Councils should formalise arrangements with entities that have the skills, capability and capacity to effectively manage spontaneous volunteers. These should be documented and integrated into planning and exercising.

The provision of system-wide tools, education, guidance and testing for requests for assistance is strengthened to enhance understanding and outcomes.

Councils, with the support of stakeholders, continue to develop and promote local disaster dashboards as the ‘point of truth’ for community information and messaging during disaster events. Greater use during recovery should be considered. 

A single point of truth be established for accurately capturing and reporting on disaster management group activation levels for any given timeframe. 

Entities with disaster management responsibilities need to integrate the eight priorities identified within the Emergency Management Sector Adaptation Plan for Climate Change into their disaster management planning cycle.

That the State Emergency Service together with the Local Government Association and Country Fire Service establish a plan for coordinated provision of sandbags to the public, including options for what is provided, where and when, and the process for effective communication of availability to the public.

Explore alternative emergency management models including the alternative model proposed above to establish a South Australian Emergency Management Office and State Relief and Recovery Office within the South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission, to ensure that all the objects and guiding principles of the Emergency Management Act 2004, and State Emergency Management Plan are addressed efficiently and effectively.

That a State Plan be developed for managing the consequences of a black system event or other major power outage. The plan should include:
a) public information strategies including providing advice on: the extent of the outage; anticipated and worst-case time frames for power restoration; services impacted by the outage; and, information about contingencies and actions by local and State government to provide support
b) identification of key providers that will supply fuel to emergency services and other critical services (vehicles and generators)
c) identification of priorities for provision of fuel and restoration of power
d) arrangements for purchase of essentials, for government agencies and the public, when electronic payment systems fail; and
e) arrangements for obtaining and distributing food.

That regular training and exercising is conducted for all State Emergency Centre participants including Liaison Officers.

That SA Police, emergency services, health facilities, utility providers and other key service providers, review their Business Continuity Plans giving consideration to factors such as: a) identification of: business critical needs; essential services power requirements; back-up power requirements for all facilities including State, regional and local facilities such as Police, SES, MFS and CFS stations; the need for any arrangements for back-up power to be included in contracts for design and or lease of Government premises b) contingencies for black system events and extended power outages c) regular back-up generator testing regime protocols, including testing under load and for long durations d) contingencies for communications when mobile, landline and/or radios are not operational e.g. satellite phones; and e) alternative State control centre facilities that are pre-identified, equipped and have procedures for moving to the alternative facility.

Establish a State incident management and emergency management training capability which provides for: a) consistent training across the State b) personal development and endorsement processes for roles c) identification, recruitment and development of personnel from other government agencies; and d) incident management and State emergency centre functional role training and development across all sectors. e) skills maintenance including upskills, refresher training and exercises f)incident and strategic leadership training g) consistent training for inter-agency liaison officers at all levels

Establish an ‘Interstate Deployment Support Plan’ for incoming interstate resources. The plan should outline responsibilities and arrangements for this function. Consider including this plan into the State emergency management arrangements.

Develop a State Relief and Recovery Plan as a distinct part of the State Emergency Management Plan which should include: a) potential locations for suitable facilities for relief and recovery centres which: are in locations safe from hazards such as flooding and bushfire; and, have appropriate access and suitable ablutions. b) formalisation of roles and capabilities of non-government organisations such as Red Cross

That the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure review their Business Continuity Plan to:
a) minimise the loss of public transport services
b) ensure ongoing fuel supply
c) improve public information e.g. electronic signage on buses, about alternative transport arrangements when there is a significant disruption to operations.

That the State Emergency Management Plan be reviewed and updated including: a) a better description of the responsibilities of Hazard Leaders Page xx b) establish a mechanism for a hazard leader to identify systemic failures in coordination of their hazard, with a clear process to raise those issues with SEMC and seek a remedy c) establish resilience as a key heading in the plan, with clearly documented strategies and responsibilities; and d) consider the Schar/Mulroney submission and taking a ‘fresh eyes’ approach

That the glossary of terms in the State Emergency Management Plan be reviewed to ensure all relevant language is included. All agencies need to ensure the use of clear communication and accurate use of terminology, including in describing the status of critical services e.g. Triple Zero (000), SA Government Radio Network, electrical and water supplies and infrastructure.

Review and update the role, function, workload and focus of the groups/committees that contribute to incident management and emergency management capabilities including the State Emergency Management Training Committee, Interagency Incident Management Sub-Committee and the Central Exercise Writing Team.

That the State Emergency Service, in consultation with key stakeholders, identify and implement a robust system and procedures for prioritising, allocating and coordinating multiple tasks.

Develop a Disaster Waste Management Plan to form part of the State Emergency Management Plan which describe participating agencies and responsibilities for various aspects of waste management during and after emergencies.

That additional guidance be provided in the State Emergency Management Plan regarding the activation, structure and operation of Zone Emergency Support Teams. This should include: a) the reporting relationship between the Zone Emergency Support Teams, the State Emergency Centre and the State Coordinator b) briefing requirements between the State Coordinator (or their representative) and the Zone Emergency Support Teams when the State Emergency Centre is activated c) responsibilities for provision of local public information; and d) the appointment of public information officers in Zone Emergency Support Teams (where there is no incident management team (established) to provide information to local communities

Deliver consistent and regular training in the use of the SA Government Radio Network to all users to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of the network in times of emergency e.g. reduce the issues associated with network busy signals.

Consider opportunities to identify synergies between the incident management systems used in SA being the, Australasian Interservice Incident Management System (AIIMS) and ICCS Plus. This might include joint training and exercising in roles that are common across both systems.

That resources be provided to support the implementation of recommendations in the South Australian Levee Bank Management Issues Paper (DEWNR, 2015) including: a) development of relevant policy; and b) identification of responsibilities in relation to levee management and flood mitigation

Task South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission with further developing the Emergency Alerts capability across government agencies including to: a) establish and maintain a centralised training program for emergency alert initial and refresher training. b) establish a pool of endorsed Emergency Alert personnel from across government agencies to enable control agencies to assist each other with the emergency alert function during emergencies. c) develop supporting processes to ensure that the capability supports: emergencies involving any hazard; consistent issuing of alerts and warnings; consistent messages; and effective communication and notification of alerts issued to relevant internal and external stakeholders

That members of Emergency Management Council ensure they are prepared to undertake their roles and responsibilities during emergency events, including establishing: a) contingencies for communication e.g. satellite phone b) access to relevant documents such as the State Emergency Management Plan, supporting plans, ministerial guidelines, agency plans and contacts in hard copy and/or portable device c) formalised arrangements for briefings (up and down), and d) arrangements for suitable representation e.g. relevant Chief Executive(s) or their deputy, at all Emergency Management Council meetings .

That the Office for Digital Government, in close partnership with telecommunications companies (e.g. Telstra, Optus, Vodaphone), develop a Control Agency Plan for Information and Communication Technology including mobile communications. The plan should consider:
a) provision of back-up power to priority infrastructure
b) back-up equipment requirements e.g. satellite phones for government ministers (including training and other support)
c) potential impact on the National Broadband Network on emergency services when there is an extended power outage / black system event
d) arrangements with commercial mobile network carriers to ensure emergency and support services have priority access to available mobile networks; and
e) contingencies to ensure ongoing functionality of the Broadcast Australia network

Through the Emergency Management Workforce Project, identify and provide training and development for SA’s emergency management sector personnel (government agencies, and non-government agencies including volunteers). State Emergency Management Committee should consider supporting recommendations from stage two of the project when the project report is tabled.

That, giving consideration to the previous recommendation, the Flood
Reform Response Working Group identify and consider appropriate
agency involvement and protocols for response to and management
of dams which are in danger of losing their structural integrity or
spilling.

Update the Public Information Functional Support Group Plan to include: a) standards, outputs, systems and processes required to be used by control agencies and the Public Information Functional Support Group during emergencies b) guidance on the public information cycle through the prevention, preparedness, response and recovery phases which includes the responsibilities and information requirements during different phases, and effective transition between phases c) establishing a public information intelligence cell within the Public Information Functional Service Group; and d) identifying tools or resources to monitor social media

That the State Emergency Service be provided with resources to enable them to deliver swiftwater awareness training to all first responders including emergency services, SA Police and council crews.

In order to increase resilience and public safety during emergencies, the State Emergency Management Committee should request the Australia and New Zealand Emergency Management Committee to place on the agenda, and consider establishing a national position, on redundancies for mobile communications (including phone tower back-up power) and the National Broadband Network.

That an Emergency Management Assurance Framework be established as soon as possible to support the emergency management arrangements and the State Emergency Management Plan. Consider establishing an Inspector General Emergency Management department or position.

Continue development of the Damage Assessment Support Plan to:
a) integrate data produced from Control Agency Stage One
Assessment into the Stage Two Assessment
b) develop a capability to undertake Stage Four Assessments which
includes assessment of impacts to infrastructure, agriculture,
businesses and the economy; and
c) consult with the Local Government Association regarding how/if
their Emergency Assessment Reporting System (EARS) data can be
utilised in the damage assessment process.

Review and reinstate the State Emergency Management Training Officer and State Emergency Management Planning Officer (capability development) positions to operate with a broad, strategic and leadership focus.

Department of Premier and Cabinet Regional Coordinators: Continue to build the capability of the Department of Premier and Cabinet Regional Coordinator role in recovery operations by providing: · on the ground support for Regional Coordinators during recovery operations by REMOs or OEM Recovery Team · training and developmental opportunities for Regional Coordinators to prepare them for working in the disaster recovery environment.

Impact Assessment Data Sharing The Office of Emergency Management: · with the SEOCON, jointly provides further guidance to Regional Emergency Management Officers about their role in facilitating local council access to the Impact Assessment Data Base · with REMOs and the SEOCON jointly provides further information to local councils about Impact Assessment Data Sharing Arrangements and the data available through this mechanism · includes information about the Impact Assessment Data Sharing Arrangements in the Local Recovery Toolkit · develops a mechanism to allow local councils to have direct access to the collated impact data.

In conjunction with the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services review of guidelines, the Public Safety Business Agency should consider reviewing the cyclone shelter management training package to include guidance to the shelter management team on their roles and responsibilities, and powers available under legislation and how these may be exercised.

Opportunities should be identified through the Local Government Association of Queensland council to council arrangement to share structural engineers to assess potential places of refuge against the Department of Housing and Public Works’ structure classification criteria.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services should consider examining regulatory provisions to improve disaster management and business continuity planning for aged care providers.

That the following disaster management doctrine are reviewed and reissued to ensure consistency and improved guidance to local government:
- Queensland Evacuation Guidelines for Disaster Management Groups;
- Queensland Public Cyclone Shelter Operations Guidelines;
- Queensland Public Cyclone Shelters Maintenance Guidelines;
- Guideline. Mitigating the Adverse Impacts of Cyclones – Evacuation and Shelter; and
- Business Continuity Planning Resource for Aged Care Facilities.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services coordinate the development of an integrated risk based approach to disaster management planning for Queensland that is consistent with the Standard and applicable at all levels of the arrangements.

Coordination of Volunteer Support
A key challenge for recovery staff is the coordination across community volunteer groups and
individuals to ensure support provided is complementary and directed to the areas in most
need. This is an important activity that should be considered in future recovery planning.
Establishing formal working partnerships with key volunteer organisations that outline
expectations during recovery operations is recommended.

Farm Management Deposits
The Farm Management Deposit Scheme appears to be a well-structured framework for
building rural resilience, however its uptake is low. Recent Commonwealth Government
announcements regarding this scheme should be applauded, but more work appears to be
needed to understand why the scheme is not more widely used, and to promote its use as a
means of building enterprise resilience.