Volunteer firefighters are demanding an inquiry into bushfire preparedness as a state government agrees to request a formal review.
More than 410,000 hectares have burned across Victoria after strong winds and high temperatures last week sparked widespread bushfires, destroying or damaging almost 900 structures.
Confirmed home losses have risen to 259, with 17 damaged significantly.
As the bushfire threat continues to ease in milder conditions, a group of volunteer and career firefighters gathered on the steps of Victorian parliament on Thursday to call for an urgent inquiry.
John Houston, a volunteer firefighter for his entire adult life who has been driving a 29-year-old truck, said workforce morale had never been lower.
Excessive red tape and outdated equipment had undermined the joy of their work, he said.
"We want people to be excited about going to fight fires, but when you’ve got gear that’s not right, people just get despondent," Mr Houston told AAP.
According to the state firefighters union, 792 CFA tankers are out of date, unsafe and should be off the road, including 230 tankers more than 31 years old.
Emergency Services Minister Vicki Ward said the Allan government had been "more than adequately funding the CFA" and dismissed the union-led inquiry call.
"Every season there is work done to understand these fires, to understand the response and that's exactly what will happen," she told reporters at Broadford.
The government has said its focus remains on recovery and support, with high-risk fire danger still days ahead.
"Once the risk is reduced, we will request a formal review into this bushfire season led by the Inspector General for Emergency Management, not politicians," a Victorian government spokesperson said on Thursday evening.
"The Inspector General for Emergency Management was established for exactly this purpose – to provide expert advice so we can continually improve our response."
CFA chief officer Jason Heffernan acknowledged firefighters were blaming themselves for the losses in the community, despite his view the blazes were "unstoppable" in catastrophic-rated conditions.
"The reality is there is nothing they could have done," he said.
The CFA's most recent publicly available annual report shows government grant funding fell from $351.6 million in 2020/21 to $339.5 million in 2023/24.
Treasurer Jaclyn Symes foreshadowed grants were expected to fall to $337.6 million in 2024/25, but the CFA board said its total budget had increased each year since 2020, including an additional $20.3 million this financial year.
Premier Jacinta Allan on Wednesday said the CFA's 2024/25 annual report would be published as soon as possible and suggested the auditor-general's office was partly responsible for the hold-up.
The auditor-general's office subsequently released a statement to declare it was not responsible for the delay.
"We provided our final clearance on 11th November 2025," the body said.
"This was in line with the timelines requested by CFA."
Opposition Leader Jess Wilson accused the premier of misleading Victorians and hiding the report.
Ms Allan did not front the media on Thursday, with Ms Ward doubling down that there were "delays in the auditing process".
Ms Ward said she received the report in December after parliament had risen for 2025 and has since asked the department to table it in the next week "in light of all the conversation".
The Victorian and federal governments on Thursday announced $82 million in funding to restore and repair state roads and public transport infrastructure damaged by fires.
The Longwood and Walwa blazes in the state's northeast are expected to burn for weeks, although crews have made positive progress in containment.
Meteorologist Angus Hines said significant widespread rainfall, heavy winds and thunderstorms were forecast for Victoria's southeast in coming days.
