Thousands of farmers, CFA volunteers and career firefighters who rallied on the steps of Victoria’s Parliament last week have claimed a partial victory, with Premier Jacinta Allan announcing a temporary freeze on the contentious Emergency Services Levy for the state’s agricultural sector.

The levy, which passed through parliament just two weeks ago, was due to take effect from 1 July and impose significant new costs on property owners — especially those in regional areas. Protesters warned it would place an unfair burden on rural Victorians already dealing with drought and rising expenses.

On Friday, Allan revealed that the government would pause the levy increase for all Victorian farmers as part of a broader drought assistance package.

Translated : “the emergency services tax is really shit so we are happy to push it out beyond the next election. https://t.co/OSzUZrhDpF

— David Limbrick MP 🌸 (@_davidlimbrick) May 30, 2025

“As part of this immediate drought package and program of support, we're announcing that… the Emergency Services Levy rate for all farmers statewide will be held at the 2024-25 rates,” she said.

“So this means that the rate that farmers are paying now will be the rate that they will pay into the next financial year as well.”

The Premier said the change came in response to the “dramatically worsened conditions and those real pressures that farmers are facing right now.”

Farmers had braced for increases of up to 150 per cent. Victorian Treasurer Jaclyn Symes confirmed the freeze would apply across the board to primary production land.

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