Bushfire inquiry

A report on the inquiry into the 2026 summer fires across Victoria has been delivered with 80 recommendations to improve Victoria's fire preparation and response.

The report came on the back of Emergency Management Victoria warning West Gippsland may face an earlier, significant and extended fire danger season, due to a warmer and drier than average winter and low rainfall forecast.

The 2026 Victorian bushfires burnt more than 440,000 hectares, destroyed 451 homes and 1110 outbuildings, more than 45,000 stock and one person died.

A gross lack of a resources available to combat the devastation was identified.
Recommendations were made to improve fuel management, incident management and preparedness; improve infrastructure and investment in the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and strengthen telecommunications and power networks.
The Nationals leader Danny O'Brien said years of funding cuts and mismanagement had left the CFA short of volunteers and crews were forced to drive worn-out trucks.
"A 26 per cent drop in CFA volunteers in 10 years should set off alarm bells in every regional community in this state," Mr O'Brien said.
"Volunteers are still riding in 650 tankers with no rear cabin protection, and there are 802 single cab tankers in the fleet that won't be fully phased out until 2036. Meanwhile trucks are ageing past their use-by date and breaking down mid-response. This is what a decade of funding cuts looks like in the middle of a natural disaster, and it is threatening lives and property."
District nine assistant chief fire officer John Jugum said the CFA planned to deliver more than 100 trucks and other vehicles in the 2026/27 financial year.
"This includes new pumpers for Drouin and Warragul, new medium tankers for Erica and District and Warragul, a new field command vehicle for Erica and District, and a cascaded pumper tanker for Neerim South."
Mr Jugum said vehicles were subject to annual maintenance servicing and a fire-worthy inspection by qualified technical staff to ensure they are in good working order.
"CFA's fleet, equipment and infrastructure are a key part of CFA's response capability. Our focus is ensuring the vehicles are safe, appropriately equipped and fit for purpose, regardless of age. We take the maintenance of our equipment seriously and all emergency response vehicles within the CFA fleet are maintained by our expert mechanical officers."
"CFA replaces vehicles as, and when it can within the budget it has available."
Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) president Ryan Milgate said Victorian farmers were tired of paying the price for woefully under-resourced emergency services and the government must deliver action, not another report.
"Many of those recommendations have already been recognised through previous bushfire reviews. We don't need another report, we need governments to start delivering and they can start doing that today," Mr Milgate said.
"Every summer, farmers are the ones on the frontline protecting their families, livestock, neighbours and communities."
The inquiry found that despite the catastrophic conditions and enormous scale of the fires, strong preparation and the tireless work of responders had limited fatalities.
"It's time the government backed those on the front line and scrapped the Emergency Services and Volunteers Fund and gave our regions a fighting chance to defend their property and communities the next time they face a raging fire front," Mr Milgate said.
Member for Eastern Victoria Melina Bath said the State Government had neglected critical bushfire mitigation, failing to undertake adequate fuel reduction, roadside vegetation management and the creation of strategic fuel breaks.
"Labor was repeatedly warned about bushfire risks, yet communities, volunteers and first responders were left to bear the consequences."
The inquiry also noted widespread community adoption and trust in the VicEmergency app and leave early' messages likely contributed to the low fatality rate during the 2026 fires.