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Volunteers are the backbone WA’s emergency services, providing support to keep the community safe on land or water, come rain, hail, or searing heat.

Turnover rates among emergency services volunteers are high and each lost volunteer reflects a loss not only in terms of the financial investment from training and equipment, but also of valuable skills and experience.  The Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA (DFES) has conducted extensive consultation with volunteers over the past five years in an effort to improve the volunteer experience and retention. One of the concerns raised during consultation was around the preparedness of volunteer leaders to effectively manage their brigade, group, or unit (BGU) and the effect that this has on volunteer satisfaction and retention. Volunteer leaders are themselves volunteers and it is important that they are provided with the necessary training, support, and resources to do their jobs effectively.

To address this concern, DFES partnered with researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA) to investigate gaps in leadership capability and create a framework for managing volunteers across the emergency services that would provide concrete support and guidance for volunteer leaders.