Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authority (AFAC): Firefighters Mutual Bank Girls' Fire and Emergency Services Camp Pilot, Sydney 2nd – 8th December, 2018

This report has been prepared for the Australasian Fire and Emergency Services Authority (AFAC) and Fire & Rescue NSW (FRNSW). It explores the efficacy of a camp model for attracting and/or recruiting young women to fire and emergency services (FES), and for supporting, developing and retaining current personnel, specifically women in FES. As such inclusion strategies, leadership and capacity building are key area of interest with future potential to inform organisational change, policy implementation and strategic direction. . The report has been commissioned in response to organisational goals and aspirations that seek to explore and develop strategies for attracting and retaining a diverse workforce in FES agencies locally and Nationally. It details research findings from the 2018 piloting of the Fire Fighters Mutual Bank Girls’ Fire and Emergency Services camp (GFES) in Sydney, New South Wales. This report includes a selection of data collected over the six day camp from the camp leaders and camp participants, and other research mechanisms. Details of the research process are explained with supporting data and analytic comments. The report is divided into a variety of sections which are supported by evidence and summed up by recommendations. This research has been funded via a Faculty of Education Seeding grant which in addition to exploring the impact of the camp also serves as an important step in further developing the research partnership between AFAC, FRNSW and Monash University. This Australian pilot project builds upon international proof of concept developed in 2016 and 2017 and will broker new directions for Monash small grants and category 2/3 grants in the future.