Overview
The 2025-26 State Budget includes $80.6 million to bolster fire and emergency response capability.
$3.5 million over three years has been allocated to deliver the election commitment to fund an additional six Local Government Community Emergency Services Managers.
Funding has been allocated for a number of Local Governments emergency management facilities including:
- $15 million for the City of Wanneroo to construct of the Wanneroo Emergency Management Complex
- $1.6 million for the Shire of Donnybrook Balingup to replace the Argyle Irishtown Bush Fire Brigade Headquarters
- $10 million towards the construction of a new evacuation centre and multipurpose complex in Fitzroy Crossing in the Shire of Derby West Kimberley
- $250,000 towards a future multipurpose evacuation centre in the Shire of Northampton.
The budget also invests significantly in State emergency capability including:
- $3.1 million towards a dedicated State Bushfire Mitigation Branch
- $22.7 million for a new Career Fire and Rescue Service Station in Yanchep
- $8 million to replace the Volunteer Fire and Emergency Services Station in Bullsbrook
- $2 million to finalise planning of the new State Emergency Management Training Centre
Other features of this year’s budget include the formal establishment of the Grain Harvest Program to mitigate crop fires, with $1.8 million in 2025-26 and funding over the forward estimates, and ongoing investment strengthening the Western Australian Emergency Service Radio Network, aimed at ensuring secure, reliable communications.
WALGA Comment
While this State Budget delivers some important initiatives—particularly the expanded CESM program and new Local Government facilities—further investment is needed to ensure WA communities are Disaster Ready.
WALGA’s State Election Priorities platform The West at its Best, calls for funding across a range of initiatives to ensure WA communities are prepared and resilient in the face of increasing natural disasters. These priorities include increased funding for the Local Government Grant Scheme, bushfire mitigation activities, emergency planning and preparedness, and disaster-resilient reconstruction—building back better during recovery.
CESMs play a vital role in strengthening Local Government capacity across prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. This investment will make a meaningful contribution to the communities where the new CESMs are based. WALGA will continue to advocate for all Local Governments to have the opportunity to participate in the CESM program.
The Budget has again failed to address the need for sustainable funding for Local Government Bush Fire Brigades through the Local Government Grants Scheme (LGGS). Demand for capital funding through the LGGS continues to outpace available resources, with a current shortfall of around $45 million. The 2025–26 budget allocation is $37 million, with minimal increases across the forward estimates - despite rising costs for capital works, fleet, and operations. Increased LGGS funding is essential to support and retain volunteers and to keep communities safe as bushfires and other natural disasters become more frequent and severe.
WALGA welcomes the fulfilment of the election commitment to establish a new State Bushfire Mitigation Capability for Western Australia. However, of concern, $8.5 million of funding for this initiative is being reallocated from within existing bushfire mitigation activities – notably from programs designed to reduce bushfire risk within regional townsites across WA.
Disappointingly, the Budget does not provide any additional funding for:
- The All West Australians Reducing Emergencies (AWARE) Grant Program – funding for this Program has remained unchanged since 2014. At least $9 million per annum is needed to support emergency planning, preparedness, and resilience across the sector.
- A reserve fund for disaster-resilient reconstruction of public assets – WALGA is calling for the establishment of a $10 million reserve fund for the disaster resilient reconstruction of essential public assets to reduce long-term costs and strengthen community resilience in the face of increasingly severe weather events.
