That the Victorian Government ensure that, for future events that are expected to replicate high storage and high rainfall conditions, new temporary operating rules for water storage and release are developed. These new rules must take account of the interest of those who are affected by Eildon and Eppalock’s storages including downstream landholders and water entitlement holders.

That the Victorian Government introduce amendments to the Sale of Land Act 1962 (Vic) to require vendor disclosure statements to include a simple statement on flood risk. In addition, houses or dwellings previously flooded must be included in any vendor declaration statement.

That the Victorian Government clearly state the operational role and responsibilities of each emergency service in preparation for a flood emergency, outlining the appropriate chain of command, communication protocols, and engagement with the local community.

That the Victorian Government, working with local councils, establish statewide operating guidelines for Emergency Relief Centres. These guidelines should include protocols on rapid activation, streamlined communication and resource mobilisation. Local councils should remain empowered to tailor protocols to meet local needs.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice be amended to require insurers to provide all policyholders with access to realtime information about their claim’s progress and key documentation on their claim. This could be through a mobile application or other platform.

The Committee recommends that a distinction be made in the General Insurance Code of Practice (the Code) between aspects of properties where maintenance is:
- Observable (for example, roofs and gutters) versus where it is not observable (for example, typically, stumps).
- Where regular upkeep is reasonably within the remit of the householder or business versus where maintenance is infrequent, costly and highly irregular (for example, stumps).
- Where maintenance is not observable and infrequent maintenance is required, there should be a presumption of coverage by insurers unless exceptional circumstances can be established. It should be noted that this may have an impact on premiums for some policies (for example, for older houses) but that the trade-off is that it will reduce the likelihood of dramatically different outcomes for households with the same experience from the natural disaster while making no difference to the observed risk or behaviour of policyholders. This presumption should be reflected in the industry-wide guidance issued under Recommendation 2.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Securities and Investment Commission update RG 271 Internal Dispute Resolution to provide further guidance on what constitutes a complaint and how complaints should be recorded. The goal should be to ensure that the definition of an internal dispute is set at a level that captures appropriately serious disputes and that this threshold is applied consistently across all insurers.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice be amended to include a minimum 30 day ‘cooling off period’ with respect to cash settlements.

The Committee recommends the Insurance Council of Australia amend the General Insurance Code of Practice to include an appropriate mechanism for ensuring policyholders that are being provided with temporary accommodation as part of their claim have at least 3 months’ notice of any proposed substantive changes to the policyholders’ living situation or the insurers’ payments for the accommodation.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice be incorporated as a contractually enforceable clause in insurance Product Disclosure Statements (as is the Banking Code of Practice).

The Committee recommends the General Insurance Code of Practice be amended to require insurers to contact customers within 5 business days of the insurer becoming aware of a material change in the expected timing of any stage outlined in the guidance provided under Recommendation 30.

The Committee recommends that:
- the Australian Government legislate a requirement for general insurers to provide policyholders with information regarding insurers’ expectations of policyholders conducting “reasonable maintenance” to their property and the potential consequences for claim outcomes if a reasonable level of maintenance is not undertaken, and
- the Insurance Council of Australia in conjunction with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and key consumer group representatives develop clear guidance regarding ‘reasonable maintenance’ across insurers, including for roofs, gutters, fences and stumps.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice be amended to require insurers’ identification of vulnerable customers and training of staff be designed so that customer interaction is compliant with ISO 22458 2022-04, the International Organization for Standardization’s document Consumer vulnerability – Requirements and guidelines for the design and delivery of inclusive service.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice be amended to require that insurers implement mechanisms to:
- periodically review the evidence relied upon to deny a claim based on lack of coverage under the policy or the application of an exclusion, where a hydrology and other expert report is one component of the evidence, to determine whether reports with insufficient evidence are being given too much weight in the decision to deny the claim
- communicate the level of quality expected by insurers to third parties providing expert reports, and
- more effectively identify concerns with, and provide feedback to, external experts.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice prohibit the use of the terms “without prejudice” or “confidential” (or other misleading terms) on final cash settlement offers. This could be supplemented by regulatory guidance by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

The Committee recommends that the Insurance Council of Australia seek to have the General Insurance Code of Practice approved by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission after implementing any recommendations of the Independent Review of the 2020 General Insurance Code of Practice.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice be amended to require that insurers, in the immediate aftermath of a natural disaster, provide policyholders with updated information about:
- what policyholders can expect from making a claim and the claims process,
- realistic time estimates for each step of the claims process, and
- customers’ rights to challenge decisions or raise concerns about the insurers’ conduct.
This guidance should take the form of a comprehensible and standardised diagram or flowchart. Following major flood events, insurers should also build into their systems pathways for policyholders to receive quick responses to commonly asked questions.

The Committee recommends the Australian Government define the following terms in the Insurance Contracts Act 1984:
- All major forms of water damage, including “rainfall runoff”, “storm surge”, “tidal surge” and “riverine flood”.
- Key terms relating to exclusions relating to the maintenance of the property including “wear and tear” and “lack of maintenance”. The Committee recommends that the Insurance Council of Australia accelerate its work with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in developing and approving the standardising of these terms and that consumers be provided with greater clarity in relation to the meaning of “pre-existing defect and/or damage”.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission review how insurers are identifying vulnerable policyholders with a view to ensuring vulnerable policyholders are:
- consistently being identified when they make a claim;
- being identified in numbers commensurate with their prevalence; and
- provided with appropriate support throughout the claims process.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission produce regulatory guidance clarifying that insurers cannot rely solely on hydrology and expert reports to deny a claim where the report has not properly linked the damage observed with the cause of the damage, consistent with Recommendations 75 - 78 of the Independent Review of the General Insurance Code of Practice (the Code).That the Code provisions in relation to the appointment of experts be strengthened to ensure that:
- the purpose of the Code include the intent that experts are to provide independent, detailed, clear, comprehensible and professional assessments of the cause and extent of loss.
- insurers be required to ensure the expertise, professionalism and independence of experts appointed by them.
- expert reports are in a standardised format to improve consumer accessibility and understanding.
- clauses 161 and 162 of the Code require the insurer to provide policyholders with any expert reports including, but not limited to, any reports that insurers have relied upon to deny a claim in whole or in part

The Committee recommends that all insurers create a role for a ‘consumer advocate’ which has oversight of and, where appropriate, involvement in, the disputes managed within the firm, cases that have moved to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), and claims which have taken a long period of time to resolve. The consumer advocate should report to the Chief Executive Officer quarterly and the Board each year and provide a summary of the activities of the office over the preceding 12 months including a summary of cases where the consumer advocate was involved, the disputes that went to AFCA and the firm’s overturn ratio, and where long delays occurred before the case was resolved (longer than 12 months).

The Committee recommends the General Insurance Code of Practice be amended to allow policyholders to have a 12-month period to seek a review of a final cash settlement where there is a change in the facts upon which the original determination was made.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice be amended to require that insurers adopt a more flexible approach in relation to rebuilds and that, in particular, a like-for-like replacement not be required and that consumers be permitted to swap out size/scope for resilience and efficiency in “sum insured” repairs and rebuilds.

The Committee recommends the General Insurance Code of Practice be amended to require that insurers be required to consider relevant propertylevel mitigation measures in any new or renewing insurance policy, and to demonstrate how those measures have been reasonably reflected in the proposed premium. After the Code is registered with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Committee also recommends that the Treasurer issue a ministerial direction for the appropriate regulator to periodically review insurers’ compliance with passing on premium reductions.

The Committee recommends that clauses 103c and 103d of the General Insurance Code of Practice be strengthened to ensure that key information is translated and available on insurers’ websites and that clause 103a should specify that this includes translating and interpreting services for Indigenous Australians.

The Committee recommends that Engineers Australia in conjunction with the Insurance Council of Australia develop guidelines for hydrologists that are providing insurers with hydrology reports relating to flood and storm claims, with a view to providing a more robust evidence base for insurers to rely on to make claim decisions. These guidelines should be shared with state and territory governments and appropriate authorities such as planning agencies and resilience authorities. This could include the following matters:
- The appropriate qualifications and experience of the hydrologists that are relied upon to provide expert reports.
- In order to better use scarce hydrologist resources, the potential for reports to jointly cover multiple properties, particularly where they are co-located and were affected by the same flow of water. Where appropriate, such reports should acknowledge differential considerations across properties.

The Committee recommends that insurers improve their processes to facilitate the escalation of cases that remain unresolved after 12 months to a more experienced case manager.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice be amended to require insurers when offering final cash settlements to include areasonable uplift/contingency sum to reasonably compensate policyholders for the risks they take on in project managing the repairs to their property.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice be amended to require that insurers inform policyholders when they suspect the policyholder’s sum insured does not cover the full rebuild costs according to their calculations, both at sign-on and renewal. The insurer should encourage the consumer to review their sum insured amount and ask them to confirm with a response.
The Committee further recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice be strengthened to require insurers to ensure that sum insured calculators are accurate and up to date, consistent with Recommendation 56 of the Independent Review of the General Insurance Code of Practice. The calculators should include updated information on rebuild costs, including cost increases relating to rebuilding to current building standards, and increases in labour and materials costs.

The Committee recommends that insurers recognise standard third-party authorisation forms and that this obligation be reflected in staff training.

The Committee recommends the General Insurance Code of Practice be amended to require that insurers use the ‘single point of contact’ claims management approach to the extent possible when responding to major natural disasters and ensure policyholders are informed of who their assigned case manager is as soon as practicable. The Committee further recommends that insurers be required to accommodate the preferred communication channel nominated by a policyholder during the claim processing period.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government consider amending Sections 46 and 54 of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 so as to better give effect to the original intent of the provisions. This could reduce unintended, arbitrary divergences in claims outcomes based on wear and tear and maintenance exclusions at odds with reasonable consumer understanding of their coverage.

The Committee recommends that all insurers be required to establish a dedicated internal dispute resolution monitoring and review team to identify systemic issues arising through complaints and implement the Australian Financial Complaints Authority’s feedback to improve internal dispute resolution and claims handling processes

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice be amended to require insurers, when offering a final cash settlement, to:
- Advise the consumer to obtain legal advice in relation to a final cash settlement;
- Advise the consumer of their rights to reopen a final cash settlement under the General Insurance Code of Practice and any rights they may have in respect of common law;
- Refer the consumer to community legal advisers and financial counsellors in the local area.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice be amended to require that insurers, at policy commencement and renewal, communicate key information on the consumer’s policy, including:
- A clearly highlighted plain English explanation of common obligations policyholders have under their policies and the application of certain exclusions if they are not undertaken, and
- general advice in relation to property maintenance and the expectations of the insurer regarding key aspects of the property such as roofs, gutters and fences, and
- general information around the calculation of a policyholder’s sum insured and factors a policyholder may wish to consider to ensure full coverage in a total loss event.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice (the Code) be reformed to implement Recommendation 63 of the Independent Review of the 2020 General Insurance Code of Practice, that is: where the insurer has not made a decision on a claim within 12 months, and the delay is not due to the consumer or other reasons beyond the control of the insurer, the Code should require the claim to be accepted. The Committee further recommends that Australian Securities and Investments Commission consider using its powers in relation to claims management to enforce this obligation.
- This would not be triggered where a claim has been lodged with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
- This would be triggered where internal dispute resolution has commenced but is not resolved. If the insurer has not made a decision by 12 months, the claim must be paid.

An objective definition of an Extraordinary Catastrophe should be developed. This definition should be based on factors such as the type and scale of a weather event, the size of the population impacted and the macroeconomic conditions.

Insurers should review the effectiveness of the definition, identification and support of vulnerable customers during catastrophes. Consideration should be given to other ways of categorising and supporting customers through events given that, after a large-scale catastrophe, most customers will be, in some way, vulnerable.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services review the tasking protocols used to manage State Emergency Service (SES) tasks undertaken in the response phase of a disaster to enable more complete recording of details for all ‘jobs of opportunity’ (including the personal details of those assisted and/or rescued) to enable better coordination of tasks and reflect outcomes of activities by 1 November 2023.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services review and implement State Emergency Service (SES) protocol by 1 November 2023 outlining procedures to be undertaken to ensure persons uplifted from places of immediate danger or risk are transferred to a place of safety.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services develop and publish an operationally based quick reference guide that complements the training offered (as per Recommendation 5) by 1 November 2022. The guide will identify key and critical aspects of the Emergency Alert system in relation to the development, composition, request for and authorising of Emergency Alerts and will include a template and an example of ‘good’ messaging using concise, minimal language and Clear Explicit Translatable Language (CETL).  

Disaster adaptation plans for all towns: That, to establish realistic expectations of safe spaces to live and deliver much needed housing quickly, Government through NSWRA working with local government:
• build a disaster adaptation plan for each city and town, with planning instruments discouraging (and in many cases forbidding) development in disaster-likely areas. These plans should be developed under the NSW Climate Change Adaptation Strategy 1 . For towns at high risk, this should be completed within 3 years, with the rest of the state to be completed within 5 years. To develop these plans, it will be necessary to prioritise modelling of the impact of and evacuation possibilities from likely potential disasters as well as modelling the direct impact of the potential disasters themselves. For floods this can be done by continuing and broadening the flood modelling done in INSW to other high-risk catchments. This flood modelling activity should be moved to the NSWRA from the two groups it is currently with (INSW’s Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Risk Management Directorate and the Department of Planning and Environment’s Environment and Heritage Group)
• through NSWRA, working with local councils, complete the first sweep of plans including appropriate hazard maps (including but not limited to flood, fire and landslip) and link them to Strategic Plans and LEPs (updating as necessary). An accreditation process should be implemented so local councils with demonstrated capacity can seek accreditation with the NSWRA to maintain their own disaster adaptation plans with oversight (spot audits) by NSWRA
• use the disaster adaptation plans including the disaster/evacuation modelling to resolve existing rezonings currently on hold especially for the North-West corridor of Sydney. Future residential development in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley should be increasingly discouraged in favour of rapid development near train stations and other facilities in flood-safe areas
• use the disaster adaptation plans including the disaster/evacuation modelling and the options spelled out in the Northern Rivers case study to inform town planning, relocation options, buy backs and land swaps for the flood affected Northern Rivers region with the NSWRA (and in the lead up to the NSWRA’s creation, the Northern Rivers Reconstruction Corporation) urgently commencing a phased program to migrate people off the highest-risk areas of the Lismore floodplain, and other Northern Rivers floodplains, through a significantly expanded land swap and voluntary house purchase scheme, with priority given to our most vulnerable community members
• prioritise and incentivise new development in safe areas, noting this will often mean encouraging first home buyers to choose homes in appropriate density developments, including high-rise developments, through siting such new developments in locations with desirable attributes (near train stations, parkland, shopping centres, etc.) In this regard, Government should focus on redeveloping existing Government land in these locations
• for existing developments which are in disaster-likely areas, ensures evacuation routes are available and of sufficient capacity; the community is well-educated about the risks they face and how and when to evacuate; and any modifications of existing buildings are approved only if they maximally address the relevant risk (e.g. apartment buildings have the first few floors dedicated to parking so residents can shelter in place if necessary) noting that shelter in place only works if the flood waters come up and go down quickly, and if other essential services (water, electricity, sewerage, access to food and medical supplies, etc) are available
• using the Six Cities Region as an inspiration, consider developing another strategic city cluster in NSW, prioritising safety from fire and flood along with affordable housing; new industries offering well-paid employment; living within 30 minutes of the workplace; and offering access to education and training at all levels.

Flood rescue capability: That, to help improve the protection of life across NSW in flood events:
• the NSW State Rescue Board enforce adherence with current functions for flood rescue as specified in its current NSW State Rescue Policy
• the NSW State Rescue Board commences a review into flood rescue to bring it into line with all other rescues. All other rescues are currently coordinated through Triple Zero VKG NSW Police in an agreement with all other emergency services agencies. The Inquiry heard from the heads of combat agencies and aligning unions on this matter and found a consensus that the coordination of and response to flood rescue must change. The Inquiry acknowledges that this will necessitate implementation activities for a number of agencies
• aviation rescue is coordinated, in line with all other types of rescue, by NSW Rescue Coordinator (RAO), acknowledging RFS will maintain an Air Desk for firefighting activities
• the Flood Inquiry Secretariat remain in place to: — conduct an independent audit of NSW rescue capability across the state to inform which agency is best placed to respond to individual flood rescue requests — facilitate the transition from Resilience NSW to Recovery NSW. This scope of work could take up to 12 months. Further, to support effective flood rescue capabilities, appropriate training facilities are required. Accordingly, the Inquiry would support the NSW Cabinet Expenditure Review Committee:
• considering the NSW Marine Rescue bid to enhance the Cronulla Marine Rescue Centre to include a Flood Rescue Operational Centre
• approving funding for a NSW state multi agency ‘Flood Rescue Training Academy’ in a regional location to support and enhance the multiagency response needed for large scale events.

Floodplains as assets: That, to establish the capacity and maximise the economic, social and environmental potential and consequently unlock the value of NSW floodplains, Government adopt the following guiding principles for floodplain management:
• treat floodplains as an asset, specialising in uses that are productive and minimise risk to life during major weather events. Such uses would include sporting and recreational activities, garden plots and community gardens, agriculture and forestry, renewable energy production, biodiversity offsets, parks and outdoor education activities. Government should progressively move floodplain ownership to Government leasehold with lessees using the land under appropriately specified conditions. The management of the process of conversion to leasehold would be a Special Project of the NSWRA but over time handing the floodplain asset over to management by another government agency. The NSRWA should prioritise rapid conversion to leasehold in cases where houses and businesses are in high-risk areas – this may be accomplished by land swaps or buy backs. In doing so Government achieves early wins for new uses. In other cases, the conversion should occur as a condition of development, of a type that is consistent with safe evacuation or safety in place in the case of flash flooding that recedes rapidly
• treat development of the floodplain in parallel with development of urban structures (houses, businesses and industry) that are built near to the edge of the floodplain. Examples of connection could include high-rise housing developments where apartment owners are granted automatic rights and access to community garden and community recreation facilities. Structures within the floodplain and surrounding development should be connected by a layer of sustainable transport
• favour letting watercourses largely flow naturally rather than implementing engineering barriers such as flood levees and mitigation schemes to stop floods
• communicate the intention to use planning arrangements that will lead to greater safety and community amenity as well as realising a significant state asset. This needs to be communicated in general to the people of NSW, but also to those particularly affected communities at the time of planning, rebuilding and construction.

That DPIPWE clarifies responsibility for river restoration and riparian management and, having done so, communicates this to councils, landowners and other owners of relevant infrastructure.

The evacuation sub-plan component of the Local Disaster Managment Plan should be reviewed, including any identified triggers for activation. Ideally, the plan should be tested in a live, multi-agency exercise prior to next summer.

Banana Shire Council completes business continuity planning as a matter of priority, including documentation and testing of the plan.

Ensure effective flood gauging arrangements in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley

Optimise the configuration of a raised Warragamba Dam for flood mitigation of the full range of flood events and water supply, with due consideration of upstream impacts.

Determine the appropriateness and the steps required to allow the reduction of full supply level by up to five metres and/or the implementation of alternative gate operation at Warragamba Dam for the mitigation of minor to moderate flood events in the short-term.

The Australian National Audit Office recommends that the Department of Regional Australia, Local Government, Arts and Sport improve the arrangements for conducting value for money reviews of Victorian reconstruction projects by pursuing amendments to the operating protocol with Victoria to require that, at regular intervals, the Taskforce is provided with information on all reconstruction projects being delivered within the scope of the National Partnership Agreement.

In order to maximise the envisaged benefits from the Inspectorate’s program of value for money reviews, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO)  recommends that the National Disaster Recovery Taskforce improve the application of the sampling approach to make it more representative of the
population of projects within the Inspectorate’s remit.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment should develop guidelines for streamlining the permitting system for works on waterways for incorporation in the revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy. An exemption process will be introduced, with particular application to identified reaches of rivers and streams that require ongoing vegetation management and maintenance:
• that government will amend the Victorian Planning Provisions to create a new exemption for native vegetation removal under clause 52.17, for the purpose of ‘flood protection’; and
• Catchment management authorities will amend their respective ‘Works on Waterways’ bylaws to reflect these changes.

The revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy should clearly articulate the policy guidelines for the management of vegetation and debris in Victorian waterways, for the purposes of flood protection and mitigation, taking into account the localised potential flooding effects of in‐stream vegetation in townships.
To that end:
• the Victoria Flood Management Strategy will provide flood risk criteria for identifying specific reaches of rivers and streams that require ongoing vegetation management and maintenance, and to be subject to a revised permitting system;
• in their Regional Flood Strategies, CMAs will identify specific reaches of rivers and streams in their catchments, that require ongoing vegetation management and maintenance, and to be subject to a revised permitting system;
• each CMA will develop an In‐stream Management Policy to clarify responsibilities for the management of all waterways, including vegetation management. This will clearly articulate the circumstances under which the CMA will approve the removal of vegetation. This policy to be reviewed every three years; and
• where appropriate CMAs will develop agreements with local regional councils.

That statements of obligations, issued under the Water Industry Act 1994 for water authorities, be amended to include a provision whereby managing authorities must:
• make available to the public information designed to inform and educate local communities, particularly those communities living downstream of water storages ‐ this information will relate to dam operations, the rules governing those operations, and the capacity, or lack thereof, of storage infrastructure to provide protection in the event of major flooding; and
• ensure this information forms part of an ongoing program of interaction with local communities, to be conducted at a minimum of every two years, and providing community members with the opportunity to raise questions, discuss issues, and be informed on current dam operations.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment will develop guidelines for the management of levees in emergencies, during and after a flood event, which can be incorporated into local flood response plans. The department will also provide, as part of these guidelines, a set of criteria for assessing the ongoing viability of ad hoc levees post‐flood. The Emergency Management Act 1986 will be amended to support the implementation of these guidelines. A more effective means for councils to remove illegal levees will also be examined by the Department of Sustainability and Environment.

The state government give consideration to enacting legislation to provide protection from legal liability for public authorities conducting works on priority levees in good faith, acting reasonably and responsibly in the public interest, and in accordance with standards agreed to under approved schemes. Public authorities should not be excluded from liability if they have acted negligently.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment will develop clear policy for the coordinated management of rural drainage, clarifying the legal framework, and identifying authorities with responsibility for the management and ongoing maintenance of formal schemes, and their development:
• where appropriate, an expedited approvals process for works be applied in line with recommendation 5.4; and
• a central component of policy will be the principle of beneficiary pays.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment will develop a code of practice on the removal of vegetation around critical public assets, in consultation with councils, CMAs and asset managers. Regional Flood Strategies will support this code of practice as part of shared flood risk management planning.

CS Energy should amend its business procedure to remove any ambiguity as to the establishment of communications with Seqwater and to acknowledge the formal communications protocol regarding releases.

The Queensland Government should consider amending the Environmental Protection Act 1994 to provide a definition of the term ‘emergency’ for the purposes of section 468 of that Act.

CS Energy should review its emergency action plan and business procedures to ensure they are wholly consistent and give appropriate consideration to flooding as a possible emergency event.

The Queensland Government should consider amending the Environmental Protection Act 1994 so that it allows for the relaxation of environmental authority conditions, by transitional environmental program or otherwise, as to discharge of water: • pre-emptively, in advance of rainfall or flooding events, or • for all mines in a catchment that is flooding.

The assessment of flood mitigation manuals should be completed by a person with appropriate expertise who has had no involvement in its development, at any stage, and who can be seen to be independent of all individuals who were so involved.

The Queensland Government should legislate to clarify the purposes for which a transitional environmental program can be granted. In particular, if the government considers the transitional environmental program the appropriate regulatory mechanism to deal with the discharge of water from mines during flood, section 330 of the Environmental Protection Act 1994 should be clarified to make it clear that it extends to that use.

The Queensland Government should amend the Water Supply (Safety and Reliability) Act 2008 to designate the Minister as the person who must approve a flood mitigation manual.

Emergency Management Queensland should pursue the execution of the ‘Local Arrangements’ with councils where a Memorandum of Agreement is in place. The contents of the arrangements should be reviewed and updated regularly

The Queensland Government should legislate to oblige each owner of a referable dam to have an emergency action plan approved by the appropriate Queensland Government agency. Such plans should be reviewed periodically

The Queensland Government should amend the Environmental Protection Act 1994 so as to permit an emergency direction to be given orally where it is not practicable to provide the direction in writing, with provision for its subsequent confirmation in writing

the state: • ensure an ‘all hazards, all agencies’ approach to Incident Action Plan compilation is developed and implemented to enable the timely issue of functional Incident Action Plans. All agency incident action planning processes should be standardised to the fullest extent possible, including consideration of a library of pro-forma Incident Action Plans; and • develop and implement mechanisms to test and ensure that agencies possess satisfactory incident action planning capability and capacity for ‘all hazards’ at all levels of operations.

the state review and align all policies and procedures for evacuation, such as the interim evacuation guidelines and the State Health Emergency Response Plan, to ensure consistency and to clarify roles and responsibilities.

the State Emergency Response Coordinator further develop the Strategic Emergency Management Assurance Team process by involving subject matter experts from relevant emergency management control agencies who are the subject of Strategic Emergency Management Assurance Team focus.

the state develop and implement a strategy that maximises the flexibility and united capacity of the Country Fire Authority and Victoria State Emergency Service to respond to emergencies.

the state reconfigure the Victorian Emergency Management Council and the supportive committee arrangements to ensure a comprehensive, accountable, effective and integrated approach to the development of emergency management arrangements is in place for Victoria. The process should also include consideration of the Security and Emergencies Committee and Central Government Response Committee roles, functions, reporting arrangements and relationships with other state level emergency management groups. Settled arrangements must be clearly articulated to ensure stakeholder understanding.

the state ensure: • water rescue/swift water rescue definitions, roles and responsibilities are clarified and communicated to all stakeholders to ensure common understanding • appropriate training, equipment and support is provided to those required to perform water rescue/swift water rescue. Common training programs, standards and accreditation should be utilised wherever possible to increase potential for joined up operations and maximised capability • that based upon the experiences of these flood events, an appropriate level of water rescue capacity and capability is established and maintained • flood plans (all levels) and flood emergency response planning incorporate consideration of pre-positioning of appropriate water rescue capability in the event that such services should be required; and • that revised water rescue roles, responsibilities and arrangements are clearly defined in the Emergency Management Manual Victoria and such definitions are replicated in all individual agency planning and operational documents

the state develop and incorporate into emergency management planning regimes plans based on geographic risk, such as sub-regional plans

the state appoint a state emergency controller who is ultimately accountable for all major emergencies.

the state undertake a complete review of emergency management legislation. This should include agencyspecific emergency management legislation and should focus on service interoperability and securing an ‘all hazards, all agencies’ capability

the state: • assess current risk and risk mitigation strategies for essential services, with a focus on ensuring that risks are appropriately identified at all levels of emergency planning; and • ensure that the responsible authority or owner/ operator of essential services put in place appropriate strategies to mitigate any risk to service continuity

the state: • revise the Emergency Management Team Practice Note to include a template to ensure an appropriate and consistent approach to Emergency Management Team operations • provide the revised Emergency Management Team Practice Note to all stakeholders to enable familiarisation; and • ensure that there is regular exercising of Emergency Management Teams with an `all hazards’ focus.

the state update the current fire specific guidelines and resources for evacuation planning to take an ‘all hazards’ approach

SERCon consider the continued development of a State Recovery Sub-Plan (including complementary local and district
sub-plans).

SERCon consider meeting with the State Emergency Management Committee, Directors General and agency heads to
discuss the role, function and responsibility of individual agencies in recovery arrangements.

SERCon consider that the proposed State Recovery Committee review the recommended considerations arising from
this report and those of the Mayor’s Communiqué (2009) (Appendix 9 in Volume 2) and the Far North
Coast, Clarence Valley, Coffs Coast and Macleay Valley Recovery Committees (Appendices 5-8
inclusive).

SERCon consider the establishment of a body, such as a State Recovery Committee, with responsibility for the
oversight and management of emergency recovery operations in general, and in specific instances.

That all agencies develop drainage asset management plans, consistent with best practice, and that these incorporate:
- service levels and community expectations
- a demand management plan
- a condition assessment and monitoring program
- lifecycle costing principles
- a long-term financial plan