The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends that by October 2025 the Queensland Police Service, as part of the ‘State Disaster Management Plan (SDMP) and the Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery Disaster Management Guideline (the Guideline) Review and Renewal Program’, provide clarity in the following key areas of the doctrine:
- evacuation terminology and procedures
- audience and purpose of local disaster management plans
- parameters for sharing of personal information during and after disasters
- transitional arrangements — roles and responsibilities when moving from response to recovery operations
- relief terminology.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends that the Queensland Police Service lead a review to establish a framework to clearly define the intersect between self-evacuation and emergency shelters, including but not limited to places of refuge, evacuation centres and public cyclone shelters, ensuring roles and responsibilities are clearly articulated.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends that the Queensland Reconstruction Authority continues to engage with councils in the development of their local resilience action plans including to identify local needs with respect to communication, connectivity, and power in suitable hubs.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends that the Queensland Fire Department engage with each council and local disaster management group (LDMG) and consult with the Local Government Association of Queensland to establish protocols for:
- locally led activation of LDMGs for bushfire events
- sharing of relevant bushfire intelligence
- identification of relevant local triggers
- communication and engagement arrangements.
The protocols are to be established by 1 August 2025.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends that the Queensland Police Service lead and co-design a whole-of-state training and exercise strategy.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends that the Queensland Police Service lead the establishment of a co-designed governance framework to achieve objectives that enhance the understanding of Queensland’s disaster management arrangements within all disaster management entities, government, non-government, and the community.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends that the Queensland Police Service lead the co-design of an all hazards Queensland warnings strategy. The strategy will establish the governance framework for the Warnings Community of Practice and implement a model of continuous improvement for governance, doctrine and processes, including the procurement of a common publishing platform to create and publish warnings.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends that for the recommendations arising from this review, the Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management is involved in consultation prior to the finalisation of the government action plan, to align intended actions with the intent of the recommendations.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends that this review report be returned to the Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management to monitor, evaluate and report on progress and implementation of the recommendations that are accepted in whole or in part by government.

The State Emergency Management Committee Capability Development Sub Committee develop and implement a strengthened, collective approach to emergency services volunteer workforce planning and capability development to better understand and prepare for the anticipated increased demand for volunteers in the medium to long term and provide a level of assurance of how well-placed NSW is to meet this. This should include the development of collective medium- and long-term volunteer workforce and capability targets, and the establishment of an assurance framework to monitor progress towards these.

The State Emergency Management Committee consider annually and report via its annual report on the state of the emergency services volunteering workforce, trends in volunteering and implications for capacity and capability.

That NSW’s volunteer-based emergency services organisations improve and align data collection in relation to their volunteer workforce, to build a better understanding of the nature and experience of emergency volunteers and support better planning and decision making.

The Minister for Emergency Services establish a new state-based emergency volunteering award, to improve recognition of emergency volunteers.

The State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989 and the NSW State Emergency Management Plan be updated to recognise the contribution of emergency volunteers.

That NSW update its ‘Become an Emergency Volunteer’ webpage to be a more effective and engaging single-entry point for people seeking information about emergency volunteering opportunities and pathways, support available for emergency volunteers, and how to respond as an informal volunteer.

The State Emergency Management Committee develop an Action Plan to grow and strengthen the emergency services volunteering workforce. The Action Plan should be aligned to the NSW Volunteering Strategy’s Focus Areas, and include the development and implementation of:
a. A coordinated, targeted volunteer recruitment strategy that is aligned to the collective capability targets developed in response to Recommendation 1 and includes a focus of increasing the diversity of the volunteer workforce.
b. Initiatives to address barriers related to the financial costs of volunteering.
c. More flexible volunteering pathways and opportunities.
d. Mechanisms to improve the portability and recognition of volunteer training and qualifications across organisations, including greater use of multi-agency training and recognition of prior learning.
e. A targeted approach to identifying communities experiencing capability challenges and working with them to develop place-based volunteering models that meet their needs.
f. Initiatives to better support volunteer leaders.
g. A strategy for working with employers to encourage corporate volunteering and support for employees who are emergency volunteers.
h. Initiatives to increase youth participation in emergency volunteering, including the identification of opportunities to build on and expand current cadet programs and the development of new partnership with schools and universities.

The NSW State Emergency Management Plan be updated to recognise and expressly enable the use of informal volunteers as part of emergency management arrangements.

The State Emergency Management Committee issue guidelines to support member agencies to:
a. Refresh sub and supporting plans to the State Emergency Management Plan (including regional and local emergency management plans) to identify how and when informal volunteers will be used.
b. Establish consistent operational models for the engagement and coordination of informal volunteers.

That to build the capability of member agencies to use informal volunteers and embed this in doctrine and operations, the State Emergency Management Committee:
a. Establish an Informal Volunteers Working Group to build professional practice and coordinate and align activity to refresh sub and supporting plans and establish operational models for the engagement and coordination of volunteers.
b. Publish guidance materials and resources to support the engagement and coordination of informal volunteers.
c. Develop options for a shared platform to match, register, induct, task and offboard informal volunteers.

The State Emergency Management Committee’s Community Engagement Strategy and Action Plan be refreshed to include a stronger focus on building community capability by equipping community with the practical tools and resources needed to respond in an emergency as an informal volunteer.

The NSW Reconstruction Authority repurpose the funding previously provided for one-off spontaneous volunteering grants to each local council to support a more comprehensive, targeted approach to building community capability to support informal volunteering comprised of:
a. The provision of training and support to councils in high disaster risk areas to support them to build their capability to coordinate community based informal volunteers.
b. The engagement of an expert, external organisation to coordinate, train and support informal volunteers in the recovery stage of disaster events when it is warranted by the scale of the disaster, volunteer interest and potential risks.
c. Grants to support businesses, non-government organisations and community groups in high disaster risk areas with locally developed initiatives to build community resilience and capability.

That NSW develop and prosecute with the Commonwealth Government a platform of priority initiatives and reforms the Commonwealth should pursue to better support emergency volunteering and build community capability, in partnership with other States and Territories.

To ensure that the LEMA Review leads to improved LEMA processes and outputs that are responsive to the needs and capacity of the WA LG sector, WALGA recommends that the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and SEMC approve and secure funding for a three-year LEMA Improvement Project to implement the LEMA Review improvement actions (August 2023 – August 2026).

WALGA recommends that as part of the LEMA Improvement Project a position be established within WALGA to work closely with the DFES SEMC business Unit to pilot new LEMA approaches with LG to ensure:
- LGs are supported in the transition to a new LEMA model;
- all LEMA improvement actions are monitored for effectiveness and continual improvement;
- the development of fit-for-purpose LEMA resources and training to support LGs and their respective LEMCs;
- LGs who currently lack resources are provided targeted support to develop and deliver grant-funded EM projects; and
- LEMA resource-sharing arrangements and collaborative approaches are strengthened.
WALGA’s LEMA Review findings confirm that many LGs require additional human resources to develop and maintain effective LEMA plans and sub plans and to build their EM capability.

WALGA recommends that the State Government increase the EM resourcing for LGs who currently lack EM capacity and capability. This includes:
- Expanding the CESM Program to all LGs to provide LGs additional support to fulfil their LEMA requirements.
- Developing a more sustainable grant funding model for LGs that is responsive to the variations in LG resourcing and context.
- Continuation of the DFES DEMA and Community Preparedness Advisors programs and supporting these positions to be more responsive to needs of LGs and LEMA requirements.

WALGA recommends the State Government develop a simpler and streamlined State Emergency Management Framework with improved communications, guidance and digital tools for LGs to assist them to meet their LEMA obligations This includes:
- The development of a single policy statement that outlines the roles and responsibilities of LG in EM and more clearly articulates the function of LEMA and the minimum requirements for LEMA compliance.
- Improvement of the SEMC website to make it easier and more intuitive for LGs to navigate.
- Development of a digital LEMA knowledge hub/digital application that enables LG resource sharing and fosters a community of practice.
- Provision of a secure online portal system that supports LEMA reporting and interoperability between LGs and HMAs and between the local, district and state EM arrangements.

WALGA recommends that the SEMC abolish the current one-sizefits all LEMA model template and develop a suite of LEMA guidance material and practical tools. New LEMA guidance and resources should:
- reduce the LEMA administration burden for LGs
- provide clear instructions and step-by-step procedures for LGs
- be separated into strategic and operational documents/templates
- be simplified and made more user-friendly for a LG audience
- be scalable and flexible to accommodate different LG capacities and capabilities
- focus more on the legislative obligations and remit of LG
- remove generic state-level information, and
- enable more collaboration and resource sharing between LGs.

WALGA recommends that the State Government develop new LEMA approaches that focus more on building the EM capacity and capability of the LG sector through the provision of training, exercising support and targeted investment rather than compliance. This includes:
- The development of LEMA resources and exercise guidance for LG staff, LEMCs and Elected Members.
- The provision of targeted support for LGs who lack capability to develop and deliver grant-funded EM projects.
The development of a LEMA maturity model that guides continuous improvement and investment in EM.
- The development of scalable tools that facilitate locally relevant and integrated EM risk and capability assessments to direct investment for risk treatment and resilience building activities.
- DFES and DLGSC to work collaboratively to strengthen the integration of LEMA with LG business as usual, the Integrated Planning and Reporting Framework requirements and other risk management and climate change adaptation planning processes.

That the Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service be appointed as the Chief Executive of the Disaster Management Act 2003.

That the Disaster Management Act 2003 be amended to reflect the new role and function of the Queensland Disaster Management Committee.

That a State Disaster Management Group is established within the Disaster Management Act 2003.

That the Disaster Management Act 2003 be amended to establish the position, role and functions of the State Recovery Policy and Planning Coordinator.

That the State Disaster Coordination Group revert to a single Chair arrangement (chaired by a Senior Queensland Police Officer), focused on response and the aspect of preparedness for, and resilience in, response. The Terms of Reference should be amended to incorporate this and other changes to its role and functions.

That a State Recovery and Resilience Group be established and embedded in the Queensland Disaster Management Arrangements alongside the State Disaster Coordination Group, to focus on disaster management functions outside of response. The Queensland Reconstruction Authority should lead the establishment of the State Recovery and Resilience Group, develop the Terms of Reference and chair the group.

That, to support the State Recovery and Resilience Group, the Functional Recovery Groups expand their remit to incorporate resilience and be renamed Functional Recovery and Resilience Groups.

That clear lines of reporting be established between any appointed State Recovery Coordinator and the State Recovery Policy and Planning Coordinator.

That an Emergency Relief Subcommittee of the State Disaster Coordination Group and the State Recovery and Resilience Group be established to reflect a strong partnership arrangement to address all aspects of Emergency Relief. The roles of Chair and Deputy Chair are to be determined via consultation between the Queensland Police Service, the Queensland Reconstruction Authority, and the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning.

That the final composition of the Emergency Relief subcommittee’s inner and outer core membership be a joint responsibility of the Queensland Police Service, the Queensland Reconstruction Authority and the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, in consultation with the State Disaster Coordinator and the State Recovery Policy and Planning Coordinator.

That the Queensland Reconstruction Authority leads state-level hazard and risk functions, including the design and delivery of a risk assessment tool that is locally appropriate, costeffective and fit for purpose.

That there should be one State Disaster Management Plan that succinctly describes all of Queensland’s Disaster Management Arrangements, supported by separate sub-plans across the Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery comprehensive model, including Resilience, mirroring the new governance structure. The State Disaster Management Plan should be reviewed biannually and/or following debriefs from significant disaster operations where relevant.

That the term ‘Emergency Supply’ be changed to ‘Emergency Relief’ in the State Disaster Management Plan.

That the Queensland Police Service, Queensland Reconstruction Authority and the Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning develop an Emergency Relief strategy.

That documents and plans that support the operationalisation of Queensland’s Disaster Management Arrangements is updated to encourage and enable cross-border disaster management engagement and relationships at officer-level, council to council, and district to district.

That all Local and District Disaster Management Groups who share a border or borders with other states or Territories conduct collaborative disaster management planning and exercising.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends the following changes to the ways that ‘resilience’ is reflected in Queensland’s Disaster Management Arrangements:
a. That the Disaster Management Act 2003 be amended to include a definition of ‘resilience’ that reflects the Queensland Government’s endorsed definition within the Queensland Strategy for Disaster Resilience, clarifying that Resilience functions incorporate activities related to the phases of Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends the following change to the way that Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements are supported through Queensland’s Disaster Management Arrangements:
a. That the Queensland Reconstruction Authority be Queensland’s lead agency coordinating Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. Ministerial responsibility for activation of Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements should transfer from the Minister for Police and Corrective Services and Minister for Fire and Emergency Services, to the Minister responsible for the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends the following action linked to disaster management preparedness messaging:
a. That the Queensland Reconstruction Authority ‘Get Ready Queensland’ brand expands to include bushfire awareness campaigns and ‘If It’s Flooded Forget It’.

That all training associated with the Queensland Disaster Management Training Framework should, wherever possible, identify and utilise pathways to achieve nationally recognised qualifications.

That the Queensland Police Service undertake a capability assessment of the State Emergency Service, Marine Rescue Queensland, and the broader disaster management sector, for the present and future. This should include a review of the Queensland Disaster Management Training Framework.

That the roles and Terms of Reference of all current state and national disaster management committees that are non-hazard specific, and that reflect state disaster management arrangements and policy, be tabled at the Reform Implementation Taskforce for discussion and consideration of future representation.

That the Reform Implementation Taskforce seeks clarity on all Memoranda of Understanding and agreements that are currently in scope as a result of the proposed Machinery of Government changes.

That any open Queensland Fire and Emergency Services recommendations made by the Inspector-General of Emergency Management, that are not hazard specific, transition to the Queensland Police Service at a time to be identified by the Reform Implementation Taskforce. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services should continue to progress implementation of recommendations, in consultation with the Queensland Police Service, until Machinery of Government changes are implemented.

That the Reform Implementation Taskforce determines the most appropriate agency to manage the ongoing whole-of-government coordination of implementation and reporting on the recommendations of the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements. Until this time, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services should continue to progress implementation of recommendations, in consultation with the Reform Implementation Taskforce.

That, in the 2027/28 financial year, the Inspector-General of Emergency Management partner with the Queensland Police Service and Queensland Reconstruction Authority to review the implementation of the Machinery of Government changes, and revised Queensland Disaster Management Arrangements.

That, for the recommendations arising from this review, the Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management is involved in consultation prior to the finalisation of the government action plan, to align intended actions with the intent of the recommendations.

That this Review report be returned to the Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management to monitor, evaluate and report on progress and implementation of the recommendations that are accepted in whole or in part by government.

Improve the strategic resource-to-risk skills mix (recruitment, retention, capacity), including investigating difference models of volunteering within the TFS Brigade Network.

Monitor effectiveness of new Land Use Planning and Building System reforms to evaluate effectiveness of delivering desired outcomes.

Continue the development and implementation of community level Bushfire Mitigation Plans.

Continue the Bushfire Ready Neighbourhoods Program.

Consider outcomes of national review of warnings and review resilience of warning systems’ infrastructure.

Continue the Community Bushfire Protection Program with a renewed focus on vulnerable groups.

Expand the existing Fire Ready Schools Program with enhanced support and incorporate other sites used by vulnerable groups.

Continue the Fuel Reduction Program.

Review legislation relating to Fuel Stove only areas, Fire Permit System and Total Fire Bans to ensure appropriate incentives to modify individuals’ behaviour.

Build capacity to enable Incident Management Teams to manage the likely increased frequency and intensity of major fire events.

Maintain adequate seasonal fire crew resources across the fire agencies.

Develop, implement, review and exercise inter-agency community evacuation and recovery plans across the State.

Introduce child-centred household level disaster risk reduction strategies in school programs.

Assess vulnerability of ecosystems and species to coastal inundation.

Utilise coastal mapping to assess need for coastal defences.

Develop coastal inundation education materials that meet the needs of exposed communities.

Improve the understanding of the vulnerability of critical infrastructure.

Include consideration of coastal inundation in land use planning for new developments and uses.

Improve understanding of the allocation of ownership across government, business and individuals.

Review building controls to ensure they are adaptive to changing coastal inundation risks.

Review coastal inundation evacuation and response plans.

Assess options for managed coastal retreat.

Improve understanding of the weather systems that cause storm surge events to improve predictability and warnings.

Improve understanding of how coastal inundation events interact with riverine flood events.

Make coastal mapping available to public.

Improve beach morphology mapping to understand coastal inundation, including post-event surveys.

Review seismic monitoring network alert systems to ensure emergency managers are on the contact lists.

Review all hazards response and recovery plans to ensure they address likely earthquake consequences.

Develop a strategic plan for the operation and management of the seismic monitoring network in Tasmania.

Develop enablers and capacity for Tasmanian earthquake risk owners.

Exercise time-critical decision making processes within the context of an earthquake scenario.

Improve the coordination and delivery of the National seismic monitoring program.

Develop and deliver earthquake hazard awareness products.

Review the allocation of responsibilities for earthquake risk management.

Identify and anlalyse the location of critical infrastructure within defined flood areas.

Actively manage riparian vegetation to manage flood dynamics.

Integrate Storage Operating Rules with downstream flood response plans.

Promote the use of Water Sensitive Urban Design in stormwater systems.

Develop flood evacuation plans for at risk communities.

Develop a statewide flood hazard map for use within the Tasmanian Planning System.

Raised access routes.

Integrate existing capabilities into a Total Flood Warning System.

Develop and implement a targeted community flood awareness program.

Develop and deliver flood incident response management training to SES personnel.

Review environmental risks associated with hazardous uses within flood prone areas.

Ensure appropriate levels of insurance of public assets from flood risks.

Deliver Flood Studies.

Integrate clean-up arrangements into emergency plans.

State to develop a Swift Water rescue capability.

Integrate non-government entities into emergency response and recovery arrangements.

Build flood capable infrastructure.

Review legal liability of participants in prevention and mitigation preparedness, response and recovery activities.

Improve maintenance of flood mitigation infrastructure.

Review flood response sustainment capacity of organisations.

Assess water supply resilience in the case of an interruption.

Improve insurance affordability.

Review temporary bridge stockpile for adequacy (DSG).

Increase SES Capability and Capacity to respond to flood event.

Locate and design new public infrastructure so that it can continue to operate during flood events.

Improve knowledge and understanding of the effect heatwaves coinciding with other hazard events have on the effectiveness and capability of response and recovery capabilities

Exercise heatwave arrangements with a focus on the public administration sector and management of vulnerable people

Identify facilities that can be used as cool spaces during heatwaves and establish linkages between operators and emergency management organisations

Develop arrangements to identify and communicate with people vulnerable to heat stress

Review community information and warning systems to ensure they cater for heatwave messages

Create a stakeholder plan template to aid heatwave preparedness and response in facilities occupied by people vulnerable to heatwaves (e.g. nursing homes)

Develop innovative response models of patient care to improve surge capacity.

Improve information about electricity demand during heatwaves.

Quantify the effect of heatwaves on vulnerable people.

Incorporate heatwave surge response planning into business continuity planning.

Improve community educational information.

Include heatwave in existing preparedness programs.

Provide information on landslide hazards and risks to decision makers.

Make property level information on landslide hazards publicly available

Monitor effectiveness of new Land Use Planning reforms to evaluate effectiveness of delivering desired outcomes.

Nuance the exercises for flood / dam-break / debris flow to incorporate consideration.

Further development of Landslide Hazard Banding of the State (MRT).

Development mechanisms to support small councils to manage treatment across the PPRR spectrum (across all hazards).

Increased regulation of landslide risk assessment.

Assessment of council’s capacity to manage land effectively.

Develop linkages between landslide risk assessors and building engineers/structural works.

Investigate the potential effectiveness of economic and financial mechanisms to manage the risk appetites of land owners.

Incentivising safer sites (charge people less rates and discounts for defensive actions by land managers).

Raise public awareness of the limitations of general insurance relating to landslide.

Conduct research into changes of owners’ and occupiers stated and revealed risk tolerance and preference for treatment measures before and after natural hazard events.

Pro-actively manage landslide areas.

Ensure landuse planning and building systems, including appeal mechanisms, are transparent, equitable and integrated at the municipal, State and national levels.

Establish arrangements to enable the buy-back of specified landslip prone land.

Undertake local level emergency management planning for areas at risk of debris flow.

Personal protective equipment (masks, gowns, gloves, goggles) – enhance stocktake methods.

Personal protective equipment (masks, gowns, gloves, goggles) – review supply/distribution arrangements.

Personal protective equipment (masks, gowns, gloves, goggles) – review fit-testing vs fit-checking.

Review Ambulance Tasmania surge capacity.

Provide training sessions to GPs to improve their understanding of their roles, options and obligations relating to human influenza pandemic.

Clarify the relationship between the DHHS and THS in the establishment of flu services.

Enhance business continuity planning by the Tasmanian Health Service.

Develop a flexible plan for establishing flu-specific services.

Review and exercise the Tasmanian Mass Vaccination Plan.

Review State Special Emergency Plan: Human Influenza Pandemic Emergencies.

Review Tas Govt interoperability arrangements.

Encourage businesses to consider human influenza pandemics in business continuity planning.

Deliver human influenza pandemic training and exercises in THS and other key organisations.

Advocate for an National Notifiable Diseases Database.

Improve integration of health information systems.

Develop a disaster client record system.

Implement a database management approach for notifiable disease record systems.

Test the Biosecurity Act 2015.

Implement a social marking program to promote improved respiratory etiquette and hygiene.

Relax the requirement for medical certificates in the event of an outbreak.

Ensure people designing and certifying buildings are appropriately trained and qualified.

Continue the enhancement of forecast and warning services.

Develop and implement a community storm safe awareness program.

Review volunteering arrangements to improve recruitment and retention.

Improve working relationship with the insurance industry to access impact information.

Review interagency information sharing arrangements.

Develop capacity to utilise the new high-resolution satellite products now available.

Formalise response triage arrangements.

Engage with industry bodies to explore opportunities to better understand and manage risks.

Undertake inter-agency severe storm exercises.

Enhance the community development program.

Establish emergency services ICT redundancy arrangements for damage loss of communications infrastructure.

Up-skill isolated communities in emergency PPRR skills.

Develop SOP for recovery package.

Develop and exercise Severe Storm Emergency Management Plan.

Develop a community education strategy for when to call 000, 131 444, and 132 500.

Identify and analyse statewide storm hazard risk.

Increase understanding of the Puysegur Trench dynamics to improve certainty around the likelihood and magnitude of future Tsunamis.

Investigate the costs and benefits in enhancing the current Tsunami detection buoy network.

Investigate usefulness of satellite data for PPRR (prevention, preparedness, response, recovery) planning.

Ensure sufficient investment in controls across the PPRR spectrum with a focus on Prevention and Mitigation.

Investigate the costs and benefits in enhancing the current Tsunami warning arrangements with signage and audible warning systems at key exposed locations (e.g. Port Arthur and Kingston Beach).

Deliver updated inundation mapping.

Investigate the costs and benefits of delivering a public education and awareness program.

Review current all-hazards emergency management arrangements to evaluate if they adequately address Tsunami response and recovery requirements.

Extend current tsunami maritime hazard modelling project to deliver coastal inundation modelling.

Energy Security Working Group (ESWG) recommends consideration be given to government and industry working together to understand that investment opportunities in the energy sector are realised in a timely fashion to better manage potential longer term supply shortfalls.

ESWG recommends consideration be given to expanding the role of AEMO in providing market information on gas by: 
• amending the Gas Bulletin Board rules, if required, to enable AEMO to gather more information for effective modelling and information provision for gas, noting that this may require additional assurances on how commercially-sensitive data will be used and protected 
• assessing the viability of a gas PASA (projected assessment of system adequacy), noting this may require changes to the National Gas Rules and National Gas Law.

ESWG recommends reviewing AEMO’s Gas Bulletin Board (GBB) to ensure it is effectively communicating all publicly available information to market participants to assist in monitoring daily gas supplies, and any changes to the GBB rules required to improve information and awareness of any potential shortages that will assist the market to make the necessary investments and/or adjustments in maintenance.

ESWG recommends consideration be given to consolidating gas and electricity network status and emergency information on one webpage for central communication.

ESWG recommends consideration be given to leveraging AEMO’s expanded responsibilities in gas markets by undertaking the role of the National Gas Emergency Response Advisory Committee (NGERAC) Secretariat while the Commonwealth continue as Chair, with the Chair’s position to be reviewed once the short term trading market (STTM) commences in June 2010. ESWG also recommends that the review be undertaken by NGERAC jurisdictional members.

ESWG recommends National Gas Emergency Response Advisory Committee maintain its industry, jurisdiction and consumer representation noting the importance of input from each of these groups in developing its advice.

ESWG recommends investigation of options to fund NGERAC’s on-going activities including through AEMO’s funding model.

ESWG notes NGERAC already informally advises ministers on the possible effects of gas emergencies on electricity supplies. ESWG recommends formalising this role by acknowledging it in NGERAC’s MOU. ESWG also recommends an editorial review of NGERAC’s MOU to ensure accuracy and consistency.

ESWG recommends consideration of a review of communication protocols with the aim of achieving high level policy consistency of communication across jurisdictions to the maximum extent possible.

ESWG recommends consideration be given to the spokesperson role AEMO can undertake during an electricity and/or gas supply shortfall in its covered markets and relevant jurisdictional emergencies, noting that AEMO has clear responsibility for the bulk supply of electricity as outlined in the Power System Emergency Management Plan and the Victorian wholesale gas market, and that for multi-jurisdiction gas supply emergencies, any AEMO spokesperson role would be to reflect NGERAC’s advice.
ESWG notes that in assuming NEMMCO and Vencorp’s functions, AEMO will conduct exercises to test responses to both electricity and gas supply issues.

ESWG recommends that as far as reasonably practical, arrangements for load shedding be as transparent as possible to give consumers confidence in the process.

ESWG notes that existing and future contracts and the impending introduction of the Short Term Trading Market will be the primary mechanisms for addressing future gas supply shortfalls.

ESWG recommends consideration of how to ensure good communication and flow of information between the liquid fuels and other energy sectors. One approach that may be considered is that:
• AEMO continues current arrangements by providing information for managing a liquid fuels emergency to the National Oil Supplies Emergency Committee (a subgroup of MCE), specifically in consideration of the impact of a liquid fuel emergency and liquid fuel requirements for backup generators and compressors on gas transmission pipelines; and understanding the requirements of oil-powered generators and fuel switching by dual-fuel generators in an oil or gas supply emergency.

The Working Group recommends that Emergency Management Australia (EMA) facilitate national discussions into the capability of States/Territories to ensure thorough collaborative systems and plans for inter-jurisdictional resource interoperability exist, and where this has not already occurred at State/Territory level and appropriate agencies, committees or government departments can be identified, they should be tasked with progressing specific issues in the following areas:
• Communications equipment
• Landline and mobile telephones
• Response equipment
• National registration of health and other professionals
• Legal consistency in State/Territory disaster/emergency legislation and any other legislation that impacts upon the ability to deliver a national response to catastrophic disasters
• National resource sharing arrangements
• Acceptance and utilisation of international resources.

The Working Group recommends that a review of the operation of the Commonwealth Mutual Recognition Act 1992 be conducted and that agreed national protocols be developed to manage the integration of
supplementary personnel (paid staff and registered volunteers) into State/Territory emergency management arrangements. These procedures should consider issues of legal protection and indemnity for those workers. 

The Working Group recommends that agreed national protocols be developed to manage the integration of overseas workers and international aid into an affected jurisdiction. 

The Working Group recommends that each jurisdiction; 
• Examine the interdependency of essential services provided by the private sector, utilising where possible other existing programs such as the National Critical Infrastructure Protection Initiative
• Investigate the feasibility of working with industry peak bodies as part of its emergency planning process
• Ensure that linkages exist between Government and the private sector to support emergency plans
• Examine the purpose of their emergency/crisis powers and consider their ability to exercise them in times of emergency. 

The Working Group recommends that jurisdictions identify appropriate commercial organisations/bodies able to ensure maintenance of supply of food items and packaged water to commercial outlets in times of disaster. 

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. 

The Working Group recommends that in addition to existing disease control and pandemic management plans, States/Territories should consider developing a pandemic emergency management plan that considers the impact of pandemic disease broadly, encompasses all government and private sector agencies and addresses:
• Continuity of government
• Continuity of essential services and lifelines
• Maintenance of community functions
• Continuity of business and commerce.
Where possible, pandemic emergency management planning elements should be built into existing ‘all hazards’ plans and these should also consider those specific elements identified above.

The Working Group recommends that the adequacy of existing national mortuary capability to meet the likely demands of a catastrophic disaster be assessed by State/Territory Coroners. This assessment should also consider the need for a mobile mortuary capability and involve discussions with the Australian Federal Police. 

The Working Group recommends that appropriate building/surveyor peak bodies be identified, and that discussions be held between the emergency management sector and those peak bodies at State/Territory and national level with a view to:
• Developing a training program which will ensure that appropriate numbers of qualified personnel will be available to conduct rapid assessment of damaged physical infrastructure (including residential, commercial and industrial property) in times of catastrophe,
• Discussing the possible development of a national system for the provision of professional advice and assistance that also considers issues of professional liability and facilitates indemnity. 

The Working Group recommends that State/Territory emergency management plans should explicitly take the need for rapid assessment of damaged physical infrastructure into account. The importance of rapid physical infrastructure assessment in ensuring the supply of utilities including sewerage and drainage, electricity, water and gas to residential structures and other types should be recognised and considered. 

The Working Group recommends that all States/Territories and the Australian Government should regularly (annually) test their continuity of executive government plans and contingencies. 

The Working Group recommends that participants in the exercises designed to test continuity of executive government plans and procedures should be the office holders themselves. 

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. 

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.

The Working Group recommends that the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department hold discussions with the Commonwealth Department of Communications, Information, Technology and the Arts regarding the Integrated Public Telephone Network Database (IPND) being made accessible for use in times of emergency where the need to disseminate community information and warnings to telephones within a specified area is identified. Discussions should also be held between the Commonwealth Attorney General’s Department and with the Federal Privacy Commissioner’s Office to identify any impediments to the use of the IPND in such circumstances. 

The Working Group recommends support for ongoing research into natural hazard risks and an improved understanding of emergency management capability.
The research program should include:
• The development of an improved national picture of local risks to more clearly identify communities and regions at severe risk. Where possible, this activity should draw on existing complementary programs such as the Disaster Mitigation Australia Package being facilitated by DOTARS.
• The development of scenarios for a wider range of hazards and probabilities in which casualty and infrastructure damage consequences are predicted, and the development of standardised capability measures for emergency response and recovery, to allow assessments of adequacy.
• The development of cost/benefit methodologies for evaluation of projected capability enhancement, alsoallowing comparison with alternative strategies, e.g., mitigation.
• The longer term development of consequence prediction tools for tactical use by emergency managers to obtain assessments of impact to guide initial resource deployment. 

Related to recommendation 16, the Working Group recommends that the likelihood and consequences be systematically assessed by appropriate agencies that would include Geoscience Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry among others. The range of hazards to be considered should include but not be limited to;
• Tsunami
• Bushfire (working with the Bushfire CRC)
• Severe storm
• Flood
• Cyclonic wind and storm surge
• Earthquake
• Temperature extremes and the impact of climatic change
• Disease threat – human, animal and flora/fauna 

The Working Group recommends that the results of the scenario modeling be presented to the Australian Emergency Management Committee (AEMC) upon completion, and that AEMC form Sub Working Groups of State/Territory emergency management representatives as appropriate to be tasked with considering response and recovery capability (both state/territory and national) against the identified consequences. 

The working group recommends that a similar project to the Review of Australia's Ability to Respond to and Recover from Catastrophic Disasters be established to consider the longer term consequences of catastrophic disasters and their resulting recovery implications. Key aspects of such a review would include:
• Researching the likely longer term consequences of catastrophic disasters/emergencies,
• Consideration of Australia's capacity from all perspectives to address the long term recovery consequences of a catastrophic disaster/emergency.

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. 

The Working Group recommends that State/Territory Recovery Committees review their membership to ensure that it is reflective of community needs, including representation from the Insurance Disaster Response Organisation. 

The Working Group recommends that the National Recovery Coordinators Group approach the Investment and Financial Services Association Limited, with a view to identifying the most appropriate way of engaging the life insurance industry in the recovery process.

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. 

The Working Group recommends that the Australian Government investigate, in consultation with the finance and banking sector, the development of arrangements to ensure that essential transactions can continue in the event of a catastrophic failure of the banking system that includes access to cash. 

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. 

The Working Group recommends that the Australian Government consider developing an overarching whole of government disaster plan that clearly articulates authority, roles and responsibilities of agencies, inter-departmental committees and key officials, to link the range of existing Australian Government disaster plans. 

The whole of government disaster plan should also be written in such a way as to manage continuity of national government, ensure delivery of key services for which the Australian Government has responsibility and establish (or document existing) command and control mechanisms. 

The Working group recommends that the Australian Government take a leadership role with regard to addressing the national capability issues identified within this review. Further, that the States/Territories recognise and accept the collaborative nature of developing national capability and commit through engagement and consultation to assisting the Australian Government in this task.

The Working Group recommends the Australian Emergency Management Committee note that: 
• The Catastrophic Disasters Emergency Management Capability Review should be seen as the first phase of a multi-faceted work program
• The work program will need to be conducted over a number of years and deal with the implementation of any accepted recommendations arising from this report
• A collaborative national approach will be required to ensure successful implementation of the recommendations
• The process of researching risk and developing plans to reduce those risks and mitigate the consequences of disasters should be an ongoing iterative process. 

The Working Group recommends that the Australian Government and the States/Territories use the survey templates compiled in each of their jurisdictions during the capability review workshops, and the scenarios to consider their current and future capabilities, to respond to and recover from large scale disasters. 

The Working Group recommends that jurisdictions review their emergency management arrangements (plans, legislation, etc) to ensure that they are able to mitigate, respond to and recover from disasters, and maximise the duration of self reliance that can be achieved.

The Working Group recommends that Emergency Management Australia and the jurisdictions through the AEMC develop a three year rolling national exercise strategy aimed at testing the response and recovery aspects of large scale disasters.