Insurance brokers are collecting a restructured fire services levy from clients as of July 1, 2026. A parliamentary report released this week raises pointed questions about what that levy is delivering.
The Governance and Administration Committee’s inquiry into Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s (FENZ) fleet management, published September 16, confirmed what the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) has argued for years: that the organisation’s operational fleet has deteriorated since FENZ was formed in 2017.
The committee found that more than 52% of FENZ’s fleet was beyond its target age as of May 2026 – up from 23% at the organisation’s establishment. New appliances on order will reduce that figure but will not close the gap, the committee found.
FENZ has no standalone fleet strategy. The inquiry found the organisation had prioritised rural appliances over urban and specialist units, with aerial appliances identified as requiring urgent investment. Training – including live fire exercises for recruits and driver training – was also flagged as requiring attention.
The committee rejected FENZ’s claim that appliances were available and departed the station 99.72% of the time. “We do not accept the 99.72 percent response rate as being truly reflective of the current state of FENZ’s response. It does not capture situations where an appliance is not available at all, or where an appliance trying to respond does not start or is unable to leave the station,” the report stated.
The committee described that figure as “appears intentionally misleading.” FENZ’s board chair subsequently acknowledged the organisation had provided “inaccurate and untimely information” to the committee.
The committee also noted FENZ spent more than $254,000 on legal and public relations consultants during the inquiry – including to gather information it was expected to hold routinely.
The MAN/Angloco Type 3 appliance procurement drew sustained criticism. The committee found the process began following a “cold call,” lacked transparency in selecting chassis and body manufacturers, and ran to timelines that exceeded what COVID-19 could reasonably explain.
When asked to provide board-level evidence of discussions about the Type 3 programme after December 2023, FENZ produced none. “This is a gross failure at a governance level, as well as a management failure within FENZ,” the report stated.
For brokers with commercial property and business interruption books, response capability is material to claim outcomes – not a governance abstraction.
When an appliance is unavailable or fails mid-response, a fire burns longer. That affects the quantum of material damage and the length of a business interruption period a client draws against.
The real-world consequences of fleet pressure have been documented. During a fire on Auckland’s North Shore in April 2025, a fire truck broke down mid-response with two firefighters on board. A second aerial appliance had to be diverted from fighting the fire to rescue the crew. The McGuinness Institute cited the incident in its April 2026 submission to the parliamentary fleet inquiry as evidence of direct risk to life.
In 2024/25, FENZ reported revenue of $838.0 million, with levy income representing 95% of its total revenue, according to the parliamentary annual review of FENZ. The committee found the budget has nearly doubled over a decade – but outputs have not kept pace. “We want to see a focus on prioritising operational outcomes, and better use of the existing budget before additional levies are considered,” the report stated.
That finding sits alongside a restructured levy that has changed how the charge lands on commercial clients. Under changes effective July 1, 2026, the levy on non-residential buildings is now calculated on the full replacement sum insured – not the lower indemnity value – at 7.76 cents per $100 sum insured, according to the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA). For some commercial clients, that shift produces a materially higher levy charge even as the headline rate fell.
The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) has separately called for the model to be reconsidered. In June 2026, ICNZ chief executive Kris Faafoi said the current levy is “too complex, too uneven, and no longer well suited to the risks New Zealand faces today,” proposing Crown funding for FENZ and redirecting $600 million to $700 million annually toward natural hazard risk reduction.
Board chair Raveen Jaduram, who came into the role at the end of June, acknowledged the committee’s findings in a statement on September 16. “The report identifies unacceptable delays and weaknesses in setting procurement requirements, contract management, and governance oversight. The board and senior management are accountable for ensuring the lessons from this inquiry result in lasting change,” Jaduram said.
Jaduram said FENZ is introducing measures including clearer accountability and more transparent reporting to the board. He confirmed the MAN/Angloco programme “has taken far too long” and said appliances will enter service once ready, without compromising firefighter safety.
Parliament has now formally confirmed that the service broker clients are levied to fund is operating with a deteriorating fleet and reporting practices described as misleading. For brokers with commercial property renewals on the horizon, that context is worth understanding.
