Legislation for the compensation scheme will be amended to add primary site cervical, ovarian and uterine cancers to the existing list of 12 eligible conditions, Emergency Services Minister Jaclyn Symes has announced.

"This is something that's been brought to my attention time and time again by female firefighters within CFA (Country Fire Authority) and FRV (Fire Rescue Victoria)," she told reporters on Friday.

Presumptive rights mean that career and volunteer firefighters diagnosed with certain cancers do not need to prove firefighting caused their disease.

Under the expanded scheme, more than 5000 operational female firefighters and mechanics across Victoria's fire agencies will be able to claim compensation if they contract any of the additional three cancers.

Victorian firefighters who have served for 10 years and are diagnosed with those cancers on or after June 1, 2016 will qualify.

The 12 other cancers already covered by the scheme are primary site brain, bladder, kidney, breast, testicular, prostate, ureter, colorectal, oesophageal, non-Hodgkins lymphoma and leukaemia cancers, as well as multiple myeloma.

In 2021, Justice Party MP Tania Maxwell moved to amend the scheme's legislation to include ovarian, uterine and cervical cancers but didn't take it to a vote after the government committed to work towards the change.

It has been a long campaign to expand the scheme to the female-specific cancers, firefighter Samantha Collins said.

"It's going to make our female operational firefighters across these agencies a lot more comfortable to know that there's equality between both male and female firefighters," she said.

But United Firefighters Union Victorian branch secretary Peter Marshall accused the state government of selling out his members by adding three cancers to the scheme instead of eight, leaving the state out of step with federal laws.

"While they pretend to protect female firefighters by adding three new cancers, they fail to protect female firefighters who develop thyroid, pancreatic, skin, lung cancer and malignant mesothelioma," he said.

"This announcement is little more than a political stunt designed to make the Andrews government look good.

"It has absolutely no substance."

The union was a key ally of the Andrews government when it came to power in 2014 but the relationship has soured over the restructuring of state fire services and expansion of presumptive rights to fire service-affiliated mechanics.

In December, presumptive right cancers covered under federal laws were expanded to include primary site lung, skin, cervical, ovarian, penile, pancreatic and thyroid cancer and malignant mesothelioma.

The Victorian Greens this week released a draft bill to add nine more cancers to the state scheme and has flagged it will move amendments to the government's legislation when it comes before parliament.

"These proposed reforms fall short of the protection firefighters need ... the reality is Victorian firefighters will remain less protected than their federal counterparts," state party leader Samantha Ratnam said.

The Victorian opposition has offered in-principle support for the state reforms but will consider the proposal at shadow cabinet before coming to a formal position.

Some 211 claims have been processed since the introduction of Victoria's presumptive rights laws in 2019.

Australian Associated Press