The fate of the government's CFA split and cancer compensation plans now lies with the upper house crossbench MPs, with some expressing anger at Mr Andrews' plan.

Shooters, Fishers and Farmers MP Daniel Young said it was "disgraceful" to combine the fire services overhaul with the cancer compensation scheme in the one bill.

The plan to create a cancer compensation scheme for all firefighters has bipartisan backing but the reforms are included in the legislation needed to split off the CFA as a volunteer-only service and create a new Fire Rescue Victoria for paid firefighters.

Opposition Leader Matthew Guy warned there would be "no guarantee [the legislation] will pass the upper house".

If Labor had introduced a standalone presumptive cancer bill it would pass the Parliament this week, he said.

"Everyone appears to support it," he said.

Earlier Mr Andrews was defiant, saying that when it was in power, the Coalition had failed to introduce the compensation laws.

"We don't run our reform agenda based on what the opposition might vote for, or vote against. They have been all over the place on these issues."

Labor does not control the numbers in the upper house and requires the Greens and other crossbenchers to pass legislation opposed by the Coalition.

Vote 1 Local Jobs' James Purcell could cast a critical vote. He said voters in his western Victorian electorate were concerned that changes to the CFA could be bad for volunteers. 

"If we were voting now, with the knowledge I've got, I would vote against it," Mr Purcell said. 

Sex Party MP Fiona Patten was briefed by senior firefighting officials but has not seen the full legislation. She said she was inclined to support the bill.

"I hope this provides the circuit-breaker," Ms Patten said.

The Greens are still waiting to see the details of the bill. 

The compensation scheme will formally be open to firefighters who have developed the cancers since June 2016.

But the government is also setting up a $5 million scheme for those firefighters who fall outside the qualification period or the criteria for other cancers.

An expert committee will advise WorkSafe on all the compensation claims. Emergency Services Minister James Merlino said the government had conservatively estimated the cost of the scheme at $50 million.

Mr Merlino again refused to say how much the recruitment of 450 extra firefighters would cost the state budget but said it would be delivered through the existing emergency services budget of $1.1 billion.

He said the entire firefighting reform was "not a costly exercise".

The politically sensitive issue of establishing the lines of command between volunteers and career firefighters who both arrive at the same fire was still being worked out.

Mr Merlino also revealed a new workplace agreement merging the proposed CFA agreement and existing MFB agreement.

The CFA agreement was the trigger point for the major political pain endured by Mr Andrews, with the dispute costing Jane Garrett her spot in cabinet.

Labor's promise to dramatically boost the number of women into firefighting will not be written into legislation.

At his morning press conference, Mr Andrews was joined by professional firefighters from the CFA who, unprompted, spoke about how offended they were by comments from shadow minister Brad Battin about Black Saturday, as revealed by Fairfax Media.