Inquiry Search
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC323-4273 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the NSW Government overhaul the way in which it conducts its grants process as it frustrated applicants and further traumatised them by repeatedly re-interviewing them and making them prove that they were flooded. |
REC323-4277 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the NSW Government develop a more proactive, rapid response to manage animal welfare following natural disasters which includes improved collaboration and communication with local veterinarians and animal welfare organisations. |
REC323-4289 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the NSW Government ensure that all emergency and recovery plans, including state plans, local emergency management plans and functional area plans, are reviewed and updated regularly and provide clarity on the role of non-government partners. |
REC323-4262 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the NSW Government provide an increased level of targeted support to flood affected communities contending with widespread mould. |
REC323-4269 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the NSW Government address the mental health needs of local communities following the February-March 2022 floods by: • embedding within state emergency and recovery plans a strategy that provides surge capacity for mental health and social workers by: • prioritising funding for community groups that are currently providing social and mental health support to their local communities • ensuring all flood-impacted communities receive the mental health support they need to fully recover. |
REC323-4271 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That Service NSW establish teams of assessors that can be on the ground to assess and approve grant applications. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC316-4046 | 33 - Relief and recovery | Emergency Plan and Recovery sub-plans should be amended to better define recovery mechanisms and responsibilities, including hand over points to recovery authorities and community engagement for the delivery of long term recovery mechanisms. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC315-3838 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | That, in order to ensure all NSW RFS members can access the mental health support they need, the NSW RFS expands in-house mental health support for members. |
REC315-3831 | 26 - Research | That, in order to capture and understand the impacts of bush fire smoke better, Government invest in operational air quality forecasting and alert systems, and public health research and policy development. This would involve investment to: |
REC315-3818 | 26 - Research | That, in order to improve understanding of optimal hazard reduction techniques and their application in the landscape: |
REC315-3856 | 10 - Infrastructure | That, in order to improve response times to Triple Zero calls, the NSW RFS implements the integrated dispatch system before the 2020-21 fire season commences. |
REC315-3802 | 26 - Research | That Government establish NSW as a major world centre of bush fire research, and technology development and commercialisation. This should include: |
REC315-3851 | 10 - Infrastructure | That, to ensure mobile generators are sourced and distributed on a priority basis during natural disasters, the EUSFAC work with the NSW Telco Authority, relevant NSW government agencies and commercial stakeholders to develop a mobile asset deployment strategy. The strategy should reduce duplication in purchasing, maintaining and housing mobile generators and improve agility in deployment. |
REC315-3840 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | That, in order to ensure firefighter sustenance is of sufficient volume and quality, the NSW RFS reviews food standards and procedures in consultation with volunteers. The review should include catering service standards, including food safety, as well as the viability of sourcing commercial contracts and providing 12-hour food packs to firefighters. |
REC315-3827 | 10 - Infrastructure | That, in order to minimise communication outages and extend basic communication coverage during bush fires, the NSW Government work directly, or together with other Australian governments and/or their relevant power and telecommunications regulatory, policy and market bodies, to: |
REC315-3868 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That, in order to ensure people only need to tell their story once to access government agency support following an emergency, Resilience NSW and Service NSW jointly design an inclusive, person-centred approach to information collection at evacuation centres. This should be supported by an opt-in scheme enabling personal information to be shared between NSW government agencies, local councils and non-governmental organisations administering support services for disaster-affected people. |
REC315-3839 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | That, to ensure firefighters can access mental health support through GPs, Government work with the Commonwealth Government to: |
REC315-3845 | 26 - Research | That Government commission further research on the potential risks and benefits of backburning during severe, extreme and catastrophic conditions and/or in particular terrain, and that the NSW RFS use this research to inform future backburning protocols and training. |
REC315-3826 | 10 - Infrastructure | That, in order to maximise the protection of critical infrastructure in a bush fire, Australian governments revise the regulatory framework for the provision to government authorities of information about all critical infrastructure (public and private) including a possible change to compel the owners of critical assets to provide all needed metadata, updated annually, for appropriate planning, preparation and response for bush fire. This would include information about location, ownership, access, details of service the infrastructure supports, and fire treatments of building and surrounding zones. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC299-1339 | 26 - Research | That Government provide support in the form of funding for the Return to the Firestick project, and that a formal pilot scheme be established where data can be collected, collated and analysed and the effectiveness of this approach be compared against current burning practices. |
REC299-1346 | 26 - Research | DELWP and its partner agencies, in conjunction with the Department of Health and Human Services, should undertake research into the specific effects on health of people affected by planned burns and the information should be made public. The study should include the direct impact of smoke on affected populations and impacts on water, food supplies and livestock. |
REC299-1340 | 26 - Research | That any such pilot program ought to be managed by the relevant indigenous organisations, with support provided by DELWP and its partner agencies and the development and the evaluation of any pilot program should be overseen by an independent and reputable academic or research institution. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC286-2079 | 26 - Research | Develop capacity to utilise the new high-resolution satellite products now available. |
REC286-1480 | 26 - Research | Deliver Flood Studies. |
REC286-2048 | 26 - Research | Conduct research into changes of owners’ and occupiers stated and revealed risk tolerance and preference for treatment measures before and after natural hazard events. |
REC286-1457 | 26 - Research | Improve understanding of how coastal inundation events interact with riverine flood events. |
REC286-2071 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | Implement a social marking program to promote improved respiratory etiquette and hygiene. |
REC286-2045 | 26 - Research | Investigate the potential effectiveness of economic and financial mechanisms to manage the risk appetites of land owners. |
REC286-2084 | 10 - Infrastructure | Establish emergency services ICT redundancy arrangements for damage loss of communications infrastructure. |
REC286-1456 | 26 - Research | Improve understanding of the weather systems that cause storm surge events to improve predictability and warnings. |
REC286-2055 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | Personal protective equipment (masks, gowns, gloves, goggles) – review fit-testing vs fit-checking. |
REC286-2032 | 26 - Research | Quantify the effect of heatwaves on vulnerable people. |
REC286-2031 | 10 - Infrastructure | Improve information about electricity demand during heatwaves. |
REC286-2092 | 26 - Research | Investigate usefulness of satellite data for PPRR (prevention, preparedness, response, recovery) planning. |
REC286-2024 | 26 - Research | Improve knowledge and understanding of the effect heatwaves coinciding with other hazard events have on the effectiveness and capability of response and recovery capabilities |
REC286-2090 | 26 - Research | Increase understanding of the Puysegur Trench dynamics to improve certainty around the likelihood and magnitude of future Tsunamis. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC278-1221 | 26 - Research | The committee recommends that the Australian Government, in cooperation with the Tasmanian Government: • recognise the need to identify the ecological and biodiversity impacts of fire on fire sensitive vegetation communities, organic soils and endemic fauna species in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area; and • allocate long-teerm funding to the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and/or the Tasmanian Government to assist with the development of fire assessment and modelling specifically suited to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC261-1500 | 10 - Infrastructure | That the NSW Government improve the protection of media and telecommunications towers around New South Wales by: |
REC261-1520 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the Ministry for Police and Emergency Services urgently review its policies for the provision of disaster welfare services to ensure that in the event of a bush fire emergency and the declaration of a fire under section 44 of the Rural Fires Act 1997, adequate funding and services, especially recovery centres and mental health services, are provided for an adequate length of time, with gradual transition to normal service delivery when those services are no longer required. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC241-1015 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | That the First Officer or Brigade Officer retain the ability to seek assistance from any person whose services are available at the fire. Any person appointed to provide this assistance should be protected under relevant Workplace Health and Safety and Workcover legislation. |
REC241-0965 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | That the number of Bushfire Safety Officer positions be, over time, increased so that one BSO operates out of each District office. |
REC241-0967 | 26 - Research | That a Rural Fire Research and Investigation Team be established to coordinate and communicate fire research knowledge, including fire behaviour as well as coordinate fire investigations and complaints for the state. |
REC241-1022 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | That Rural Fire Service Queensland in consultation with the Rural Fire Brigades Association Queensland will undertake a full review of the medical and health protocols to support the new Volunteer organisation. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC232-2821 | 26 - Research | The National Health and Medical Research Council, in conjunction with key stakeholders, work collaboratively to provide more support for initiatives to increase international infectious disease research collaborations and build research capacity, particularly with neighbouring countries in the Asia-Pacific region. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC230-2833 | 10 - Infrastructure | If recommendation 1 is not supported by the Australian Government, the committee recommends that the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy issue a Ministerial Direction to the Australian Communications and Media Authority to allocate as a minimum requirement, 20 MHz in the 800 MHz band for the purposes of a public safety mobile broadband network. |
REC230-2832 | 10 - Infrastructure | The committee recommends that the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy take appropriate measures to secure, for public service agencies, priority access to an additional 10 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band for public safety purposes. |
REC230-2831 | 10 - Infrastructure | The committee recommends that the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy issue a Ministerial Direction to the Australian Communications and Media Authority to allocate 20 MHz of contiguous spectrum in the 700 MHz band for the purposes of a public safety mobile broadband network. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC229-2838 | 26 - Research | The committee notes the linkage between climate change and extreme weather events and recommends that the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO conduct further research to increase understanding in the areas of: |
REC229-2837 | 26 - Research | The committee recommends that the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO continue to improve projections and forecasts of extreme weather events at a more local level. |
REC229-2836 | 26 - Research | The committee recommends that the Commonwealth government, through the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO, continues to support data collection and research to improve forecasting of extreme weather events, especially early warning capabilities. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC224-1634 | 10 - Infrastructure | The Minister for Emergency Services should urgently review the technical issues with the Western Australia Emergency Radio Network program that is forcing the State’s firefighters to revert to their older radio networks. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC222-1852 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The Minister for Health immediately establish the road trauma counselling service to be funded by the Road Trauma Trust Account. |
REC222-1850 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The Ministers for Emergency Services, Environment and Police ensure that their departments develop as a high priority a computer system for tracking their staff and the number of traumatic events they have attended over a particular period. |
REC222-1849 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | Departmental chief executives of the Western Australia Police, Department of Environment and Conservation and the Fire and Emergency Services Authority should be made personally responsible for the psychological health (as a result of critical incident trauma) of their staff and volunteers. This obligation should be reflected in their performance agreements. |
REC222-1848 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The Western Australian Government amend current State occupational health and safety legislation so that it includes a definition for ‘health’ that includes psychological health. |
REC222-1859 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The Attorney General and the Ministers for Health and Mental Health fund their departments to establish a peer support program by the end of 2013 for their staff undertaking stressful tasks during a disaster or critical incident. |
REC222-1858 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The Ministers for Environment, Police, Child Protection and Emergency Services fund additional chaplaincy services, particularly for staff and volunteers based in rural and regional Western Australia. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC217-1836 | 26 - Research | Flood studies will be undertaken to determine the flood extent on the basis of a greater than 1 in 100 ARI, where appropriate: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC188-2917 | 33 - Relief and recovery | The committee recommends that relevant Commonwealth agencies continue to monitor the wellbeing of their personnel and that counselling and support services should be provided for as long as necessary. |
REC188-2916 | 33 - Relief and recovery | The committee recommends that the Department of Regional Australia and DIAC liaise with the Christmas Island community to explore options for a permanent memorial to be erected on the island, at a site of the residents' choosing, for the victims of the tragedy. |
REC188-2915 | 33 - Relief and recovery | The committee recommends that Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) and its relevant contractors continue to monitor the wellbeing of the survivors and that counselling and support services should be provided for as long as is necessary. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC176-0139 | 10 - Infrastructure | Subject to the findings of the Productivity Commission, the Commonwealth examine options for the funding of replacement of power infrastructure that presents an unacceptable bushfire risk. |
REC176-0138 | 10 - Infrastructure | The Productivity Commission undertake an examination of bushfire risk from ageing power infrastructure, including an assessment of replacement costs and likely suppression costs from bushfires caused by defective infrastructure. |
REC176-0149 | 26 - Research | The Productivity Commission be tasked to assess the economic effects of recent major bushfires on the Australian economy to determine the cost effectiveness of prescribed burning as a mitigation strategy. |
REC176-0148 | 26 - Research | At the conclusion of the current Bushfire CRC funding agreement the Commonwealth establish a new permanent bushfire research institute. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC155-3472 | 26 - Research | That the Department of Sustainability and Environment and its partner agencies conduct or commission research, and a possible trial study, to determine the potential of thinning and other silvicultural practices – whether alone or in combination with prescribed burning – as a means of reducing fuel loads and as a bushfire management strategy in Victoria’s forests. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC145-3194 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government commission a study on international coastal zone governance arrangements, policies and programs for addressing coastal climate change impacts, and adaptation strategies. The completed study should be made public. |
REC145-3211 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government give the five recommendations calling for information, studies and data, as proposed by the Torres Strait Regional Authority, early and urgent consideration with a view to their implementation. |
REC145-3206 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government take urgent action to protect Australians from the threats of dengue fever and chikungunya virus. The knowledge gaps identified by the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility research plan with regards to the relationship between climate variation and vector-borne disease should be urgently addressed. The Australian Government should: |
REC145-3202 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a coastal zone research network within the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility and that it complete a coastal zone research plan. |
REC145-3198 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Department of Climate Change continue to fund research to: |
REC145-3229 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government urgently commission further research on socioeconomic vulnerability to climate change impacts, particularly in coastal communities. |
REC145-3196 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government increase its investment in coastal based climate change research on: |
REC145-3216 | 26 - Research | Noting the gap in research on legal issues and climate change impacts on the coastal zone, the Committee recommends that the Australian Government request that the Australian Law Reform Commission undertake an urgent inquiry into this area, with particular focus on: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC143-3585 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the Professional Assistance Grant is formally extended by WANDRA to include non rural businesses and that it be made available to assist with the clean up of disaster related damage to farms and businesses. (The Committee recognises that the amendments to WANDRA as of March 2007 address this recommendation). |
REC143-3583 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That the newly proposed index linked limits for Personal Hardship and Distress Relief Payments as outlined in the paper “National Disaster Relief Arrangements - An Analysis and Recommendations for Personal Hardship Distress Measures” be accepted by government. |
REC143-3588 | 33 - Relief and recovery | That, in line with recommendations contained in the 2004 Report to the Council of Australian Governments, greater flexibility should be introduced to WANDRA to enable damaged infrastructure to be upgraded to a more resilient standard where that is both feasible and cost-effective. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC116-2122 | 33 - Relief and recovery | The Working Group recommends that States/Territories consider their ability to house large numbers of domestic pets, and where necessary, develop plans and arrangements that facilitate this need. |
REC116-2107 | 10 - Infrastructure | The Working Group recommends that State/Territory emergency management plans should explicitly take the need for rapid assessment of damaged physical infrastructure into account. The importance of rapid physical infrastructure assessment in ensuring the supply of utilities including sewerage and drainage, electricity, water and gas to residential structures and other types should be recognised and considered. |
REC116-2120 | 33 - Relief and recovery | The Working Group recommends that the National Recovery Coordinators Group considers the issue of emergency relief centres in the context of catastrophic disaster with a view to assisting jurisdictions to plan for the need to accommodate thousands of people following a disaster. |
REC116-2117 | 33 - Relief and recovery | The Working Group recommends that potential shortfalls in the capacity to deal with large numbers of unprotected children and other special needs groups in a catastrophic event be referred to the Disaster Recovery Sub Committee of Community Services Ministers’ Advisory Council (CSMAC) for consideration and report back. |
REC116-2113 | 26 - Research | The Working Group recommends support for ongoing research into natural hazard risks and an improved understanding of emergency management capability. |
REC116-2103 | 33 - Relief and recovery | The Working Group recommends that jurisdictions plan for the logistics of supply and delivery of meals to large numbers of homebound persons in an attempt to identify possible ways of resolving existing shortcomings. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC098-2188 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that Program E of the Bushfire Cooperative Centre, which is tasked with the development of the next generation of fire researchers and dissemination of the Centre’s work, be tasked further to collect and respond to feedback, particularly from the on ground volunteer levels of fire brigades, on the practicality of its outputs and their future requirements. |
REC098-2138 | 10 - Infrastructure | The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth seeks to ensure that the Council of Australian Governments resolve to increase water access points for bushfire fighting on public land to the minimum national standard. |
REC098-2132 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre establish, as part of its program to implement a single fuel classification system, standards which take into account local conditions including topography and vegetation type, for determining appropriate dimensions for asset protection zones. |
REC098-2145 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre monitor the effect of grazing on mitigating the return of woody weeds to recently fire effected areas across various landscapes including |
REC098-2151 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Attorney-General engage the Commonwealth, states and territories in a review of occupational health and safety legislation as it affects the proper and effective functioning of bush fire services. |
REC098-2182 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre’s research and recommend property protection products and programs under Program D. |
REC098-2130 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre establish, as part of its program to implement a single fuel classification system, a national database that provides information on current levels and rates of accumulation of fuel loads that takes into account vegetation type and climate across all tenures of land, including private land where data is available. |
REC098-2144 | 26 - Research | The Committee acknowledges community concerns about smoke pollution as a result of prescribed burning and recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre pursue its proposed study into smoke modelling. |
REC098-2180 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that (under Programs C and E) the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre considers the following items as part of a national education program. |
REC098-2143 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that, as part of its study into improving the effectiveness of prescribed burning, the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre establish a national database that includes areas targeted for fuel reduction, the area of fuel reduction achieved based on a specified standard of on ground verification and the season in which the reduction was achieved. The Committee also recommends that in developing this database the Cooperative Research Centre develop a national standard of fire mapping, which accurately maps the extent, intensity, spread and overall pattern of prescribed and wildfires in Australia. |
REC098-2179 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that Program D of the Commonwealth Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre examines the (pending) outcome of the ABCB’s review of the existing Building Code of Australia bushfire |
REC098-2167 | 10 - Infrastructure | The Committee recommends that Emergency Management Australia and the Australian Communications Authority, in conjunction with the respective state and territory governments, ensure the survivability of essential communication installations during fire incidents by strategic fuel management around the assets. |
REC098-2137 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre establish a minimum national standard that is common across all tenures of land for water access and availability for bushfire fighting. |
REC098-2147 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre conduct further research on the impact of weeds on the flammability of land and the most economically and environmentally appropriate way to remove weeds after fire events. |
REC098-2163 | 10 - Infrastructure | The Committee recommends that Emergency Management Australia and the Australian Communications Authority jointly with the Australasian Fire Authorities Council: |
REC098-2134 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre determine a minimum national standard, taking into account topography and vegetation type, for adequate access to all public lands |
REC098-2146 | 26 - Research | The Committee recommends that the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre conduct further research into the long term effects and effectiveness of grazing as a fire mitigation practice. |