Inquiry Search
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC321-4217 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | We recommend that DELWP in partnership with Country Fire Authority and Fire Rescue Victoria develops, implements and publicly reports on a holistic suite of performance metrics to demonstrate: - the impact that planned burning has on public and private land on bushfire risk - the impact that planned burning has on public and private land on ecosystem resilience - the impact that non-burn fuel management activities have on public and private land on bushfire risk - the impact that its activities at local and regional levels have on bushfire risk - the cost-effectiveness of its fuel management activities on public and private land. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC314-3267 | 16 - Training and behaviour | Invest in fireground leadership and incident management training for CFS, SES and MFS personnel to improve safety on the fireground. Invest in greater technological interoperability such as AVL, Thermal Imagery, Burnover Protection Systems (BOPS), lightning tracking and appropriate vehicle fleets for bushfire conditions including at the peri-urban interface. |
REC314-3261 | 24 - Govt responsibility | Consider amending the Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005 to align SAFECOM Board operations with accepted governance standards with the Minister appointing an Independent Chair of the SAFECOM Board. The SAFECOM Chief Executive (CE) should report to the Board and maintain SAFECOM’s role at the direction of the Board. Alternatively, SAFECOM could be abolished, moving to a model of a Department of Fire and Emergency Services where the departmental head reports to the Minister but the value proposition of any such machinery of government change would need to be thoroughly examined. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC299-1341 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That in conjunction with a risk‑based approach, a minimum hectare target is also maintained that can be measured and compared. This minimum target should not be below the 5% target established by the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission. |
REC299-1347 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | In order to manage a reduced time window available to undertake the current types of planned burns, alternative methods, including the indigenous mosaic ‘cool’ burns, should be examined and trialled as they may extend the period in which planned burns can be undertaken while reducing overall risk and fuel loads. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC196-0233 | 16 - Training and behaviour | Further train Incident Controllers in the management of the Information Section and its roles. |
REC196-0232 | 16 - Training and behaviour | Increase the regularity of training for ICC Information Section staff and encourage pre-season drilling and trials in the use of OSOM and Emergency Alert particularly under critical capacity conditions. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC195-0326 | 16 - Training and behaviour | The Fire Services recognise the specialised role of Information Sections and enhance training and resources accordingly. |
REC195-0314 | 16 - Training and behaviour | The Fire Services enhance and increase joint training and exercise programs at all levels of command and control, including the State Control Centre. (These programs need to enable volunteer participation.) |
REC195-0310 | 16 - Training and behaviour | The Fire Services Commissioner ensures that there is a comprehensive understanding of the State Command and Control Arrangements for Bushfires in Victoria across the Fire Services. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC181-0207 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | The Department of Sustainability and Environment report annually on prescribed burning outcomes in a manner that meets public accountability objectives, including publishing details of targets, area burnt, funds expended on the program, and impacts on biodiversity. |
REC181-0206 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | The State fund and commit to implementing a long-term program of prescribed burning based on an annual rolling target of 5 per cent minimum of public land. |
REC181-0175 | 16 - Training and behaviour | The Country Fire Authority and the Department of Sustainability and Environment require without exception that all relevant staff be trained in the need for Incident Controller approval to be obtained before a back-burn is lit. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC155-3464 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That the Department of Sustainability and Environment implement remote sensing imagery as a routine part of its pre-burn and post-burn assessment process for prescribed burning. Maps of every prescribed burn should be produced in a similar format to those used in Western Australia, indicating the boundary of each burn and the varying fire intensities achieved within the burn area. The boundaries of all Fuel Management Zones within each burn should also be indicated. |
REC155-3474 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That the Victorian Government consider all available means, consistent with conservation values, for substantially increasing the access of apiarists to the public land estate. |
REC155-3473 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That the Victorian Government expedite the implementation of its 2006 election commitment to provide four wheel drive clubs with access to management vehicle only tracks. |
REC155-3465 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That in order to enhance the protection of community and ecological assets, the Department of Sustainability and Environment increase its annual prescribed burning target from 130,000 hectares to 385,000 hectares. This should be treated as a rolling target, with any shortfalls to be made up in subsequent years. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC154-3461 | 24 - Govt responsibility | DPI should develop an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Human Services that capitalises on and strengthens the current good working relationship to support joint forward planning and risk management and mitigates against relationship failure in the event of leadership change. The MOU should clarify: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC153-1794 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That the Minister for Emergency Services and the Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service reinforce in the minds of all Incident Management Team members, in particular but not limited to the Incident Controller and Planning Officer, of the need to conduct a full risk assessment that not only addresses operational risk, but the risk posed to the general public by an existing incident and at all times to consider and identify the ‘worst case scenario’ outcome. |
REC153-1793 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That the Minister for Emergency Services and the Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service reinforce in the minds of those Officers who perform the role of Regional Duty Officer the need to deliver to the Deputy State Coordinator timely, accurate and relevant information pertaining to an ongoing fire incident. |
REC153-1798 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That the South Australian Country Fire Service design tuition courses aimed specifically at developing among its members skill and competency in identifying and implementing feasible and appropriate containment measures designed to bring control to a fire incident so as to minimise the risk posed to the general public. |
REC153-1792 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That the Minister for Emergency Services and the Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service reinforce in the minds of those Officers who perform the role of Regional Duty Officer the duties and responsibilities attaching to that position insofar as they apply to an ongoing fire incident, and in particular to recognise the need to conduct a risk assessment in relation to an incident and the need to scrutinise, evaluate and validate the strategies and Incident Action Plans of Incident Management Teams. |
REC153-1797 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That the South Australian Country Fire Service develop as part of competency for inclusion on a Level 2 or Level 3 Incident Management Team a minimum requirement of demonstrated skill and competency in identifying and implementing feasible and appropriate containment measures designed to bring control to a fire incident so as to minimise the risk posed to the general public. |
REC153-1777 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That the Minister for Emergency Services and the Minister for Local Government consider the enactment of legislation that would empower Local Government to require the owners or occupiers of rural land to create fire breaks on the land of a kind that Local Government may determine and/or to require the removal of flammable materials from the land, as measures for preventing the outbreak of a bushfire, or for preventing the spread or extension of a bushfire. |
REC153-1796 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That the South Australian Country Fire Service design tuition courses aimed specifically at developing among its members skill and competency in risk assessment. |
REC153-1795 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That the South Australian Country Fire Service develop as part of competency for inclusion on a Level 2 or Level 3 Incident Management Team a minimum requirement of demonstrated skill and competency in risk assessment. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC139-3551 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | The SA Country Fire Service to analyse the Coroner’s Report into the Wangary Bushfire 2005, and consider the relevant recommendations from this report in the implementation of the Ministerial Bushfire Management Review recommendations. |
REC139-3549 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | The SA Country Fire Service investigates the establishment of a Minister’s Bushfire Risk Management Reward Scheme. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC124-3890 | 16 - Training and behaviour | Update education and training programs relating to prescribed burning to reflect revised organisational priorities including year round (365 day) fire management program: |
REC124-3885 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | Align policies and processes, within the year round 365 day focus on fire management, to provide consistency in the approach to fire regardless of its origins,- that is fuel reduction burning, regeneration and ecological burning or unplanned fire; |
REC124-3884 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | Develop new prescriptions for prescribed burning to accommodate local conditions in those areas where standard prescriptions are assessed to be inappropriate: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC122-3791 | 16 - Training and behaviour | The Committee recommends that training be provided to landholders to enable them to assist with prescribed burns. |
REC122-3779 | 24 - Govt responsibility | The Committee recommends that relevant government departments implement an ongoing management program for the eradication of feral pests and weeds. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC112-3916 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That DPI reviews the work of entry level graduates to ensure career paths are clear and encourage the retention of staff. |
REC112-3931 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That DPI ensures that AIIMS training includes information to ensure that everyone understands their role, and how information will be managed internally and externally, in the event of an incursion. |
REC112-3930 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That DPI provides plant incursion-specific AIIMS training for anyone who might be involved in, or providing resources for, an incursion response. This includes senior management, field and research staff, contractors and industry participants. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC104-2239 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That any local level agreements developed to address geographically specific risks or issues must be consistent with State-level arrangements. |
REC104-2327 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That all fire agencies include a formal mentoring scheme as part of their workforce development programs; and that consideration be given to the use of suitably competent and experienced individuals (such as retired staff), to act as coaches or mentors with inexperienced Incident Controllers. |
REC104-2256 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That the State Emergency Operations Centre develop and maintain strong and close links with the State Emergency Response Coordination Centre, if collocation is not possible. |
REC104-2189 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | That DSE and CFA as part of their long term planning, and in conjunction with the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology, consider ways in which evidence for climate change and El Niño–Southern Oscillation cycle impacts on the likelihood of unplanned fire, can be better incorporated into preparedness and response planning. |
REC104-2294 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That training and competency programs for Incident Controllers should include aircraft firefighting capability training. |
REC104-2235 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That DSE and CFA review selection and training programs for Incident Controllers and Incident Management Team members to ensure that they include all necessary competencies in recognition that technical skills are only one component of the required attributes. |
REC104-2325 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | That CFA, DSE and MFESB continue to develop the partnership approach for fire safety with Local Government, industry and communities. |
REC104-2255 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That the options of collocating the State Emergency Response Coordination Centre with the new State Emergency Operations Centre |
REC104-2264 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That CFA and DSE provide media training to all Level 2 and Level 3 Incident Controllers. |
REC104-2232 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That Government in the development of its statewide water policy includes appropriate consideration of access to water for firefighting. |
REC104-2321 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That Government confirms that the Model of Fire Cover/Fire Safety Victoria strategy should be a seamless model for the whole of the State and include both private and public land. |
REC104-2254 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That a single state-of-the-art all hazards State Emergency Operations Centre be established for Victoria. This could, if necessary, be implemented in stages, initially incorporating DSE, CFA, MFESB and the State Aircraft Unit. |
REC104-2263 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That the person appointed by DSE or CFA as Incident Controller for any incident should have formal qualifications and accreditation in the Incident Control System, be fully aware of the Victorian emergency management arrangements and have access to local fire prevention and response planning, including the Municipal Fire Management Plan |
REC104-2230 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That DSE investigates whether such agreements should exist with other government Departments and agencies, particularly those with officers located in rural Victoria who may be involved in fire response and support operations in the future, based on their expertise and experience. |
REC104-2317 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | That DSE, with adequate resourcing, moves to a 12-month cycle of fire management to establish and maintain a more appropriate and balanced work program of prevention/mitigation and suppression. |
REC104-2249 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That DSE and CFA ensure that: |
REC104-2260 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That VICSES, with the support of the CFA, includes basic fire safety training as one of the competencies for the VICSES Volunteers. |
REC104-2225 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That the Victoria Emergency Management Council establish a sub-committee by June 2004 to ensure an all-agency and appropriate industries’ policy framework is developed and agreed in respect to the planning for fire prevention, mitigation and suppression. |
REC104-2315 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That the Privacy Commissioner be asked for advice in the development of this model. |
REC104-2247 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That an appropriately resourced, national aerial firefighting strategy is urgently required, and that the Victorian Government make representations to the Commonwealth to support the Australasian Fire Authorities Council recommendations |
REC104-2331 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That a State Emergency Operations Centre be established to replace the existing separate fire agency centres. This could, if necessary, be initially confined to being a State Fire Operations Centre as recommended in Chapter 18, Part D. |
REC104-2259 | 16 - Training and behaviour | That the MFESB continue to give priority to appropriate bushfire training for its firefighters. |
REC104-2192 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That, according to available scientific evidence, a decision regarding cattle grazing in the High Country should not be based on the argument that ‘grazing prevents blazing.’ |
REC104-2303 | 24 - Govt responsibility | That Interstate Agreements prepared by the fire agencies be reviewed to include protocols for the joint release of consistent and appropriate information relating to fires burning across State borders. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC016_3948 | 16 - Training and behaviour | It is recommended that workers and volunteers generally be instructed in accordance with a pre-arranged plan, as to what they should do in future times of emergency. Since the fighting of fires is for the greater part a matter of voluntary action, some estimate could perhaps be made, after investigation, of the numbers of men in each department who would be willing to volunteer. It would be necessary that each department should become a component part of an over-riding scheme and that it and its members should be fully instructed in the matter of whistle or siren warnings, places of assembly, reception of messages from the director of proceedings, use of equipment, and the various details which would necessarily be parts of an effective scheme. The training need not be onerous. If given once or twice at the beginning of possible danger periods, it would make for some degree of order and efficiency instead of a probable state of confusion. |
REC016_3945 | 16 - Training and behaviour | It is recommended that a large proportion of men employed in and about the open-cut be systematically trained in the use of equipment and in the tactical disposition of it. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC015_3954 | 24 - Govt responsibility | It is recommended that each public department or body which may now or hereafter control forest areas be allowed to pursue its own policy of fire prevention and suppression. As each such body is responsible directly or indirectly to Parliament it must be allowed to carry its responsibility in its own manner. It is strongly recommended that no such department be given authority over any other body in matters relating to fire prevention or suppression. If it is ultimately shown that a department is unfit to discharge the duty involved other measures may be taken. |
REC015_3956 | 24 - Govt responsibility | It is strongly recommended that no public department of possible combination of public departments interested in forests should be permitted to gain control of this authority. |