Inquiry Search
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC319-4186 | 34 - Local knowledge | Supporting local recovery: The Inspector-General for Emergency Management recommends that the entity referred to in Recommendation 13, or otherwise responsible government department work with councils and communities before, during and after emergencies to strengthen: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC318-4170 | 4 - Fire season preparation | The Inspector-General for Emergency Management recommends that responder agencies and Emergency Management Victoria review preparedness arrangements to ensure procedural documentation (including plans), recruitment, briefings and training are completed before significant seasonal events are likely to occur. Seasonal preparedness should culminate in attestations of assurance to confirm that: |
REC318-4175 | 4 - Fire season preparation | The Inspector-General for Emergency Management recommends that the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (or the single entity referenced in Recommendation 4) – supported by other organisations with a legislated responsibility for fuel management – plan for and increase the application of non-burning fuel management treatments including mechanical means. The annual fuel management report should include the non-burn component of fuel management treatment, track annual change, and provide a comparison to the previous three years. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC299-1348 | 4 - Fire season preparation | In keeping with the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission’s findings and recommendations, human life has primacy in bushfire‑related regulations and it is important that this is maintained in the implementation of bushfire management overlays and relevant vegetation removal exemptions should reflect the primacy of human life. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC236-2791 | 37 - Funding | The committee recommends that the government develop a process by which the ATSB can request access to supplementary funding via the minister. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC230-2835 | 37 - Funding | The committee recommends that the Australian Government direct an appropriate portion of the proceeds derived from the auction of spectrum to fund the allocation of 20 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band for the purposes of a national public safety mobile broadband network. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC229-2842 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The committee recommends that building codes incorporate mitigation measures that take into account foreseeable risks from extreme weather events. |
REC229-2841 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The committee recommends that credible and reliable flood mapping activities and the development of other information that would best inform landowners or prospective landowners of potential risks from extreme weather events are prioritised and used to inform land use planning laws. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC217-1814 | 37 - Funding | The funding model for works on levees and their ongoing maintenance be revised, to be primarily based on the beneficiary pays principle. The state government should give consideration to wholly funding, or contributing to, the initial upgrade of high priority levees to an agreed standard. The construction of any new public levees will be the subject of a cost‐benefit analysis to be undertaken by DSE and the public authority, and be supported by a floodplain management study. Levees deemed low priority will be wholly the responsibility of the beneficiaries. |
REC217-1817 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The current technical guidelines for the construction of levee systems will be reviewed. A revised Levee Design, Construction and Maintenance technical guidelines will include guidelines for the construction of both priority public levees, and private levees on private land, such as ring levees, which protect key assets. These guidelines will be made available to all rural councils, who will make landowners constructing new levees on their property aware of the principles and specifications contained in the guidelines and encourage construction based on them. |
REC217-1809 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | All priority public levees not currently the subject of approved schemes, will become subject to approved schemes under Division 5, Part 10 of the Water Act 1989. Such schemes will articulate an agreed set of terms, including: |
REC217-1844 | 34 - Local knowledge | Public authorities such as councils and CMAs should continue to seek local knowledge in relation to flood management issues. In particular, councils will collaborate with VICSES and other key stakeholders in reviewing the system of flood wardens. Roles and responsibilities of flood wardens, and the process for their recruitment, should be formalised and clearly articulated in relevant flood management plans. |
REC217-1815 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | A regular inspection and maintenance regime will be undertaken for all high priority levees managed by a public authority. All such levees will be inspected by the relevant public authority on an annual basis, and after a flood event. All levees will have a regular maintenance schedule. |
REC217-1832 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy should clearly identify authorities and assign responsibilities for stream blockage and debris removal in waterways posing a high risk to public infrastructure both during and after a flood: |
REC217-1808 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy should provide a strategic framework for the management and ongoing maintenance of Victoria’s levees. The Victoria Flood Management Strategy will provide criteria for a consistent statewide approach to the prioritisation of the state’s levees for future management and investment: |
REC217-1841 | 34 - Local knowledge | The state government establish a well coordinated and formalised system for the reading of river gauges by local people, including flood wardens. Furthermore, the knowledge of local people in predicting flood heights and impacts should be considered by emergency management agencies when predicting floods. |
REC217-1813 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Department of Sustainability and Environment will develop guidelines for streamlining the permitting system for conducting works on levees for incorporation in the revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy, in order for maintenance on all levees to occur more quickly. The guidelines will outline circumstances in which exemptions from current approval processes are appropriate. Councils will be permitted to obtain exemptions within their planning schemes for: |
REC217-1831 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Significant modification of waterways in urban or rural areas will only be considered after the completion of a flood risk management process, undertaken in consultation with members of the community. |
REC217-1807 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | A revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy is needed and should clearly articulate the principles, roles and responsibilities for the ownership, management and ongoing maintenance of Victoria’s levees. Neither land tenure nor prior government involvement will dictate ownership of public levees: |
REC217-1833 | 34 - Local knowledge | Local knowledge on the management and ongoing maintenance of waterways, including vegetation clearing and debris removal, needs to be incorporated in the development of regional flood mitigation strategies and local flood plans. Specifically: |
REC217-1812 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Streamlined processes to enable access to levees for the purposes of conducting works, including maintenance, must be implemented. Where a levee is managed by a public authority as part of a formal scheme, and is sited on either private land, or on a mixture of public and private land, access to private land for works will be negotiated as part of any scheme agreement. Where a levee is sited on public land, but is not managed by a public authority, local beneficiaries willing to conduct maintenance will be given access to do so, provided: |
REC217-1845 | 37 - Funding | The state government should provide core, ongoing funding to the responsible authority for the FloodSafe community education program. Funding should be provided for education about prevention, response and recovery phases and include information on rates notices about the height of particular floods. |
REC217-1821 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Where flood investigations show positive and cost effective outcomes, infrastructure providers, such as VicRoads, will consider enhancing their infrastructure to act as levees. Any development of this nature will require collaboration with, and the approval of, the relevant floodplain authorities. |
REC217-1811 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Responsible authorities will identify low priority levees for potential removal, and have them removed when funding becomes available. |
REC217-1842 | 37 - Funding | The state government review the current funding approach used for the operation, maintenance and upgrade of river gauges, with a view to improving the river gauge network. |
REC217-1818 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Department of Sustainability and Environment to review ownership of Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water’s Yarriambiack Creek levee, with a view to the appointment of a more suitable public managing authority/authorities. |
REC217-1810 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Where a levee has been identified as low priority, and beneficiaries are not willing to contribute to its maintenance, public authorities will inform levee beneficiaries that they will not fund the repair of their levee following a flood event. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC215-1875 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Fire services can improve outcomes by seeking input to decisions about siting, design and fire water systems as part of the planning and licensing processes |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC206-1892 | 37 - Funding | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government allocate additional and continuing funding in the 2012–2013 budget to the Insurance Law Service to establish a consumer advisory position at the Financial Services Ombudsman. The position should be co-funded by the Insurance Law Service and the insurance industry. |
REC206-1891 | 37 - Funding | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government and relevant State and territory governments jointly allocate additional and continuing funding in the 2012–13 budget to the Insurance Law Service for the mobilisation of a temporary physical presence in areas of need following natural disasters. The service should be available to all persons in an affected disaster area and not subject to means-testing. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC196-0238 | 34 - Local knowledge | Encourage ICCs to use local knowledge to review templates prior to release. |
REC196-0234 | 34 - Local knowledge | Ensure that local knowledge, local flavour and local language is used where possible in the development of all community bushfire warnings. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC195-0334 | 4 - Fire season preparation | The Fire Services Commissioner leads a task force to: a. identify legislation, policies and guidelines that impact on vegetation management and recommend necessary changes b. develop a set of risk-based standards for vegetation management with respect to strategic firebreaks and the assets being protected c. integrate maintenance standards across all areas of responsibility and tenure. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC185-1931 | 37 - Funding | The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Grants Commission ensures that as part of the current redesign of its data request, state and territory governments are required to include their past insurance and reinsurance receipts for natural disaster insurance premiums. These data must be taken into account by the Commission in determining the states' GST share. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC176-0142 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Commonwealth consult with local, state and territory government planning authorities on the development and dissemination of a house loss risk index for households in Australia's highest risk bushfire areas. |
REC176-0144 | 37 - Funding | Further Commonwealth funding for bushfire suppression be made conditional on state fire agencies agreeing to the Commonwealth evaluating and auditing their fuel reduction programs. |
REC176-0140 | 4 - Fire season preparation | The Commonwealth seek agreement from the states and territories that would enable it to evaluate the adequacy of fuel reduction programs applied by public land management agencies in high bushfire risk areas, and audit their implementation against the program's stated objectives. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC158-3450 | 37 - Funding | That emergency services are responsible for funding the development of the emergency services marine emergency response capacity/capability to meet their statutory obligations. |
REC158-3449 | 37 - Funding | That port/channel managers are responsible for funding the preparation of marine emergency risk assessments and marine emergency response arrangements and ensuring the availability of identified marine resources in support of response to a marine emergency, to meet their statutory obligations. |
REC158-3451 | 37 - Funding | That port/channel managers should be able, within the general context of the pricing/cost recovery arrangements established under the Port Services Act 1995 and pricing determinations made by the Essential Services Commission, to recover the reasonable costs of meeting their statutory obligations (as per recommendation 26) through charges for prescribed service applied to port users. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC155-3480 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That the Integrated Fire Management Planning framework establish zones in the interface between public and private land in which bushfire risk management is the shared responsibility of the Victorian Government and private landholders. |
REC155-3470 | 37 - Funding | That the Victorian Government provide recurring funding for a significant increase in regionally-based, permanent, or long-tenured, fire management personnel dedicated to the prescribed burning program. The increase in personnel should be consistent with the level required to achieve an annual prescribed burning target of 385,000 hectares. |
REC155-3469 | 37 - Funding | That the Victorian Government establish a five year rolling fund which allows unused prescribed burning monies to be rolled over into future financial years for the purpose of subsequent prescribed burning activities. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC145-3232 | 37 - Funding | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government give consideration to establishing a separate funding program for infrastructure enhancement in coastal areas vulnerable to climate change. Such funding should be provided according to a formula requiring contributions, either financial or in-kind, from state governments and relevant local government authorities. |
REC145-3207 | 37 - Funding | To further enhance Australia’s disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery arrangements in the event of possible major coastal disasters, the Committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a grants program, the Coastal Natural Disaster Mitigation Program, to fund natural disaster mitigation projects in the Australian coastal zone. |
REC145-3222 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government: |
REC145-3200 | 37 - Funding | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government: |
REC145-3215 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Committee recommends that the Building Code of Australia, including cyclone building codes, be revised with the objective of increasing resilience to climate change. |
REC145-3214 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government consider the benefits of adopting a nationally consistent sea level rise planning benchmark and, if so, whether this be done on a statutory basis or otherwise. The outcomes of this consideration should then be included as part of the action plan for the proposed Intergovernmental Agreement on the Coastal Zone. |
REC145-3236 | 37 - Funding | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government provide funding support for the ongoing activities of the Australian Coastal Alliance in providing a national information and communication interface between research organisations and local government authorities and other coastal stakeholders. |
REC145-3213 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Committee notes the Council of Australian Governments initiative (through the Local Government and Planning Ministers Council) to develop state-specific climate change planning policies by mid 2011, to inform local governments and regional planning responses to climate change. The Committee recommends that the Australian Government ensure that the outcomes of this initiative are included as part of the action plan under the proposed new Intergovernmental Agreement on the Coastal Zone. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC104-2318 | 37 - Funding | When the research into prescribed burning and optimum fire protection described in Chapter 11, and the financial analysis of appropriate funding levels for prevention and suppression recommended in Chapter 15, are completed, DSE should develop a business case with Department of Treasury and Finance for assured funding to an agreed level over a three-year rolling cycle. |
REC104-2241 | 37 - Funding | That the financial models incorporate changes in public land use, particularly ‘Our Forests Our Future’, and the subsequent changes in fire management priorities. |
REC104-2308 | 37 - Funding | That Government funding for Community Development Officers engaged in community support and rebuilding incorporates flexible resources to enable the purchase of services from a range of providers to ensure choice for those requiring support. |
REC104-2240 | 37 - Funding | That Government supports the immediate development of financial models to analyse and determine the appropriate level of investment in fire management planning, preparedness and suppression on public land. |
REC104-2245 | 37 - Funding | That DSE includes the cost of tracks, as above, in the development of financial models to analyse and determine the appropriate level of investment in fire management planning, preparedness and suppression on public land. |
REC104-2244 | 37 - Funding | That DSE assesses the environmental and monetary cost of establishment and rehabilitation of temporary tracks, per 100 km, constructed during firefighting operations, and compare this with the recurrent costs of a program of maintaining existing tracks. |
REC104-2243 | 37 - Funding | That Government reviews the funding for DSE for the 2004-2005 fire season to ensure that appropriate resources are available for fire prevention planning and preparedness. |
REC104-2246 | 34 - Local knowledge | That DSE undertake community consultation on policies relating to roads and access tracks on public land, particularly in respect to fire management. |
REC104-2242 | 37 - Funding | That the financial arrangements incorporate full cost recovery for prescribed burning to be undertaken over a number of weekends utilising Project Firefighters, CFA volunteers and MFESB members. |
REC104-2233 | 34 - Local knowledge | That communities, public land managers, Water Authorities and Catchment Management Authorities jointly identify and implement local and environmentally sound solutions to improve the availability of water for firefighting through the Municipal Fire Management Planning process. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC098-2171 | 37 - Funding | The Committee strongly recommends that the New South Wales, Victorian and Tasmanian Governments abolish the Fire Levy tax they impose on home and business insurance premiums (wherever applicable), making it payable through household rates instead. Any cost savings gained by the insurance industry through relief from collecting Fire Levies should be passed on to policyholders through reduced premiums. At the same time the Committee urges the Insurance Council of Australia to run ongoing education campaigns to increase public awareness on bushfire preparedness, including the need for insurance. |
REC098-2178 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Committee recommends that Standards Australia review the clarity of AS3959–1999: Construction of buildings in Bushfire Prone Areas to ensure that all relevant stakeholders can interpret and apply the Standard in the way it is intended. |
REC098-2136 | 4 - Fire season preparation | The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth through the National Heritage Trust assist the states and territories in the construction, maintenance and signage of fire trail networks. |
REC098-2169 | 37 - Funding | The Committee recommends that, for the purpose of communications for the police, ambulance and fire brigades, any rental costs associated with the use of radio sites under the care, control or management of the Commonwealth, state, territory or local government be waived, other than for the ongoing cost associated with the use of power at the site. |
REC098-2176 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Committee recommends that Standards Australia incorporate building maintenance into AS3959–1999: Construction of buildings in Bushfire Prone Areas, perhaps renaming it as AS3959–1999: Construction and maintenance of buildings in Bushfire Prone Areas. |
REC098-2158 | 37 - Funding | The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth should commit funding for aerial fire fighting beyond the 2003–04 season on the proviso that the Australasian Fire Authorities Council and the state and territory governments make a commitment to: |
REC098-2133 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth seeks to ensure that the Council of Australian Governments resolve when asset protection zones will be located on private land and when on public land and gain assurances that adequate maintenance of zones will be enforced. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC061-3253 | 37 - Funding | The Committee recommends that any change to the funding system reflect in a reduction of the total price charged to consumers through premiums by the insurance industry. |
REC061-3252 | 37 - Funding | The Committee recommends that an equitable funding system be implemented which relates premiums to: |
REC061-3418 | 37 - Funding | The Committee recommends that any change to the funding system reflect in a reduction of the total price charged to consumers through premiums by the insurance industry. |
REC061-3251 | 37 - Funding | The Committee recommends that the Government act urgently to make the existing system of funding the fire services fair and equitable to all Victorians. |
REC061-3417 | 37 - Funding | The Committee recommends that an equitable funding system be implemented which relates premiums to: |
REC061-3249 | 37 - Funding | That the cost of a Bureau of Emergency Services Telecommunications centre be recovered through user charges. |
REC061-3416 | 37 - Funding | The Committee recommends that the Government act urgently to make the existing system of funding the fire services fair and equitable to all Victorians. |
REC061-3414 | 37 - Funding | That the cost of a Bureau of Emergency Services Telecommunications centre be recovered through user charges. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC037-4169 | 4 - Fire season preparation | Mitigation and preparedness be enhanced and maintained for the future. Some co—ordinating mechanism or system be introduced at State Government level for this purpose. [Reference paragraphs: 114 to 128] |