$132 MILLION RECORD INVESTMENT TO FUTURE-PROOF THE NSW SES

The NSW Government is making its single biggest investment ever in the NSW State Emergency Service (SES), with $132.7 million going towards its infrastructure, resources and staffing.

The new funding includes more than $50 million to upgrade 18 critical priority Unit facilities across NSW.

Member for Manly James Griffin MP welcomed this funding boost to ensure the SES and its 10,000 volunteers are better able to respond to future natural disasters.

“We saw the vital role our SES volunteers played during this year’s flooding in the Northern Rivers and in countless past disasters”, Mr Griffin said.

“This record funding boost is about supporting them by giving them the tools and resources they need to best help our community in times of need.”

The funding commitment is in response to a review into the March 2021 flood event by the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council, and will enable the SES implement the recommendations from this review.

The $132.7 million Budget boost includes:

• $58.7 million to upgrade 18 critical priority Unit facilities across the State;
• $43 million to split the existing Northern Zone into two new zones, and split the existing Western Zone into two new zones;
• $11.7 million to establish Zone Headquarters in the two new zones with Level 3 Incident Control Centre capabilities;
• $18 million to upgrade existing Zone Headquarters to Level 3 Incident Control Centres; and
• $1.3 million to develop a Facility Strategy and complete further detailed business cases to address the remainder of the recommendations from the 2021 independent review.