The Emergency Services Levy helps fund the emergency services people across NSW rely on every day.
It helps support:
Fire and Rescue NSW
NSW Rural Fire Service
NSW State Emergency Service
These services respond to fires, floods, road crashes, rescues and emergencies across the state.
Yet most people have probably never heard of the Emergency Services Levy or know how it is funded.
Everyone benefits from emergency services, but not everyone contributes in the same way. How we fund these essential services matters.
The NSW Government is currently looking at how emergency services should be sustainably funded into the future, and the NSW community deserves a plan that is fair for all of us.
NSW Treasury has put forward five different options for replacing the current Emergency Services Levy, but no final model has been decided.
Some options could shift more of the cost onto small businesses, property owners, and homeowners.
That could mean higher costs for owning and operating property, doing business and delivering the homes NSW needs.
Emergency services protect everyone. How we fund them should be fair too.
The Emergency Services Levy helps fund Fire and Rescue NSW, the NSW Rural Fire Service and the NSW State Emergency Service. These services respond to fires, floods, road crashes, rescues, hazardous-material incidents and other emergencies across NSW.
Everyone. Emergency services protect homes and businesses, but their work goes far beyond property. They respond to emergencies affecting people, roads and communities across NSW.
There is broad agreement that the current system should change. The Government is considering what should replace the current system and how emergency services should be sustainably funded into the future.
Yes. NSW previously legislated a property-based emergency services levy in 2017, but it was deferred after concerns emerged that costs would be unfairly distributed. Getting the funding design right so that the funding is shared fairly and sustainably is essential to the future support of these important services.
No. NSW Treasury has released five options for replacing the levy, and none is currently law. That’s why now is the time to understand what’s being proposed and what it could mean for homeowners, property owners and businesses across NSW.
The way NSW funds emergency services is changing.
What happens next could have real consequences for homeowners, property owners and businesses across the state.