News 
Members are invited to have your say on a major piece of work, years in the making, that CFA claims will shape the foundations for flexible, clear and modern volunteer membership at CFA now and into the future.
The Contemporary Volunteer Membership Model Options Paper seeks your feedback on 13 recommended options that are designed to support real life circumstances and improve the way people join, stay, move between brigades, contribute in different ways, and transition across roles over time. All while supporting brigades to broaden and maintain their membership and strengthen capability without the unnecessary burdens.
These options come directly from what volunteers and brigades have told CFA over the past several years about some of the unintentional barriers in the current model, that limit opportunities for volunteering.
In the paper, you’ll find options about
- New membership sub-categories
- Dual and multi-brigade memberships
- Seasonal/Reserve member status
- Cadet memberships
- Life memberships and considerations to a CFA alumni
- Spontaneous volunteering
- Many others that enhance or unlock new opportunities
Feedback is requested on:
- Which options should be supported, changed, or not progressed
- What risks or implementation issues we need to consider
- What would help brigades adopt any approved changes successfully
Your contribution will play a critical role in determining which recommendations proceed, how they evolve, and how they are implemented. This is the beginning of the journey and these are recommended options for consideration. Only those with wide-ranging support will be implemented.
Consultation Timing
CFA has recognised the challenge of timing, as many of you are already well into responding to or preparing for the summer.
That’s why consultation will run between now – when you can discuss with your fellow members when working side by side through the season – and into autumn when we’ll dive into deeper discussions about how we might implement some of these options.
Feedback is requested as soon as you can, and no later than 31 March 2026.
Further Information
A CFA survey is available from: https://yoursay.cfa.vic.gov.au/projects/contemporary-volunteer-membership-model
IMPORTANT: The CFA surveys should take approximately 30 minutes (or longer depending on the length of your responses and how many recommendations you choose to respond to.) We recommend that you allow sufficient time to complete the survey in a single sitting.
Included on that page is also an FAQ
A copy of the Options paper is also available for download at the above link.
VFBV Feedback
In addition to feedback to CFA, we encourage members to provide feedback to VFBV to help inform VFBV's formal response to the options.
Feedback can be provided via:
- Emailing to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- Your local VFBV District Council or your local VFBV Support Officer
- By Post: 9/24 Lakeside Drive, Burwood East VIC 3151
