Rural Fire Service Joint Consultative Committee
22 November 2023
On Tuesday, October 31, the É«ÀÇÉçÇøheld the regular Departmental Committee (DC) meeting with your NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) delegates. You can read a report back from that meeting
Following this, your É«ÀÇÉçÇørepresentatives engaged in discussions addressing critical matters affecting RFS members. The following provides an update following the recent Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) meeting held on November 8, 2023.
Health & Safety:
- HSR Elections: Progress has been made in HSR Elections; however, three workgroups still lack representation out of the fifteen. Despite close to 100 staff members involved, some areas remain without appointed representatives.
- Mental Health Strategy: Engaging a third party to assess psychosocial risks and conduct hazard analysis, aiming to identify potential risks and improve the current strategy.
- Suicide Prevention and Postvention: Ongoing efforts and strategies in place.
Service Standards & Review:
- Service Standards due for review in 2024, highlighting structural concerns. Newly elected representatives are undergoing training, and the focus remains on enhancing safety and compliance.
Health & Safety Operations:
- Notifiable Incidents: Action plans in place with incident response models utilized, ensuring immediate support for affected staff.
- H&S Fatigue Management: Acknowledgment of outdated fatigue management strategies, underway for review. A practice of ensuring stand-down days is standard while the review remains overdue.
Operations Updates:
- State Operations: Updates on rank application statistics and OCC status, with no significant issues reported.
- Area Operations: Clarification regarding weekend staff availability and caution on fatigue, ensuring staff welfare remains a priority.
Workplace Conduct & Inquiry:
- Efforts towards the Workplace Conduct Project are ongoing, aiming for improvements in conduct standards.
- Concerns raised about the government’s non-acceptance of recommendations from the 2017/2018 Inquiry into Emergency Service Agencies, with plans to introduce new mechanisms and hotlines early next year.
Your RFS Delegates
Your É«ÀÇÉçÇøOrganiser
Your É«ÀÇÉçÇøIndustrial Officer