Before the announcement, over 12,900 signatures were obtained on a joint petition — started by the Victorian branch of the United Firefighters Union of Australia, the CFA Volunteers Group and Across Victoria Alliance — calling for the inquiry.
The petition particularly related to Victorian Government funding allocated for CFA and Fire Rescue Victoria equipment.
“This inquiry gives us a proper forum to put the serious issue of ageing trucks, unreliable equipment and inadequate resourcing on the record,” UFU secretary Peter Marshall said.
On Wednesday, February 4, the Legislative Council agreed to appoint the Environmental and Planning Committee to inquire into a number of topics relating to the summer bushfires.
Chairing the committee is Member for the Southern Metropolitan region Ryan Batchelor.
“The fires across Victoria this summer have had a profound impact on the people affected,” Mr Batchelor said.
“This inquiry will look at the preparation and planning by government, emergency services and the community ahead of the fire season, including management of public and private land.
“The inquiry will also examine the causes and circumstances of the bushfire, including climate change.”
Other topics considered will be emergency responses to the fires, resilience of critical services and infrastructure, resourcing of fire agencies and support for volunteers, recovery efforts in affected communities, impact on the environment, and lessons from previous inquiries and royal commissions.
The decision to support the inquiry has been welcomed by the Victorian Opposition, which backed the joint petition calling for it.
Member for Euroa Annabelle Cleeland said it was important to ensure the experiences of affected communities were heard.
“The only way our community will get honest answers about what happened this fire season is through a formal, independent inquiry that puts the voices of frontline volunteers, families and farmers at the centre,” she said.
“Victorians deserve to know why calls for help went unanswered, why prevention work fell short and why promised resources failed to arrive, because lessons not learned now will cost lives next summer.
“This bushfire season has had a devastating impact on communities across regional Victoria and this inquiry will ensure we take a hard, honest look at how our systems performed when people needed them most.”
Andrew Weidemann of the Across Victoria Alliance said the strong advocacy for the inquiry indicated that many Victorians thought it was critical.
“The strong public support shown through the petition demonstrated just how deeply Victorians care about managing fuel loads and the safety and preparedness of their fire services,” he said.
Submissions are being accepted for the inquiry into the 2026 summer fires across Victoria until Sunday, March 15.
By June 1 of this year, the committee will have reported on related topics.
For more information, and to submit, visit parliament.vic.gov.au/get-involved/inquiries/inquiry-into-the-2026-summer-fires-across-victoria
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