All Tasmania Fire Service employees and volunteers were required to do the training. (Tasmania Fire Service: A Zelinski)

More than 300 volunteer firefighters will have their membership of the Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) terminated after failing to complete mandatory child safety training.

Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner Jeremy Smith said organisations were required by law to ensure that their staff and volunteers had “the knowledge, skills and awareness to prevent, identify and respond to child safety concerns”.

All Police, Fire and Emergency Management Department workers and volunteer firefighters were required to complete two training modules by May last year.

The TFS extended the deadline after hundreds of volunteers failed to complete the training.

“The TFS has continued to work with volunteer brigades to support all volunteers to complete the training either through self-directed online learning, virtual face-to-face sessions and in-person sessions,” Commissioner Smith said.

“Despite this ongoing support and extended deadlines, approximately 336 volunteers have not completed the mandatory training by the extended deadline.

Commissioner Smith said about 200 of the volunteers who had not completed the training were operational, while the remainder were “social members” who were not directly involved in “frontline fire activities”.

He said the members who had not completed the training “will have their volunteer membership terminated”.

Jeremy Smith says volunteers were offered support and extra time to complete the training. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)

Commissioner Smith said one of the training modules gave an overview of the Child and Youth Safe Organisations framework, which was developed based on recommendations from the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

The other module focuses on identifying and responding to reportable conduct.

Tasmania’s child sexual abuse commission of inquiry highlighted several cases of agencies and departments, including Tasmania Police, that failed to act appropriately in response to concerns about child sexual abuse.

Training an important part of  ‘creating a safe environment’

Commissioner Smith told ABC Radio Breakfast the training was about “creating a safe environment”.

“Our organisation runs a junior and cadet program, so approximately 40 of our brigades around the state have juniors regularly at the station,” he said.

“So they’re obviously at a higher risk and we need to have a number of mechanisms in place, whether that’s the mandatory training or having a working with vulnerable [people] check.”

Commissioner Smith also said there had been “some” concerns about conduct reported to the TFS, which he said showed the reportable conduct reporting mechanism was working.

Overall, about 5,000 people from the TFS were required to complete the training, and Commissioner Smith said the “vast majority” of TFS volunteers had completed it.

“For TFS members (employees and volunteers), these modules were made available online and could be done on a station computer (for brigades connected to the DPFEM network) or a personal device,” Commissioner Smith said.

“Staff were made available to provide advice and support to help volunteers to access the online modules, and to address any digital literacy or other challenges, face-to-face sessions have also been offered for groups and individuals.

“There was no cost to volunteers to complete the training, which takes less than two hours to complete.”

About 40 brigades have junior and cadet program participants at the station regularly. (ABC News: James Dunlevie)

United Firefighters Union of Australia Tasmanian branch secretary Leigh Hills told ABC Radio Mornings it was important that the career firefighters and volunteers complied with the law by doing the training.

But Mr Hills said he was concerned about what the loss of volunteers might mean for the TFS, particularly in the state’s north-west.

“There are only two 24/7 permanent crews in the north-west — one in Devonport and one in Burnie — and those areas effectively rely heavily on volunteer response,” he said.

“If we’re losing volunteers out the door then that’s more onus on those local communities that rely on that response.

“But not only that, the career crews, the permanent crews rely on the backup from those volunteers because the service hasn’t put the resources into that area to ensure that it’s sufficiently supported.”

The TFS says operational needs across all brigades would continue to be met. (ABC News: Damien Larkins)

Mr Hills said there were some volunteers who viewed any training not directly related to fighting fires as “an onerous extra responsibility”.

“But it’s also a requirement under legislation,” he said.

Commissioner Smith said operational needs across all brigades would continue to be met.

He said the departure of the volunteers was “not impacting frontline responses”.

He also said there would be a review to “work through the issues that have been highlighted”.

“From a process point of view, we will be reviewing what’s occurred over the last 18 months to try and streamline this entire process.

“We do not want this to occur again.”

Volunteers who have been terminated can apply to rejoin. Commissioner Smith said the TFS would recognise their skills, but he said they would need to complete the training if they were to rejoin the service.