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Incident Capability and Payments Alignment Project | The Portal
Incident Capability and Payments Alignment
Project
The Incident Capability and Payments Alignment (ICPA) project aims to review and realign the
way our organisation responds to complex and long-duration incidents. This includes reviewing
our capacity requirements for these incidents, implementing improved mechanisms to attract the
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right capability – including through reviewed payment policies, and ensuring our volunteers are
engaged in a way reflective of our volunteerism strategy and sector principles.
Background
The interim long duration event (LDE) policies M1-9 POP and M2-1a have expired and are being
revised following review. The original intent of these policies was to enable surge capacity for
events needing extensive resourcing over a sustained duration through recognising the
inconvenience and extra costs (such as lost wages for volunteers or additional childcare costs)
INFORMATION
incurred by being deployed away from home for several days. Taken together, these policies set
up mechanisms for
1) assembling taskforces to be deployed to these events and
2) for reimbursing those in the taskforce for their inconvenience and additional costs. The
reimbursement was as a flat rate payment, made as an honorarium to volunteers or an allowance
to employees, to simplify claims.
The way these policies were originally implemented means that intent has not been realised –
the taskforce mechanism has not been used and there is confusion around payment eligibility.
For information on how M1-9 POP Long duration events allowance and honorarium policy and
associated processes are to be interpreted please go to the Long duration events allowance and
honorarium policy page below.
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Incident Capability and Payments Alignment Project | The Portal
(/projects-and-programmes/incident-
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capability-and-payments-alignment/faqs/)
FAQs
Questions and answers about ICPA.
INFORMATION
(/projects-and-programmes/incident-
capability-and-payments-alignment/long-
duration-events-allowance-and-honorarium-
policy/)
Long duration events allowance and honorarium policy
This page provides information on how M1-9 POP Long duration events allowance and honorarium policy and
associated processes are to be interpreted.
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(/projects-and-programmes/incident-
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capability-and-payments-
alignment/previous-updates-and-
background/)
Previous updates and background
Read previous updates and background to the project.
INFORMATION
(/projects-and-programmes/incident-
capability-and-payments-
alignment/governance-and-project-team/)
Governance and project team
These are the groups involved in the project.
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Long duration events allowance and
honorarium policy
To move us towards the original policy intent and ensure national consistency until the revised
policies are in place [this is underway], from 23 December 2025 the terms of M1-9 POP Long
duration events allowance and honorarium policy (/documents/m1-9-pop-long-duration-events-
allowance-and-honorarium-policy/) and associated processes are to be interpreted as follows:
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Declaring an LDE (changed)
Interpretation
1. District on-call Commander recommends a declaration (/documents/long-duration-event-
declaration-form/) (new form)1 to the Region on-call Commander.
2. On-call National Commanders' Group (NCG) member considers and approves/does not
approve the declaration of an LDE.
INFORMATION
3. District on-call Commander communicates the decision.
4. District on-call Commander notifies the declaration (/documents/long-duration-event-
declaration-form/).
NB: Responsibility for managing incident finances remain with the declaring District for the
duration of the event.
1. Note: this is a proof of concept under review with final policy.
Payment eligibility start time
Interpretation
Where an LDE is declared, LDE payment eligibility starts after 24 hours of the event, measured
from the incident start time recorded in ICAD.
NB: An LDE can be declared at any point. If the declaration is made more than 24 hours after an
incident/event starts, payment eligibility is retroactive (i.e. still 24 hours after the start of the
incident, not 24 hours after the declaration).
Documentation required
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Interpretation
Attendance at an LDE must be documented by completing a Daily Time Record (DTR) or
equivalent.
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Long duration events allowance and honorarium policy | The Portal
Refer to Fill out a Daily Time Record (DTR) (/documents/guideline-using-daily-time-records/) for
the information required.
Personnel eligible for payment
Interpretation
Only some personnel are eligible for LDE payments under M1-9 POP. Eligibility has two parts – to
receive payment, an individual must meet both parts.
1) Eligible roles
Only those performing eligible roles may receive LDE payments. The eligible roles listed in M1-9
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SCb Long duration events eligible roles schedule (/documents/m1-9-scb-long-duration-events-
eligible-roles-schedule/).
AND
2) Eligible groups
Eligible groups are:
Volunteers
Employees who are members of FECA
INFORMATION
Employees who are members of PSA
Employees who attend LDEs as a volunteer are to be treated as employees.
Instructions on how to tell which group an individual belongs to are in this Guideline
(/documents/guideline-interim-long-duration-event-payments/).
Volunteers with legacy rates
Interpretation
Volunteers with legacy rates must choose whether to receive the LDE honorarium OR their legacy
rates for the duration of the event – they cannot ‘mix and match’.
For example, if a volunteer attends on Days 1, 2 and 3, they cannot receive legacy rates for
Day 1, then an LDE honorarium for Days 2 and 3.
Their options in this example are:
Nothing for Day 1 and LDE honorarium for Days 2 and 3, or
Legacy rates for Days 1, 2 and 3.
Districts are to keep a record of the choice made.
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Personnel location
Interpretation
Personnel must be present at the incident ground to be eligible for the LDE allowance or
honorarium.
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Employees located elsewhere (e.g. a coordination centre) are to receive the terms and
conditions of their employment agreement or other applicable policies (e.g. M1-4 POP
Coordination centres policy (/documents/m1-4-pop-coordination-centres-policy/)).
Minimum attendance
Interpretation
Per the current policy wording, there is no minimum attendance requirement.
Districts and IMTs are expected to manage resourcing responsibly and effectively.
Payment term
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Interpretation
One allowance / honorarium per completed shift
Maximum one allowance / honorarium per person per 24 hours
Tax
Interpretation
LDE payments are taxable – they will be paid out net of tax and other deductions (e.g. child
support, student loan).
INFORMATION
LDE payments replace other entitlements
Interpretation
Employees receive either the LDE allowance OR their entitlements under their employment
contract that are above normal salary/wages (e.g. TOIL, OT, meal allowance, on-call allowance),
not both.
Where volunteers have legacy rates, they receive either the LDE honorarium OR their legacy rates,
not both. See ‘Volunteers with legacy rates’ above.
Payment claims process
Interpretation
See Guideline - Interim Long duration event (LDE) payments v0.7.1 (/documents/guideline-
interim-long-duration-event-payments/). This has been updated to reflect the clarifications made
in this memo.
Claims for LDE honoraria and allowances are only to be made using the LDE workbook (see
Guideline).
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No claims are to be made via Home Base or Campaign Timesheets. IMT Finance should check
workbook claims for potential timesheet claims for the same event and decline any timesheet
claims identified.
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Payment endorsement and approval
Interpretation
1. Data entry by IMT Finance.
2. Workbook review by District leadership Team.
3. Endorsement by LDE Incident Controller.
4. Approval by LDE District Manager.
Payments are to be authorised at the correct financial delegation levels. If required payment
approval at NCC level.
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Payments will be audited by NHQ.
How to treat personnel not eligible for LDE payments
Interpretation
Anyone attending an LDE who:
does not perform an eligible role
INFORMATION
OR
is not in an eligible group
OR
is located away from the incident ground
is not eligible to receive an LDE payment under the LDE policies. Depending on the specifics, they
may be eligible for payments under other policies, such as M1-4 POP Coordination Centres policy
(/documents/m1-4-pop-coordination-centres-policy/).
Otherwise, they should claim their normal terms and conditions (e.g. TOIL, OT), using their normal
claim process. These claims should be approved by the District Manager for the District where
the LDE occurred and charged to the LDE.
TOIL claims
Where an employee claims TOIL for attending an LDE outside of their own District, the LDE
Incident Commander should consult that employee’s District Manager before endorsing any TOIL
claim.
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Related documents
Policies
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M1-9 POP Long duration events allowance and honorarium policy (/documents/m1-9-pop-long-duration-
events-allowance-and-honorarium-policy/)
M2-1a POP Domestic deployment taskforce interim policy (/documents/m2-1a-domestic-deployment-
task-force-interim-policy/)
Schedules
M1-9 SCa Long duration events payments schedule (/documents/m1-9-sca-long-duration-events-
payments-schedule/)
M1-9 SCb Long duration events eligible roles schedule (/documents/m1-9-scb-long-duration-events-
eligible-roles-schedule/)
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Who to contact
Clare Markham, Business Analyst by email to [email address]
(mailto:[email address]) or on Teams.
INFORMATION
Last modified: 12. January 2026
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Interim policy
M1-9 POP

Long duration events al owance and honorarium
Introduction
When to use
This interim policy sets out payment entitlements that apply to Fire and Emergency
New Zealand volunteers and employees (personnel) deployed to long duration
events (LDEs), as defined in this interim policy, under the M2-1a POP Domestic
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deployment taskforce interim policy.
Contents
This interim policy contains the fol owing content:
About this interim policy
Long duration event (LDE)
Payment entitlements
Terms and conditions
Related information
INFORMATION
About this interim policy
Purpose
The aims of this interim policy are to:
•  define an LDE
•  recognise and compensate personnel fairly for attending LDEs when deployed
as part of a Domestic Taskforce and minimise pay inequalities at LDEs
•  provide clarity and assurance regarding payment entitlements for attending
LDEs as part of a Taskforce
Who it applies to
This interim policy applies to Fire and Emergency personnel attending an LDE and
those deployed as part of the Domestic Taskforce and performing roles listed in the
M1-9 SCb Long duration events eligible roles schedule.
Long duration event
Definition
In this interim policy, a long duration event (LDE) is an incident of any nature that:
•  is longer or is expected to be longer than 24 hours
and
•  has been formally declared an LDE by an Assistant National Commander or on-
call Region Executive. The National Commander, Deputy National Commanders
and the National Commanders Group representative also have authority to
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formally declare an LDE.
Note: Declaration of an LDE does not automatical y trigger deployment of
additional personnel from across or outside the affected District.
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Interim policy - Long duration events allowance and honorarium
Payment entitlements
Eligibility
Payment eligibility begins 24 hours after the incident commences (providing the
incident has been formal y declared an LDE).
Fire and Emergency personnel who attend an LDE and perform roles listed in the
M1-9 SCb Long duration events eligible roles schedule are entitled to payment as
listed below:
If they…
then they…
deployed under M2-1a POP Domestic
are entitled to payments specified in
deployment taskforce interim policy
M1-9 SCa Long duration events
payments schedule
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were already attending at the incident  may, at the discretion of the National
when it was declared an LDE
Commander, receive payments
specified in M1-9 SCa Long duration
events payments schedule
Personnel who attend an LDE and perform roles other than those listed in the M1-
9 SCb Long duration events eligible roles schedule are not covered by this interim
policy, but may receive payments in accordance with the terms and conditions of
their employment or volunteer agreement and/or policies applicable to their
circumstance, such as M1-4 POP Coordination Centres policy.
INFORMATION
Note: Personnel must not self-deploy. To be eligible for payment under this
interim policy, you must be deployed under M2-1a POP Domestic deployment
taskforce interim policy or, at the discretion of the National Commander, already
attending at the incident when it was declared an LDE.
Nature of
For each completed shift (max. one per 24 hour period) fol owing the first 24 hours
payments
of an LDE, personnel deployed to that LDE will receive, per the M1-9 SCa Long
duration events payments schedule:
•  Volunteers: a daily honorarium, which is in lieu of a family/whānau support
allowance and reimbursements for loss of employment income or dependent
care costs.
In addition to being a token of appreciation for their service, and a recompense
for the inconvenience, this honorarium is a payment to compensate volunteers
for the loss of opportunity (including loss of income) and associated expenses
incurred by attending an LDE (such as additional dependent care costs) without
the administrative burden of filing individual claims. That is, the honorarium is
not provided for the purpose of volunteers obtaining financial gain or profit.
•  Employees: a daily allowance, which is in addition to their base salary, but in
lieu of overtime and al  other penalty rates and provisions contained in their
employment agreement.
Both honorarium and al owance are flat daily rates for all roles listed in M1-9 SCb
Long duration events eligible roles schedule, regardless of rank or role performed.
For the purpose of this interim policy:
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•  permanent and fixed-term employees who are also volunteers are considered
employees
•  casual employees who are also volunteers are considered volunteers.
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Interim policy - Long duration events allowance and honorarium
Terms and conditions
Payment period
Payment eligibility continues until the LDE is declared closed or you return home,
whichever is earlier.
Record of
The start and finish time of each work shift at an LDE, including travel time, must
attendance
be recorded in a Daily Time Record (DTR) and signed off by personnel with relevant
delegation.
Lodging claims
Claims are lodged by the Incident Finance function, which may include support
from a deployee’s home, District or other Business Services Coordinator.
Terms of payment Payment terms for personnel deployed under this interim policy are set out in the
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M1-9 SCa Long duration events payments schedule.
Applicable policy
Personnel attending an LDE as part of the Domestic Taskforce will be subject to the
terms and conditions under the M2-1a POP Domestic deployment taskforce interim
policy current at the time of the LDE. This interim policy is part of the interim ICPA
solution and changes can be made at the discretion of Fire and Emergency.
Related information
How do I
INFORMATION
Claim business expense
Fill out a Daily Time Record (DTR) coming soon
Schedules
M1-9 SCa Long duration events payments schedule
M1-9 SCb Long duration events eligible roles schedule
Policies
M2-1a POP Domestic deployment taskforce interim policy
Volunteer claim for loss or damage of personal effects
Reference
Collective agreements
Document information
Owner
DCE Service Delivery Design
Steward
National and International Response Manager
Last reviewed
27 May 2024
Review period
Yearly
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Record of amendments
Date
Brief description of amendment
May 2024
Initial version

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Schedule
M1-9 SCa

Long duration events payments
Introduction
When to use
This schedule sets out payments for Fire and Emergency New Zealand volunteers
and employees (personnel) attending declared long duration events (LDEs) under
the M2-1a POP Domestic deployment taskforce interim policy.
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Review
These payments relate to the interim solution for the Incident Capability and
Payments Allowance (ICPA) Project and will be reviewed at the discretion of Fire
and Emergency.
Interim schedule of LDE payments
Limitation of
Application of payments set out in this schedule relate to the deployment of
applicability
domestic taskforces under M2-1a POP Domestic deployment taskforce interim
policy.
INFORMATION
Shift
Any period of time in attendance at the LDE during a 24 hour period. This includes
travel time.
Payments
Payments are made at a flat rate (per 24 hour period) regardless of rank or role(s)
performed while attending an LDE.
Al  payments are subject to:
•  a completed and approved Daily Time Record (DTR); and
•  tax and other applicable deductions. (For more information for volunteers,
refer to the Long duration events tax guide for volunteers.)
Travel time
Travel time includes:
•  daily travel to and from an incident site; and
•  travel from home or home station to an LDE at the beginning of deployment
and back to home location at the end of deployment.
Terms of payment  Payment will be made to personnel deployed under M2-1a POP Domestic
deployment taskforce interim policy on the next available pay run after all required
approvals are received (i.e. when both DTRs and timesheets are signed off).
Honorarium
Method
Amount per calendar day (before tax)
amount for
Daily honorarium
Equivalent to Senior Firefighter Grade 2 Driver Rate 2
volunteers
(overtime Sunday day shift)
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Honoraria are in lieu of all other provisions contained in
all volunteer agreements and other policies.

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Schedule - Long duration events payments
Payment amounts
Method
Payment amount per calendar day (before tax)
for employees
Daily allowance
Non-public holidays
Equivalent to Senior Firefighter Grade 2 Driver Rate 2
(overtime Sunday day shift)
Public holidays
Equivalent to Senior Firefighter Grade 2 Driver Rate 2
(overtime Sunday day shift). This allowance will then be
added to the base salary and the total multiplied by 1.5.
Plus, an alternative day annual leave will apply.
Payments are in lieu of all other non-statutory
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provisions and penalty rates contained in all individual
and col ective employment agreements and other
policies.

Related information
How do I
Claim business expense
Guide
INFORMATION
Long duration events tax guide for volunteers
Forms & tools
RF221 Daily time record (see p. 51 of Rural fire incident management forms and templates (August 2018))
RF250 Daily vehicle time record (see p. 54 of Rural fire incident management forms and templates (August
2018))
Schedule
M1-9 SCb Long duration events eligible roles schedule
Policy
M2-1a POP Domestic taskforce deployment interim policy
M1-9 POP Long duration events al owance and honorarium interim policy
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Schedule - Long duration events payments
Document information
Owner
DCE Service Delivery Design
Steward
National and International Response Manager
Last reviewed
27 May 2024
Review period
Yearly
Record of amendments
Date
Brief description of amendment
May 2024
Initial version
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INFORMATION
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Document Outline