Inquiry Search
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC325-4328 | 9 - Community education | The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services establish a community education program by 1 November 2023 that complements the implementation of the Australian Warning System. An evaluation process should be incorporated into the program to determine effectiveness. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC324-4315 | 36 - Volunteers | The Community First Responders Program: That, to better coordinate community efforts to save life and property during a disaster, Government create a ‘Community First Responders Program’, funding appropriate community equipment and training, particularly in high-risk catchments along the east coast of NSW. This training would be delivered by combat and/or other appropriate government agencies. This program could support and empower community led initiatives such as disaster response, evacuation centres and the provision of services such as psychological first aid. |
REC324-4297 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Housing , especially social housing: That, to ease housing stress in flood prone areas and ensure new development is resilient and community-centred, Government pursue a multi-pronged, decadal strategy through: |
REC324-4311 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Transition initiatives: That, to improve the community’s experience during immediate disaster recovery phase, Government through the SEOCON, NSWRA, DCS/Service NSW and other state agencies as required provide greater support (financial, health [including mental health], temporary accommodation, administrative and other support services) to affected communities by: |
REC324-4307 | 9 - Community education | Flood education: That, to build disaster resilience in future generations as floods and other natural disasters are a fact of Australian life, the Department of Education should design, implement and deliver an evidence-based, targeted education campaign (like sun exposure) in schools (new disaster curriculum). |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC323-4277 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the NSW Government develop a more proactive, rapid response to manage animal welfare following natural disasters which includes improved collaboration and communication with local veterinarians and animal welfare organisations. |
REC323-4262 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the NSW Government provide an increased level of targeted support to flood affected communities contending with widespread mould. |
REC323-4269 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the NSW Government address the mental health needs of local communities following the February-March 2022 floods by: • embedding within state emergency and recovery plans a strategy that provides surge capacity for mental health and social workers by: • prioritising funding for community groups that are currently providing social and mental health support to their local communities • ensuring all flood-impacted communities receive the mental health support they need to fully recover. |
REC323-4289 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the NSW Government ensure that all emergency and recovery plans, including state plans, local emergency management plans and functional area plans, are reviewed and updated regularly and provide clarity on the role of non-government partners. |
REC323-4271 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That Service NSW establish teams of assessors that can be on the ground to assess and approve grant applications. |
REC323-4273 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the NSW Government overhaul the way in which it conducts its grants process as it frustrated applicants and further traumatised them by repeatedly re-interviewing them and making them prove that they were flooded. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC313-2509 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Developing detailed recovery procedures. |
REC313-2516 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Documenting disaster recovery risks in agency risk registers, along with controls and treatment plans. |
REC313-2513 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Assessing the availability and skillsets of the resources needed to respond to a major disaster recovery event. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC312-2506 | 9 - Community education | The chairpersons of disaster management groups within the Townsville Disaster District, supported by the Queensland Police Service, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and the Queensland Reconstruction Authority develop a district action plan based on the capability enhancement strategy. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC311-2500 | 9 - Community education | To enable the community to make informed choices about disaster management, Bundaberg and North Burnett regional councils and Sunwater undertake a community-informed audible test of the Paradise Dam siren. |
REC311-2494 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | To increase shared understanding of risks, enable coordinated plans and collaboratively engage with downstream community members, residents listed within a dam EAP be identified by the Local Government Area (LGA) they reside in. |
REC311-2489 | 9 - Community education | To enable the community to have a shared understanding of risks and enhance community engagement, flood scenarios in Emergency Action Plans be published, and in a format that can be utilised by public mapping systems. |
REC311-2503 | 9 - Community education | To enable the casual/itinerant worker and tourism sector, including those who do not have English as a first language, to make informed choices about disaster management, community engagement and communication strategies about Paradise Dam and floods in the Burnett river system be tailored to this sector. |
REC311-2502 | 9 - Community education | To enable the community to make informed choices about disaster management, and act on them, Sunwater develop and deliver a sustainable long-term communication strategy on the community safety issues and |
REC311-2501 | 9 - Community education | To enable the community to make informed choices about disaster management, and act on them, a joint Sunwater/council community engagement program be conducted to prepare the community downstream from Paradise Dam for events in the 2019/2020 storm and cyclone season, including the possibility of a Paradise Dam failure. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC310-2481 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Greater clarity about responsibilities for recovery at the community, local, and district levels should be considered in any future review of the Disaster Management Act (2003). |
REC310-2488 | 33 - Relief and recovery | The basic capacity needs of each functional recovery group and how this can be scaled up should be identified. Plans for functional recovery groups should reflect this in clear statements for every level of the system, for all relevant entities about their required function, role and responsibilities during recovery. |
REC310-2486 | 9 - Community education | State arrangements for on-the-ground support to recovering local governments should be in line with Queensland’s disaster management arrangements, and ensure the best balance between local relationships, suitable capability and sufficient capacity. |
REC310-2485 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Recovery plans at all levels should include transition arrangements. They should be implemented during recovery. The arrangements should: |
REC310-2483 | 9 - Community education | 09-Community education/engagement/preparedness |
REC310-2484 | 33 - Relief and recovery | There remains a need to maximise the effect of all offers of assistance to recovering communities. This recommendation presents an opportunity to resolve any outstanding aspects of Recommendation 4 and Actions in Response from the Cyclone Debbie Review Action Plan: |
REC310-2482 | 9 - Community education | Practical guidance on what community-led recovery means, and how it can be best implemented should be captured and shared with all who have responsibility for it. This should be done to help individuals and communities to take the lead in recovery and so that community-led recovery becomes the norm following disasters and other events. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC309-2480 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should formalise arrangements with entities that have the skills, capability and capacity to effectively manage spontaneous volunteers. These should be documented and integrated into planning and exercising. |
REC309-2473 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils, with the support of stakeholders, continue to develop and promote local disaster dashboards as the ‘point of truth’ for community information and messaging during disaster events. Greater use during recovery should be considered. |
REC309-2468 | 33 - Relief and recovery | State Government agencies with key roles and responsibilities around disaster recovery provide increased support in the development of recovery at the local level (pre-event). |
REC309-2467 | 9 - Community education | Further work be undertaken to develop effective public flood risk messaging and community education materials that are easy to understand and tested with the community to ensure flood risk is understood. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC306-2424 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | We recommend that the four councils develop floodplain management plans in accordance with Recommendation 2.12 of the Final Report of the Queensland Floods Commission of Inquiry. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC297-1251 | 9 - Community education | That all councils include an easily identifiable website link for the public to locate their Municipal Emergency Management Plan and community safety information. |
REC297-1250 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | That in flood-prone municipalities, the respective Municipal Committee develops or reviews flood-related sub-plans within a Municipal Emergency Management Plan at least every two years and submits each sub-plan to the Regional Controller for approval. In addition, that each Municipal Committee maintains a current flood plan, in a standardised format, which at least identifies: • flood-prone parts of their locality, particularly those where lives may be at risk; • required actions to be taken in the event of a flood threat, especially timely evacuation; • trigger points for taking required actions and how those trigger points will be monitored; and • how the community can access flood-plan information |
REC297-1256 | 9 - Community education | That SES and Tasmania Fire Service share resources and align their community education programs and adopt an all-hazards approach to awareness. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC295-1275 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That SA Health, develop an emergency plan to manage an extended power outage or black system event which, in addition to the requirements outlined in recommendation 16: |
REC295-1326 | 14 - Incident Mgt Teams | Establish a State-wide resourcing capability to support incident management teams, regional coordination centres, zone emergency centres, relief centres, recovery centres and State control centres. some of the features of such a capability should include: a) multi-agency, cross-government, State-wide pool of incident management and emergency management personnel building on the State incident management team concept currently facilitated by the Country Fire Service, and expanded to include all hazards, multiagency teams with a roster that provides year-round coverage b) a system that enables staff and volunteers from any agency to identify their availability for upcoming shifts c) a rostering system that enables one or more incident management teams, staging areas, regional coordination centres, State control centres and relief centres to develop, maintain and distribute rosters and structure charts in a more coordinated manner d) identifying areas of expertise for key incident and emergency management functions (e.g. public information, alerts and warning, media liaison, logistics and resource management) that would benefit from a coordinated and resource pooling approach and take steps to implement (consider the Mapping Functional Support Group model as a potential service delivery model). |
REC295-1306 | 9 - Community education | Develop practical policy outcomes to support resilience (e.g. the 72- hour model) and promote this broadly to community through media, awareness campaigns, policies etc. Research should be undertaken to gain insight into the types of messaging and activities that have the most impact on sustained behaviour change within the community before committing to a particular model. |
REC295-1334 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Conduct a review into South Australia’s arrangements for relief and recovery grant, Local Government Disaster Recovery Assistance Arrangements and Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangement claims, the review should include governance coordination and criteria for provision and processing of relief/recovery grants |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC286-2052 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Undertake local level emergency management planning for areas at risk of debris flow. |
REC286-2075 | 9 - Community education | Develop and implement a community storm safe awareness program. |
REC286-2076 | 36 - Volunteers | Review volunteering arrangements to improve recruitment and retention. |
REC286-1439 | 9 - Community education | Continue the Community Bushfire Protection Program with a renewed focus on vulnerable groups. |
REC286-1476 | 9 - Community education | Develop and implement a targeted community flood awareness program. |
REC286-2043 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Assessment of council’s capacity to manage land effectively. |
REC286-2035 | 9 - Community education | Include heatwave in existing preparedness programs. |
REC286-1437 | 9 - Community education | Continue the Bushfire Ready Neighbourhoods Program. |
REC286-1466 | 9 - Community education | Develop and deliver earthquake hazard awareness products. |
REC286-2041 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Development mechanisms to support small councils to manage treatment across the PPRR spectrum (across all hazards). |
REC286-1443 | 14 - Incident Mgt Teams | Build capacity to enable Incident Management Teams to manage the likely increased frequency and intensity of major fire events. |
REC286-2034 | 9 - Community education | Improve community educational information. |
REC286-2088 | 9 - Community education | Develop a community education strategy for when to call 000, 131 444, and 132 500. |
REC286-1449 | 9 - Community education | Develop coastal inundation education materials that meet the needs of exposed communities. |
REC286-2085 | 9 - Community education | Up-skill isolated communities in emergency PPRR skills. |
REC286-1446 | 9 - Community education | Introduce child-centred household level disaster risk reduction strategies in school programs. |
REC286-2083 | 9 - Community education | Enhance the community development program. |
REC286-1440 | 9 - Community education | Expand the existing Fire Ready Schools Program with enhanced support and incorporate other sites used by vulnerable groups. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC285-2521 | 36 - Volunteers | The report recommends that Ambulance Tasmania investigate whether higher proportions of volunteers were impacting on mobilisation times in the North. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC281-1207 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Communicating in Recovery: The Office of Emergency Management: · considers the development of a communications and engagement strategy for major disaster events · progresses the development of the ‘Communicating In Recovery’ Guideline in the Local Recovery Toolkit. |
REC281-1206 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Transition from Response to Recovery: That Region Emergency Management Committees meet post event to: · consider available impact data · determine the need to establish a Recovery Committee · document the rationale for the decision · advise the Office of Emergency Management of the decision. |
REC281-1204 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Transition from Response to Recovery That the Office of Emergency Management, in consultation with the NSW Police Force Emergency Management Unit develops a template for handover of the Response to Recovery Phase of an emergency. |
REC281-1203 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Impact Assessment Data Sharing The Office of Emergency Management: · with the SEOCON, jointly provides further guidance to Regional Emergency Management Officers about their role in facilitating local council access to the Impact Assessment Data Base · with REMOs and the SEOCON jointly provides further information to local councils about Impact Assessment Data Sharing Arrangements and the data available through this mechanism · includes information about the Impact Assessment Data Sharing Arrangements in the Local Recovery Toolkit · develops a mechanism to allow local councils to have direct access to the collated impact data. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC279-1230 | 36 - Volunteers | Volunteer Retention: By April 2015, develop strategies and resources to improve volunteer retention, including: a) induction and development of leaders b) health checks for units to identify and address areas for improvement c) pathways for volunteers to take on greater responsibility d) consultation and communication e) recognition for volunteers and their employers |
REC279-1228 | 36 - Volunteers | Volunteer Workforce Plan: By December 2014, develop a volunteer workforce plan to focus resources for recruitment and retention on areas of greatest need. The plan should be based on regional capability plans that assess in a consistent way: a) how many volunteers they have and need b) the gaps and risks around volunteer numbers, skills and training |
REC279-1227 | 36 - Volunteers | Improve Analysis and Reporting: By December 2014, improve analysis and reporting on management information about volunteers, including: a) numbers, contribution, skills, profile, availability and turnover b) reasons for joining and leaving c) gaps in data completeness and quality This should enable SES to demonstrate an improvement in the completeness and accuracy of management information by April 2015 |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC276-1177 | 36 - Volunteers | Within 12 months, develop volunteer specific policies and procedures, including fatigue management, consistent with the Guidelines for Successful Partnerships between Public Sector Agencies and Volunteers. |
REC276-1176 | 36 - Volunteers | Within 12 months, improve its processes for collecting and maintaining volunteer membership, availability and training records. To do this it will need to work with local information. governments to improve the accuracy of LG volunteer membership |
REC276-1175 | 36 - Volunteers | Continue to implement the major change projects it has in place, including Professional Pathways, and review them to assess if they will address all the key findings in this report. In particular, within six months DFES should set priorities and Sustainability Strategy. begin implementing the Emergency Services Volunteer Workforce |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC272-1419 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Opportunities should be identified through the Local Government Association of Queensland council to council arrangement to share structural engineers to assess potential places of refuge against the Department of Housing and Public Works’ structure classification criteria. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC271-1523 | 9 - Community education | Banana Shire Council coordinates the development of a strategy to significantly enhance public education regarding local disaster management arrangements within the Banana Shire, focusing on key identified risks. |
REC271-1533 | 14 - Incident Mgt Teams | State Disaster Coordination Centre considers requesting a representative from critical infrastructure owners be present as a liaison officer in the State Disaster Coordination Centre during activations for events that may impact on their assets. |
REC271-1524 | 9 - Community education | SunWater provide downstream residents with easily understood information regarding operation of the dam, and the impacts that various outflows may have for them, in accordance with mapping prepared for the Emergency Action Plan. This information should be complementary to any information from the Banana Shire Council. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC268-1423 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | The State Disaster Coordination Centre Notification Matrix is reviewed to ensure local governments are notified of any event affecting, or likely to affect, their local government area. |
REC268-1432 | 9 - Community education | Queensland Fire and Emergency Services should consider developing and implementing mechanisms, such as face-to-face forums, for disaster management practitioners to share knowledge, contemporary research findings and document good practice about warnings. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC267-1160 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Transition from Response to Recovery |
REC267-1159 | 9 - Community education | Improving Community Preparedness and Resilience |
REC267-1156 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Streamlining NDRRA Grants Processes |
REC267-1150 | 9 - Community education | Media Engagement Consideration should be given on future recovery operations to adopting a more structured approach to media engagement, with regular media briefings undertaken at a frequency dependent upon the phase of the recovery activities and the level of media interest. These briefings could be conducted at different locations around the region, if appropriate, and would provide the opportunity for communication of key messages and provide journalists with the opportunity to ask questions regarding the recovery. This could be complemented by media coverage of community engagement visits. For all recovery operations, |
REC267-1155 | 33 - Relief and recovery | MP Recovery Reference Group |
REC267-1154 | 36 - Volunteers | Coordination of Volunteer Support |
REC267-1148 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Planning for Recovery Centres Recovery Centres are a proven means of providing support to affected communities. More comprehensive recovery planning is needed at local levels, including the identification of potential Recovery Centre sites in Local EM Plans to help facilitate streamlined establishment of the Centres in future events. Consideration should be given to developing a clear set of standard messaging regarding |
REC267-1163 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Corrections Volunteer Labour Teams |
REC267-1161 | 33 - Relief and recovery | VIP Visits |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC263-1094 | 36 - Volunteers | CFA and VICSES should: evaluate volunteer support systems and processes |
REC263-1093 | 36 - Volunteers | VICSES should: review and improve data quality around volunteer numbers and skills |
REC263-1091 | 36 - Volunteers | CFA and VICSES should: develop recruitment and retention strategies to guide these activities centrally, regionally and at the district, brigade and unit level, so that approaches are consistent with the organisations’ strategic goals |
REC263-1090 | 36 - Volunteers | CFA and VICSES should: improve their central and regional oversight of volunteer workforce management by strategically using the available information, such as volunteer demographic data, Brigade Operational Skills Profiles and ERAS-e profiles, and developing new information, such as risk assessment, to increase their awareness of: x x actual and required volunteer numbers the gaps and risks around volunteer capability and capacity |
REC263-1098 | 36 - Volunteers | VicSES should: improve ERAS-e profiles to reflect volunteer activity and availability |
REC263-1096 | 36 - Volunteers | CFA should: develop exit surveys and associated management reports based on meaningful analysis as a way to better inform it about the reasons that volunteers leave |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC250-0795 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Regional Development Victoria should implement the recommendations from the Department of Planning and Community Development's review of the Community Recovery Fund to improve the delivery of relief and recovery programs in the future. |
REC250-0791 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Local Government Victoria should lead the design and implementation of strategies to support councils to further develop social capital needed for recovery. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC244-2621 | 36 - Volunteers | Greater attention needs to be given to the recruitment and retention of volunteers in alignment with the National Emergency Management Volunteer Action Plan. |
REC244-2606 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | The Act be amended to require the mandatory appointment of Authorised Officers by each rural council or council that has within its area a Designated Urban Bushfire Risk Area(s) with an option for the CFS Chief Officer to exempt council from this requirement (similar to Section 105B). |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC243-0841 | 36 - Volunteers | That the Government consult broadly upon and review impediments to volunteering in the community and establish a taskforce to assist in removing barriers to volunteering, particularly with respect to: i harmonising the regime for reimbursement to community safety and emergency services volunteers for their out-of-pocket expenses; and ii reviewing the impact of work health and safety laws on the community safety and emergency service sector, particularly on the volunteer organisation. |
REC243-0840 | 36 - Volunteers | That with regard to volunteer community safety and emergency service organisations that do not own land where their facilities exist: i. the Government audit all such land and consider gifting or providing at reduced or peppercorn rental Government-owned land to an organisation (and specifically the Select Committee recommends gifting the Adelaide Shores land to Surf Life Saving South Australia); and ii. the Government consider providing rebates to Councils that do not feel morally able to impose full commercial rent on community safety and emergency service volunteer occupied land. |
REC243-0842 | 36 - Volunteers | That the Government work with the volunteer community safety and emergency service providers to organise a comprehensive advertising campaign to promote the community and personal benefits of volunteering in the sector. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC242-2645 | 36 - Volunteers | That the Government work with the Local Government Association to resolve questions of liability by volunteers who work for Councils, as raised with the Select Committee. |
REC242-2644 | 36 - Volunteers | That the Government work with the volunteer community safety and emergency service providers to organise a comprehensive advertising campaign to promote the community and personal benefits of volunteering in the sector. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC239-2659 | 9 - Community education | That Queensland Health continues to recognise and foster the important contributions of Local Ambulance Committees to supporting effective community focused ambulance services across the State. |
REC239-2736 | 36 - Volunteers | That training for volunteers be reviewed to determine which courses require national standardisation. Organisational training should then address the remaining training needs. The review should take into account the risk exposure to government agencies if changes are to be made. |
REC239-2770 | 9 - Community education | That the efficiency review of the Queensland Police Service develop options for better management of community expectations and divesting the organisation of historical practices. |
REC239-2746 | 36 - Volunteers | That volunteers should be engaged to assist in determining what constitutes ‘fit for task’ and how that should be implemented. |
REC239-2769 | 9 - Community education | That the Chief Executive Officer portfolio business and Commissioner of Police in line with the government’s open data policy consider introducing an improved social media style forum for interaction with the community and stakeholders across the portfolio. |
REC239-2688 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | That in establishing new disaster districts, the first guiding principle must be to align with local government boundaries and that divergence should only occur when there is a need to address a unique local circumstance. |
REC239-2739 | 36 - Volunteers | That the Queensland Police Service and the Department of Community Safety develop intuitive, easily accessible systems that reduce the administrative burden on volunteers and their time. Greater exploitation of technology to deliver intuitive, simple and practical systems is required. |
REC239-2768 | 9 - Community education | Recommendation: That: |
REC239-2738 | 36 - Volunteers | That the current employer and family recognition practices be reviewed with a view to meet the needs of volunteers, their families and their employers. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC238-0805 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Develop a Hawkesbury-Nepean Flood Recovery Plan, which identifies strategies and arrangement for recovery from severe floods in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley. |
REC238-0812 | 9 - Community education | Develop mechanisms and arrangements to promote and provide greater access to flood risk information. |
REC238-0811 | 9 - Community education | Monitor, investigate and address community response to flood warnings |
REC238-0810 | 9 - Community education | Undertake, coordinate and evaluate community education programs on flood risk and response. |
REC238-0809 | 9 - Community education | Ensure the SES has the long-term capacity to plan and exercise for the full range of flood events in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley |
REC238-0806 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Review the adequacy of current arrangements for infrastructure reconstruction following a major flood event in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC237-0828 | 9 - Community education | That the NSW Rural Fire Service develop a strategy to better inform the community and NSW Rural Fire Service members about the NSW bush fire management system and its components. |
REC237-0830 | 9 - Community education | That Bush Fire Risk Management Plans be tabled at Local Emergency Management Committees for comment. |
REC237-0829 | 9 - Community education | That Bush Fire Risk Management Plans be posted on the NSW Rural Fire Service website. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC222-1854 | 36 - Volunteers | The Premier amend Clause 35 of the Public Sector Award 1992 so that State Government employees who volunteer to assist the Australian Red Cross during a disaster are not required to take personal or annual leave. |
REC222-1855 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Local government authorities incorporate into their Local Emergency Management Plans their procedures for dealing with any trauma experienced by bushfire brigade volunteers, having regard to best practice in managing trauma. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC221-2860 | 19 - Offences | Housing should ensure it has sound systems, processes and controls in place that minimise the opportunity for fraud and gives it the best chance of detecting it by: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC217-1825 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | When developing flood mitigation options in lowland areas, local governments should give consideration to the use of temporary levees as an alternative or addition to permanent structures. To maximise the use of these structures and limit flood damage, and aid affordability, consideration should be given by local governments to the sharing of temporary levees among different townships and different council areas. |
REC217-1819 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | In consultation with local communities, local councils will develop flood response plans as subplans to their current Municipal Emergency Management Plans. As part of the flood risk assessment process, these plans will be informed by the best available flood mapping and modelling, and will identify agreed activities to be undertaken during floods including, where appropriate, the construction of temporary levees. The condition of levees will be incorporated into such plans to enable improved emergency response. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC216-2866 | 14 - Incident Mgt Teams | Agency incident management preparedness: provide clarity and certainty in specific roles and responsibilities for each agency. |
REC216-2864 | 9 - Community education | Management of community expectations: continued community education. |
REC216-2863 | 9 - Community education | Management of community expectations: better understanding of what different groups within a community expect. |
REC216-2871 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Efficient and effective supporting tools and processes: high-quality local/municipal planning. |
REC216-2868 | 14 - Incident Mgt Teams | Agency incident management preparedness: a more comprehensive approach to planning, including the number of personnel, their training and better use of on-the-ground intelligence in the affected areas that enables immediate and strategic decision-making to be concurrent processes. |
REC216-2867 | 14 - Incident Mgt Teams | Agency incident management preparedness: refining IT tools to process the intelligence. |
REC216-2865 | 9 - Community education | Management of community expectations: further development of tools that would allow the community to more easily |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC210-0689 | 9 - Community education | Councils should conduct education campaigns directed to ensuring that all residents and property owners in areas identified as being at risk of backflow flooding are aware of the circumstances in which backflow flooding can occur, the hazard it presents and what should be done if it occurs. |
REC210-0650 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | If the Queensland Government does not include such assessment criteria in the model flood planning controls, councils should include assessment criteria in their planning schemes that require that: a. the manufacture or storage of bulk hazardous materials (as defined in State Planning Policy 1/03) take place above a certain flood level, determined following an appropriate risk based assessment, or b. structures on land susceptible to flooding and used for the manufacture or storage of bulk hazardous materials (as defined in State Planning Policy 1/03) be designed to prevent the intrusion of floodwaters |
REC210-0769 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Toowoomba Regional Council and the Department of Environment and Resource Management should continue to co-operate to assess the referable dam status of existing detention basins and any future detention basins constructed in the West Creek and East Creek catchment areas. |
REC210-0667 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | If the Queensland Government does not include such a policy in the model flood planning controls, councils should include a planning scheme policy in their planning schemes that sets out the information to be provided in development applications in relation to stormwater and flooding. The policy should specify: • the type of models and maps to be provided • the substantive information required to be shown in the development application • how the assumptions and methodologies used in preparing the models and maps should be presented • the form in which the information on stormwater and flooding is to be presented in the application. |
REC210-0610 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils in floodplain areas should, resources allowing, develop comprehensive floodplain management plans that accord as closely as practicable with best practice principles. |
REC210-0687 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | The Bundaberg Regional Council should investigate the adequacy of the drain and take reasonable steps to ensure the Moore Park area is effectively served. |
REC210-0680 | 9 - Community education | Queensland Urban Utilities, and other distributor-retailers and councils, that have identified a practice of stormwater drains being connected to sewerage infrastructure, should conduct a program of education to raise public awareness that this practice is illegal and impedes the operation of the sewerage infrastructure. |
REC210-0648 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should ensure that, when applications for environmentally relevant activities are approved by a council, the details of those activities, including their nature and location, are provided to the Department of Environment and Resource Management. |
REC210-0768 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Toowoomba Regional Council should engage external consultants to carry out failure impact assessments on the detention basins along East Creek. |
REC210-0663 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | If the Queensland Government does not include such assessment criteria in the model flood planning controls, councils should consider including assessment criteria in their planning schemes that address: • the prospect of isolation or hindered evacuation • the impact of isolation or hindered evacuation. |
REC210-0608 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Elected representatives from all agencies involved in a flood study should be informed of recommendations made for future work, and determine, on a risk basis, whether that further work is to be completed. |
REC210-0671 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should consider providing advice to development applicants during pre-lodgement meetings, and at the time of receiving a development application, about the way in which the development will be assessed for flood risk and what flood information council will be relying on to make this assessment. |
REC210-0615 | 9 - Community education | Flood maps, and property specific flooding information intended for use by the general public, should be readily interpretable and should, where necessary, be accompanied by a comprehensible explanatory note. |
REC210-0643 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | If the Queensland Government does not include such assessment criteria in the model flood planning controls, councils should include assessment criteria in their planning schemes that require the impact of flood on commercial property to be minimised. |
REC210-0681 | 19 - Offences | Councils and distributor-retailers should agree to protocols for the exchange of information about suspected illegal connections, the steps being taken to investigate them or the basis for concluding that no investigation is required, and the results of any investigations or enforcement actions. |
REC210-0655 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | If the Queensland Government does not include such assessment criteria in the model flood planning controls, councils should consider including assessment criteria in their planning schemes which require that works in a floodplain: • do not reduce on-site flood storage capacity • counteract any changes the works will cause to flood behaviour of all floods up to and including the acceptable defined flood event by measures taken within the subject site (for example, use of compensatory works, detention basins or other engineering mechanisms), and • do not change the flood characteristics outside the subject site in ways that result in: – loss of flood storage – loss of/changes to flow paths – acceleration or retardation of flows, or – any reduction in flood warning times elsewhere on the floodplain. |
REC210-0607 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Elected representatives from councils should be informed of the results of each flood study relevant to the council’s region, and consider the ramifications of the study for land planning and emergency management. |
REC210-0670 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should not rely on a condition requiring an evacuation plan as the sole basis for approving a development susceptible to flooding. |
REC210-0614 | 9 - Community education | Councils and the Queensland Government should display on their websites all flood mapping they have commissioned or adopted. |
REC210-0641 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | If the Queensland Government does not include such assessment criteria in model flood planning controls, councils should include assessment criteria in their planning schemes that require community infrastructure (including the types of community infrastructure which are identified in the Sustainable Planning Regulation 2009 and which the community needs to continue functioning, notwithstanding flood) to be located and designed to function effectively during and immediately after a flood of a specified level of risk. |
REC210-0653 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils (particularly Brisbane City Council) should consider including in their planning schemes more stringent standards for the design and construction of prescribed tidal work than those in the code for development applications for prescribed tidal work in the Coastal Protection and Management Regulation 2003. |
REC210-0605 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | As far as is practicable, councils should maintain up-to-date flood information |
REC210-0669 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should take care when imposing conditions to ensure that each condition has purpose; standardised conditions should not be included where they have no application to the development in question. |
REC210-0604 | 9 - Community education | By reference to the order of priority determined in accordance with recommendation 2.5, the Queensland Government and councils should together ensure that the council responsible for each urban area in Queensland has access to current flood study information. This will include determining: a. a process or processes by which the flood studies will be completed, including the involvement of the Queensland Government and relevant councils b. how, and from whom, the necessary technical and financial resources will be obtained c. a reasonable timeframe by which all flood studies required will be completed. |
REC210-0632 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | If the Queensland Government does not include such a code in the model flood planning controls, councils should include in their planning schemes a flood overlay code that consolidates assessment criteria relating to flood. |
REC210-0698 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should consider implementing a property buy-back program in areas that are particularly vulnerable to regular flooding, as part of a broader floodplain management strategy, where possible obtaining funding from the Natural Disaster Resilience Program for this purpose. |
REC210-0651 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | When approving applications for development which involve the manufacture or storage of hazardous materials, councils should not restrict the conditions imposed to ones which are solely reliant on human intervention to remove the materials in the event of flood. |
REC210-0668 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should review their assessment processes to ensure that: • the person with primary responsibility for the assessment of the development application considers what expert input is required • where a development application is subject to comment by a number of professionals, the responsibilities and accountability of each contributor are clear • where flood-related information is referred to an expert for advice, the expert is required to comment on the extent of compliance by reference to each relevant assessment criteria and identify and explain any inability to comment. |
REC210-0603 | 9 - Community education | The Queensland Government, in consultation with councils, should determine which urban areas in Queensland do not have access to flood information from a current flood study. The Queensland Government should rank those areas in order of priority in accordance with their need for updated flood information by reference to factors including: a. population b. sophistication of land use planning and emergency management measures already in place in those areas c. currency of any flood risk information available to the council d. approximate frequency of damaging floods in the area according to the historical record |
REC210-0630 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | If the Queensland Government does not include a requirement for such an overlay map in the model flood planning controls, councils should include a flood overlay map in their planning schemes. The map should identify the areas of a council region: • that are known not to be affected by flood • that are affected by flood and on which councils impose planning controls (there may be subsets in each area to which different planning controls attach) • for which there is no flood information available to council. |
REC210-0688 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | All councils should periodically conduct risk assessments to identify areas at risk of backflow flooding. In respect of such areas, councils should consider how such risks can be lessened, including in that process consideration of the installation of backflow prevention devices. Backflow devices should not, however, be installed unless and until a full risk based assessment has been undertaken. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC205-1897 | 9 - Community education | The Australian Government initiative to improve the coordination and dissemination of flood-risk information should proceed in the most cost-effective way, be regularly updated and be expanded over time to encompass other natural hazards. Guidelines to improve the quality and consistency of risk information should also be regularly updated and take climate change into account where feasible. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC199-0488 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the Department of Human Services develop proactive strategies to provide information and assistance for people applying for emergency grants. |
REC199-0468 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | municipal councils undertake a risk assessment of caravan parks and decide if any should be included in the list of facilities where vulnerable people may be located. |
REC199-0472 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state review the legislation and policies that set out clean-up and recovery responsibilities for infrastructure such as crossovers, culverts, drains, bridges and waterways, including consideration of: • whether the entities who are given obligations or powers to undertake clean-up works have the capacity to do so; and • the appropriateness of having different legal regimes for what is essentially the same piece of infrastructure. If the review reveals that the current responsibility matrix is inadequate, the state develop an action plan to address the identified shortcomings. |
REC199-0483 | 9 - Community education | the state ensure: • where external assistance is provided to Victoria during emergencies, communities are advised of the specific purpose of that assistance, through media and other information channels; and • all agencies provide incident management personnel with information regarding the arrangements for tasking Australian Defence Force resources and that this advice is reinforced during emergencies where Australian Defence Force support is provided. |
REC199-0480 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state clarify the transition to recovery arrangements including the processes for approving and funding of essential works after transition to recovery has been formalised. |
REC199-0431 | 9 - Community education | the state allocate core funding for the ongoing delivery of the ‘FloodSafe’ program to flood prone communities across Victoria. |
REC199-0479 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state review the way early outreach occurs and implement changes that will ensure that there is a consistency of approach regardless of which agency undertakes the service. |
REC199-0413 | 14 - Incident Mgt Teams | the state clarify the role of intelligence cell staff (for example, hydrologists and/or Catchment Management Authority) who are utilised in Incident Control Centres during flood events |
REC199-0491 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state: • ensure that the concerns raised by Victorians regarding the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements are provided to the national review, including the issues of: – betterment (what it means and how it is applied); and – the 51 per cent income rule for eligibility of businesses for grants. • establish a single point of information (such as the single web portal referred to in recommendation 33) on all emergency related financial assistance available to individuals, businesses and local government. The means of accessing this information should be widely circulated in the community. |
REC199-0430 | 9 - Community education | the state undertake a community education program to inform households of their respective flood risk. This may include information on rate notices of heights of houses above flood level and educating people about flash flooding. |
REC199-0478 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state amend the current protocol governing National Registration and Inquiry System information collection and sharing to: • clarify the role of councils and Centrelink during and after emergencies • ensure the amended protocol is written in plain English and easily understood; and • coordinate, in conjunction with the state and federal privacy commissioners, the development of a new National Registration and Inquiry System information sharing protocol in line with the proposed National Registration and Inquiry System 6 and state or federal privacy legislation. |
REC199-0490 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state finalise the 2008 review of Victoria’s municipal assistance. This should include addressing: • the provision of upfront funding for local councils for repair of community assets • packages for early relief and recovery to be included in both the Natural Disaster Funding Arrangements and the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements, including outreach packages; and • the process of reimbursement of local councils after floods. |
REC199-0474 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state, in respect of the Rapid Impact Assessment process: • resolve which agency/ies has policy and operational responsibility for this process • define the purpose of Rapid Impact Assessment; and • review the process, in light of the 2010–11 floods, to examine options to improve the efficiency of the collection of information. |
REC199-0489 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state implement arrangements to improve the support provided to local government on disaster financing before, during and after emergency events. |
REC199-0422 | 36 - Volunteers | the state establish a process for volunteer community member accreditation to allow volunteers to provide flood information to the control agency during a flood event. This process should establish a base competency standard and provide appropriate emergency management and Australasian Inter-service Incident Management System training to accredited community volunteers. |
REC199-0486 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | the state, following the completion of the Municipal Association of Victoria Improving Emergency Management in Local Government program, work with municipalities to revise the role and responsibilities of local government in emergency management. The issue of capability and capacity of each local government should be addressed in all related emergency management arrangements. |
REC199-0473 | 33 - Relief and recovery | the state make available to the public a clear guide of who is responsible for: • clean-up and recovery of various types of infrastructure that straddle the public/private boundary; and • the policies agencies will follow in determining whether to repair infrastructure under their control. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC186-0398 | 9 - Community education | The committee recommends emergency service organisations in collaboration with television and radio broadcasters, the print media and other relevant organisations, use regular and ongoing public education well in advance of an emergency situation as an opportunity to teach the public about their responsibilities during an emergency and how they can appropriately prepare themselves for such an event. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC180-2970 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should improve assessments of business continuity risks by: |
REC180-2969 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should strengthen governance arrangements for business continuity by: |
REC180-2973 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Local Government Victoria should, further to its work on strengthening the oversight role of audit committees, assist councils to develop good practice approaches to implementing, overseeing and continuously improving business continuity management. |
REC180-2972 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should strengthen their continuous improvement frameworks by: |
REC180-2971 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should improve the structure, format and content of their business continuity plans to provide greater clarity on roles and responsibilities for emergencies, more specificity on continuity and recovery responses, and better integration with other council disaster recovery and emergency plans. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC174-2987 | 9 - Community education | To improve customer awareness of the availability of disaster recovery assistance, the ANAO recommends that Centrelink: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC170-0055 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | SEMC and EM WA should: monitor and take action to ensure local plans are in place and cover areas where the hazard could occur |
REC170-0054 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | SEMC and EM WA should: work with local government to ensure up-to-date, comprehensive local arrangements are in place |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC165-0089 | 33 - Relief and recovery | The SDMG lead an initiative to deal at all levels with offers of assistance and donations from the general public in the event of disasters. |
REC165-0082 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Current procedures to activate disaster recovery funding arrangements be retained and processes be reinforced. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC164-0074 | 9 - Community education | SERCon consider a review of existing community-based educational programs, with a view to informing the community |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC151-3109 | 36 - Volunteers | As a matter of priority, SAFECOM examine what further measures can be taken to provide support and protection for volunteers as potential witnesses in public enquiries. |
REC151-3108 | 36 - Volunteers | Liability and immunity as these provisions apply in Section 127 be reassessed in terms of burden of proof so as to ensure the best protection for volunteers. |
REC151-3092 | 19 - Offences | Expiation fees be reviewed so as to be consistent with the seriousness of the offences. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC145-3231 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government request that the Centre for Excellence for Local Government ensure a particular focus on capacity building for coastal local councils. Capacity building should focus on addressing issues relating to: |
REC145-3234 | 9 - Community education | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government nominate 2012 as the Year of the Coast, to further build community awareness about the issues facing the coastal zone. The Australian Government should work with coastal stakeholders, volunteer groups and the general community in determining key activities as part of this initiative. |
REC145-3233 | 9 - Community education | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government undertake an awareness campaign to alert coastal communities to the key challenges facing the coastal zone and the value of community engagement in addressing these challenges. The campaign should aim to build understanding and awareness of coastal management issues to encourage the continued membership and support of volunteer networks in the coastal zone. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC144-3396 | 9 - Community education | The Committee recommends that information in relation to proposed fuel load activity and controlled burning should be disseminated to the community and in an accessible format. |
REC144-3399 | 9 - Community education | The Committee recommends that the Emergency Services Agency post all its publications, which are not internal working documents or otherwise confidential, on its website. |
REC144-3398 | 9 - Community education | The Committee recommends that the Emergency Services Agency update its website to accommodate, at a minimum, a publications menu item and a search function. |
REC144-3397 | 9 - Community education | The Committee recommends that the ACT Government investigate the Victorian Community Fireguard model with a view to implementing a similar scheme in the ACT to enhance community preparedness for and ability to respond to bushfire emergencies. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC143-3585 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the Professional Assistance Grant is formally extended by WANDRA to include non rural businesses and that it be made available to assist with the clean up of disaster related damage to farms and businesses. (The Committee recognises that the amendments to WANDRA as of March 2007 address this recommendation). |
REC143-3583 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the newly proposed index linked limits for Personal Hardship and Distress Relief Payments as outlined in the paper “National Disaster Relief Arrangements - An Analysis and Recommendations for Personal Hardship Distress Measures” be accepted by government. |
REC143-3579 | 9 - Community education | That FESA develop comprehensive internet-based information including but not limited to detail of WANDRA objectives, assistance measures, administering agencies, eligibility criteria (where applicable) and application forms. |
REC143-3588 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That, in line with recommendations contained in the 2004 Report to the Council of Australian Governments, greater flexibility should be introduced to WANDRA to enable damaged infrastructure to be upgraded to a more resilient standard where that is both feasible and cost-effective. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC125-3901 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | That councils formulate, track and report on measures that show their performance in managing drainage assets. |
REC125-3899 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | That councils implement a condition assessment and monitoring program conforming to best practice principles. |
REC125-3896 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | That councils plan for, and implement, formal consultation arrangements with stakeholders to set drainage goals and objectives, and desired service levels. |
REC125-3894 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | That councils develop flood risk management practices consistent with best practice risk management, and that these incorporate: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC116-2122 | 33 - Relief and recovery | The Working Group recommends that States/Territories consider their ability to house large numbers of domestic pets, and where necessary, develop plans and arrangements that facilitate this need. |
REC116-2111 | 9 - Community education | The Working Group recommends that the national forum mentioned in recommendation 13 consider the ongoing need for dissemination of information on a national basis both during and following a catastrophic disaster and also identify strategies to ensure the ability of this to be facilitated. |
REC116-2120 | 33 - Relief and recovery | The Working Group recommends that the National Recovery Coordinators Group considers the issue of emergency relief centres in the context of catastrophic disaster with a view to assisting jurisdictions to plan for the need to accommodate thousands of people following a disaster. |
REC116-2110 | 9 - Community education | The Working Group recommends that EMA convene a national forum to explore community information and warning needs in catastrophic disasters, to review existing information and warning systems, and to identify possible technologies and techniques that might be used to enhance community needs in disasters. |
REC116-2117 | 33 - Relief and recovery | The Working Group recommends that potential shortfalls in the capacity to deal with large numbers of unprotected children and other special needs groups in a catastrophic event be referred to the Disaster Recovery Sub Committee of Community Services Ministers’ Advisory Council (CSMAC) for consideration and report back. |
REC116-2103 | 33 - Relief and recovery | The Working Group recommends that jurisdictions plan for the logistics of supply and delivery of meals to large numbers of homebound persons in an attempt to identify possible ways of resolving existing shortcomings. |