Recommendation 6

The new legislation also provides for the making of regulations on recordkeeping requirements, including the setting of penalties for any contravention of regulations. DELWP advised that subordinate instruments are currently under development, guided by standard regulatory development, impact assessment and consultation processes. DELWP intends these subordinate instruments to support the new legislation by detailing information provision and recordkeeping obligations as appropriate.

Finding

IGEM considers this commitment has been implemented.

That the Victorian Government introduce potable water as standard for firefighting training water to be complied with at all firefighting training facilities.

Government commitment:

Implementation of any necessary additional treatment processes required to improve training water at all training centres to ensure it is of a standard that is safe for training use and consistent with requirements under any relevant enterprise agreements.

Lead agency

Status CFA

Ongoing

The inquiry found that CFA's process of recycling firefighting training water – contaminated by the products of combustion, unburnt flammable liquids and foam breakdown – caused health problems for trainers and trainees.

The inquiry recommended that potable (drinkable) water standards for training water be introduced and complied with at all firefighting training facilities, noting that drinking water guidelines are frequently used in the absence of agreed standards for training water. The government supported the introduction of water standards that ensure the safety of firefighters and committed to implementing any treatment processes required by training facilities to meet these standards.

To ensure the water standards chosen were consistent with requirements under relevant enterprise agreements, CFA engaged with the Enterprise Bargaining Implementation Committee, which endorsed CFA's proposed potable water quality values in January 2018.16

16 The water quality values adhere to Australian drinking water guidelines. Where these are not available, they adhere to either the United States Environmental Protection Agency drinking water standards or established MFB training water values.