Ageing fleets, missed maintenance and major funding shortfalls are threatening a fire-prone state's ability to adequately respond to fire emergencies.
Victoria's fire authorities will need an estimated $1.5 billion from 2024-25 to 2033-34 to replace and upgrade their trucks, but have only been allocated about a quarter of that amount, an audit has found.
The Victorian Auditor-General's Office audit report was tabled in state parliament on Wednesday.
It examined fleets operated by Fire Rescue Victoria, the Country Fire Authority and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action.
It found FRV and CFA fleets were ageing, with 57 per cent of vehicles 15 years or older and more than a third 20 years or older, and that none of the three authorities was completing all scheduled maintenance.
While DEECA's fleet is comparatively new, the report found "significant gaps" in its fleet planning approach, including overlooking quality assurance processes.
This led to equipment faults, including overweight, cracking trucks, and more than half its fleet being removed from service in 2025, it found.
Those trucks have since been returned under ongoing monitoring and repair programs.
"Together, these issues increase the risk that fire authorities will not have enough fit-for-purpose fire trucks to respond to fires and other emergencies," the report reads.
The report made six recommendations, including that all three authorities improve their asset management arrangements to meet national and global standards.
The authorities agreed to all recommendations in full or in principle.
The report comes as Victoria prepares for what is expected to be a high-risk bushfire season, driven by a confluence of climate conditions.
Earlier in October, Premier Ben Carroll announced a re-elected Labor government would invest in 150 new fire trucks by 2030.
The $167 million commitment would deliver 100 tankers to the Country Fire Authority and 50 to Fire Rescue Victoria, added to rolling replacements.
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson, however, criticised the move as being too little too late, adding the government had let the state's firefighting resources age beyond their use.
The report found the state's firefighting fleet is made up of more than 3000 trucks, with the vast majority operated by the CFA.
Fire Rescue Victoria is made up of full-time professional firefighters, servicing metropolitan Melbourne and Victoria's major regional centres.
The Country Fire Authority is predominantly served by volunteer firefighters across the regions and rural areas, while DEECA manages fire prevention and permits on public land including national parks.