State government launches farm firefighting unit registration scheme

Red tape preventing the use of Farm Fire Units (FFUs) has been reduced ahead of the state’s bushfire season.

The NSW government launched a conditional registration scheme to enable typically unregistered FFUs to be used legally and under the protection of insurance. FFUs are commonly small trucks, utes or trailers with fixed water, pumps or fire management equipment, kept on farms to be rapidly deployed in the event of a fire.

NSW Farmers’ president Xavier Martin said the new scheme was progress on solving the problem facing farmer volunteers after years of advocacy.

“These vehicles are lightning quick at getting to fires and getting them under control – but it’s simply not practical to register these units when they’re primarily used on farm for just a few months each year,” Mr Martin said.

“A more reasonable method to conditionally register these units for their specific purpose, so they can be used legally and under the protection of third-party insurance, is much needed – and this is a step towards that.”

With farmers able to apply to register their units under the scheme from October 7, 2025, Mr Martin said NSW Farmers would monitor the scheme to ensure it was fit-for-purpose for farmer volunteers across the state.

“There’s still conditions around distance, permanently attached firefighting equipment and vehicle inspections (including costs) that must be met as part of the scheme, so it’s certainly not a perfect solution, but this is an important starting point after two trials,” Mr Martin said. “It has taken a long time to get here and this scheme has got to work for our farmer volunteers, who are the ones that use these units to fight fires and protect not just their farms, but their communities too.”

In response to the announcement, Shadow Minister for Emergency Services Gurmesh Singh said the commonsense change is a good start but more needs to be done to reduce red tape.

“When a fire breaks out, farmers are often the first to respond, and they can play a key role in limiting damage to property and protecting lives, particularly before emergency crews arrive,” Mr Singh said.

“In paddocks and sheds across regional NSW, there’s an army of privately owned firefighting assets known as the ‘mosquito fleet’ and it’s good to see they will now be able to be more readily utilised, but there are still questions around some of the stringent guidelines.

“We don’t want a situation where people are being rejected for things like needing to have the equipment permanently attached, which might not be practical for a farmer in a day to day sense.”