How the bushfire compensation scheme works

If you have been fighting fires, are you eligible to be compensated for lost earnings?

As fires razed homes and people lost their lives, the federal government responded to repeated calls for firefighting heroes to receive some compensation for volunteering their time and risking their lives.

States including NSW, Queensland and South Australia have so far asked to partner with the Commonwealth to help deliver the compensation package in response to the unprecedented bushfire emergency.

Victoria, its hands full responding to the crisis, is expected to follow.

In return for taking time off work to help save lives and homes across many communities, bushfire volunteers have been offered up to $6000 to help pay for their living expenses in lieu of forfeited wages.

How does the scheme work – and who is eligible and who’s not?

Volunteers work through the night  to prevent a flare-up from crossing the Kings Highway between Nelligen and Batemans Bay.
Volunteers work through the night to prevent a flare-up from crossing the Kings Highway between Nelligen and Batemans Bay.Credit:Kate Geraghty

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What is the scheme?

The federal government and some state governments have said they will provide eligible volunteer firefighters with up to $300 a day capped at a total of $6000 as compensation for time off work to fight bushfires.

What does it cover?

Reimbursements are for lost wages and income. This means people who volunteer on their days off will not receive any compensation as they have not lost wages and income.

People will receive the equivalent of their actual daily net income up to $300. This means if your daily net income is $100, that is the amount you will be reimbursed. The payments are tax-free and not means tested.

Who is eligible?

  • People who have been on the front lines of bushfires

  • Participating states so far include NSW, South Australia and Queensland, with Victoria expected to follow

  • People who have been firefighting for more than 10 days; payments start from day 11

  • People who have lost wages or income as a result of taking time out to fight fires

  • People who are self-employed or employees of businesses with revenue of less than $50 million (in the 2018-19 tax year)

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Why aren’t employees of bigger businesses covered?

Service NSW says larger businesses have more capacity to support their staff to help their community. Businesses are being encouraged to do what they can to support staff who take time off to volunteer.

Fire crews carrying out controlled burning near Corryong on January 7 ahead of the expected return of fires.
Fire crews carrying out controlled burning near Corryong on January 7 ahead of the expected return of fires.Credit:Jason Edwards

Can previous years now be claimed?

No. The 2019-20 season can only be claimed due to its severity. Volunteers cannot claim for income lost fighting fires before December 2019.

If you have income protection insurance will you be included?

If a volunteer firefighter has been injured while fighting bushfires – or even lost their life – they or their loved ones can claim on their life insurance/income protection/TPD/trauma cover.

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If the compensation offered under the government scheme is more than they could get from their insurance cover, they can opt to claim it instead. However, they cannot make a claim for lost income if they have already made an insurance claim. Double dipping is not allowed.

If a person isn’t sure if they have a life insurance policy, or don’t know who their policy is with, they can use the template in this link to have it found.

Who is not eligible?

  • Employees of bigger businesses that turn over more than $50 million a year

  • Retirees or pensioners who have not lost income 

  • People with paid leave available from their employer 

  • People volunteering in roles that are not on a firefront including catering, administration, logistics etc 

  • People involved in training or non-emergency operations such as hazard reduction burns (this does not include emergency back-burning)

What do you have to prove and how?

You have to prove you have lost wages or income during the time you were volunteering. You need to keep evidence such as timesheets, pay slips, group certificates and BAS statements to show your loss of income and keep this evidence for five years in case you are audited in the future.

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What if you are part-time, casual, retiree or pensioner?

If you were paid for your normal shift and did any volunteering work outside of that shift, you will receive no compensation. If you did not lose any income, you will receive no compensation. Any volunteering you did on a day off or during hours outside your working time will not be compensated.

What if you are a drought-stricken farmer?

If you have been a volunteer firefighter and cannot prove that you have lost income by being away from your property, you will not be eligible to make a claim for payment. Strictly speaking, you would need to show that you would have made money on the property by being there on the days you were volunteering. But the federal government said it hoped that greater leniency would be shown to farmers, particularly those doing it tough in the drought.

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What is the turn around time for payments?

Service NSW has been registering volunteers and plans to notify them in January with more information about the formal payment application process.

What are my legal rights under workplace laws?

Volunteers have minimal rights under the Fair Work Act, says Anthony Forsyth, professor of workplace law at RMIT. They are entitled to be absent from work only for a “reasonable” period to engage in this kind of community service activity, including reasonable travelling time and reasonable rest time following the activity. This is unpaid leave and the duration for which an employer will allow it is a matter to be negotiated between employer and employee.

Some union leaders, including Godfrey Moase of the United Workers Union, have called for amendments to the Fair Work Act to ensure workers have the right to paid emergency services leave as part of the National Employment Standards.

Professor Forsyth supports this call, saying “it seems like a necessary step that will ensure all in the community are bearing the increasingly heavy load presented by the bushfire season beginning earlier and lasting longer than in years past”.

Will I be paid if I take time off because my house or place of work burned down?

There are no specific leave provisions that will cover you but your employer has discretion to provide leave under existing provisions.

Provisions in some enterprise agreements allow additional paid or unpaid leave to be taken at the employer’s discretion.

If you are on already on annual leave, your entitlements would continue.

Under the Fair Work Act, business owners have the right to stand down staff without pay where work must stop due to circumstances beyond the employer’s control.

Source: Thanks smh.com