Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund

The Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund (ESVF) is a charge that Council will collect from ratepayers on behalf of the Victorian State Government. It replaces the Fire Services Property Levy.

The levy will be payable by all rateable and non-rateable property owners and will comprise a fixed charge as well as a variable component, as detailed below.

The levy does not replace your property insurance or provide cover for your property against fire.

Find out more at the State Revenue Office website.

The ESVF generally consists of two items:

1. A fixed charge of $136 for residential and $275 for non-residential properties, and
2. A variable charge, which is calculated by multiplying the Capital Improved Value (CIV) of your property by the variable levy rate applicable to that property's land use classification.

Refer to the video below for an example of how the ESVF is calculated on a property with a CIV of $700,000.

Council is legislated under the Emergency Services Volunteer Fund Act 2012 to collect these fees on behalf of the Victorian State Government. Each quarter Council must remit any payments to the State Revenue Office.

If you are an eligible card-holder, you will receive a $50 concession off the ESVF for your principal place of residence.  If you received a pensioner concession on your Council rates last year, and are still eligible, the current concessions for Council rates and the EVSF will be shown on your rate notice.  If this is the case, no further application is required.

Where a concession is not shown on your rate notice, and you are an eligible card-holder (Pensioner Concession Card or Gold TPI or War Widow Card), you must complete and return the Pensioner Concession Application Form (available below) by 30 June 2026.

The pensioner concession does not apply to Health Care Card holders.

Volunteers and life-members from the Country Fire Authority (CFA), the Victoria State Emergency Service (VICSES) and Shepparton Search and Rescue Squad are eligible to receive a rebate on their principal place of residence (PPR) or farm. Eligible volunteers include all active VICSES, CFA and Shepparton Search and Rescue Squad operational and support volunteers.

Volunteers need to have served for at least 12 months, have passed probation, and not be suspended on disciplinary grounds or have taken a leave of absence for the duration of the preceding 12 months. The Volunteer Rebate will be administered by the Victorian Government through the Department of Government Services. Eligible volunteers will be able to apply for the Volunteer Rebate online following receipt of the local government issued rates notice.

If you are an eligible volunteer applying for the Volunteer Rebate on your principal place of residence (PPR), you will be entitled to a rebate to the full value of your ESVF contribution. If you are an eligible volunteer applying for the Volunteer Rebate on your farmland the rebate amount is capped at $1,710. This equates to $5 million of the capital improved value.

The rebate can be claimed for one of the following:

• your principal place of residence (PPR) if you are on the title, or
• farmland in which you have a direct ownership interest, or
• farmland in which you have an indirect ownership interest (for example, as a shareholder of a company, or a beneficiary of a trust, that owns the land), or
• two or more parcels of land in a single farming enterprise and in which you have a direct or indirect ownership interest.

Eligible volunteers may choose which of their properties the Volunteer Rebate applies to as long as it falls into one of the above categories. Only one claim can be made per volunteer and each property can only be claimed on by one person. To apply, you’ll need your:

• Unique Volunteer member number
• Rates notice
• Proof of identification details

If your rates notice has arrears of more than $50 from previous years, you will not be eligible for the rebate unless you can provide evidence of the arrears being paid at the time of your application.

If you believe you are entitled to the eligible volunteers rebate, please contact the Department of Government Services(DGS).

For further details and answers to frequently asked questions please visit the Victorian State Government website.

Primary production properties consisting of multiple contiguous (ie. adjoining) land parcels but valued as a single property for rates purposes will be treated as a single property for the purposes of the ESVF.  In this case, one fixed charge and one variable charge will apply to the property.

Where a Single Farm Enterprise is conducted on several farm properties, only one fixed charge component of the ESVF is payable for that farm enterprise.  The variable charge will be still be payable for each property within that farm enterprise.  There must be no more than one property containing a principal place of residence within the Single Farm Enterprise.

To apply for the Single Farm Enterprise Exemption, please complete and return the Single Farm Enterprise Exemption Application Form.  If your Single Farm Enterprise consists of properties within various municipalities, a copy of the completed form must be sent to each of the relevant Councils.

Payment of the current balance owing on your rates notice (ie. excluding any arrears, interest or legal fees) is divided proportionally between Council rates and charges and the EVSF.  If you are experiencing difficulties in paying the rates, charges and levies as shown on your rates notice, please contact Council immediately to discuss payment options or find out further information on Councils Financial Hardship policy and how to apply.

If a property owner does not pay their ESVF, councils are expected to take the same steps to recover outstanding amounts that they would for outstanding Council rates and charges. This may include charging interest and/or initiating legal action.

If you disagree with the rating valuations or the AVPCC (Australian Valuation Property Classification Code) as shown on your rate notice (or on other grounds as specified in the Valuation of Land Act 1960), you may lodge an objection. Objections must be lodged within two months of the date of notice as shown on your annual rate notice or supplementary valuation notice, and should be submitted on the prescribed form.
Please note that the land use classification as shown on your rate notice is determined under the provisions of the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund Act 2012. 
You may object to the AVPCC as shown on your rate notice. Refer to our Property Valuations page for objection forms and further information relating to objections.

For further explanation of what the AVPCC on your rates notice means, refer to Council’s Property Valuation page where you may download a list of the current AVPCCs.

If you have any further questions relating to ESVF, please visit the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund website or call the ESVF Support Line on 1300 819 033.