A senior member of Victoria's Country Fire Authority has been stood aside amid allegations they were caught covertly filming female colleagues getting changed in a storage shed.
The CFA has launched a full investigation into the incident, saying an "unauthorised" security camera had been discovered in a shed at the Bendigo fire station.
The shed had been used to store fire extinguishers and other equipment, but was also used by women as an unofficial change room.
The CFA said the camera had been removed, and authorities had seized the footage.
A spokeswoman would not say how long the camera had been there, but in a statement the authority said the incident could have affected "a number of volunteers" who used the shed as a change room.
"We understand this incident may have affected a number of volunteers who used this facility as an unofficial change room," the CFA said in a statement.
"We are in the process of contacting those individuals and will provide appropriate support."
The senior CFA member will not be allowed back to work until the investigation is complete, and the matter has also been referred to police. A spokeswoman would not say whether the person under investigation was employed by the fire authority, or was a volunteer.
The Bendigo CFA is one of 34 "integrated" fire stations across Victoria, which has both paid and volunteer staff.
"We are committed to ensuring our workplaces are safe, secure and support the wellbeing of staff and volunteers at all times," the authority's statement said.
"This includes constantly reviewing our workplaces to ensure they provide a safe environment for women at all times, where we ned to make improvements we will take action immediately."
The incident comes amid long-running allegations of discrimination and intractable workplace problems in the fire services.
Fewer than 4 per cent of staff and volunteers at Victoria's two major fire agencies, the Metropolitan Fire Brigade and the Country Fire Authority, are women.
In July 2015, the Victorian Government commissioned a review of the management and culture of the CFA and MFB, which recommended the fire services work harder to improve diversity and end harassment and discrimination in their services.
In March last year, the Andrews government announced it had engaged the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission to investigate discrimination, equity, sexual harassment and workplace bullying at the CFA and Metropolitan Fire Brigade.
That review is still underway.
A survey of members in 2015 revealed a widespread view among women that the CFA is a club of blokes, many of whom do not believe women are up to the physical demands of fighting fires.