Ownership and responsibility of Rural Fire Service’s mobile assets

BY the end of next winter,  ownership of and responsibility for the Rural Fire Service’s mobile assets, otherwise known as its ‘Red Fleet’, will lie with the NSW Government and not local councils.

Mayor Darcy Byrne, President of Local Government NSW, said the move would come as a great relief to many local councils, particularly smaller ones.

“For the last 30 years, legislation has said that these assets are owned by councils,” Mr Byrne said.

“Yet councils had no say in the acquisition, usage and disposal of these assets; these were all decisions of the Rural Fire Service.”

Despite this, councils have been required to record these assets in their financial statements and absorb the depreciation expense for these assets, as well as the costs of inspecting and recording these assets in their accounts.

The announcement means that, once the transfer takes place next year, councils will no longer carry this impost.

“[The] reform will be particularly felt in smaller rural and regional areas where the vesting of Red Fleet assets has had a huge impact as these communities often have a proportionally larger RFS presence,” Mr Byrne said.

“These councils were carrying a heavy financial burden by being forced to record them on their books.

“This is a major win for local government and comes after years of persistent advocacy by LGNSW and from our individual councils.

Most recently, LGNSW made strong representations to an inquiry conducted by the NSW Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee whose final report recommended that legal ownership of the fleet should be transferred to the RFS as a state agency.

“Councils strongly support the work of the RFS and recognise that it is a world leading firefighting service,” Mr Byrne said.

“We look forward to working with the State Government over the next 12 months to ensure a successful transition, including appropriate consideration of maintenance contracts.”