Inquiry Search
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC324-4309 | 12 - EM agency and authority | SES and RFS back-office merger: That, to help protect life and property across NSW in storm and flood events, and to improve resourcing and NSW State Emergency Service (SES) frontline capability, Government implement, before the next storm season, a merger of the SES and NSW Rural Fire Services (RFS) back-office and corporate service functions, while maintaining their separate legislative identity, brand, uniform and volunteer membership. This ‘joined-up’ RFS/SES corporate support structure would be under the command of the RFS given its corporate and operational maturity and would be responsible for: |
REC324-4300 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Simplify the planning system disaster provisions: That, to simplify and improve the state planning processes especially when anticipating and recovering from a disaster, Government: |
REC324-4310 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | Task Force Hawk: That, to ensure disaster readiness, Government establish a high-level Government standing committee, Task Force ‘Hawk’, comprising key Cabinet Ministers, Secretaries and Commissioners that meets, trains and exercises to ensure Government is prepared to respond to any emergency. Task Force ‘Hawk’ should resonate with the community in difficult times to ensure the highest level of confidence in Government’s response. |
REC324-4303 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Risk-based approach to calculating flood planning: That, to take account of greater knowledge of climate change, Government reinforce its adoption of a risk-based approach to calculating the flood planning level for planning purposes and, through the NSWRA, immediately start a process of revising all flood planning level calculations in the state’s high-risk catchments. Flood planning level re-determinations for all high-risk catchments should be completed within 3 years. These revised flood planning levels will need to be factored into all development applications (in-progress and new) in those high-risk catchments. The risk profile of high-risk catchments should be revisited at appropriate time intervals to check that levels are current. A review should take place if there has been a significant trigger event (i.e. changed rainfall, development) or at least every 5 years. As well as reviewing the flood planning level, this 5-yearly review should include reviewing any floodplain lease conditions and adjusting them as necessary in the light of better knowledge of climate change impacts. In working out a tolerable, risk-based flood planning level, consideration should be given to the PMF, 1% AEP, 0.02% AEP, existing development, approved but not yet constructed developments, and existing and approved but not yet constructed evacuation routes. |
REC324-4312 | 17 - Assets and technology | Impact to essential services: That, to minimise disruption to essential services, including outages which compromise basic communication coverage, and to ensure access to safe water supply and power during flood events, Government work directly or together with the Australian and other state governments and/or their relevant power and telecommunications regulatory, policy and market bodies to: |
REC324-4304 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Landholders can access information on previous disasters: That, to ensure there is a single source of ground truth to prepare for and respond to emergencies, and to provide people with a better understanding of their individual property and community risk exposure, an online visualisation tool be developed to display, for all land parcels (land titles) in NSW, the extent of known disasters that have affected each piece of land in NSW in the past. This information should be made available through the Planning Portal and, particularly in light of climate change, the data involved should be revised and updated at least every two years and after each major natural disaster. |
REC324-4293 | 17 - Assets and technology | Essential services and floodplain infrastructure: That, to minimise disruption to essential services (power, communications, water, sewerage) and to ensure flood infrastructure is fully serviceable before flooding, Government ensure: |
REC324-4316 | 12 - EM agency and authority | Resilience NSW and recovery: That, in order to enhance NSW disaster preparedness, response and recovery, and meet the needs of the people of NSW prior to, during and after a disaster, and provide clarity on agency roles and responsibilities, Resilience NSW be reshaped to ‘Recovery NSW’. The new agency will be more streamlined and agile to drive recovery in the first 100 days post disaster. To achieve this, Resilience NSW’s functions should be reallocated as follows: |
REC324-4305 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Cost benefit framework:That, to enable a more systematic prioritisation of investment options in risk mitigation before, during and immediately following a natural disaster event, Government adopt and utilise a Disaster Cost Benefit Framework. This Framework will enable Government to estimate the investment required for any given disaster, starting with flood events, and will enable the fast allocation of funding based on detailed and rapid analysis of flood and property modification, mitigation, preparation, response and finance related options including: |
REC324-4296 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Caravan parks and manufactured home estates: That, to ensure that permanent residents of caravan parks and mobile housing estates are protected from flood, Government: • prohibit permanent residency in caravan parks and mobile housing estates situated below the risk-based flood planning level. Caravan parks for holiday makers could still be on the floodplain with the provision that, if a flood is imminent, they need to be evacuated • address the issues raised in the 2015 Discussion Paper (Improving the regulation of manufactured homes, caravan parks, manufactured home estates and camping grounds). |
REC324-4318 | 12 - EM agency and authority | Permanent SEOCON: That, to improve NSW’s ability to prepare and respond to floods and other disasters, Government establish a new Deputy Commissioner of NSW Police Force to take on permanently the SEOCON role. This role, in addition to current SEOCON functions, would be responsible for: |
REC324-4307 | 9 - Community education | Flood education: That, to build disaster resilience in future generations as floods and other natural disasters are a fact of Australian life, the Department of Education should design, implement and deliver an evidence-based, targeted education campaign (like sun exposure) in schools (new disaster curriculum). |
REC324-4299 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Relocating communities most at risk with good homes and amenities: That, to empower vulnerable people and communities to relocate, Government through the NSWRA: |
REC324-4320 | 12 - EM agency and authority | Knowledge resources to support flood management: That, to provide more accurate and complete data for flood threat identification, warning and modelling systems, Government through the proposed new NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSWRA) work with the Australian Government to: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC302-2397 | 12 - EM agency and authority | Use the model and system in place at the Ambulance Service of NSW as a benchmark for call taking, dispatch and the provision of situational awareness when deploying resources. This will overcome the lack of a feedback loop in current bushfire operations |
REC302-2403 | 12 - EM agency and authority | Take steps to ensure that both fire commissioners are seeking opportunities to engender a culture in their respective organisations that seeks to attract and foster the volunteer ethos and experience |
REC302-2402 | 17 - Assets and technology | Explore better options for call and dispatch, telecommunications and information sharing capability across the emergency management portfolio including the adoption of a multi-agency emergency management operations complex |
REC302-2401 | 12 - EM agency and authority | While the proposal to establish an integrated call and dispatch centre is being implemented, Fire and Rescue NSW should take steps to civilianise ComCen and maintain experienced senior officers from both agencies as supervisors similar to how the NSW Police Force and Ambulance Service of NSW operate |
REC302-2399 | 24 - Govt responsibility | Implement a fully integrated civilianised single call and dispatch centre, that includes a redundancy option outside the Sydney CBD, which will adopt an agnostic approach to deploy the quickest most suitable resource to an emergency. Such a centre should be managed by either a non uniformed public servant staffed organisation like the Office for Emergency Management, or the NSW Police Force |
REC302-2398 | 17 - Assets and technology | As a matter of priority commence the roll out of AVL capability for the Rural Fire Service fleet, completing as much work as possible before the 2018/19 bushfire season, capitalising where necessary on current and future work undertaken with the NSW Government Radio Network to ensure both officer safety and situational awareness |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC279-1229 | 12 - EM agency and authority | Recruitment Guidelines and Resources: By April 2015, update its recruitment guidelines and resources, and support units in better targeting recruitment |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC237-0828 | 9 - Community education | That the NSW Rural Fire Service develop a strategy to better inform the community and NSW Rural Fire Service members about the NSW bush fire management system and its components. |
REC237-0825 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That the NSW Rural Fire Service hold discussions with the Department of Planning and Infrastructure and Local Government NSW on ways to improve compliance with development consents under section 76A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979. |
REC237-0830 | 9 - Community education | That Bush Fire Risk Management Plans be tabled at Local Emergency Management Committees for comment. |
REC237-0829 | 9 - Community education | That Bush Fire Risk Management Plans be posted on the NSW Rural Fire Service website. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC228-1620 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | The Emergency Services Agency, in consultation with the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate, should review the Farm FireWise Program, including: |
REC228-1609 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | The Emergency Services Agency should undertake audits to meet the requirements in the Strategic Bushfire Management Plan for the preparation, sharing and publication of annual progress reports. Annual progress reports should be made available to the ACT Bushfire Council. |
REC228-1619 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Territory and Municipal Services Directorate, in consultation with the Emergency Services Agency, should improve its management of Land Management Agreements, with respect to rural leaseholders’ fire management responsibilities, by: |
REC228-1627 | 12 - EM agency and authority | The Emergency Services Agency (ACT Rural Fire Service headquarters) should implement a system to provide assurance to the Chief Officer of the ACT Rural Fire Service that personnel and equipment readiness meets requirements. |
REC228-1605 | 24 - Govt responsibility | The Justice and Community Safety Directorate should continue to review its strategic and accountability indicators and the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate should commence a review of its strategic and accountability indicators. The directorates should consult to develop complementary measures which better assess their bushfire management activities. |
REC228-1618 | 24 - Govt responsibility | The Emergency Services Agency, the Environment and Sustainable Development Directorate and the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate should strengthen across-Government delivery of major projects in the Strategic Bushfire Management Plan and Regional Fire Management Plans by collectively: |
REC228-1626 | 12 - EM agency and authority | The Emergency Services Agency and the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate should clarify the timing of the requirement for meeting firefighter fitness requirements, as set out in ACT Rural Fire Service operating procedures and the Territory and Municipal Directorate’s Enterprise Agreement, and give priority to meeting that requirement. |
REC228-1615 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | The Territory and Municipal Services Directorate, as part of its Bushfire Operations Plan monitoring and reporting, should assess and publicly report on cumulative progress against broader outcomes identified in the Regional Fire Management Plans and the Strategic Bushfire Management Plan. |
REC228-1625 | 4 - Fire season preparation | The Emergency Services Agency and the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate should improve information capture and sharing by: |
REC228-1614 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | The Emergency Services Agency, in consultation with the ACT Bushfire Council, should conduct a review of the ACT Bushfire Council against its recently developed terms of reference (July 2013) within two years. |
REC228-1624 | 12 - EM agency and authority | The Emergency Services Agency should: |
REC228-1610 | 24 - Govt responsibility | The Emergency Services Agency should annually review fire management zones and the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate should subsequently update the Regional Fire Management Plans. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC164-0074 | 9 - Community education | SERCon consider a review of existing community-based educational programs, with a view to informing the community |
REC164-0073 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | SERCon consider that the proposed State Recovery Committee provide an interim report to government on these and |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC159-3052 | 12 - EM agency and authority | ACTAS should develop and implement as a matter of priority, appropriate strategies to address declining response times. |
REC159-3062 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | ACTAS should develop a set of standards to measure and monitor patient satisfaction, so that improvements to the service can be made, based on patient satisfaction information. |
REC159-3050 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | ACTAS should log all emergency calls on CAD to document non-ambulance dispatch decisions, and to provide more complete data on demand. |
REC159-3059 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | ACTAS should establish a clinical information database that: |
REC159-3049 | 12 - EM agency and authority | ACTAS should enhance its approach to demand modelling in order to better guide current and future ambulance resourcing by: |
REC159-3058 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | ACTAS should improve patient care processes by: |
REC159-3048 | 12 - EM agency and authority | ACTAS should enhance its approach to risk management by: |
REC159-3055 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | ACTAS should implement systems to enable the accurate collection and measurement of non-emergency ambulance service bookings to facilitate monitoring of performance and the provision of accurate advice to Government. |
REC159-3047 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | ACTAS should develop a comprehensive performance management framework that includes key performance indicators and targets aligned to its service delivery activities, to help inform management and stakeholders of its performance. |
REC159-3054 | 12 - EM agency and authority | ACTAS should improve systems to manage its non-emergency transport services, provide training and guidance to staff on use of these systems, and implement a quality assurance process. |
REC159-3046 | 12 - EM agency and authority | ACT Ambulance Service (ACTAS) should revise its Business Plan to address key priorities and activities for each key service delivery function. This would include clearer expected outputs to be delivered annually and their prioritisation. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC129-3623 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and apply the lessons learnt from Exercise Cumpston to further improve preparedness for major infectious disease emergencies. |
REC129-3628 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and continue to develop and test the capability of its contact tracing system to deal with a public health emergency. |
REC129-3622 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and consider building on influenza pandemic preparedness planning to develop broader contingency plans to address the emergence of other new, highly transmissible and/or severe infectious diseases. |
REC129-3627 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and continue to develop and test its surveillance systems for early detection of infectious diseases. |
REC129-3620 | 35 - Business and Industry in relation to industry | We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and conclude agreements with private health providers specifying roles, and expectations in the case of an infectious disease pandemic. |
REC129-3626 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and consider a more structured and systematic approach to the planning and risk assessment of major infectious diseases to assist transparency and decision making. |
REC129-3625 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and establish a performance management framework with targets and indicators to assess progress in preparing for infectious disease emergencies. |
REC129-3624 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and formally establish and oversight a comprehensive program of training, testing and evaluation of plans at the state, area and facility level. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC121-3695 | 10 - Infrastructure | There should be interoperability of communications equipment between all trains operating on the New South Wales rail network. |
REC121-3752 | 12 - EM agency and authority | RailCorp should establish clear safety accountability statements and reporting lines for all management positions. |
REC121-3657 | 10 - Infrastructure | All signal telephones must be maintained by RailCorp in proper working order. |
REC121-3708 | 12 - EM agency and authority | RailCorp should employ a Chief Safety Information Officer to manage the collection, collation, and dissemination of safety information within RailCorp. |
REC121-3766 | 12 - EM agency and authority | Staffing arrangements for ITSRR should be reviewed by it to ensure that adequate staff are employed in field positions, actively monitoring the safety of rail operations and compliance with conditions of accreditation. |
REC121-3684 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | The ITSRR should conduct its own risk assessment in relation to the risk of any such high consequence, low probability accident and, if necessary, direct RailCorp to conduct a further risk assessment to reduce the level of residual risk to a level ITSRR regards as acceptable. |
REC121-3721 | 24 - Govt responsibility | The ITSRR should ensure that OTSI, as a division of ITSRR, co-operates and assists the ATSB in the conduct of any independent investigation by the ATSB of any rail accident or incident in New South Wales. |
REC121-3776 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | The Minister for Transport Services should retain, independently of ITSRR, safety auditors to provide a report to the Minister confirming or qualifying the contents of each such ITSRR quarterly report. |
REC121-3694 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | The ITSRR should conduct random audits of accredited rail organisations for compliance with communications protocols. |
REC121-3742 | 19 - Offences | The risk of abuse of internal passenger emergency door releases should be further reduced by introducing significant penalties for any improper use of such an emergency facility. It should be a criminal offence for anyone to use or tamper improperly with an emergency escape facility in a train. |
REC121-3656 | 17 - Assets and technology | Satellite telephones should be provided by RailCorp to all rail commanders at any emergency. |
REC121-3704 | 28 - Personal responsibility | RailCorp should continue its system of voluntary self-identification and rehabilitation of employees with alcohol or drug related problems. |
REC121-3765 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | The ITSRR should conduct field audits to satisfy itself that all accredited rail organisations conduct their activities in accordance with the safety management system on the basis of which each was accredited. |
REC121-3683 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | RailCorp should undertake risk assessments of each of its activities as follows: |
REC121-3720 | 24 - Govt responsibility | The New South Wales Government should make the necessary arrangements with the Australian Government, including any necessary legislation, for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) to have the power to investigate all rail accidents occurring on the New South Wales rail network the investigation of which may advance the knowledge of the causes of rail accidents in Australia. |
REC121-3775 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | The Minister for Transport Services must table in Parliament, each such quarterly report by ITSRR. |
REC121-3693 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | ITSRR should ensure that, as a condition of accreditation, each of these recommendations is carried into effect and should audit against them to enforce compliance. |
REC121-3729 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | All reports of the Chief Investigator of OTSI should be delivered, upon completion and without being reviewed, to ITSRR and the Minister for Transport Services. |
REC121-3653 | 10 - Infrastructure | The RMC should be equipped by RailCorp with a transcriber system, or mimic board, or such other system as is necessary to enable identification of the precise location at any time of any train on the RailCorp network. |
REC121-3700 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Maintenance plans on all trains should be revised annually. |
REC121-3758 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | Following completion of any external audit, a corrective action plan to remedy any identified safety deficiencies should be developed by RailCorp, implemented and followed up within the business groups affected, to ensure appropriate and timely completion of the action plan, by a formal examination of the effectiveness of the controls put in place. Senior management personnel should certify that the corrective action plan has been implemented and is effective. Senior management personnel should be accountable for any such certification. |
REC121-3678 | 35 - Business and Industry in relation to industry | All railway owners and operators should have a quality assurance program for the design and construction of rolling stock and regular review of construction to ensure that the rolling stock satisfies the original functional performance specifications. |
REC121-3713 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | Recommendations one to seven of the final report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Glenbrook Rail Accident should be fully implemented, save that the random auditing referred to in recommendations five and seven should be carried out by ITSRR. |
REC121-3774 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | The ITSRR must provide a quarterly report to the Minister for Transport Services on the progress made by RailCorp in implementing these recommendations, including: |
REC121-3691 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | The ITSRR should audit the RMC to ensure communications protocols are being followed. The sanction for non-compliance with communications protocols should be identical to that in the aviation industry and involve immediate removal from duty. Any RailCorp employee not following communications protocols should be required to undertake further training. If, following return to duties after such training, the officer continues to fail to comply with communications protocols, that officer is not to be employed in communications related work. |
REC121-3726 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | The OTSI should continue to conduct rail accident investigations on behalf of ITSRR and report directly to the Chief Executive of ITSRR. |
REC121-3651 | 10 - Infrastructure | A dedicated telephone line should be established by RailCorp between the RMC and any Emergency Services Control Centre for use during any emergency. |
REC121-3700 | 12 - EM agency and authority | The RailCorp defects unit should be combined with the passenger fleet maintenance division of RailCorp. |
REC121-3757 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | RailCorp should conduct internal and external safety audits to evaluate the adequacy of its safety management system and to ensure that any risk control measures are effective. |
REC121-3673 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | Regular field training exercises should be conducted by RailCorp with the emergency services to ensure that the incident command system and rail displan are able to be fully implemented as quickly as possible and are reviewed and improved. |
REC121-3712 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | RailCorp and ITSRR should co-operate with national programs for the collection, collation, trend analysis and dissemination of safety critical information. |
REC121-3768 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | The ITSRR, when considering a re-application for accreditation, should conduct a field audit of the organisation to ensure that it is carrying on its activities in accordance with the basis upon which it seeks accreditation. |
REC121-3689 | 12 - EM agency and authority | All RMC communications related staff should be selected upon the basis of the ability to convey information clearly, accurately and concisely and to follow strict communications protocols. |
REC121-3723 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | All ATSB accident investigation reports should be made public. |
REC121-3697 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | All train drivers’ defects reports should be entered by RailCorp into a computerised record and tracked to finalisation. |
REC121-3753 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | The RailCorp Board should establish independent external safety auditing processes to regularly audit and report to the Board on the implementation of an integrated safety management system by RailCorp and on safety performance generally. |
REC121-3658 | 12 - EM agency and authority | All emergency services stations should be provided with access keys to, and maps showing, all gates providing access to RailCorp tracks within their geographic area of responsibility. |
REC121-3710 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | The ITSRR should have permanent access to the RailCorp intranet. |
REC121-3767 | 24 - Govt responsibility | All accredited rail organisations should be required to re-apply every three years to ITSRR for accreditation. |
REC121-3687 | 10 - Infrastructure | There must be compatibility of communications systems throughout the rail network. It is essential that all train drivers, train controllers, signallers, train guards and supervisors of trackside work gangs in New South Wales be able to communicate using the same technology. |
REC121-3722 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | The ATSB should deliver any report of any such rail accident which it investigates to the Board of any rail organisation involved in the accident, ITSRR and the Minister for Transport Services. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC119-3648 | 38 - Agency/Department Reporting | It is recommended that providers supply data to the Board: |
REC119-3649 | 25 - Inquiry, audit, lessons management and after action review | It is recommended that the Board: |