Insiders in Victoria’s emergency services are sounding the alarm over a proposed major slashing of roles and conditions in the State Control Centre (SCC), that will reduce support for first responders to weekday business hours and could put the state at greater risk in emergencies. 

Dozens of experienced emergency management specialists in the SCC are fighting for their jobs and conditions in the face of a massive restructure from Emergency Management Victoria, proposed to take effect by the middle of this year. 

The SCC currently operates 24/7, detecting, monitoring and responding to emergencies, coordinating with frontline workers and ensuring consistent, timely emergency information gets to Victorians when they most need it. 

The SCC was significantly improved in response to the Black Saturday Royal Commission’s findings, including a move to the current 24/7 operating model and greater coordination between agencies. 

The proposed change will move away from specialists being on hand around-the-clock, to a weekday 9am-5pm model, significantly weakening its capabilities and emergency readiness. 

Sixty-five per cent of staff will be moved to weekday business hours, with the remaining 35 per cent continuing outside of business hours on a new generalised “watch desk.” These workers will be required to take on the work, skillset and knowledge from multiple specialised functions, essentially performing three jobs for the price of one. 

The loss of 24/7 specialised responders in the state control centre will mean a poorer response to emergencies because disaster doesn’t wait until business hours to strike. 

This decision will create pay cuts of up to $40,000 for staff moved to the “business hours” model who will lose allowances and overtime. This could lead to a mass exodus of workers and with them, decade's worth of collective knowledge, putting all Victorians at risk during emergencies. 

The SCC responds to hundreds of emergencies annually; and during 2024 was activated for 240 days out of the year. 

The Community and Public Sector Union has vowed to fight the cuts in the leadup to the state election. 

Comments attributable to Jiselle Hanna, CPSU Branch Secretary. 

“Disasters don’t stick to a 9-5 schedule – so the dedicated workers responsible for managing them shouldn’t either.” 

“This is the reality of cutting “backline” workers. But they aren’t the backline, they are the backbone. Weakening their capability puts communities at greater risk. We saw the reality of this during the Black Saturday bushfires where 173 lives were lost. No one wants to repeat history.” 

“Staff are worried that these changes will have devastating impacts for Victorians.” 

“Our members are still recovering from cuts that came in 2020 - this proposal will further decimate our SCC.” 

“Emergencies do not escalate neatly. Bushfires, floods and storms can deteriorate within minutes, and readiness cannot be built reactively after a crisis has already begun.”