Local Emergency Co-production in Australia: The Case of the New South Wales Rural Fire Service

Given the vast spatial area and low population density involved, together with the prevalence, frequency, and severity of bushfires, firefighting services in non-metropolitan areas of Australia have always depended heavily on the contribution of volunteer firefighters. Australian volunteer firefighting services represent an unusually high degree of collaboration between local volunteers and state and local governments. In this paper, we examine the nature and operation of the New South Wales (NSW) Rural Fire Service (RFS) through the analytical lens of the local co-production paradigm, to date a dimension of Australian volunteer firefighting that has remained largely unexplored in the scholarly literature. In particular, we examine the comparative advantages that the NSW RFS garners from its unique combination of government funding, professional staff, and volunteer firefighters. The paper concludes by considering the public policy implications of the analysis.