In this first article on the funding of Emergency Services in NSW, Martin Fitzpatrick, and Jessie Yu dive into what the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) is, who is liable to collect it, and discuss some historical examples.
What is ESL?
ESL (Emergency Services Levy) is a levy to fund the majority of Emergency Services in NSW through the insurance industry. The amount to be funded (the Contribution Target), is volatile year to year.
Insurers collect ESL as part of the premiums they charge by setting their own loadings (ESL rates).
They pay their ESL liability to the NSW government via Revenue NSW. ESL rates are estimates to help fund the liability. ESL levies collected by an insurer will not typically equal the amount it pays to meet its ESL liability to the NSW government.
