Inquiry Search
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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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. |
REC324-4305 | 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). |
REC324-4299 | 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: |
REC324-4310 | 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. |
REC324-4300 | 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: |
REC324-4313 | 8 - Communications and warnings | NSW disaster app: That, to improve community confidence in government messaging and warnings, the SEOCON and DCS develop a single ‘NSW disaster app’. This: |
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. |
REC324-4314 | 8 - Communications and warnings | PIFAC function: That, to ensure the community can better understand the threat of flood, storm and tsunami activity, the Department of Customer Service (DCS) be made accountable for PIFAC in all emergencies. This will improve access to clear, reliable and consistent messaging prior to and during emergencies. This transfers the PIFAC role from NSW Police Force to Service NSW. Under this PIFAC function, DCS would be responsible for: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC323-4266 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That the NSW Government review the provision of temporary and long term housing options provided to those affected by the February-March 2022 floods, with a view to: • ensuring a range of options are identified and embedded within emergency and recovery plans, so that solutions can be implemented as soon as possible after a natural disaster • ensuring that housing options meet individual and community needs • removing planning impediments that prevent those from accessing more safe and secure housing in times of crisis. |
REC323-4283 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That the NSW Government work with the community broadcasting sector to identify ways in which community broadcasters could be better supported to provide critical services during natural disasters, with a view to providing them adequate long term funding. |
REC323-4267 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That the NSW Government consider investing in supporting relocations, land swaps and providing fair and adequate compensation for landowners who wish to relocate from severely flood-impacted areas. |
REC323-4284 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That the NSW Government review its public awareness and communication strategies in relation to natural disasters. |
REC323-4288 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That the NSW Government work with the Commonwealth to develop a national cross-agency app to integrate all community services and agencies into a single platform so that everyone can receive accurate and timely information from one source during emergencies. |
REC323-4257 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That the NSW Government work with local government, industry and sustainable planning experts, including the Government Architect, on policy initiatives in the New South Wales planning system that will help deliver more resilient and sustainable homes, buildings and places. |
REC323-4259 | 3 - Biodiversity | That the NSW Government provide immediate support to the Hawkesbury City Council to remediate the riverbank erosion affecting Cornwallis Road, Cornwallis without any further delay. |
REC323-4258 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | That the NSW Government significantly increase its investment in flood mitigation and preparation, including its support of local governments to do the same, by: • increasing ongoing, long term funding and access to technical guidance and assistance for local councils • ensuring that land-use planning and development takes a risk-based approach. |
REC323-4260 | 3 - Biodiversity | That the NSW Government invest in the restoration of the Wilsons and Richmond Rivers to include riparian restoration, water quality and river health improvement. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC321-4202 | 10 - Infrastructure | We recommend that DELWP investigates incentives and advises government on options to accelerate burying and insulating the remaining high-voltage bare-wire powerlines in the 33 highest risk areas. |
REC321-4206 | 3 - Biodiversity | We recommend that DELWP conducts more effective ecosystem resilience monitoring by: - setting a target for regions on the quantity of ecosystem resilience monitoring assessments that they should complete annually - setting an outcomes-level target that defines desirable values for key ecosystem resilience metrics - reporting publicly against all of the metrics in its Measuring Ecosystem Resilience in Strategic Bushfire Management Planning policy in its fuel management reports. |
REC321-4217 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | We recommend that DELWP in partnership with Country Fire Authority and Fire Rescue Victoria develops, implements and publicly reports on a holistic suite of performance metrics to demonstrate: - the impact that planned burning has on public and private land on bushfire risk - the impact that planned burning has on public and private land on ecosystem resilience - the impact that non-burn fuel management activities have on public and private land on bushfire risk - the impact that its activities at local and regional levels have on bushfire risk - the cost-effectiveness of its fuel management activities on public and private land. |
REC321-4204 | 4 - Fire season preparation | We recommend that DEWLP and CFA (in consultation with FRV) in partnership with councils, provide advice to government in line with the Safer Together: A new approach to reducing the risk of bushfire in Victoria policy on options to better resource the assessment of risk on private land, its treatment and activities to enforce compliance of land owners with risk-reduction treatments. |
REC321-4210 | 3 - Biodiversity | We recommend that CFA (in consultation with FRV) improves its values checks by providing ongoing state-wide support to regional vegetation management officers and leveraging any relevant systems or capabilities from DELWP to conduct values checks through guidance, training and ongoing funding. |
REC321-4211 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | We recommend that CFA (in consultation with FRV) improves planning on private land to ensure risk assessments and plans are conducted consistently across public and private land to address state-wide bushfire risk based on where and how they can most effectively reduce risk. |
REC321-4213 | 3 - Biodiversity | We recommend that DELWP improves the effectiveness, consistency and transparency of its environmental and cultural values checks by: - finalising its review of operational values checking processes and committing to an implementation plan - clarifying and formalising principles and procedures, making them publicly available where possible - improving capability and capacity among staff responsible for carrying out values checks, for example through training - developing a long-term program of work and investment to improve the quality, consistency and comprehensiveness of underlying datasets - increasing alignment in regard to values checks between agencies carrying out fuel management. |
REC321-4201 | 10 - Infrastructure | We recommend that DELWP improves the Powerline Bushfire Safety Program's transparency by publicly reporting on activities, costs and risk-reduction outcomes. |
REC321-4214 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | We recommend that DELWP determines which elements of different regional planning approaches are the most effective and implements these across the state. |
REC321-4215 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | We recommend that DELWP develops more holistic bushfire-management planning that focuses on the best mix of risk treatments rather than planned burning alone. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC319-4194 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Public communications: The Inspector-General for Emergency Management recommends that Emergency Management Victoria and / or the entity referred to in Recommendation 13, or otherwise responsible government department, work with councils and government to refine an operational relief and recovery public communications strategy that: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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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. |
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: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC315-3865 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That the NSW RFS include the following priorities in the Fires Near Me improvements roadmap: |
REC315-3816 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That Government re-commit to the current, regionally based approach to planning and coordinating hazard reduction activities across all tenures through Bush Fire Management Committees but ensure that it is actually being implemented at a high-level of quality across NSW. Getting it to a high-level of quality requires: |
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. |
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: |
REC315-3856 | 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. |
REC315-3850 | 3 - Biodiversity | That Government develop and implement a policy on injured wildlife response, rescue and rehabilitation including: |
REC315-3862 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That, in order to improve information flows and increase public awareness of ABC emergency broadcasts, Government: |
REC315-3825 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | That Government, acknowledging that a strategic approach to planning for bush fire will take time, and in order to protect, prepare and build resilience into existing communities better, should immediately: |
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. |
REC315-3851 | 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. |
REC315-3833 | 3 - Biodiversity | That Government invest in long-term ecosystem and land management monitoring, modelling, forecasting, research and evaluation, and harness citizen science in this effort. This will include, among other things: |
REC315-3832 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That, in order to improve the provision of evidence-based public health messaging about air quality during bush fire events, Government develop a public education campaign and supporting systems before the next bush fire season. This should include: |
REC315-3824 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That Government commit to shifting to a strategic approach to planning for bush fire, and develop a new NSW Bush Fire Policy similar to the NSW Flood Prone Land Policy in order to accommodate changing climate conditions and the increasing likelihood of catastrophic bush fire conditions; to build greater resilience into both existing and future communities; and to decrease costs associated with recovery and rebuilding. |
REC315-3830 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | That as a matter of urgency, in order to accelerate and finalise a State-wide strategic fire trail network, the NSW RFS Commissioner and Bush Fire Coordinating Committee (BFCC): |
REC315-3811 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That in order to provide greater consistency in public information and warnings, especially in border areas: |
REC315-3821 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That government agencies managing land (at all levels and through all agencies) be the best neighbours possible by considering their neighbours when undertaking activities related to bush fire preparation and having clear, two-way communication about these activities, with the aspiration that government landholders will be seen as highly desirable neighbours. |
REC315-3829 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That, in order to ensure outcomes-based roadside vegetation management to reduce roadside tree fall and grass ignitions in planning and preparing for bush fire, Transport for NSW, working with local government and NSW RFS, establish a consistent framework for roadside vegetation management that analyses road priority, utility, amenity, strategic value and risk. The framework should: |
REC315-3817 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That Government, noting that hazard reduction targeted in proximity to assets is on balance more likely to provide help than hinder, should: |
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: |
REC315-3840 | 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. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC302-2404 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Review the effectiveness of emergency public information arrangements, and give consideration to embedding an ABC Manager (not a journalist) into the RFS headquarters during emergencies to broadcast warnings to the community that can be pooled to commercial media outlets |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC301-2392 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | TFS should engage in discussions with government about the construction of purpose-built State Control Centre facilities for emergency management in Tasmania. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC002-4013 | 19 - Offences | Infringement of the regulations by either party should be followed by a summary form of justice, instituted before two Magistrates. |
REC002-4002 | 19 - Offences | Where safety-lamps are necessary - gas being present for (say) one month after being found in dangerous quantity - they should be securely locked by a man duly appointed, and tampering with them must be punishable by a simple and inexpensive process of law. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC299-1341 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That in conjunction with a risk‑based approach, a minimum hectare target is also maintained that can be measured and compared. This minimum target should not be below the 5% target established by the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission. |
REC299-1338 | 19 - Offences | The Government introduce an amendment to the Country Fire Authority Act 1958 or other instruments which imposes significant penalties and strengthens enforcement, including via infringement notices, for offences against Total Fire Ban requirements before the 2017‑2018 fire season. |
REC299-1337 | 19 - Offences | The Government should: |
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. |
REC299-1347 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | In order to manage a reduced time window available to undertake the current types of planned burns, alternative methods, including the indigenous mosaic ‘cool’ burns, should be examined and trialled as they may extend the period in which planned burns can be undertaken while reducing overall risk and fuel loads. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC297-1272 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That, to provide greater clarity for building development, design and approval within tolerable risk levels, the Tasmanian Planning Scheme, including a relevant Riverine Flood Hazard Code, is finalised and approved as soon as practicable. |
REC297-1267 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That emergency management authorities react with heightened awareness and action when BoM issues flood watches and related warnings. |
REC297-1271 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That the organisations responsible for construction, maintenance and ownership of bridges review their design guidelines and, if necessary, update them to specifically include consideration of debris and flood impacts on bridge design. A review of existing bridges by the responsible organisations could also be undertaken to highlight any potential issues. |
REC297-1266 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That Government supports the anticipated SES State Flood Warning proposals aimed at improving public warnings and communication, and that the proposed warning system is consistent with the National Frameworks. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC292-2339 | 19 - Offences | I recommend that the Law, Crime and Community Safety Council develop a mechanism to ensure that all information on criminal history (including bail) that is relevant to the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences is readily accessible to police and prosecutors across all Australian jurisdictions. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC288-1195 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | The Committee finds that on the evidence presented, that the Fuel Reduction Burn Program should be maintained and have its budget directly funded to ensure that the program continues and does not hinder other services or programs. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC286-1441 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | Continue the Fuel Reduction Program. |
REC286-1478 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Review environmental risks associated with hazardous uses within flood prone areas. |
REC286-2023 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Locate and design new public infrastructure so that it can continue to operate during flood events. |
REC286-2082 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | Undertake inter-agency severe storm exercises. |
REC286-1451 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Include consideration of coastal inundation in land use planning for new developments and uses. |
REC286-2039 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | Nuance the exercises for flood / dam-break / debris flow to incorporate consideration. |
REC286-1463 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Develop enablers and capacity for Tasmanian earthquake risk owners. |
REC286-2050 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Ensure landuse planning and building systems, including appeal mechanisms, are transparent, equitable and integrated at the municipal, State and national levels. |
REC286-1474 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Raised access routes. |
REC286-2017 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Improve maintenance of flood mitigation infrastructure. |
REC286-1475 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Integrate existing capabilities into a Total Flood Warning System. |
REC286-2081 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Engage with industry bodies to explore opportunities to better understand and manage risks. |
REC286-1436 | 4 - Fire season preparation | Continue the development and implementation of community level Bushfire Mitigation Plans. |
REC286-1450 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Improve the understanding of the vulnerability of critical infrastructure. |
REC286-2038 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Monitor effectiveness of new Land Use Planning reforms to evaluate effectiveness of delivering desired outcomes. |
REC286-2074 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Continue the enhancement of forecast and warning services. |
REC286-1461 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Review all hazards response and recovery plans to ensure they address likely earthquake consequences. |
REC286-2049 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Pro-actively manage landslide areas. |
REC286-1471 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Promote the use of Water Sensitive Urban Design in stormwater systems. |
REC286-2015 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Build flood capable infrastructure. |
REC286-2066 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Advocate for an National Notifiable Diseases Database. |
REC286-1435 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Monitor effectiveness of new Land Use Planning and Building System reforms to evaluate effectiveness of delivering desired outcomes. |
REC286-1448 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Utilise coastal mapping to assess need for coastal defences. |
REC286-2037 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Make property level information on landslide hazards publicly available |
REC286-2028 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Review community information and warning systems to ensure they cater for heatwave messages |
REC286-2089 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Identify and analyse statewide storm hazard risk. |
REC286-1455 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Assess options for managed coastal retreat. |
REC286-2046 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Incentivising safer sites (charge people less rates and discounts for defensive actions by land managers). |
REC286-1469 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Actively manage riparian vegetation to manage flood dynamics. |
REC286-2061 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | Review and exercise the Tasmanian Mass Vaccination Plan. |
REC286-2071 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | Implement a social marking program to promote improved respiratory etiquette and hygiene. |
REC286-1447 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Assess vulnerability of ecosystems and species to coastal inundation. |
REC286-2031 | 10 - Infrastructure | Improve information about electricity demand during heatwaves. |
REC286-2027 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Develop arrangements to identify and communicate with people vulnerable to heat stress |
REC286-2087 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | Develop and exercise Severe Storm Emergency Management Plan. |
REC286-1453 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Review building controls to ensure they are adaptive to changing coastal inundation risks. |
REC286-2044 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Develop linkages between landslide risk assessors and building engineers/structural works. |
REC286-1468 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Identify and anlalyse the location of critical infrastructure within defined flood areas. |
REC286-2056 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Review Ambulance Tasmania surge capacity. |
REC286-2055 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | Personal protective equipment (masks, gowns, gloves, goggles) – review fit-testing vs fit-checking. |
REC286-1445 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | Develop, implement, review and exercise inter-agency community evacuation and recovery plans across the State. |
REC286-2025 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | Exercise heatwave arrangements with a focus on the public administration sector and management of vulnerable people |
REC286-2084 | 10 - Infrastructure | Establish emergency services ICT redundancy arrangements for damage loss of communications infrastructure. |
REC286-1452 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Improve understanding of the allocation of ownership across government, business and individuals. |
REC286-2040 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Further development of Landslide Hazard Banding of the State (MRT). |
REC286-1464 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | Exercise time-critical decision making processes within the context of an earthquake scenario. |
REC286-2051 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Establish arrangements to enable the buy-back of specified landslip prone land. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC280-1377 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That the NSW Rural Fire Service, in collaboration with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, review and improve the system of bush fire management zones to ensure that greater priority is given to hazard reduction on land classified within land management zones. |
REC280-1385 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service consider the feasibility, on a case by case basis, of closing public roads through national parks on days with catastrophic fire danger rating, to mitigate the risk of bush fire ignition in national parks. |
REC280-1376 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service establish a regime of frequent mosaic burning within the Warrumbungle National Park, where conditions permit, to be monitored and evaluated via a formal fully funded research program. This program should then inform the Service’s approach to the wider national park estate. |
REC280-1383 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That the NSW Government improve the protection of media and telecommunications towers around New South Wales by: |
REC280-1375 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That the NSW Government commit to and fund a long term program of prescribed burning based on the recommendation of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission of an annual rolling target of a minimum of five per cent of public land per year, and that the NSW Government commit to extending the funding for the National Parks and Wildlife Service five year hazard reduction program past 2016. |
REC280-1382 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, at the direction of the NSW Rural Fire Service, enhance the network of fire trails within national parks across New South Wales by: |
REC280-1399 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service remove from its boundary fencing policy and standard contract the condition that requires adjoining land owners to maintain a fence that has been damaged by trees falling from national park land. |
REC280-1381 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That the NSW Rural Fire Service review the decision not to construct additional fire trails in the Warrumbungle National Park following the Wambelong fire. |
REC280-1398 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service: |
REC280-1378 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That the NSW Rural Fire Service: -improve accountability in relation to the implementation of bush fire risk management plans as a means of delivering more hazard reduction. |
REC280-1386 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That the NSW Rural Fire Service and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service investigate the cost and feasibility of installing infrared cameras at the Siding Springs Observatory and key sites in other national parks to facilitate fire spotting. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC267-1162 | 10 - Infrastructure | Telecommunications and Power Infrastructure |
REC267-1153 | 4 - Fire season preparation | Planning for Access to Potentially Isolated Communities |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC264-1085 | 10 - Infrastructure | GDF Suez establish enhanced back-up power supply arrangements that do not depend wholly on mains power, to: • ensure that the Emergency Command Centre can continue to operate if mains power is lost; and • ensure that the reticulated fre services water system can operate with minimal disruption if mains power is lost. |
REC264-1089 | 8 - Communications and warnings | GDF Suez improve its crisis management communication strategy for the Hazelwood mine in line with international best practice. |
REC264-1082 | 8 - Communications and warnings | The State review and revise its communication strategy, to: • needed for effective and rapid public communications during an emergency; and ensure all emergency response agencies have, or have access to, the capability and resources • ensure, where appropriate, that private operators of essential infrastructure are included in the coordination of public communications during an emergency concerning that infrastructure. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC263-1092 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | CFA and VICSES should: implement risk management processes within regions, districts, brigades and units to understand and manage the local risks associated with their volunteer workforces |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC262-1490 | 10 - Infrastructure | That the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority critically reviews: |
REC262-1489 | 10 - Infrastructure | That the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority reclassifies its State Emergency Communications Centres as critical national infrastructure. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC261-1497 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That the NSW Rural Fire Service investigate mechanisms to enhance the predictability of megafires and how this information is communicated easily to the public. |
REC261-1495 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That the NSW Rural Fire Service: |
REC261-1503 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That the NSW Rural Fire Service and the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service investigate the cost and feasibility of installing infrared cameras at the Siding Springs Observatory and key sites in other national parks to facilitate fire spotting. |
REC261-1494 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That the NSW Rural Fire Service, in collaboration with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, review and improve the system of bush fire management zones to ensure that greater priority is given to hazard reduction on land classified within land management zones. |
REC261-1502 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service consider the feasibility, on a case by case basis, of closing public roads through national parks on days with catastrophic fire danger rating, to mitigate the risk of bush fire ignition in national parks. |
REC261-1493 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service establish a regime of frequent mosaic burning within the Warrumbungle National Park, where conditions permit, to be monitored and evaluated via a formal fully funded research program. This program should then inform the Service’s approach to the wider national park estate. |
REC261-1500 | 10 - Infrastructure | That the NSW Government improve the protection of media and telecommunications towers around New South Wales by: |
REC261-1499 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, at the direction of the NSW Rural Fire Service, enhance the network of fire trails within national parks across New South Wales by: |
REC261-1515 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service: |
REC261-1498 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That the NSW Rural Fire Service review the decision not to construct additional fire trails in the Warrumbungle National Park following the Wambelong fire. |
REC261-1514 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service adopt an interim fencing agreement in the immediate aftermath of a fire. This will enable emergency and interim works to commence, but features such as length, fencing components and site of the fence line are not binding. A final fencing agreement would be negotiated no earlier than six months following a major national park fire. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC260-1059 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That the Rural Fire Service and National Parks and Wildlife Service consider amending their protocols for upgrading advices to higher levels to emphasise the significance and urgency of raising warning levels as soon as the potential dangers of fire to lives or property materially increase. |
REC260-1051 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That the Rural Fire Service consider redrafting the disclaimer in its fire predictions to make abundantly clear where the potential errors or omissions may affect the prediction and how to detect them if they are there (for example, by comparing them with linescans) and what other factors (such as VLS) may affect the predictions and in what way. |
REC260-1071 | 4 - Fire season preparation | The NPWS to consider developing a land management policy that requires hazard reduction around identified assets within the Park and the clearing of fire trials within the Park before the bush fire season commences. Consideration should also be given to developing additional fire trails in the Park, bearing in mind the lack of available fire trails to the south of the John Renshaw Parkway in the park. |
REC260-1070 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | The NPWS conduct a review of its prescribed burns program to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, that all necessary managerial approvals for a prescribed burn are provided as promptly as possible. |
REC260-1063 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That the National Parks and Wildlife Service consider reviewing its guidelines and protocols in respect of hazard reduction planning and burning-off operations in the light of the evidence from experts witnesses in these proceedings that the incidence of, and intensity of, major fires is increasing and in the light of expert evidence given in these proceedings concerning the dangers of vorticity-driven lateral spread. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC259-1048 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That State and Local Government agencies maximise communication to the residents owning bushfire prone properties to be aware of their level of exposure by having access to the BAL relevant to their property. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC250-0792 | 8 - Communications and warnings | The Department of Human Services should develop an improved model for communication for future disasters that provides a single point of information and contact for disaster affected communities |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC247-0905 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That the Government consider whether it should discuss options for greater mobile phone coverage and redundancy in areas of high risk in emergency situations where there are presently telecommunications limits. |
REC247-0931 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That a specific risk prevention and mitigation advisory body be established for the State Emergency Management Committee. |
REC247-0919 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That Tasmania Fire Service and Tasmania Police review their use of modern forms of communication with the community, including social media, and commit resources to fully use this capability where appropriate. |
REC247-0939 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That Tasmania Fire Service conducts a review of the fire permit system in the Fire Service Act 1979, and implements change to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the system by: • considering whether it is appropriate to authorise persons or organisations to conduct fuel reduction burning during a permit period • providing a better match between the period, area and fire risk • maintaining a timely and efficient process for issuing permits • naming the period in a way that draws attention to bushfire risk • establishing a reporting and accountability process. |
REC247-0900 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That a public information plan be developed as a part of the State Special Emergency Plan–Recovery, for implementation in the immediate recovery phase. |
REC247-0904 | 10 - Infrastructure | That the Department of Infrastructure Energy and Resources consult Aurora Energy on the use of wooden poles for overhead infrastructure with a view to mitigating the risk in bushfires. |
REC247-0918 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That the State Emergency Management Committee makes arrangements to actively manage the use of social media in the community during an emergency, to avoid negative consequences for emergency operations. |
REC247-0938 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That Tasmania Fire Service or another suitable agency provides information to the community which shows, in simple form, the legislation applicable to approvals for lighting fires on private property and the various relationships between that legislation. |
REC247-0917 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That the State Emergency Management Committee makes timely decisions and resource commitments on the appropriate use of social media in emergency management. |
REC247-0935 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That the State Emergency Management Committee includes in its planning, the development of contingency emergency management plans for areas of high risk due to local conditions. |
REC247-0937 | 19 - Offences | That the legislation and enforcement arrangements are reviewed to ensure there are suitable offences and penalties, investigation and enforcement capabilities, and a rigorous approach is taken to breaches of the law. |
REC247-0916 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That Tasmania Fire Service ensures that the priority on warning communities at risk of active bushfires is not confined to when bushfires are burning out of control. |
REC247-0934 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That the State Fire Management Committee considers developing a structured, systemic and proactive bushfire hazard reduction program with municipal councils and Tasmania Fire Service; and advises the Government on any legislative or other changes required to implement such a program. |
REC247-0922 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That Tasmania Fire Service develops a research base from which to inform the design of communication campaigns for communities threatened by bushfire. |
REC247-0915 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That Tasmania Fire Service actively uses predictive modelling to design emergency communications for communities threatened by bushfire, unless there is a compelling reason for not doing so. |
REC247-0933 | 4 - Fire season preparation | That the Government considers whether a peak body should be established, with authority to effectively implement a bushfire mitigation plan. |
REC247-0920 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That Tasmania Fire Service reviews its approach to communicating with communities threatened by bushfire and consider the matters referred to in this Report. |
REC247-0942 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That the Government makes land use planning and building construction to prevent and mitigate bushfire risk a high priority and establishes a means to progress improvements in this area, such as a designated body or group, as soon as possible. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC238-0808 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Ensure future road infrastructure planning considers flood evacuation requirements throughout the Hawkesbury-Nepean floodplain. |
REC238-0801 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Establish a dedicated group or body within an existing agency to provide a more integrated, coordinated and regional approach to land use, infrastructure and evacuation planning and flood modelling in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley. |
REC238-0800 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Improve regional transport infrastructure to address current and projected flood evacuation capacity constraints and timelines. |
REC238-0816 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Ensure appropriate consideration of flood risk in regional and subregional planning |
REC238-0815 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Provide improved land use planning tools for managing flood prone land. |
REC238-0814 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Develop a NSW Planning Policy and Guideline to improve land use planning practices on flood prone land. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
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. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
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. |
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. |
REC217-1832 | 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: |
REC217-1809 | 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: |
REC217-1815 | 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. |
REC217-1831 | 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. |
REC217-1808 | 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: |
REC217-1813 | 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: |
REC217-1826 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | A revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy should identify and assign roles and responsibilities for the management and ongoing maintenance of Victoria’s waterways, for the purposes of flood protection and flood mitigation: |
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: |
REC217-1812 | 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: |
REC217-1821 | 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. |
REC217-1818 | 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. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC216-2869 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Efficient and effective supporting tools and processes: developing tools and workflows to quickly and reliably transform technical data into intelligence that can be used to construct messages for community information that are timely, relevant, tailored and effective. |
REC216-2870 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Efficient and effective supporting tools and processes: streamlining the authorisation processes for urgent warnings. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC215-1877 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Regulators can help to achieve improved outcomes by considering the issues identified by this review |
REC215-1876 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Fire services can improve outcomes by initiating discussions with landfill operators about fire management planning and emphasising the critical importance of water supplies and early intervention |
REC215-1873 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Fire services can improve outcomes by implementing standard procedures that ensure the welfare and safety of crews and the public are not compromised |
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 |
---|---|---|
REC208-0524 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That the Premier issue clear and unambiguous guidelines to all Government Ministers specifying the timing of notifications to the public of any matters that may affect public health or safety. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC199-0432 | 8 - Communications and warnings | the state develop and implement a single web portal as a means of providing emergency information to communities and local government on an ‘all hazards’ basis, including the information referred to in recommendations 74, 89 and 92. |
REC199-0437 | 8 - Communications and warnings | the state engage with local government to ensure emergency services’ public information and warnings reflect the community demographic. |
REC199-0402 | 8 - Communications and warnings | the state develop a flood warning system for each basin and location with community input and make relevant documents publicly available. Each warning system should include key performance indicators. |
REC199-0436 | 8 - Communications and warnings | the state develop a standard approach to the provision of emergency warnings and information in formats – spoken and written – that recognise diverse community needs, including language and disability |
REC199-0471 | 8 - Communications and warnings | the state and the commonwealth, during a flood event, make information available on providers who have capacity to accommodate patients and residents who require evacuation. |
REC199-0435 | 8 - Communications and warnings | the state put in place appropriate measures to inform the community of the intended purpose of the Emergency Alert warning system. |
REC199-0440 | 8 - Communications and warnings | the state actively pursue the use of social media as part of its emergency warning and public information system. |
REC199-0485 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | the state: • adopt a strategy to expedite incorporation of updated flood mapping or modelling into planning schemes • reconsider in what circumstances the ‘1 in 100 year event’ is the appropriate design event • actively support the Australian Building Code Board in its development of a new national standard for residential buildings in flood prone areas. Until such time as any new standard is incorporated into Victorian law, provide advice to householders about appropriate building materials for flood prone areas and ways that houses can be designed or adapted to mitigate flood risk; and • retain the ability of a Catchment Management Authority to require a council to refuse a planning permit or impose particular conditions when the Catchment Management Authority considers the flooding risk to be unacceptable. |
REC199-0434 | 8 - Communications and warnings | the state require that agencies operate in compliance with the guidelines of the Victorian Warning Protocol to ensure efficacy of warning messages. |
REC199-0439 | 8 - Communications and warnings | the state review its Memoranda of Understanding with official emergency broadcasters to take account of increased usage of internet based information, including social media and the ability to broadcast community meetings |
REC199-0441 | 4 - Fire season preparation | the state undertake further trials to explore the opportunity for greater use of social media as a credible source of information to and from the public during an emergency |
REC199-0433 | 8 - Communications and warnings | the state develop and implement standards for Emergency Alert to ensure consistent use, training and application by accredited operators within agencies across ‘all hazards’. |
REC199-0438 | 8 - Communications and warnings | the state investigate the ability to refine the Flood and Storm Information Line to enable it to receive as well as provide information. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC196-0231 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Allow the MFB and SES access to using OSOM. |
REC196-0241 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Review OSOM to enable monitoring or tracking of where messages were sent, who they were sent to and when they are due for review. |
REC196-0246 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Review the suite of community bushfire warning systems available to tourists across the State. |
REC196-0229 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Amend SOP J4.01and other strategic and procedural documents to reflect the goal of ‘timely, relevant and tailored’ for community bushfire warnings. |
REC196-0240 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Improve links and interactions between the communication systems e.g. customise OSOM messages to each of the communication mechanisms, link OSOM with Emergency Alert. |
REC196-0245 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Develop a robust evaluation framework to review community bushfire warning policies, processes, systems and procedures both internally and with communities at regular intervals and immediately after a major bushfire event. |
REC196-0239 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Review Emergency Alert and OSOM systems to improve ease of use. |
REC196-0244 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Educate and engage with fire-affected landholders about the types of warnings, what they might expect from the warnings and their responsibility for response to prevent loss of life. |
REC196-0237 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Ensure that warning terminology used in the templates and FireWeb is consistent. |
REC196-0243 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Review the potential use of ‘crowdsourcing’ sites such as Bushfire Connect in community bushfire warnings. |
REC196-0236 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Review the use of the terms in the templates e.g. ‘out of control’ so that community misconceptions are minimised. |
REC196-0242 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Integrate social media into the OSOM system. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
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. |
REC195-0331 | 8 - Communications and warnings | The Fire Services ensure information and warning projects are able to be integrated with a common operating platform. |
REC195-0328 | 8 - Communications and warnings | The Fire Services ensure that information and warnings are developed in accordance with the Victorian Warning Protocol |
REC195-0325 | 8 - Communications and warnings | The Fire Services evaluate the new information and warning systems to identify ways to integrate them and improve their capacity to issue timely, relevant and tailored messages. This should include the use of social media. |
REC195-0335 | 10 - Infrastructure | Energy Safe Victoria ensures that the standards for vegetation clearance around power lines consider the impact of fire on electrical infrastructure and the risk of loss of electricity supply to the community. |
REC195-0324 | 8 - Communications and warnings | The Fire Services, in consultation with media outlets, develop a more effective strategy for informing the community of Total Fire Ban days. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC193-0227 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | Local government councils implement a zoning approach to fuel management as recommended by COAG 2004. |
REC193-0228 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Tasmanian entities with responsibilities for bushfire management actively pursue national consistency of warning systems and emergency warning signals through national bodies such as the National Emergency Management Committee. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC181-0199 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The State modify its adoption of the Building Code of Australia for the following purposes: ■ to remove deemed-to-satisfy provisions for the construction of buildings in BAL-FZ (the Flame Zone); ■ to apply bushfire construction provisions to non-residential buildings that will be occupied by people who are particularly vulnerable to bushfire attack, such as schools, child care centres, hospitals and aged care facilities; ■ other than in exceptional circumstances, to apply a minimum AS 3959-2009 construction level of BAL-12.5 to all new buildings and extensions in bushfire-prone areas. |
REC181-0178 | 10 - Infrastructure | The State (through Energy Safe Victoria) require distribution businesses to change their asset inspection standards and procedures to require that all SWER lines and all 22-kilovolt feeders in areas of high bushfire risk are inspected at least every three years. |
REC181-0207 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | The Department of Sustainability and Environment report annually on prescribed burning outcomes in a manner that meets public accountability objectives, including publishing details of targets, area burnt, funds expended on the program, and impacts on biodiversity. |
REC181-0190 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Country Fire Authority amend its guidelines for assessing permit applications for dwellings, nondwellings and subdivisions in the Bushfire-prone Overlay in order to accommodate the amendments to the Wildfire Management Overlay that are implemented as a result of recommendation 39 and make the guidelines available to municipal councils and the public. The revised guidelines should do the following: ■ substantially restrict new developments and subdivisions in those areas of highest risk in the Bushfire-prone Overlay; ■ set out the CFA’s guidelines for assessing permit applications for dwellings, non-dwellings and subdivisions—including the minimum defendable space requirements for different risk levels; ■ clarify that the CFA will approve new developments and subdivisions only if the recommended bushfire protection measures—including the minimum defendable space—can be created and maintained on a continuing basis; ■ clarify that the CFA will approve new developments and subdivisions only if the recommended bushfire protection measures—including the minimum defendable space—can be created and maintained on a continuing basis; ■ emphasise the need for enduring permit conditions—in particular, conditions for the creation and maintenance of minimum defendable space to be maintained for the life of the development. |
REC181-0198 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Australian Building Codes Board do the following: ■ amend the performance requirements in the Building Code of Australia to ensure that they incorporate reducing the risk of ignition from ember attack; ■ work with Standards Australia to effect expeditious continuing review and development of AS 3959, Construction of Buildings in Bushfire-prone Areas, and other bushfire-related standards referred to in the Building Code of Australia; ■ negotiate with Standards Australia and SAI Global Ltd an arrangement for free online access to AS 3959-2009, Construction of Buildings in Bushfire-prone Areas, the other Australian standards referred to in AS 3959-2009, and any other bushfire-related Australian standards referred to in the Building Code of Australia; ■ amend the Building Code of Australia to remove deemed-to-satisfy provisions for the construction of buildings in BAL-FZ (the Flame Zone); ■ include in the Building Code of Australia bushfire construction provisions for non-residential buildings that will be occupied by people who are particularly vulnerable to bushfire attack, such as schools, child care centres, hospitals and aged care facilities. |
REC181-0177 | 10 - Infrastructure | The State amend the Regulations under Victoria’s Electricity Safety Act 1998 and otherwise take such steps as may be required to give effect to the following: ■ the progressive replacement of all SWER (single-wire earth return) power lines in Victoria with aerial bundled cable, underground cabling or other technology that delivers greatly reduced bushfire risk. The replacement program should be completed in the areas of highest bushfire risk within 10 years and should continue in areas of lower bushfire risk as the lines reach the end of their engineering lives; ■ the progressive replacement of all 22-kilovolt distribution feeders with aerial bundled cable, underground cabling or other technology that delivers greatly reduced bushfire risk as the feeders reach the end of their engineering lives. Priority should be given to distribution feeders in the areas of highest bushfire risk. |
REC181-0206 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | The State fund and commit to implementing a long-term program of prescribed burning based on an annual rolling target of 5 per cent minimum of public land. |
REC181-0189 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The State amend the Victoria Planning Provisions relating to bushfire to ensure that the provisions give priority to the protection of human life, adopt a clear objective of substantially restricting development in the areas of highest bushfire risk—giving due consideration to biodiversity conservation—and provide clear guidance for decision makers. The amendments should take account of the conclusions reached by the Commission and do the following: ■ outline the State’s objectives for managing bushfire risk through land-use planning in an amended state planning policy for bushfire, as set out in clause 15.07 of the Victoria Planning Provisions; ■ allow municipal councils to include a minimum lot size for use of land for a dwelling, both with and without a permit, in a schedule to each of the Rural Living Zone, Green Wedge Zone, Green Wedge A Zone, Rural Conservation Zone, Farming Zone and Rural Activity Zone; ■ amend clause 44.06 of the Victoria Planning Provisions to provide a comprehensive Bushfire-prone Overlay provision. |
REC181-0197 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Standards Australia do the following: ■ amend the objective of AS 3959-2009, Construction of Buildings in Bushfire-prone Areas, to ensure that it incorporates reducing the risk of ignition from ember attack; ■ review, and amend as appropriate, the testing methods prescribed in its standards for Tests on Elements of Construction for Buildings Exposed to Simulated Bushfire Attack (AS 1530.8.1 and AS 1530.8.2) to ensure that, so far as is possible, the methods provide a reliable predictor of the performance of construction elements under bushfire conditions. |
REC181-0184 | 10 - Infrastructure | The State amend the regulatory framework for electricity safety to strengthen Energy Safe Victoria’s mandate in relation to the prevention and mitigation of electricity-caused bushfires and to require it to fulfil that mandate. |
REC181-0205 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The State initiate the development of education and training options to improve understanding of bushfire risk management in the building and planning regimes by: ■ providing regular training and guidance material to planning and building practitioners; ■ providing regular training and guidance material to planning and building practitioners. |
REC181-0180 | 10 - Infrastructure | The State amend the regulatory framework for electricity safety to require that distribution businesses adopt, as part of their management plans, measures to reduce the risks posed by hazard trees—that is, trees that are outside the clearance zone but that could come into contact with an electric power line having regard to foreseeable local conditions. |
REC181-0188 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The State implement a regional settlement policy that: ■ takes account of the management of bushfire risk, including that associated with small, undeveloped rural lots; ■ includes a process for responding to bushfire risk at the planning stage for new urban developments in regional cities, the process being similar to that used for new developments in Melbourne’s Urban Growth Zone. |
REC181-0212 | 4 - Fire season preparation | VicRoads implement a systematic statewide program of bushfire risk assessment for all roads for which it is responsible, to ensure conformity with the obligations in s. 43 of the Country Fire Authority Act 1958 and with the objectives expressed in the VicRoads 1985 Code of Practice. |
REC181-0182 | 10 - Infrastructure | The State (through Energy Safe Victoria) require distribution businesses to do the following: ■ disable the reclose function on the automatic circuit reclosers on all SWER lines for the six weeks of greatest risk in every fire season; ■ adjust the reclose function on the automatic circuit reclosers on all 22-kilovolt feeders on all total fire ban days to permit only one reclose attempt before lockout. |
REC181-0196 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The State develop and implement a retreat and resettlement strategy for existing developments in areas of unacceptably high bushfire risk, including a scheme for non-compulsory acquisition by the State of land in these areas. |
REC181-0176 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The Country Fire Authority and the Department of Sustainability and Environment adopt the title ‘safety officer’ (as opposed to ‘safety adviser’) and require without exception that a safety officer be appointed to every level 3 incident management team. |
REC181-0203 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The State amend s. 32 of the Sale of Land Act 1962 to require that a vendor’s statement include whether the land is in a designated Bushfire-prone Area, a statement about the standard (if any) to which the dwelling was constructed, the bushfire attack level assessment at the time of construction (where relevant) and a current bushfire attack level assessment of the site of the dwelling. |
REC181-0211 | 4 - Fire season preparation | The State and Commonwealth provide for municipal councils adequate guidance on resolving the competing tensions arising from the legislation affecting roadside clearing and, where necessary, amend environment protection legislation to facilitate annual bushfire-prevention activities by the appropriate agencies. |
REC181-0192 | 4 - Fire season preparation | The Department of Sustainability and Environment develop and administer a collective offset solution for individual landholders who are permitted to remove native vegetation for the purpose of fire protection. |
REC181-0174 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The Country Fire Authority and the Department of Sustainability and Environment amend their procedures for investigating safety incidents and ‘near-misses’ to ensure that all dangerous incidents, including back-burns, are fully investigated and that all relevant people are consulted and informed of the results. |
REC181-0183 | 10 - Infrastructure | The State (through Energy Safe Victoria) require distribution businesses to do the following: ■ fit spreaders to any lines with a history of clashing or the potential to do so; ■ fit or retrofit all spans that are more than 300 metres long with vibration dampers as soon as is reasonably practicable. |
REC181-0200 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Standards Australia move expeditiously to develop a standard for bushfire sprinklers and sprayers. |
REC181-0179 | 10 - Infrastructure | The State (through Energy Safe Victoria) require distribution businesses to review and modify their current practices, standards and procedures for the training and auditing of asset inspectors to ensure that registered training organisations provide adequate theoretical and practical training for asset inspectors. |
REC181-0210 | 4 - Fire season preparation | The State amend the exemptions in clause 52.17-6 of the Victoria Planning Provisions to ensure that the provisions allow for a broad range of roadside works capable of reducing fire risk and provide specifically for a new exemption where the purpose of the works is to reduce bushfire risk. |
REC181-0191 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The State: ■ amend the Victoria Planning Provisions to require that, when assessing a permit to remove native vegetation around an existing dwelling, the responsible authority and the Department of Sustainability and Environment, as referral authority, take into account fire hazard and give weight to fire protection purposes; ■ develop guidelines for determining the maximum level of native vegetation removal for bushfire risk mitigation, beyond which level the application would be rejected. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC179-2981 | 8 - Communications and warnings | The Department of Human Services should complete work on emergency communication and information management issues. |
REC179-2976 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | The Department of Human Services should regularly test recovery plans with partner agencies. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC166-3008 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That any building fitted with heat-activated closing devices or fire and smoke doors be assessed to establish if it constitutes a fire hazard under section 165 of the Building Act 2000 and that, where appropriate, such doors be replaced with smoke activated doors. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC163-1941 | 19 - Offences | A working group be established to consider methods of preventing criminal firestarting. |
REC163-1940 | 19 - Offences | That legislation be prepared by the Criminal Law Review Division of the Attorney General’s Department allowing designated officers of the Rural Fire Service to apply for a warrant in certain circumstances. |
REC163-1937 | 19 - Offences | That the Attorney General’s Department’s Crime Prevention Division consider the causes of, and any solution to, the high number of juveniles involved in causing bushfires. |
REC163-1936 | 19 - Offences | The prescribed penalty notice penalty amount for section 66(7) of the Rural Fires Act 1997 be increased to $1,100. |
REC163-1935 | 19 - Offences | The prescribed penalty notice penalty amount for section 99(6) of the Rural Fires Act 1997 be increased to $1,100. |
REC163-1934 | 19 - Offences | The prescribed penalty notice penalty amount for section 100(2) of the Rural Fires Act 1997 be increased to $1,100. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC156-3503 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Emergency Service Organisations review their use of Emergency Alerting System paging message categories to ensure that priority messages are not compromised by inappropriate use. An education program may be required to ensure that all users understand message categories, their intended use and ramifications of each category on network and message delivery sequence. |
REC156-3497 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Emergency Service Organisations work with government departments, local governments and private industry to identify and implement a model for communication flow during an emergency incident. |
REC156-3500 | 10 - Infrastructure | The Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority, in partnership with Telstra, consider technological solutions to streamline the handover process for Triple Zero calls. |
REC156-3491 | 8 - Communications and warnings | The Victoria State Emergency Service improve its communication with local governments, especially in relation to severe weather and storm warning information. |
REC156-3494 | 10 - Infrastructure | Energy Safe Victoria finalise the development of the passport system to improve interstate mutual aid arrangements allowing operator access to qualified interstate power restoration personnel. |
REC156-3515 | 8 - Communications and warnings | The electricity distribution businesses enhance power outage information on their websites which are accessible to electricity retail businesses, the media and the public and also consider improving their capacity to communicate with customers. |
REC156-3487 | 10 - Infrastructure | Electricity distribution businesses develop and implement alternative arrangements for monitoring fallen powerlines. |
REC156-3509 | 8 - Communications and warnings | The Victoria State Emergency Service, Department of Primary Industries, Energy Safe Victoria and the energy sector develop a coordinated set of safety messaging about preparedness for storm events and clearly outline the responsibilities for delivering these messages before during and after an emergency. |
REC156-3507 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Victoria progress, as a matter of priority, a telephony based public emergency notification system to reduce demand on Triple Zero and other emergency telephone lines during a major emergency. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC155-3465 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That in order to enhance the protection of community and ecological assets, the Department of Sustainability and Environment increase its annual prescribed burning target from 130,000 hectares to 385,000 hectares. This should be treated as a rolling target, with any shortfalls to be made up in subsequent years. |
REC155-3464 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | That the Department of Sustainability and Environment implement remote sensing imagery as a routine part of its pre-burn and post-burn assessment process for prescribed burning. Maps of every prescribed burn should be produced in a similar format to those used in Western Australia, indicating the boundary of each burn and the varying fire intensities achieved within the burn area. The boundaries of all Fuel Management Zones within each burn should also be indicated. |
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. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC154-3462 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | DPI should formalise the approach and framework for evaluating simulation exercises and response to Emergency Animal Disease incidents with guidelines to define the nature of the review process. This should include: |
REC154-3459 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | To improve response preparedness, DPI should clearly link the selection of simulation exercises to the risk management framework to target coverage of high risks. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC132-3594 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Need for scripting of messages by fire agency representatives when promoting VBIL services via radio, TV and newspapers. |
REC132-3590 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Investigate procedures for updating the Victoria Bushfire Information Line (VBIL) Integrated Voice Response recorded message system to allow recording of permanent bushfire safety, and incident-specific, messages, accessible when the VBIL is experiencing high call volumes during large and/or numerous significant incidents |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
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. |
REC129-3628 | 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. |
REC129-3627 | 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. |
REC129-3626 | 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. |
REC129-3624 | 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. |
REC129-3629 | 8 - Communications and warnings | We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and continue to improve communication mechanisms with those, such as GPs, likely to be affected in major infectious disease outbreaks. |
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. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC124-3885 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | Align policies and processes, within the year round 365 day focus on fire management, to provide consistency in the approach to fire regardless of its origins,- that is fuel reduction burning, regeneration and ecological burning or unplanned fire; |
REC124-3884 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | Develop new prescriptions for prescribed burning to accommodate local conditions in those areas where standard prescriptions are assessed to be inappropriate: |
REC124-3888 | 8 - Communications and warnings | Strengthen internal and external communications to ensure adequate stakeholder involvement throughout the prescribed burning program: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC123-3882 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | The Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner convene a working group of key emergency services and emergency management agencies to develop a flow chart based on scenario testing, to support decision making and the assessment of response requirements to medical, hazardous materials and CBR emergencies including their transition from one type to another. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
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. |
REC121-3681 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | RailCorp should progressively implement, within a reasonable time, level 2 automatic train protection with the features identified in chapter 8 of this report. |
REC121-3741 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The operation of the train doors should have an override facility whereby the train driver or the guard can override an internal passenger emergency door release system if the door release is interfered with when there is no emergency. There should be an alarm, together with an intercom, in the train guard’s compartment so that, if a passenger attempts to initiate an emergency door release, there is an appropriate delay during which time an alarm sounds in the train guard’s compartment and the guard can then, after first attempting to speak via the intercom to the person concerned, if necessary, override the door release, and make an appropriate announcement over the intercom system in the train. |
REC121-3709 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | RailCorp should provide access to electronic versions of safety documentation for all operational staff at their workplace. |
REC121-3754 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The RailCorp Board should ensure that RailCorp has an adequate and integrated safety management system, including adequate systems for risk assessment, clearly defined safety responsibilities and accountabilities for persons holding management positions, and specific performance criteria against which evaluations can be made of safety performance and accountability for safety performance of all managers. |
REC121-3734 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | RailCorp should integrate its management of occupational health and safety into its overall safety management. |
REC121-3683 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | RailCorp should undertake risk assessments of each of its activities as follows: |
REC121-3680 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | All trains must be fitted with a minimum of two independent engineering defences to minimise the risk of derailment or collision in the event of train driver incapacitation. |
REC121-3740 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The internal passenger emergency door release should be fitted with a facility which prevents it from operating unless the train is stationary. |
REC121-3710 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | The ITSRR should have permanent access to the RailCorp intranet. |
REC121-3707 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The safety document management system should provide for the distribution of electronic versions of safety documentation to relevant staff. |
REC121-3749 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | All new rolling stock must be designed with an area of the roof through which emergency services personnel can access a rail car without encountering wiring or other equipment. That access point must be clearly marked with words such as “emergency services cut here”. |
REC121-3733 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | RailCorp’s approach to occupational health and safety should be proactive and involve the systematic analysis of all current hazards, risks and controls and an assessment of their adequacy to reduce the risk of injury to, or death of, employees to an acceptable level. |
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. |
REC121-3739 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | All passenger trains operating in New South Wales must be fitted with external emergency door releases which do not require any special key or other equipment to operate. |
REC121-3700 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | Maintenance plans on all trains should be revised annually. |
REC121-3706 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | RailCorp should establish a comprehensive safety document management system. |
REC121-3748 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | All new rail cars must have appropriate signage and lighting identifying escape routes in the case of emergency. |
REC121-3732 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | If ITSRR accepts such a plan as an appropriate response to the existing weak safety culture, ITSRR should approve it and monitor the effectiveness of the plan. |
REC121-3764 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The ITSRR should not grant accreditation to any rail organisation unless it has an integrated safety management system in accordance with any safety management system regulation and the guidelines published from time to time by ITSRR. |
REC121-3657 | 10 - Infrastructure | All signal telephones must be maintained by RailCorp in proper working order. |
REC121-3738 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | All passenger trains must be fitted with an internal passenger emergency door release. |
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. |
REC121-3695 | 10 - Infrastructure | There should be interoperability of communications equipment between all trains operating on the New South Wales rail network. |
REC121-3702 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | Random alcohol testing should be continued. |
REC121-3747 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | All trains should have windows available through which passengers can escape. |
REC121-3731 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | RailCorp should develop a plan to be submitted to ITSRR to address the deficiencies in the safety culture of RailCorp, including: |
REC121-3759 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | A Safety Reform Program Director (hereafter referred to as SRPD), reporting directly to the Chief Executive of RailCorp, should be retained to manage, as head of a Safety Reform Program Office, any safety reform program being undertaken by RailCorp. The SRPD should work with the Chief Executive and senior management to ensure the implementation of an integrated safety management system and the cultural change required. The SRPD must have qualifications suitable for recognition by the Australian Institute of Project Management as a master program director. He or she should report to and be under the control of the Chief Executive, to ensure that the accountability of the Chief Executive is not reduced. The SRPD should co-ordinate and integrate any existing rail safety reform programs and, in consultation with and with the authority of the Chief Executive he or she should: |
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. |
REC121-3737 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | There must be a minimum of two independent methods of self-initiated emergency escape for passengers from all trains at all times. |
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. |
REC121-3682 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | All new rolling stock should be designed to be compatible with at least level 2 automatic train protection discussed in chapter 7 of this report. |
REC121-3743 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | All passenger trains operating in New South Wales must have the external emergency door release clearly marked with the words “Emergency Door Release”. |
REC121-3711 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The ITSRR should establish an electronic document control system to enable effective and reliable information to be gathered for monitoring the safety of the New South Wales rail system. |
REC121-3755 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | The RailCorp Board should require a full review of the safety competence of RailCorp managers to ensure that each has the ability to bring about those safety reforms recommended in this report which are applicable to his or her position. |
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. |
REC121-3735 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | Risk assessments of occupational health and safety issues by RailCorp should include an analysis of broader public safety risks and not be confined to narrow occupational health and safety issues. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC112-3911 | 3 - Biodiversity | That DPI develops a consistent process to identify, assess and prioritise potential plant pest and disease threats, and aligns it with prioritisation processes used at the national level by Plant Health Australia. |
REC112-3928 | 3 - Biodiversity | That DPI formalises agreements within the Regional Services and Agriculture Division to ensure that plant health information is included in extension programs. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC104-2215 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That the Coordinator-in-Chief of Emergency Management directs the Media sub-committee of the State Emergency Response Committee to review the use of the Standard Emergency Warning Signal and its accompanying message. |
REC104-2223 | 10 - Infrastructure | That Government review legislation for utilities operating within the State to ensure their involvement in regional fire preparedness and mitigation planning. |
REC104-2298 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That relevant Government agencies including Emergency Communications Victoria, the Bureau of Emergency Services Telecommunications and the Victoria Police Media Unit, evaluate the proposals put forward by the Australian Communications Authority with respect to the hearing impaired. |
REC104-2189 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | That DSE and CFA as part of their long term planning, and in conjunction with the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology, consider ways in which evidence for climate change and El Niño–Southern Oscillation cycle impacts on the likelihood of unplanned fire, can be better incorporated into preparedness and response planning. |
REC104-2297 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That the model of community engagement developed by DSE and CFA and applied during the 2002-2003 fires is further developed and refined, particularly in regard to short-duration, rapidly escalating incidents. |
REC104-2335 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | That the fire agencies develop a program to significantly increase the amount of joint training and exercises undertaken. |
REC104-2302 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That opportunities be explored to use community radio to complement other methods of communication with isolated communities. |
REC104-2270 | 29 - Operational Health and Safety | That DSE and CFA continue to stress firefighter safety as their highest priority for incident managers and fire ground supervisors |
REC104-2296 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That in relation to the provision of information to communities affected by fires and other emergencies, DSE and CFA ensure that: |
REC104-2325 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | That CFA, DSE and MFESB continue to develop the partnership approach for fire safety with Local Government, industry and communities. |
REC104-2301 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That CFA and DSE work with Australian Broadcasting Corporation Local Radio to identify black spots, and explore opportunities to further improve coverage for broadcasting emergency information. |
REC104-2287 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That DSE and CFA work with the Bureau of Emergency Services Telecommunications to ensure that rural communication issues are appropriately addressed in the Statewide Integrated Public Safety and Communications Strategy, and that priorities and business cases are agreed for critical issues. |
REC104-2317 | 39 - Disaster Risk Management | That DSE, with adequate resourcing, moves to a 12-month cycle of fire management to establish and maintain a more appropriate and balanced work program of prevention/mitigation and suppression. |
REC104-2300 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That Victoria Police Media Unit coordinate work with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the emergency service agencies to implement this arrangement. |
REC104-2216 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That Victoria include an agenda item for both the National Emergency Management Committee and the National Meeting of Emergency Services Ministers recommending that the Australian Communications Authority review both the Commercial Radio Codes of Practice and Guidelines, and Community Broadcasting Codes of Practice, to ensure they provide necessary guidance and obligations on radio stations during emergencies and in relation to emergency warnings. |
REC104-2250 | 41 - Emergency Management exercises | That DSE and CFA work in cooperation with the Municipal Emergency Response Coordinators to develop and conduct joint exercises that practise the skills and test procedures for operations of the Municipal Emergency Coordination Centre, Municipal Recovery Centre and Incident Control Centres. |
REC104-2299 | 8 - Communications and warnings | That consideration be given to formalising Australian Broadcasting Corporation Local Radio as the official emergency radio station for Victoria, given it is the only radio station that can cover the whole of the State. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC016_3950 | 4 - Fire season preparation | It is recommended that on days of abnormal danger loads of briquettes be not kept in the station yard. The real danger, which transcends in gravity the danger of time destruction of loads of briquettes, is that the prevailing wind or a change of wind might carry showers of burning embers to the town, which is but the width of a road away, and thereby cause material damage in the town. It is further recommended that the yard and its surroundings be kept clear of scrub and growth; and that special provision be made for quelling fire which may break out in the deposits of inflammable dust which lie in time yard. |
REC016_3944 | 10 - Infrastructure | It is recommended that the water pressure be improved so that a greater volume and jet may be available for the suppression of fires on the faces and also for the purpose of wetting the berms more widely and thoroughly when necessary. It is suggested that there should be variable control of the pressure so that production need not be adversely affected in times of normal danger. |
REC016_3943 | 10 - Infrastructure | It is recommended that a more constant, running revision of the main and sprinkler system be maintained in future so that the service which it is intended to convey shall be closely and efficiently available to all parts of the berms and faces. It is emphasized that the reticulation system in the berms is fixed and stationary, whereas the faces are continually receding as their surfaces are scraped away by the dredges. |
REC016_3952 | 4 - Fire season preparation | It is recommended that the question of the future responsibility be made certain and that the body so made responsible keep the grounds of the hospital free from undergrowth and trees wherever their presence may be a possible source of future danger. |
REC016_3951 | 10 - Infrastructure | It is recommended that the State Electricity Commission adopt a policy of conciliation and good will towards its closer neighbours. It is not suggested that its policy has been essentially otherwise. In future that policy can best be assured of success by time conferring of material benefit upon its neighbours at some monetary cost to the Commission. It is suggested, with conviction, that it would prove to be of great advantage to time Commission if it were to take an active part in the clearing and bettering of its neighbours’ scrub and timber country at time cost of the Commission. The settler whose land is fully cleared and in production, or who knows that his land will be cleared for him, has no incentive to burn illegally or carelessly. If this suggestion should he adopted, it would be necessary that it should be carried out in all cases in accordance with the settler’s convenience, that he himself should take an active part in the operations, and that he should be left, not with a financial obligation, but with a definite material advantage. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC013_3976 | 4 - Fire season preparation | To burn camping areas at suitable water and camping reserves. |
REC013_3983 | 19 - Offences | To prohibit persons throwing lighted cigarettes, cigars and tobacco among any straw, stubble, grass or herbage during the months of September to March in any Bush Fire area, under a penalty not exceeding $10. |
REC013_3975 | 5 - Hazard reduction burns | To burn, where necessary, at least 33 feet where there is a risk of fire, on the outside of the railway fence, in conjunction with the railway employees. |
REC013_3982 | 19 - Offences | To prohibit persons taking into a harvest field or through any grass or bush lands any motor, tractor, harvester, &c., which is not supplied with an approved fire extinguisher or without the exhaust being properly fitted and protected, under a penalty not exceeding $50. |
REC013_3974 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | To link up fallow paddocks and natural fire breaks by ploughing or burning breaks through private or public property, roads, &c. |
REC013_3981 | 3 - Biodiversity | To prohibit the preparation of baits for the destruction of rabbits and other noxious animals in which stick phosphorus is used at the time of mixing on any farm, pastoral or grazing area. |
REC013_3977 | 8 - Communications and warnings | To arrange with settlers who live on hills or have a clear view, and are connected by telephone, to act as " look-outs ", and to communicate with the brigade in the case of fire. |
REC013_3978 | 4 - Fire season preparation | Where possible to build stone or brick fireplaces for the use of travellers, teamsters, and drovers on the camping areas that are mostly used and where there is a risk of fire. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC004-3998 | 19 - Offences | That a by-law be made forbidding, under a heavy penalty, any persons travelling in such trains to throw lighted tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, pipe ashes, matches, or other inflammable matter on the railway line or right-of-way, or in any part of a railway carriage except the receptacles duly provided for the purpose. |
REC004-3999 | 10 - Infrastructure | That, in view of the fact that along many of the lines, between the road-bed and the fences, there are numbers of dry inflammable stumps, which, when they catch fire, are very difficult to extinguish, and that the surface of the ground surrounding these stumps is usually chipped by the permanent-way men every summer, thus causing considerable expense without removing the risk of fire, the Railway Department should remove this source of danger, by grabbing them out and burning them as early as may be found practicable. |