Inquiry Search
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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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: |
REC324-4306 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | NSW Reconstruction Authority: That, to provide rapid and effective recovery from floods (and other disasters) and to provide maximum mitigation of the impacts of future floods (and other disasters), Government establish a permanent state-wide agency, the NSW Reconstruction Authority (NSWRA) dedicated to disaster recovery, reconstruction and preparedness. The NSWRA should: |
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. |
REC324-4296 | 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: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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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. |
REC323-4257 | 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. |
REC323-4266 | 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. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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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. |
REC321-4214 | 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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REC317-4085 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | State and territory governments should take responsibility for the capability and capacity of local governments to which they have delegated their responsibilities in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from natural disasters, to ensure local governments are able to effectively discharge the responsibilities devolved to them. |
REC317-4124 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | In reviewing the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, Australian, state and territory governments should examine the small disaster criterion, and financial thresholds generally. |
REC317-4115 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Australian Building Codes Board, working with other bodies as appropriate, should: |
REC317-4130 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Australian Government should establish accountability and assurance mechanisms to promote continuous improvement and best practice in natural disaster arrangements. |
REC317-4113 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The insurance industry, as represented by the Insurance Council of Australia, working with state and territory governments and other relevant stakeholders, should produce and communicate to consumers clear guidance on individual-level natural hazard risk mitigation actions insurers will recognise in setting insurance premiums. |
REC317-4114 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | State, territory and local governments should be required to consider present and future natural disaster risk when making land-use planning decisions for new developments. |
REC317-4075 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The Australian Government should afford appropriate legal protections from civil and criminal liability to Australian Defence Force members when conducting activities under an authorisation to prepare for, respond to and recover from natural disasters. |
REC317-4086 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | State and territory governments should review their arrangements for sharing resources between their local governments during natural disasters, including whether those arrangements: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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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. |
REC315-3808 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | That, in order to strengthen the capability of local councils in future emergency events: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC299-1342 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That fire managers responsible for planned burns be |
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. |
REC297-1271 | 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. |
REC297-1250 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | That in flood-prone municipalities, the respective Municipal Committee develops or reviews flood-related sub-plans within a Municipal Emergency Management Plan at least every two years and submits each sub-plan to the Regional Controller for approval. In addition, that each Municipal Committee maintains a current flood plan, in a standardised format, which at least identifies: • flood-prone parts of their locality, particularly those where lives may be at risk; • required actions to be taken in the event of a flood threat, especially timely evacuation; • trigger points for taking required actions and how those trigger points will be monitored; and • how the community can access flood-plan information |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC292-2377 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | I recommend that the Commonwealth Attorney-General liaise with ASIO to develop a policy to ensure that where correspondence is received by a government agency, minister or public office holder, from a non government entity, and that correspondence is relevant to the security assessments of the author, the correspondence be referred to: ASIO; and a Fixated Threat Assessment Centre. |
REC292-2381 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | I recommend that ASIO liaise with the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre with a view to both agencies cooperating in the identification, assessment and management of fixated, radicalised individuals. |
REC292-2378 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | I recommend that: the Commonwealth Attorney-General and ASIO confer with the Australian Psychological Society regarding the restrictions in clause A 5 2 of the Code of Ethics (2007) with respect to radicalisation, terrorism and politically motivated violence; and the Australian Psychological Society consider amending clause A 5 2 of the Code of Ethics (2007) to enable psychologists to report risks of a terrorist nature. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC286-2015 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Build flood capable infrastructure. |
REC286-2044 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Develop linkages between landslide risk assessors and building engineers/structural works. |
REC286-1451 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Include consideration of coastal inundation in land use planning for new developments and uses. |
REC286-2040 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Further development of Landslide Hazard Banding of the State (MRT). |
REC286-2077 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | Improve working relationship with the insurance industry to access impact information. |
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. |
REC286-2038 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Monitor effectiveness of new Land Use Planning reforms to evaluate effectiveness of delivering desired outcomes. |
REC286-2047 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | Raise public awareness of the limitations of general insurance relating to landslide. |
REC286-2051 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Establish arrangements to enable the buy-back of specified landslip prone land. |
REC286-1474 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Raised access routes. |
REC286-2052 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Undertake local level emergency management planning for areas at risk of debris flow. |
REC286-2037 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Make property level information on landslide hazards publicly available |
REC286-2020 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | Improve insurance affordability. |
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. |
REC286-1471 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Promote the use of Water Sensitive Urban Design in stormwater systems. |
REC286-2043 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Assessment of council’s capacity to manage land effectively. |
REC286-2023 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Locate and design new public infrastructure so that it can continue to operate during flood events. |
REC286-2016 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | Review legal liability of participants in prevention and mitigation preparedness, response and recovery activities. |
REC286-2046 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Incentivising safer sites (charge people less rates and discounts for defensive actions by land managers). |
REC286-1479 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | Ensure appropriate levels of insurance of public assets from flood risks. |
REC286-1453 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Review building controls to ensure they are adaptive to changing coastal inundation risks. |
REC286-2041 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Development mechanisms to support small councils to manage treatment across the PPRR spectrum (across all hazards). |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC281-1203 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Impact Assessment Data Sharing The Office of Emergency Management: · with the SEOCON, jointly provides further guidance to Regional Emergency Management Officers about their role in facilitating local council access to the Impact Assessment Data Base · with REMOs and the SEOCON jointly provides further information to local councils about Impact Assessment Data Sharing Arrangements and the data available through this mechanism · includes information about the Impact Assessment Data Sharing Arrangements in the Local Recovery Toolkit · develops a mechanism to allow local councils to have direct access to the collated impact data. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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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: |
REC280-1402 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Ministry for Police and Emergency Services and NSW Treasury: |
REC280-1401 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the NSW Government take all reasonable steps to expedite the process of establishing any legal liability for the losses incurred by property owners as a result of the Wambelong fire, and in the event that it is found liable, expedite the process of paying compensation claims. |
REC280-1400 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Office of State Revenue investigate mechanisms to enhance the affordability of insurance for properties and assets in fire affected areas. |
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. |
REC280-1398 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service: |
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. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC278-1224 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The committee recommends that the Australian Government recognise the need to enhance protection and conservation efforts in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area by allocating increased funding: |
REC278-1223 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The committee recommends that the Australian Government commit to long-term funding for the the National Aerial Firefighting Centre of an amount that is at least equal to government's current contribution, rising in line with the Consumer Price Index |
REC278-1222 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The committee recommends that the Australian Government, in conjunction with state and territory governments, investigate a national remote area firefighting capability, to support Australian fire agencies. |
REC278-1220 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The committee recommends that the Australian Government: • recognise that climate change has increased fire conditions in south-eastern Australia and the risk to natural and cultural values in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area; and • report annually to the World Heritage Committee on the state of conservation in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC266-1534 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) recommends that the Attorney‐General’s Department significantly improve the administration of disaster relief and recovery funding by: |
REC266-1535 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | To provide improved oversight and assurance in its administration of the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements, the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) recommends that the Attorney‐General’s Department: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC261-1519 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Ministry for Police and Emergency Services and NSW Treasury: |
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. |
REC261-1518 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the NSW Government take all reasonable steps to expedite the process of establishing any legal liability for the losses incurred by property owners as a result of the Wambelong fire, and in the event that it is found liable, expedite the process of paying compensation claims. |
REC261-1517 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Office of State Revenue investigate mechanisms to enhance the affordability of insurance for properties and assets in fire affected areas. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC259-1047 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the insurance industry be asked to include in its “Code of Practice” the need to consult policy holders in bushfire prone areas on the issue of Bushfire Attack Level (BAL). This will ensure, to some extent, that policy holders insure their properties to a level commensurate with building costs under a variety of building standards and requirements.(For checking with RFS). |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC258-2550 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The Civil Aviation Safety Authority introduces grading of Non-Compliance Notices on a scale of seriousness. |
REC258-2544 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The Australian Transport Safety Bureau transfers information from Mandatory Occurrence Reports to the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, without redaction or de-identification. |
REC258-2543 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The Civil Aviation Safety Authority reintroduces a ‘use of discretion’ procedure that gives operators or individuals the opportunity to discuss and, if necessary, remedy a perceived breach prior to CASA taking any formal action. This procedure is to be followed in all cases, except where CASA identifies a Serious and Imminent Risk to Air Safety. |
REC258-2540 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The Civil Aviation Safety Authority continues to provide appropriate indemnity to all industry personnel with delegations of authority. |
REC258-2557 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The Civil Aviation Safety Authority reassesses the penalties in the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC256-1564 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | State and territory governments, local governments and insurers should explore opportunities for collaboration and partnerships. Partnerships, for example, could be formed through the Insurance Council of Australia and state-based local government associations (or regional organisations of councils). Consideration could be given to the Trusted Information Sharing Network model. Partnerships could involve: |
REC256-1570 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | All governments should put in place best-practice institutional and governance arrangements for the provision of public infrastructure, including road infrastructure. These should include: |
REC256-1576 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Within three years, the Australian Government should develop and implement a framework for untied grants for community recovery assistance to state and territory governments. This framework should take into account factors such as the type, location and scale of a disaster, and the number of people affected. |
REC256-1572 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | Insurers should provide additional standardised information to households regarding their insurance policies, the natural hazards they face and indicative costs of rebuilding after a natural disaster. This work should be led by the Insurance Council of Australia developing guidelines, within one year, to ensure consistency in the provision and presentation of this information across insurers. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC250-0791 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Local Government Victoria should lead the design and implementation of strategies to support councils to further develop social capital needed for recovery. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC247-0895 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That action be taken as a priority to resolve any legal issues on mutual assistance arrangement for fire services. |
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 |
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REC246-0789 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | TFS seek legal opinion on the Bushfire CRC Research Report on legal liability implications of the Prepare, Stay and Defend or Leave Early policy to confirm the advice, consider the implications and implement those that are appropriate. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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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. |
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. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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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 |
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REC232-2826 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Australian Government coordinate the development of a highly skilled workforce which can respond effectively to a sustained pandemic in Australia. |
REC232-2825 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Commonwealth Government support the growth of vaccine development and production capacity for vaccines in Australia, to enhance Australia’s preparedness to respond to outbreaks of infectious disease in Australia, and in particular, pandemic influenza. |
REC232-2820 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Having regard to the terms of the Torres Strait Treaty, the Department of Health and Ageing, Queensland Health, AusAID and the Papua New Guinea Government: |
REC232-2817 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Australian Government work with the state and territory governments to assess the viability of providing a centralised refugee and migrant health service in each state and territory, which would automatically refer people who move from immigration detention into the wider Australian community. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC229-2842 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The committee recommends that building codes incorporate mitigation measures that take into account foreseeable risks from extreme weather events. |
REC229-2841 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The committee recommends that credible and reliable flood mapping activities and the development of other information that would best inform landowners or prospective landowners of potential risks from extreme weather events are prioritised and used to inform land use planning laws. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC217-1807 | 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. |
REC217-1825 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | When developing flood mitigation options in lowland areas, local governments should give consideration to the use of temporary levees as an alternative or addition to permanent structures. To maximise the use of these structures and limit flood damage, and aid affordability, consideration should be given by local governments to the sharing of temporary levees among different townships and different council areas. |
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. |
REC217-1819 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | In consultation with local communities, local councils will develop flood response plans as subplans to their current Municipal Emergency Management Plans. As part of the flood risk assessment process, these plans will be informed by the best available flood mapping and modelling, and will identify agreed activities to be undertaken during floods including, where appropriate, the construction of temporary levees. The condition of levees will be incorporated into such plans to enable improved emergency response. |
REC217-1816 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | That the Department of Sustainability and Environment continue to invest in the auditing of Victoria’s levee systems, both public and private, so that the Victoria Flood Database contains reliable and up to date data, including information on levees’ location, height, condition and ongoing viability for flood protection. |
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. |
REC217-1809 | 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. |
REC217-1832 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy should clearly identify authorities and assign responsibilities for stream blockage and debris removal in waterways posing a high risk to public infrastructure both during and after a flood: |
REC217-1808 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy should provide a strategic framework for the management and ongoing maintenance of Victoria’s levees. The Victoria Flood Management Strategy will provide criteria for a consistent statewide approach to the prioritisation of the state’s levees for future management and investment: |
REC217-1813 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Department of Sustainability and Environment will develop guidelines for streamlining the permitting system for conducting works on levees for incorporation in the revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy, in order for maintenance on all levees to occur more quickly. The guidelines will outline circumstances in which exemptions from current approval processes are appropriate. Councils will be permitted to obtain exemptions within their planning schemes for: |
REC217-1831 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Significant modification of waterways in urban or rural areas will only be considered after the completion of a flood risk management process, undertaken in consultation with members of the community. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC216-2871 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Efficient and effective supporting tools and processes: high-quality local/municipal planning. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC215-1875 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Fire services can improve outcomes by seeking input to decisions about siting, design and fire water systems as part of the planning and licensing processes |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC207-2886 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Explore options to limit forecaster intervention in site-specific web forecasts. |
REC207-2896 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Lower yield options identified by the Bureau: |
REC207-2900 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Explore use of social media to enhance data gathering from authorised and informal sources and to disseminate weather information |
REC207-2878 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Complete workforce planning project and succession plans as a matter of urgency. |
REC207-2895 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Fund delivery of improved seasonal forecasting services by: |
REC207-2899 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Improved seasonal forecasting capabilities: |
REC207-2876 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Focus the Bureau’s evolving environmental information role on natural hazards in the first instance. |
REC207-2894 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Phase out seasonal prediction development and modelling and rely on products generated elsewhere |
REC207-2898 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Upgrade to the Bureau’s supercomputing capacity: |
REC207-2873 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Boost the Bureau’s flood warning capacity by: |
REC207-2891 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Cease or reduce the Ionospheric Prediction Service or offer it as a commercial service. |
REC207-2897 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Additional frontline meteorologists and specialised centres and systems: |
REC207-2872 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Boost the number of frontline meteorologists to build response capacity in regional forecasting centres. |
REC207-2887 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Centralise media services and establish protocols for media activity. |
REC207-2896 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Lower yield options identified by the Bureau: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC206-1893 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government investigate ways to reduce the cost of calling 1300 numbers from mobile telephones in areas of natural disasters. |
REC206-1886 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government work with the Insurance Council of Australia to make the following amendments to the General Insurance Code of Practice by 1 July 2012: |
REC206-1894 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Committee recommends that the Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation immediately establish a joint industry-Government action group to address evidence of the rising costs and market failure of insurance premiums across Australia. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC205-1901 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Council of Australian Governments’ Building Ministers’ Forum should provide formal direction to the Australian Building Codes Board to: |
REC205-1900 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | As a priority, state and territory governments should ensure that land-use planning systems are sufficiently flexible to enable a risk management approach to incorporating climate change risks into planning decisions at the state, territory, regional and local government levels. Consideration should be given to: |
REC205-1906 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | Governments should not subsidise household or business property insurance, whether directly or by underwriting risks. |
REC205-1905 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The Australian Government should only proceed with reforms that require all household insurers to offer flood cover if it can be demonstrated that the benefits to the wider community would exceed the costs. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC199-0460 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | the state formalise and continue the Emergency Response Legal Advisers Forum. |
REC199-0411 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the Bureau of Meteorology undertake a review of its radar coverage in the context of flash and riverine flood warnings for Victoria, with a particular focus on known gap areas such as the Horsham/Nhill region. |
REC199-0477 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the state review the potential for National Registration and Inquiry System 6 to provide a single point of information collection to both register individuals and plan the delivery of recovery services. If the review determines National Registration and Inquiry System 6 is unable to fulfil this function, the state should work with the commonwealth and other states to implement the necessary changes to National Registration and Inquiry System 6. If National Registration and Inquiry System 6 is unable to be developed as a single information collection system: the state should develop and implement a single point of information collection system, including how information obtained from outreach activities can be incorporated into this system and how such information may be linked into the Rapid Impact Assessment process. |
REC199-0486 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | the state, following the completion of the Municipal Association of Victoria Improving Emergency Management in Local Government program, work with municipalities to revise the role and responsibilities of local government in emergency management. The issue of capability and capacity of each local government should be addressed in all related emergency management arrangements. |
REC199-0409 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the Bureau of Meteorology should present water levels in both local datum and Australian Height Datum (gauge zero) for all its published information and warnings |
REC199-0470 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the commonwealth consider including (as part of its review of standards for aged care services) requirements for: • robust ‘all hazards’ evacuation plans that include current after-hour contact details of people who are able to make authoritative decisions during an emergency; and • rehearsal of those plans. |
REC199-0468 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | municipal councils undertake a risk assessment of caravan parks and decide if any should be included in the list of facilities where vulnerable people may be located. |
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. |
REC199-0405 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the state and the Bureau of Meteorology liaise to ensure the existence of appropriate quality control processes for gauges and contingency measures in the event that gauges are damaged during flood events. |
REC199-0423 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the Bureau of Meteorology expand its volunteer amateur weather watch groups to enhance its weather and flood information gathering procedures. |
REC199-0404 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the state engage with the Bureau of Meteorology to establish a joint initiative to review existing flash flood warning systems in Victoria and identify where additional systems are needed, with a particular focus on urban centres with a history of flash flooding. This review should seek to achieve outcomes similar to those implemented in NSW. Subject to those outcomes being implemented, the state should determine which agency is responsible for flash flood warnings. |
REC199-0419 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the Bureau of Meteorology provide Incident Control Centres with real-time access to flood data held by the Bureau of Meteorology. This will require Bureau of Meteorology staff making themselves available to respond to enquiries from Incident Control Centres during a flood event. |
REC199-0403 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the state and commonwealth undertake a review into the appropriate institutional arrangements for the forecasting and predictions function currently undertaken by Melbourne Water for the Port Phillip and Westernport region. |
REC199-0476 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | the Department of Planning and Community Development examine strategies to address and clarify insurance coverage of community volunteers in emergency events |
REC199-0412 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | the Bureau of Meteorology adjust its flood prediction models to incorporate water storage conditions (to enable it to issue more timely and useful flood predictions for communities based downstream of water storages). |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC195-0329 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Fire Services Commissioner requests the Federal Government to revise the National SEWS Guidelines |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC193-0226 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Local government councils should: strongly encourage owners to make improvements to construction or increase buffers in order to meet minimum safety standards implement programs to audit impacted properties and issue abatement notices where necessary monitor and maintain their reserves to ensure that adequate buffers to neighbouring buildings exist. |
REC193-0225 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Local government councils should move promptly to: adopt the Tasmania Fire Service Guidelines for Development in Bushfire Prone Areas of Tasmania give effect to the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment Neighbouring Developments and Fire Management Policy. |
REC193-0222 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | The Local Government Association of Tasmania advocate, coordinate and support local councils’ input of bushfire risk assets data into the Bushfire Risk Assessment Model. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC189-2906 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | In order to improve the effectiveness of National Offshore Petroleum Safety and Environmental Management Authority (NOPSEMA), with similar benefits for State or Territory regulators, attention should be given to the following actions. |
REC189-2913 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | In developing and improving its policies and practices for stakeholder engagement, NOPSA should ensure that: |
REC189-2910 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | NOPSA should: |
REC189-2908 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | To ensure that NOPSEMA is in a strong position to perform its functions effectively: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC187-2952 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That lending institutions remind mortgagors annually of their obligations to hold home insurance and of the risks of under-insurance in order to minimise non-insurance and under-insurance of homes. |
REC187-2933 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That discounts be provided, in the same manner as for homes, to home contents insurance policies for eligible properties. |
REC187-2968 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Government give priority to introducing legislation necessary to ensure that all home, contents and home unit insurance policies include flood cover and to establish a new national agency for flood risk management and flood reinsurance purposes. |
REC187-2946 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | That a national agency sponsored by the Commonwealth Government be established to undertake national coordination of flood risk management and to operate the system of premium discounts and the flood risk reinsurance facility. The Agency would: |
REC187-2922 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That all home building insurance policies include flood cover. |
REC187-2957 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Commonwealth Government introduce a standard definition of flood in the form proposed in the ‘Reforming flood insurance: Clearing the waters’ consultation paper. |
REC187-2938 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That for home building insurance policies receiving full discounts, policyholders pay for that portion of the risk retained by the insurer and pay nothing for the remainder of the risk up to $500,000. For properties with a value greater than $500,000 policyholders then pay the full cost of the portion of risk exceeding $500,000. |
REC187-2943 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Commonwealth Government guarantee payment of claims from the reinsurance pool by ensuring that, whenever a funding shortfall occurs in the pool through claims exceeding the funds held in the pool, the Commonwealth would meet the shortfall. |
REC187-2927 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The levels of the discounts and the phasing out periods be reviewed from time to time. |
REC187-2962 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Insurance Council of Australia amend clause 4.5 of the General Insurance Code of Practice to extend the time within which claimants in natural disasters have the right to make further claims or lodge reviews after the finalisation of an initial claim to seven months from the date of the relevant natural disaster, regardless of when the initial claim was finalised. |
REC187-2951 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That access to insurance be enhanced through the development of alternative payment options, in particular: |
REC187-2932 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That all home contents insurance policies include flood cover. |
REC187-2967 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the current formula for the cost of rebuilding of State and Territory assets under the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements be changed to expenditure before any insurance recoveries by the State or Territory rather than net of any insurance recoveries. |
REC187-2918 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | That an agency sponsored by the Commonwealth Government be created to manage the national coordination of flood risk management and to operate a system of premium discounts and a flood risk reinsurance facility, supported by a funding guarantee from the Commonwealth. |
REC187-2921 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The Commonwealth Government guarantee the payment of claims by ensuring that, whenever a funding shortfall occurs in the reinsurance facility through claims exceeding the funds held in the facility, the Commonwealth would meet the shortfall and the Commonwealth would seek reimbursement of a portion of the shortfall from the State or Territory government in whose jurisdiction the flood occurred. |
REC187-2956 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That a ‘health warning’ be provided by insurers to the purchasers of home and contents policies that do not include full flood cover or full replacement cover. The health warning should be provided: |
REC187-2937 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That flood premium discounts be delivered through a model that requires insurers to retain and price a portion of the risk with the remainder to be ceded to the reinsurance facility at a discounted reinsurance premium. |
REC187-2942 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That a flood risk reinsurance facility, or reinsurance pool, be established which would have two primary functions: |
REC187-2926 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That flood premium discounts be provided for home building insurance for eligible homes: |
REC187-2961 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Insurance Council of Australia repeal clauses 4.3 and 4.4 of the General Insurance Code of Practice, so that claims arising from natural disasters are subject to the same minimum standards as other claims — including the four month time limit for a determination on liability and the nature of the loss/damage with respect to the claim. |
REC187-2950 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Commonwealth engage with the insurance industry and the States and Territories in planning for the future coordination of charitable and government payments to individuals to assist with recovery after future natural disasters. |
REC187-2931 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the definition of a home for the purposes of flood cover and flood premium discounts be any building for which a homeowner purchases a home insurance policy. |
REC187-2966 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Commonwealth and State governments provide funding for legal advice and assistance with insurance disputes following natural disasters. |
REC187-2920 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That a system of premium discounts be introduced in order that most purchasers of home insurance, home contents and home unit insurance policies in areas subject to flood risk be eligible for discounts against the full cost of flood insurance. |
REC187-2955 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That, in endorsing the Government proposal for a Key Facts Statement, the Key Facts Statement list replacement cover and all natural disaster events, identified as ‘standard cover’ in the Insurance Contracts Regulations 1985. That insurers issue a Key Facts Statement to policy holders with all new policies written and all policy renewals on an annual basis. |
REC187-2936 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the questions of flood cover as standard in small business policies and access to discounted premiums for small business policyholders should be revisited once the recommended arrangements for homes, home units and home contents are in place. |
REC187-2941 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That homes at high and extreme risk of flood be provided with discounts initially and that they be assessed regularly for mitigation work already undertaken and the potential for further mitigation. |
REC187-2925 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the following five principles underpin the design of a system of premium discounts: |
REC187-2960 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Insurance Council of Australia amend the Code of Practice to impose a four month time limit (subject to exceptional circumstances) to make a determination as to liability and the nature of the loss or damage with respect to a claim. That, should a claimant not receive a determination within the four month period, the claim be automatically escalated to an internal dispute resolution complaint and the insurer notify the Code Compliance Committee of the breach of the Code. |
REC187-2947 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Agency charge insurers a small administrative fee for each policy ceded to the reinsurance facility. |
REC187-2949 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That all home, contents and home unit insurance policies cover the policyholder for storm surge, tsunami and landslide, where the storm surge, tsunami or landslide is the result of another event that is covered under the policy and regardless of whether the insured property directly suffers damage from the underlying insured event. |
REC187-2930 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That flood premium discounts be provided, in the same manner as for homes, to the bodies corporate of eligible properties, and on the same basis as for detached homes. |
REC187-2965 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That ASIC conduct a review of the General Insurance Code of Practice three years after the amendments recommended to the Code in this Review are implemented, in order to assess the effectiveness of the Code with a view to determining whether an ASIC Regulatory Guide for claims handling should then be introduced. |
REC187-2919 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That all home insurance, home contents and home unit insurance policies include flood cover. |
REC187-2954 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That subsection 35(2) of the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 be amended so that policyholders are not deemed to be clearly informed of a deviation from ‘standard cover’ by simply being provided a copy of the insurance policy or product disclosure statement. |
REC187-2935 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That flood premium discounts not be provided to small businesses and that the reinsurance facility not offer reinsurance for small businesses. |
REC187-2924 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That whenever flood cover is included in home building insurance policies: |
REC187-2959 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That every APRA-authorised general insurer adopt and comply with the General Insurance Code of Practice. |
REC187-2940 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That for home contents insurance policies, policyholders pay for that portion of the risk retained by the insurer and pay nothing for the remainder of the risk up to $100,000. For contents with a value greater than $100,000 policyholders then pay the full cost of the portion of risk exceeding $100,000. |
REC187-2945 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That to facilitate flood risk information being made publicly available, Commonwealth, State and Territory governments grant indemnities to the providers of flood risk information if the information is obtained and provided in good faith and in the absence of any gross negligence. |
REC187-2948 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That: |
REC187-2929 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That all home unit insurance policies include flood cover, in the same manner as for homes. |
REC187-2964 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Insurance Council of Australia amend the General Insurance Code of Practice such that the General Insurance Code Compliance Committee: |
REC187-2953 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That all home building insurance policies providing sum insured cover be modified by the end of 2014 so as to include replacement value cover in the event of total loss of the home. That during the transition period insurers consider how the design features of home building replacement value policies should respond following a natural disaster, including the conditions under which cash settlements are to be offered and finalised. |
REC187-2934 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That all insurers offering small business insurance be obliged to include flood cover on an opt-out basis, instead of an opt-in/opt-out basis as at present, in all of their small business package policies. |
REC187-2923 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That home building and home contents insurance should not be made compulsory. |
REC187-2958 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That, in order to give general insurance policyholders the same legal remedies as other consumers, unfair contract terms laws be applied to general insurance. |
REC187-2939 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That for body corporate insurance policies receiving full discounts, policyholders pay for that portion of the risk retained by the insurer and pay nothing for the remainder of the risk up to $500,000 times the number of units. For properties with a value greater than $500,000 times the number of units policyholders then pay the full cost of the portion of risk exceeding $500,000 times the number of units. |
REC187-2944 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Commonwealth seek reimbursement of some portion of the shortfall from the State or Territory government in whose jurisdiction the flood occurred. |
REC187-2928 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That there be limitations on the size of the discount available to high-value homes. |
REC187-2963 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Insurance Council of Australia amend the General Insurance Code of Practice to require that: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC186-0397 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The committee recommends the Commonwealth Government require guaranteed access to emergency call services for people with a disability at all times. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC185-1933 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Treasury clarify what is meant by the term 'cost-effective' as it relates to the 2011 NDRRA Determination and the scrutiny of the states' and territories' insurance arrangements. |
REC185-1932 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The committee recommends that a particular focus of the Natural Disasters Insurance Review into the adequacy of current insurance arrangements should be on whether the international insurance market offers reinsurance for the states' and territories' road networks. |
REC185-1930 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government consult with state and territory governments to ensure that the states' and territories' captive insurance and reinsurance arrangements are reported transparently and on a comparable basis. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
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. |
REC181-0202 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | The State develop and implement, in consultation with local government, a mechanism for sign-off by municipal councils of any permit conditions imposed under the Bushfire-prone Overlay and the regular assessment of landowners’ compliance with conditions. |
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. |
REC181-0153 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | The State establish mechanisms for helping municipal councils to undertake local planning that tailors bushfire safety options to the needs of individual communities. In doing this planning, councils should: ■ urgently develop for communities at risk of bushfire local plans that contain contingency options such as evacuation and shelter; ■ document in municipal emergency management plans and other relevant plans facilities where vulnerable people are likely to be situated—for example, aged care facilities, hospitals, schools and child care centres; ■ compile and maintain a list of vulnerable residents who need tailored advice of a recommendation to evacuate and provide this list to local police and anyone else with pre-arranged responsibility for helping vulnerable residents evacuate. |
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. |
REC181-0195 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | The State press municipal councils—in particular, Murrindindi Shire Council—to urgently adopt a bushfire policy in their Local Planning Policy Framework and incorporate bushfire risk management in their planning policies and strategies for rebuilding communities such as Marysville, Kinglake and others affected by the January–February 2009 fires. |
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. |
REC181-0186 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Commonwealth, states and territories continue to pursue the National Action Plan to Reduce Bushfire Arson in Australia, giving priority to producing a nationally consistent framework for data collection and evaluating current and proposed programs in order to identify and share best-practice approaches. |
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. |
REC181-0181 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Municipal councils include in their municipal fire prevention plans for areas of high bushfire risk provision for the identification of hazard trees and for notifying the responsible entities with a view to having the situation redressed. |
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. |
REC181-0205 | 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. |
REC181-0196 | 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. |
REC181-0203 | 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. |
REC181-0191 | 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. |
REC181-0200 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | Standards Australia move expeditiously to develop a standard for bushfire sprinklers and sprayers. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC180-2973 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Local Government Victoria should, further to its work on strengthening the oversight role of audit committees, assist councils to develop good practice approaches to implementing, overseeing and continuously improving business continuity management. |
REC180-2972 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should strengthen their continuous improvement frameworks by: |
REC180-2971 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should improve the structure, format and content of their business continuity plans to provide greater clarity on roles and responsibilities for emergencies, more specificity on continuity and recovery responses, and better integration with other council disaster recovery and emergency plans. |
REC180-2970 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should improve assessments of business continuity risks by: |
REC180-2969 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Councils should strengthen governance arrangements for business continuity by: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC177-3376 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | In carrying out a review of PTTEPAA’s permit and licence, the Minister should have regard to this Report, particularly (i) the adverse findings set out in this Chapter; and (ii) the extent to which PTTEPAA has implemented the Action Plan submitted to the Inquiry, or otherwise addressed the matters canvassed in this Report. |
REC177-3274 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Minister should appoint a senior policy adviser to investigate and report on the best means to implement the recommendations contained in this Chapter 3 of this report. |
REC177-3351 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | In the future, and in the interests of ensuring that all possible well control options are comprehensively pursued to exhaustion, decisions as to well control response options should be the result of collaboration between the regulator and the operator rather than leaving one party to make unilateral judgements as to the appropriateness of various well control operations. The regulator should provide transparent and contemporaneous explanations to the public of all well control options under consideration at any particular time. |
REC177-3375 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | For the purposes of that review, the Minister should issue a ‘show cause’ notice to PTTEPAA under s 276 of the OPGGS Act. |
REC177-3369 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The obligation of companies involved in an incident to meet the full costs of monitoring and remediation should be made a condition of approval of proposals under the EPBC Act and OPGGS Act. Suitable arrangements (insurance or otherwise) need to be in place to ensure that companies have this capacity. |
REC177-3349 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | In the meantime, the Minister should: |
REC177-3372 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | OSCPs should be endorsed by AMSA prior to regulatory approval to ensure that they align with the National Plan. Once field operations commence, the capability of operators should be assessed against their plans, and exercises conducted to ensure the plans remain effective. |
REC177-3365 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The National Plan should specify that the cost of responding to an oil spill, or other damage to the offshore marine environment, will be totally met by the owner/operator. This would be consistent with the Inquiry’s recommendation for legislative changes to the regulatory framework concerning owner/operators meeting the cost of monitoring and remediation of environmental damage. |
REC177-3348 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Responsibility for well integrity should be moved to NOPSA (as also proposed by the Productivity Commission). |
REC177-3371 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Government should examine the scope for a single environment plan to meet the regulatory requirements of both the OPGGS Act and the EPBC Act. This could possibly be achieved by way of bilateral agreements and accreditation arrangements and/or legislative amendment. |
REC177-3310 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | Consideration should be given to ways to ensure that contractors who are involved in barrier installation (such as cementing companies) have a direct interest in the performance of works to a proper standard. In particular, consideration should be given to (i) preventing contractors from avoiding the economic consequences of negligent installation of barriers; and/or (ii) imposing specific legislative standards of workmanship on contractors with respect to well control (similar to those which presently apply to licensees). |
REC177-3347 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The proposal of the Productivity Commission’s Research Report (Review of Regulatory Burden on the Upstream Petroleum (Oil and Gas) Sector, April 2009) to establish a NOPR should be pursued at a minimum. |
REC177-3358 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The body established to undertake a central coordination and facilitation role in the event of any future blowout in Commonwealth waters should undertake to make all relevant information publically available from one, authoritative and easy to access source. |
REC177-3346 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | A single, independent regulatory body should be created, looking after safety as a primary objective, well integrity and environmental approvals. Industry policy and resource development and promotion activities should reside in government departments and not with the regulatory agency. The regulatory agency should be empowered (if that is necessary) to pass relevant petroleum information to government departments to assist them to perform the policy roles. |
REC177-3357 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | In any future similar blowout or offshore emergency situation, the Minister appoint (through either a NOPR or the relevant Department) a senior public servant to establish and oversight a central coordinating body that will facilitate interaction between regulators, industry, AMSA and the owner/operator. Primary responsibility for stopping a blowout should remain with the owner/operator but should be subject to direction from the central coordinating body in consultation with stakeholders (including the owner/operator). |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC176-0136 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Commonwealth Government examine potential new arrangements for Commonwealth involvement in the development and implementation of a national policy for bushfire management. |
REC176-0141 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Commonwealth publish all fuel reduction plans and related audit findings on a national database. |
REC176-0142 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Commonwealth consult with local, state and territory government planning authorities on the development and dissemination of a house loss risk index for households in Australia's highest risk bushfire areas. |
REC176-0137 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Commonwealth co-ordinate a standing national arson forum between fire and law enforcement agencies to be held every two years. |
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 |
---|---|---|
REC160-3043 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The ANAO recommends that Centrelink develop and promulgate a business continuity plan (BCP) template and require business units to develop BCPs that identify: |
REC160-3041 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | To improve the governance arrangements for business continuity management (BCM) in Centrelink ,the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC156-3492 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | The review of the municipal emergency management planning guidelines being led by the Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner clarify local governments’ role in community information about emergencies. |
REC156-3496 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Bureau of Meteorology contact list for severe weather warning be strategically managed in consultation with Emergency Service Organisations, to identify critical contacts. The Bureau of Meteorology must ensure the detail for these critical contacts remains up to date. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC155-3471 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Victorian Government replace or compensate for water taken from domestic, stock and irrigation dams, or water needed for essential use, in the event of a fire, regardless of where the bushfire starts. |
REC155-3480 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | That the Integrated Fire Management Planning framework establish zones in the interface between public and private land in which bushfire risk management is the shared responsibility of the Victorian Government and private landholders. |
REC155-3481 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That the Victorian Government establish a clear and consistent Bushfire Fencing Policy for damage caused by all future bushfires and prescribed burns. The Bushfire Fencing Policy should include the following provisions: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC149-3143 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The role of the advisory Board, namely to give advice to Ministers and NOPSA when asked, should be made clear to Board members and all stakeholders. The Board and NOPSA should consider the need for a clear description of who does what based on the legislated responsibilities of the NOPSA CEO. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC148-3165 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | That there continue to be in Australia government controlled and operated post-arrival quarantine stations for horses. |
REC148-3151 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | That the person holding the position of Inspector General of Horse |
REC148-3164 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | That there be similar facilities for the unloading and transfer of horses at any other airport in Australia that might receive horses imported from places other than New Zealand. |
REC148-3148 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | That the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry designate, without delay, a Senior Executive Service officer to be primarily responsible and accountable for the importation of horses into Australia and to that end to have the power to exercise all necessary authority. |
REC148-3163 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | That there be provided without delay at Sydney (Kingsford Smith) and Tullamarine Airports facilities to enable people who might have had contact with imported horses to shower and change their clothes, under supervision, before leaving the airport. |
REC148-3162 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | That facilities for the unloading and transferring of horses at Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne be constructed urgently, upon advice of experts in biosecurity containment, to enable adequate biosecurity precautions to be taken effectively and to minimise the risk of injury to horses and those handling them. |
REC148-3168 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | That each government controlled and operated quarantine station have sufficient staff to carry out properly all activities and measures required by the current operating procedures dealing with the quarantine of horses. |
REC148-3161 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | That the facilities for unloading and transferring of horses at Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport be upgraded without delay, following the advice of experts in biosecurity containment, so as to enable appropriate biosecurity precautions to be taken effectively and to minimise the risk of injury to horses and those handling them. The facilities should include at least one padded box or stall sound-proofed to the extent that it is reasonable to do so. |
REC148-3166 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | That, in the absence of other satisfactory government controlled and operated post-arrival quarantine stations becoming available before the options to renew the leases of Eastern Creek and Spotswood Quarantine Stations expire, those options be exercised. |
REC148-3152 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | That the person holding the position of Inspector General of Horse Importation may be removed in the following circumstances only: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC146-3191 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The committee recommends the Australian Government strengthen CASA's governance framework and administrative capability by: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC145-3214 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government consider the benefits of adopting a nationally consistent sea level rise planning benchmark and, if so, whether this be done on a statutory basis or otherwise. The outcomes of this consideration should then be included as part of the action plan for the proposed Intergovernmental Agreement on the Coastal Zone. |
REC145-3213 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Committee notes the Council of Australian Governments initiative (through the Local Government and Planning Ministers Council) to develop state-specific climate change planning policies by mid 2011, to inform local governments and regional planning responses to climate change. The Committee recommends that the Australian Government ensure that the outcomes of this initiative are included as part of the action plan under the proposed new Intergovernmental Agreement on the Coastal Zone. |
REC145-3195 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Committee notes the importance of mitigation measures in addressing climate change impacts and accordingly recommends that the Australian Government continue to take urgent action to ensure that Australia can best contribute to a reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions. |
REC145-3222 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government: |
REC145-3215 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Committee recommends that the Building Code of Australia, including cyclone building codes, be revised with the objective of increasing resilience to climate change. |
REC145-3212 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government request the Productivity Commission to undertake an inquiry into the projected impacts of climate change and related insurance matters, with a particular focus on: |
REC145-3231 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | The Committee recommends that the Australian Government request that the Centre for Excellence for Local Government ensure a particular focus on capacity building for coastal local councils. Capacity building should focus on addressing issues relating to: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC140-3558 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | DHHS need to confirm adequate accident insurance coverage for staff working in retrieval medicine. Coverage specific to helicopter and fixed wing duties is required. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC134-3520 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | To improve the management of the National Medical Stockpile, the ANAO recommends that the Department of Health and Ageing incorporate into its governance framework: |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC125-3896 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | That councils plan for, and implement, formal consultation arrangements with stakeholders to set drainage goals and objectives, and desired service levels. |
REC125-3894 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | That councils develop flood risk management practices consistent with best practice risk management, and that these incorporate: |
REC125-3901 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | That councils formulate, track and report on measures that show their performance in managing drainage assets. |
REC125-3899 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | That councils implement a condition assessment and monitoring program conforming to best practice principles. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC121-3703 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | Alcohol and drug testing should be mandatory for any train driver or guard involved in any accident or incident. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC118-3644 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | That the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council requests that the Australian Government, through the Australian Emergency Management Committee, develops an effective pathway to incorporate hazard science into emergency management policy. |
REC118-3643 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Consolidate the Australian Government decision to establish an Australian Tsunami Warning System through a long-term government commitment to ensure a sustainable and effective national tsunami warning system beyond the current four-year initiative. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC116-2119 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The Working Group recommends that the National Recovery Coordinators Group approach the Investment and Financial Services Association Limited, with a view to identifying the most appropriate way of engaging the life insurance industry in the recovery process. |
REC116-2114 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | Related to recommendation 16, the Working Group recommends that the likelihood and consequences be systematically assessed by appropriate agencies that would include Geoscience Australia, the Bureau of Meteorology, CSIRO and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry among others. The range of hazards to be considered should include but not be limited to; |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC112-3927 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That PSB and PIRVIC review their service agreement to ensure that PIRVIC is compensated for its costs in providing PSB with the specified level of service. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC104-2217 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That CFA, in their education and information packages, encourage appropriate insurance cover, and ensure that insurance becomes a part of the householder’s annual checklist. |
REC104-2304 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | That Municipal Emergency Resource Officers develop registers of volunteers willing and available to provide assistance and support during the response to, and recovery from, emergency incidents. |
REC104-2222 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | That Municipal Councils: |
REC104-2231 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That DSE commences discussion with the Victorian WorkCover Authority in respect to employer liability for those staff being released to, and directed, by another agency in fire prevention and suppression activities. |
REC104-2218 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | That Government work with the insurance industry to explore options for incentives such as a reduction in premiums for those who take appropriate self-protection measures on their properties, similar to incentives for anti-theft home security |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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REC098-2176 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Committee recommends that Standards Australia incorporate building maintenance into AS3959–1999: Construction of buildings in Bushfire Prone Areas, perhaps renaming it as AS3959–1999: Construction and maintenance of buildings in Bushfire Prone Areas. |
REC098-2185 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Committee recommends in acknowledgement of the expertise that the Commonwealth can bring to the Australasian Fire Authorities Council and of funding already supplied to the Council for the development of a National Aerial Firefighting Strategy, that the current status of Emergency Management Australia on AFAC as an associate member be upgraded to full membership and that full membership also be extended to the Department of Defence. |
REC098-2133 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth seeks to ensure that the Council of Australian Governments resolve when asset protection zones will be located on private land and when on public land and gain assurances that adequate maintenance of zones will be enforced. |
REC098-2183 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | Further to recommendation 21 in Chapter 4, the Committee recommends that the Commonwealth seeks to ensure that the proposed Council of Australian Governments review of the bushfire management, initiate |
REC098-2184 | 21 - Role of Commonwealth Government | The Committee recommends that the functions and administration of Emergency Management Australia be reviewed to develop an organisation that is proactive and involved in the development and implementation of national policy on emergency response. |
REC098-2175 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The Committee recommends that insurance companies ensure that potential and existing policyholders are aware of the need to regularly review their insurance policies to prevent undervaluing. This could be done through renewal notices and quarterly reminders. This should include a list of bushfire risk reduction measures that policyholders can implement to decrease the cost of their premium. |
REC098-2172 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The Committee recommends that taxes on insurance premiums be calculated only on the premium in order to eliminate the current cascading cost. |
REC098-2157 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government work with Australasian Fire Authorities Council to review the insurance cover provided to volunteer fire fighters in all states and territories and ensure that cover is adequate for loss of life or injury and related loss of income and property lost in the line of duty. |
REC098-2178 | 1 - Land-use and building regs | The Committee recommends that Standards Australia review the clarity of AS3959–1999: Construction of buildings in Bushfire Prone Areas to ensure that all relevant stakeholders can interpret and apply the Standard in the way it is intended. |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
---|---|---|
REC037-4164 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | The role of local government in counter—disaster affairs be clearly defined and formalised by legislation. Local government authorities would then be fully aware of their responsibilities and of their entitlement to financial and other counter—disaster resources from State Government level. [Reference paragraphs: 232 to 233] |
Rec-ID | Code | Recommendation |
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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_3969 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | The subsidy of such Fire Brigade organisations by the insurance companies and the Government to be given favourable consideration, from a proportion of which the expenses of the Central Administration might be met. |
REC013_3968 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Any number of persons, wishing to form a Bush Fire Brigade, may, by a majority vote of the ratepayers in the particular area, requisition the Shire Council to proclaim such area a Bush Fire Brigade area, and the Council may then impose, with the concurrence of a majority of such ratepayers, a special levy for the purpose of equipping such brigades and carrying out its neccessary functions. |
REC013_3967 | 22 - Role of local Gvt | Each Shire Council shall divide the lands within their respective shires into suitable areas for the formation of Bush Fire Brigades as requested. |
REC013_3980 | 6 - Insurance and legal liability | To provide that any person desirous of insuring his crops against fire shall first submit his proposal to two responsible persons for their endorsement that, in their opinion, the crop is likely to produce the value for which the insurer proposes to take out the oolicy, and that, in the event of such endorsement not being obtained, the risk be not accepted. |