Appendix D: Respondent demographics for our FRV staff survey
Download a PDF copy of Appendix D: Respondent demographics for our FRV staff survey.
Appendix C: Audit scope and method
Download a PDF copy of Appendix C: Audit scope and method.
Appendix B: Abbreviations, acronyms and glossary
Download a PDF copy of Appendix B: Abbreviations, acronyms and glossary.
Appendix A: Submissions and comments
Download a PDF copy of Appendix A: Submissions and comments.
5. Health screening process for firefighter applicants
FRV's recruitment process for firefighter applicants includes a health screening. The health screening involves tests that help FRV assess if an applicant is fit for firefighting duties. But FRV has not fully documented its process. And it does not consistently follow its current process when it identifies a mental health condition.
FRV based its screening criteria on guidelines that have limited information about mental health and firefighters’ work. It is working to modernise its screening process. This includes developing an updated medical standard.
4. Strategic oversight of staff mental health and support
FRV does not have a mental health strategy. This limits its ability to strategically identify, monitor and manage mental health risks across the organisation in the short and long term. FRV can also improve how it collects, analyses and uses data to inform decisions.
FRV does not assess psychosocial hazards and their risks. It also does not monitor staff's cumulative exposure to trauma, but it plans to address these gaps.
Covered in this section:
3. Staff access to and awareness of mental health support
FRV provides mental health services, training and information to all its staff. In our survey, staff who accessed services for an emotional or a mental health issue in the last 12 months said they found them 'quite' or 'extremely' useful.
Overall, FRV staff reported better experiences of mental health support compared to staff in comparable organisations.
2. Our recommendations
We made 6 recommendations to address our findings. Fire Rescue Victoria has accepted these recommendations.
| Agency response | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finding: Fire Rescue Victoria provides all staff with mental health support. But secondees reported less awareness of this support compared to other FRV staff (see Section 3) | ||||
Fire Rescue Victoria
| ||||
1. Our key findings
What we examined
Our audit followed 2 lines of inquiry:
1. Does Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) effectively support and promote a mentally healthy and supportive workplace and culture?
2. Does FRV proactively identify, monitor and manage its employees' mental health and wellbeing risks?
Appendix G: Changes to outputs
Download a PDF copy of Appendix G: Changes to outputs.