Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) and the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) are setting out contrasting positions on leave remediation, pay bargaining, fleet condition, staffing, and governance, as parliamentary scrutiny and a union-backed petition place the organisation’s operations and funding under closer examination.
FENZ has confirmed that it is implementing a remediation programme after its 2023 audit found problems with how certain leave payments and entitlements had been calculated under the Holidays Act and collective agreements. “Like many public and private sector organisations, Fire and Emergency New Zealand has faced difficulties in correctly applying the Holidays Act and the remediation calculations and consultations have been complex,” a FENZ spokesperson said. FENZ said it has begun processing payments for current employees who were underpaid and expects to make those payments next month, alongside outreach to former staff. “As a responsible public employer, we have an obligation to recover overpayments in line with the correct application of the Holidays Act,” the spokesperson said.
In its memo, the NZPFU told members that FENZ has “known since an audit in 2023 that they were incorrectly calculating leave payments” and that amounts owed are scheduled for the May 27 pay run. The union said notification letters explaining underpayments and any alleged overpayments were delayed due to “technical issues” and are now expected to be issued by April 30. The union advised members not to sign consent forms allowing FENZ to net off any claimed overpayments against remediation amounts, arguing that Fire and Emergency “is yet to demonstrate to the NZPFU that they have a right to seek repayment of any claimed overpayments” and citing protections in the Wages Protection Act. It also noted that calculations from 2024 onward are still to be completed and recommended that members request detailed breakdowns of any totals provided.
On the current industrial dispute, FENZ said it is seeking a collective agreement with the NZPFU through independent facilitated bargaining under the Employment Relations Authority (ERA). According to the spokesperson, “NZPFU has so far declined to return to facilitation unless Fire and Emergency first provides a new settlement proposal. This is despite the NZPFU having committed to table a new proposal in January, which has still not been presented.” FENZ said it has reviewed its offer and that it “provides an increase of 6.2% over three years and compares favourably with the majority of public sector settlements that have been offered and ratified.”
The spokesperson added: “Unfortunately, the NZPFU’s last formal proposal was around three times the cost of Fire and Emergency’s offer, and we need any settlement to be financially sustainable. We remain ready to continue the facilitated bargaining process and hope the NZPFU will re-engage constructively with a proposal that reflects both the value of firefighters’ work and the economic realities facing the organisation.” The NZPFU memo sets out broader claims about organisational priorities, spending decisions, and operational capability, which it links to the bargaining context and to service levels for communities.
Alongside industrial issues, the union is urging members to complete the Whanaungatanga Survey, an independent research project run by the University of Canterbury on mental health and wellbeing among FENZ personnel. The NZPFU describes the survey as providing “critical and internationally accepted data in how you are affected by your role in FENZ and by the organisation of FENZ,” and says participation is important for both a longitudinal cohort that first took part in 2023 and a wider group of all FENZ employees invited this year. The survey is designed to identify operational and organisational factors linked to mental ill health and to assess the impact of organisational change initiatives.
Resourcing and asset issues are also before Parliament. The Governance and Administration Select Committee is conducting an inquiry into FENZ’s fleet, with submissions due by 11:50pm on April 30, 2026. The NZPFU is encouraging locals, members, volunteers, and others to provide information on appliance condition, mechanical failures, delays in response, and suggested changes. The terms of reference cover the current state of the career and volunteer fleet, future requirements, procurement processes including Type 3 vehicles, and communications between FENZ and Parliament. The union alleges that FENZ “repeatedly provided false or disinformation to Parliament” regarding fleet issues and has highlighted a previous hearing where MPs expected senior leadership to appear.
FENZ, in its response, rejected suggestions that frontline service is not the priority. It said that in 2025/26, 59% of its operating budget is allocated to frontline activity and 32% to frontline enablers, with “more than 90% … spent on frontline activity and the people who directly support response.” The organisation pointed to 317 new trucks delivered since 2017, ongoing orders, and more than $20 million a year in replacement spending, alongside safety, certification, and maintenance processes for appliances. The NZPFU is also backing a public petition for a broader independent inquiry into FENZ, pointing to growth in overall funding since the organisation’s establishment in 2017, while claiming that non-operational staffing has expanded and that operational capability, training, and communications centre staffing remain under strain.
FENZ currently reports a mixed workforce of about 14,900 personnel across its paid and volunteer ranks, operating roughly 1,300 appliances out of close to 600 stations nationwide and attending around 89,000 incidents each year. With about 95% of its operating revenue derived from levies on insurance policies, insurers and intermediaries are watching the fleet inquiry, the petition campaign, and the bargaining process for any signals about future levy trajectories and the level of emergency service provision expected in the New Zealand market.
