Volunteer firefighters who contract cancer will soon be compensated to the same level as their paid counterparts, if a Bill currently before parliament passes.
The Firefighters and Emergency Volunteers Legislation Amendment (Compensation) Bill 2016 will provide work cover for Western Australia’s more than 2400 volunteer firefighters against the 12 cancers outlined in the national legislation for firefighters and emergency services.
WA Volunteer Fire and Rescue Services Association (VFRSA) executive Jodie Neuzerling said the legislation was needed now more than ever, with the number of occupation-caused cancers in firefighters increasing.
"It’s actually been steadily increasing, because of the risks involved in firefighting now,” Ms Neuzerling said.
“There’s a lot more hazards out there facing firefighters out there now.”
The legislation, which has been tabled since 2011, has been discussed frequently by the VFRSA and the state government.
“The initial legislation was a separate Bill, and we we’re told it was too difficult and too lengthy,” Ms Neuzerling said.
“But then it was worked out that an amendment could be made to the current Bill, and we went right for that, because we wanted something concrete and sooner rather than later.”
The Bill will apply presumptively, if passed, to current volunteer firefighters, including those that attended the Yarloop bushfires earlier this year.
“We really think this is the biggest change in the compensation Bill since it began in 1942,” Ms Neuzerling said.
