine how much you pay.
This means your principal place of residence, commercial properties and farmland are all treated differently, but almost everyone pays more.
The funds are said to support the Country Fire Authority, Fire Rescue Victoria, Victoria State Emergency Service and Triple Zero Victoria. The collection is overseen by the State Revenue Office.
Why Libertarians Oppose the Emergency Services Levy
Libertarians argue that this is not a funding solution. It is a tax grab.
Emergency services are a core responsibility of government. They should be funded through general revenue, not through a special levy on property owners. This was once known as the Fire Services Levy, but the expansion into the Volunteers Fund has created a far larger burden without addressing the real problem: government waste.
As Victorian Libertarian Leader David Limbrick explains:
The government is too big. The government is funded by taxes. There is so much waste in Victoria. I cannot believe when the government says we cannot cut expenditure. No one believes that there is no waste that cannot be eliminated, that there are not unnecessary things that the government does. I have said for ages now one of the most important and primary functions of the state is protecting people from violence. The government has gotten so big that it cannot even focus on the primary functions of the state and manage them well. I say what the government should do is stop all these extraneous things and start focusing on the real basic stuff, and get that right before they do anything else.
A Better Way to Fund Emergency Services
The Libertarian position is simple. Emergency services must be funded directly from general taxation. Creating new levies through Victoria Emergency Services Levy charges hides the real issue and unfairly targets property owners, farmers and regional communities.
Libertarian representatives have joined protests with farmers and councils across Victoria to oppose this levy. Protecting people from fire and disasters is essential. Forcing people to pay more through confusing levies is not.
The Emergency Services Levy should be scrapped and replaced with responsible budgeting.
Learn more about our policies on Relief From Taxes.