A plan to stop firefighters answering emergency calls has been delayed after their union opposed the move, saying the firies wanted to keep working in the call centre.
The former minister, Simon Corbell, announced last year that civilians would answer triple-0 calls from July 2017, freeing up firefighters to work on the frontline.
But ACT Emergency Services Commissioner Dominic Lane said the change had taken longer than intended as he wanted to "get right" a move that had received significant push back.
"There will be no major changes from July," Mr Lane said.
"We are still working on a model for the firefighters that want to stay in the ComCen [call centre], such as older firefighters.
"We are continuing consultation and we are taking feedback from firefighters and feeding that into our strategic reform agenda."
Firefighters currently answer emergency calls for ACT Fire and Rescue alongside trained civilian ambulance call-takers at the ESA's Fairbairn headquarters. The restructure was expected to return up to a dozen firefighters to the frontline.
As an example of how more calls could be answered under the reform, Mr Lane pointed to the freak windstorm that took Canberra by surprise on January 13.
"In the first half an hour, it was up to four firefighters and ambulance personnel to take the calls," Mr Lane said.
"Some calls were flowing down to paramedics or police or dropping out. The current model requires more firefighters to come into the ComCen right in the time when we need them on the road helping the community."
One incident management team member praised the "efficient operations" in an email to firefighters on January 13, saying extra staff were called on to answer more than 700 calls.
United Firefighters Union ACT branch secretary Greg McConville said it made no sense for Mr Lane to use that incident as a case for changing the system.
"He is clutching at straws by pointing to a job that was done outstandingly and saying that's why we need more firefighters in the frontline," he said.
"ComCen is the frontline until resources hit the ground. Having skilled firefighters in the ComCen allowed them to deal with the incident on the spot, managing it when extra resources might not yet be on the ground."
While the ACT ESA is in the process of holding roundtables to consider the firefighters' concerns, Mr McConville said there was too little consultation.
"Roundtables can't get into the details about how ComCen works and the issues with the new model," he said.
"Because we've continued to push back, they are saying they will consider having a committee with local expertise dedicating to discuss the changes. I just hope [Mr Lane] is finally seeing the light. And that this process requires considered discussion, not an obsessive wish-list."
The call centre reform was one of several changes Mr Lane supported as part of the agency's strategic agenda, which aims to slash duplication across the three emergency services.
Last September, about 100 firefighters marched on the ACT parliament, bringing with them a litany of complaints about senior executives within the Emergency Services Agency, including Mr Lane, and the ongoing reform.