The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services lead an inter-agency IT system assessment with Queensland Police Service and local governments to identify disaster management systems currently in use and develop options to enhance connectivity and interoperability between systems. Outputs to be considered include, but are not limited to, consideration of requests for assistance (RFA) and the production of situation reports.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends all local governments that offer an opt-in system develop strategies to increase the number of subscribers who elect to use this service. As part of the annual disaster management plan assessment process for the period 2023–2025, the Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management will request information from the relevant local disaster management groups to highlight and share innovative practices that have led to an increase in subscription levels for opt-in services.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends this report be returned to the Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management to monitor, evaluate, and report on progress and implementation of the recommendations that are accepted in whole or in part by government.  

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends the Queensland Reconstruction Authority and the Bureau of Meteorology investigate options for the consolidation of ownership, renewed capital and maintenance in the flood warning network in consultation with flood warning infrastructure asset owners.  

Impact to essential services: That, to minimise disruption to essential services, including outages which compromise basic communication coverage, and to ensure access to safe water supply and power during flood events, Government work directly or together with the Australian and other state governments and/or their relevant power and telecommunications regulatory, policy and market bodies to:
• ensure there are sufficient redundancy options known and made available (for example, backup diesel generators, deployed temporary telecommunications facilities, etc.) to supply power to essential telecommunication infrastructure, alternative telecommunications infrastructure and water treatment facilities.
• ensure that the telecommunication entities, electricity network providers and water treatment managers are using up to the minute, whole of catchment models to inform business continuity planning in the event of flooding
• facilitate cross carrier roaming arrangements between carriers and the public for basic text, voice and data during the period of emergency in areas directly affected by flood
• ensure all essential services are mandatory members of the Emergency Management Committees at state, regional and local levels
• ensure the state understands essential services redundancies and what emergency redundancy options are available from Australian Government agencies
• ensure, given the heavy reliance on essential services by community and government during a disaster, essential services loss, redundancy and build back better principles are exercised through emergency management committee processes annually.

Essential services and floodplain infrastructure: That, to minimise disruption to essential services (power, communications, water, sewerage) and to ensure flood infrastructure is fully serviceable before flooding, Government ensure:
• essential services infrastructure (communications, water, power and sewerage) is situated as much as possible above the flood planning level. And to minimise disruption to medical services, aged care services and the police, Government ensure hospitals, medical centres, nursing homes, aged care facilities and police stations are situated above the probable maximum flood level
• floodplain infrastructure (drains, levees, flood gates) items are all assigned to an appropriate lead agency which has responsibility for ensuring they are fully maintained and functioning especially when floods are likely.

That the NSW Government advocate through the National Cabinet for the Bureau of Meteorology to review its rain data infrastructure and flood modelling tools, to ensure forecasting locations, rain and flood gauges and other infrastructure are appropriately placed, maintained and updated.

That the NSW Government work with relevant agencies and local landowners to find ways to improve the management of drainage channels including looking for recommendations to reduce red and green tape. 

That the NSW Government prioritise support for the full restoration of sewage treatment facilities on the Richmond River, for the benefit of communities in the Northern Rivers region. 

That the NSW Government, in consultation with telecommunication providers and satellite communication providers, investigate ways to minimise the complete loss of telecommunication services in natural disasters, including:
• the distribution of satellite phones and satellite terminals to community hubs in flood prone areas
• the prioritisation of services for communities that are highly likely to become isolated in a natural disaster
• the establishment of appropriate protocols to ensure that this equipment is readily available and 'charged' for use with a battery supply.

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and the Department of Environment and Science monitor the progress of relevant improvement activities resulting from the K’gari (Fraser Island) Bushfire Review, through their respective lessons management programs.

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Department of Environment and Science implements the proposed treatments for fire identified in the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service K’gari Compliance Strategy.

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the next review of the Queensland State Disaster Management Plan examines and provides guidance in respect to the application of Queensland’s disaster management arrangements to support hazard specific events such as bushfire.

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the prescribed burn program for K’gari be developed by the Department of Environment and Science, in collaboration with the Locality Specific Fire Management Group and the Butchulla people, based on the principles of the National Position on Prescribed Burning. This program should incorporate a process for monitoring and evaluation of outcomes and integration of evolving fire management practices.

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Department of Environment and Science examines the utilisation of technology, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, to improve the collection of visitor numbers and movement data. This could include, for example, expanding the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology to K’gari and examining the suitability of mobile phone check-in applications.

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Interagency Protocol for Fire Management be reviewed by all relevant entities, including representatives of the Butchulla people, and be updated as a matter of priority. Entities responsible for the protocol should implement a process for regular review and evaluation of its effectiveness. This review process should be conducted after a major bushfire event, or to reflect any material change to applicable legislation and policy. It should also consider pre-arranged approvals and a range of agreed fiscal protocols between the agencies.

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services regularly review and evaluate the effectiveness of the Queensland Bushfire Plan with land managers and stakeholders, including disaster management groups. A review should occur in line with any material change to the Queensland State Disaster Management Plan, the Disaster Management Act 2003, the Prevention Preparedness Response and Recovery Guideline, or after major bushfire events, to ensure appropriate alignment and currency.

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends this report be returned to the IGEM to monitor, evaluate and report on progress and implementation of the recommendations that are accepted in whole or in part by government.

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends should a Queensland Government Action Plan be considered, clarity about the intent of the recommendations be sought from the Inspector-General Emergency Management to assist in informing this process.

We recommend that DELWP reviews its target for the number of fuel hazard assessments conducted and ensures that this measure is evidence based, accurately reflects regional performance, and that the department monitors and reports on each region’s performance against it.

We recommend that DELWP in partnership with Country Fire Authority and Fire Rescue Victoria develops, implements and publicly reports on a holistic suite of performance metrics to demonstrate: - the impact that planned burning has on public and private land on bushfire risk - the impact that planned burning has on public and private land on ecosystem resilience - the impact that non-burn fuel management activities have on public and private land on bushfire risk - the impact that its activities at local and regional levels have on bushfire risk - the cost-effectiveness of its fuel management activities on public and private land.

The Inspector-General for Emergency Management recommends that Emergency Management Victoria – in collaboration with the emergency management sector and as part of the emergency management planning reforms:
a) review, update and confirm arrangements for all tiers of control, including the flexible application of areas of operations, with a particular focus on the triggers for activation, integration with other tiers of control and clearly defined roles and responsibilities
b) exercise these arrangements to ensure they are appropriate and familiar during emergencies. 

The Inspector-General for Emergency Management recommends that the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (or the single entity referenced in Recommendation 4) – in collaboration with the Country Fire Authority and local government – undertake a review of the current residual risk target to ensure that it remains contemporary in terms of its designated percentage value. The review should:
a) involve engagement with land and fire management agencies; public authorities; private organisations; individuals and any other stakeholders with a role in fuel management
b) define a pathway to expanding the residual risk target to apply to all methods of fuel management, with the expansion of the target to apply across all organisations with a legislated responsibility for fuel management
c) become part of a program of review of the State’s land and fuel management policy occurring on a regular basis and not exceeding a five-year cycle. 

The Inspector-General for Emergency Management recommends that the State review (and where necessary amend) legislation including but not limited to the Country Fire Authority Act 1958, Forest Act 1958 and Local Government Act 2020 to:
a) clarify accountability for fuel management across land and fire agencies, public authorities, councils, private organisations and individuals
b) define shared responsibility for fuel management across land and fire agencies, stakeholders and community
c) enable organisations with a legislated responsibility for fuel management to conduct fuel management on behalf of other organisations on land outside of their legislated land tenure, where invited to do so
d) provide consistent protections to all personnel, including volunteers, when carrying out fuel management functions on behalf of their legislated organisation. 

The Inspector-General for Emergency Management recommends that Emergency Management Victoria – in partnership with agencies engaged in state, regional and incident control centres:
a) review and update shift roster and handover processes to ensure they are procedurally consistent and support the achievement of objectives at all stages of a protracted event
b) provide training and guidance to ensure shift roster and handover processes are consistently applied in state, regional and incident control centres. 

The Australian Government should establish accountability and assurance mechanisms to promote continuous improvement and best practice in natural disaster arrangements. 

Australian, state and territory governments should review Australian Medical Assistance Team capabilities and procedures and develop necessary training, exercising and other arrangements to build capacity for domestic deployments. 

The Australian Government should review the content of the Defence Assistance to the Civil Community manual to ensure consistency of language and application with a revised COMDISPLAN. 

Consideration be given to developing alternate website contingency in the event of a critical failure and an assurance review across all community facing Government websites.

ACT Government undertake a detailed legislative review to ensure that information regarding vulnerable community members can be appropriately accessed, provided and used during an emergency event.

Continue to explore options in the short term to improve the functionality and relationship with NSW RFS ‘Fires Near Me’ with respect to ACT specific information before the 2020-21 bushfire season.

The CCIP be reviewed in conjunction with the review of the Emergency Plan and the two synchronised. A workable approach to delivering operational emergency communications and strategic WhoG communications is developed with simple and clear reporting arrangements.

ACT Government continues to develop the concept for an ACT specific emergency app whilst also using national coordination mechanisms to support an affordable nationally standard all-hazards mobile app.

The BFC Terms of Reference be reviewed to ensure they are contemporary and reflect learnings from this and recent bushfire seasons.

The five year review of the Emergencies Act examine amendments to better define the rationale for a State of Alert / State of Emergency whilst ensuring that the relevant Minister / Chief Minister still has sufficient discretion to make a declaration based on advice from relevant Government officials and committees.

That Justice and Community Safety Directorate (JACS) lead a working group from across relevant organisations to undertake the five year review of the Emergencies Act in conjunction with a wholistic review of the Emergency Plan and relevant sub-plans; and recommendations from this review, to the extent they are accepted by Government. Bringing together a small Taskforce of staff from across government for a set period would assist the working group in delivering the work needed to address these and other recommendations.

That, in order to equip NSW RFS with comprehensive information on all structures and assets at risk of bush fire, Government ensures that:
- there is a single whole-of-government procurement and acquisition program for imagery and LiDAR and that Government accelerate the building of the State Digital Twin and associated Digital Workbench
- owners/managers of assets (apart from private home owners whose information will be provided through local councils) in bush fire prone land are required to provide to the Digital Twin at least the following information/metadata with quality control certification on an annual basis (with annual census at least two months before the start of the fire season):
* precise geolocation
* description of asset including picture
* value level
* fire treatment on asset
* Asset Protection Zone (APZ) details and how it is maintained
* access details
* what redundancy is available if relevant
* any metadata requirements specific to the asset class
* emergency contact and instructions on how to access where more information is held
* any restrictions on data access and sharing.
The Digital Twin must also be able to incorporate:
- information about the hazard reduction results for road verges, fire trails, APZs and other defendable space
- local information supplied by organisations such as local NSW RFS brigades.

That, in order to enhance NSW’s ability to improve situational awareness, Government expand FRNSW’s Remotely Piloted Aerial Systems (RPAS) capability (both capital assets and trained operators) to major regional centres and ensure the NSW RFS and other NSW government agencies can access this capability as required.

That, in order to ensure the guiding principles and approval processes are contemporary, streamlined and more flexible, the NSW and Commonwealth Governments review the Defence Assistance to the Civil Community (DACC) arrangements. This review should include the circumstances in which the State can request Commonwealth assistance, and the level of information provided by the ADF to the State on available resources and capabilities.

That, in order to ensure Australia’s fire fighting aerial capacity capitalises on existing assets and is made up of the right mix, Government:
a) request the Commonwealth to conduct a trial with NSW RFS on the feasibility of retrofitting RAAF C130 aircraft with modular airborne fire fighting systems to provide the Australian Defence Force with the capacity to augment aerial fire fighting during major disasters
b) work with states and territories through the National Aerial Firefighting Centre to review the current mix of aviation assets and determine whether it is fit-for-purpose, noting the current lack of mid-sized fire fighting aircraft.

That, in order to ensure State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) interoperability during all natural disasters, Resilience NSW review the current SEOC arrangements and location including responsibilities for ongoing resourcing and maintenance.

That, in order to improve early fire suppression, the NSW RFS trial initial aerial dispatch in areas of high bush fire risk. The trial should identify the most appropriate and cost-effective mix of aircraft, and any associated infrastructure improvements that would be required.

That, in order to improve cross-agency communication and coordination during bush fires, the NSW RFS review Fire Control Centres (FCCs) in areas that were heavily affected by fire. The results should be combined with the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Facilities Review to identify areas that would benefit from a purpose-built FCC, enabling co-location with the EOC.

That, in order to improve firefighter safety, Government fire authorities:
a) ensure all light tankers used as part of active frontline bush fire fighting operations are fitted with a single point crew protection safety spray system and radiant heat protection blankets as a minimum standard across all NSW fire authorities
b) ensure all medium/heavy tankers are fitted with radiant heat protection blankets, wheel and ‘halo’ sprays fitted as a minimum standard across all NSW fire authorities
c) undertake additional research to determine the most appropriate cabin protection for the different frontline vehicles.
d) provide ongoing investment for NSW RFS fleet upgrades.

That Government commit to:
a) evaluating existing bush fire preparedness programs to determine the most effective and efficient approach given increased frequency of extreme fire seasons, and develop outcomes-based measures to monitor programs’ impact over time
b) post-evaluation roll out the most effective bush fire preparedness programs to all communities and at-risk cohorts in bush fire prone areas across NSW.

That Government, noting that hazard reduction targeted in proximity to assets is on balance more likely to provide help than hinder, should:
a) support local councils and partner agencies to implement more comprehensive hazard
reduction at a local level around towns/cities, communities and local infrastructure assets, and provide incentives for communities to organise themselves to prioritise and implement local hazard reduction initiatives. This will involve a suite of hazard reduction techniques depending on the landscape including prescribed burning, clearing, mowing, and mechanical treatments, and easy disposal of green waste into processors turning it into bioenergy or biofuels
b) beyond the local level priorities for hazard reduction, prioritise prescribed burning in parts of the landscape where fuel treatment may help reduce probability of fires escalating quickly and where terrain and potential atmospheric interactions are likely to escalate fires into fire-generated thunderstorms. This will likely involve a proactive program of treating ridge tops that are prone to dry lightning where reduced fuels may help reduce speed of spread when the fire first starts, or particular windward or lee-slopes that are susceptible to generating extreme fire behaviour and drive fire towards towns.

That, in order to ensure frontline personnel have appropriate personal protective clothing during bush fires:
a) FRNSW review the current design of its bush fire jacket, noting improvements that have been made since 2002 that meet AS/NZS4824:2006 Protective clothing for firefighters, and increase the allocation of bush fire coats to two jackets per member
b) NSW RFS issue two sets of personal protective clothing to operational members, and others as appropriate.

That, in order to ensure recommendations accepted by the Government are implemented in a timely and transparent manner, Government establish a central accountability mechanism to track implementation of recommendations from bush fire-related reviews and inquiries and consider expanding this to other policy areas.

That, in order to enhance NSW’s fire fighting capacity, Government trial aerial fire fighting at night in the 2020-21 season with a view to full implementation if successful.

That Government re-commit to the current, regionally based approach to planning and coordinating hazard reduction activities across all tenures through Bush Fire Management Committees but ensure that it is actually being implemented at a high-level of quality across NSW. Getting it to a high-level of quality requires:
a) implementing the Inquiry’s recommendation about performance auditing of Bush Fire Risk Management Plans
b) prioritising implementation of revised processes for bush fire risk management planning that incorporate new modelling and methods for quantifying risk and the residual risk profile as a result of proposed hazard reduction works
c) ensuring regional priorities for hazard reduction, and how they are determined, are communicated clearly to the community, and their implementation is reported on transparently. This will include being very clear about the objectives of hazard reduction activities and communicating that hazard reduction does not eliminate the risk of fire affecting properties
d) the methodology for assessing and planning for risk reduction becomes an ongoing area of research and the frameworks are formally reviewed every three years.

That Resilience NSW review existing functional area arrangements to ensure they are closely aligned to agencies responsible for direct service delivery.

Review the use of aviation assets including facilities to operate them given the increased pressure from extended fire seasons on northern and southern hemisphere resources. Review line scanning capability with a view to providing real time data to the IMTs on where fires are burning using aviation assets as an intelligence tool rather than just a fire suppression capability.

Regularly reviewing these plans to ensure that they reflect the current operating environment.

This report be returned to the InspectorGeneral Emergency Management to monitor, evaluate and report on progress and implementation of the recommendation(s) that are accepted in whole or in part by government. 

To enable entities in the sector to proactively work to achieve better results for the community, the recommendations and lessons of this review should be evaluated through the lessons management processes of entities involved in dam safety for their value and relevance. 

The Department of Housing and Public Works should be included within Local Disaster Management Group evacuation centre planning and plans and assist with decision making around the relocation of evacuees from evacuation centres.

As part of the annual Emergency Action Plan review for the Ross River Dam, consideration should be given to the potential impacts of operating the gate outside automatic mode and whether this event has provided any new information and learnings which can be incorporated into the Emergency Action Plan. This should occur prior to the 2019/20 wet season.

The progress of recovery for this event be reviewed incrementally over the next 2 to 3 years, with a formal, independent report provided on the effectiveness of the recovery after 3 years.

Queensland should examine the feasibility of the installation of storm tide markers in prominent public places and the exploration of new technology to highlight storm tide risk to the community and its visitors. 

Queensland should implement and maintain a system-wide lesson management program.

The operation and maintenance of flood gauges should be developed and planned for on a catchment basis.

Explore better options for call and dispatch, telecommunications and information sharing capability across the emergency management portfolio including the adoption of a multi-agency emergency management operations complex

As a matter of priority commence the roll out of AVL capability for the Rural Fire Service fleet, completing as much work as possible before the 2018/19 bushfire season, capitalising where necessary on current and future work undertaken with the NSW Government Radio Network to ensure both officer safety and situational awareness

TFS should initiate a policy review (seeking support from government as appropriate) to clearly identify what body or agency is responsible for planning, carrying out and enforcing fuel management on private property at a township level. If current arrangements are unclear or ineffective, TFS should request government to consider making this a statutory responsibility of TFS and provide any additional funding required to support this function.

A measure of safety may be found in the use of high explosives combined with wet tamping, or, still better, water cartridges, instead of powder under any of its modifications. Encouragement ought also to be given to the use of patent multiple wedges and applicances of a like nature, for supplanting the use of explosives. Under all circumstances and conditions some provision should be adopted for compelling workmen to thoroughly undercut, shear, or nick, and generally to work the coal as directed by the Manager. 

Where safety-lamps are used the lock should be of such a character as to prevent any workman opening it. If the "Protector" type of lamp be employed the necessity for a lock is the less necessary, as the unscrewing of this type of lamp extinguishes the light. 

The Commisison would not insist upon a barometer being provided at each mine. Experience has proved that this is a tardy index to atmospheric conditions. Serious changes in the atmospheric pressure occur and are felt before they are indicated by a barometer.

In order to manage a reduced time window available to undertake the current types of planned burns, alternative methods, including the indigenous mosaic ‘cool’ burns, should be examined and trialled as they may extend the period in which planned burns can be undertaken while reducing overall risk and fuel loads.

That in conjunction with a risk‑based approach, a minimum hectare target is also maintained that can be measured and compared. This minimum target should not be below the 5% target established by the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission.

That a review of the cross‑tenure approach be undertaken to determine its effectiveness and to address issues that arise in fire prevention on private and public land.

That the Government conduct a review of fire prevention
activities undertaken by local government, including the amounts and sources of funding for such activities and the support of departments and agencies to manage and mitigate risk. The review should include determining compliance with
s43 of the Country Fire Authority Act 1958 and should consider the appropriate support required to enable Councils to meet their obligations under the Act.

That the State Emergency Management Committee allocates resources to reviewing all findings and recommendations in the Productivity Commission Report No. 74 relevant to Tasmania and, for those identified as relevant, actions taken and, if none, why not.

That the Flood Warning Consultative Committee reviews flood classification levels in the Service Level Specifications with BoM specifically relating to flood level triggers on gauges.

That DPIPWE examines the Forest Practice Code 2015 for relevance of its concepts to farming and other business activities near rivers, streams and naturally occurring dams and makes recommendations to Government accordingly.

That DPIPWE examines the WMAwater report along with its own, analyses the differences, consults with the Forest Practices Authority and Environment Protection Authority, and proposes an appropriate course of action to Government.

Establish a lessons management capability across the SA emergency management sector to collect, analyse and track lessons identified during debriefs and reviews following events and other sources such as interstate and oversees reviews and inquiries.

Review representation in the State Emergency Centre including: a) determining if there is a more suitable functional support group e.g. the Procurement Functional Support Group, to replace the Logistics Functional Support Group, and if so, Chief Procurement Officer, DPC, has responsibility for the management of this role within the State Emergency Centre. b) That when the State Crisis Centre is not operating from a physical location, a State Crisis Centre liaison officer is attached to the State Emergency Centre.

That a review of the role and effectiveness of the State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC) including: the legislative functions; membership including the chair; roles and responsibilities; and, SEMC Advisory Groups be undertaken.

Review existing electronic information systems used by emergency services organisations and other government agencies, and: a) establish a single incident information system across the Emergency Services Sector (MFS, CFS and SES), and b) identify opportunities to consolidate incident information systems of other agencies

Engage an independent business analyst to review the current call, receipt and dispatch process for emergency services i.e. the Metropolitan Fire Service, Country Fire Service and State Emergency Service, from the initial call for assistance through to response of emergency service resources, including the allocation and coordination of multiple taskings.

That the State Emergency Service explores options for providing suitable personal protective clothing to personnel from supporting emergency services during major flooding events and sandbagging operations.

That SA Health undertake a review of their emergency management arrangements. Health State Controllers should be consulted during this review and arrangements should be consistent throughout the department and across the State and compatible with State emergency management arrangements and information systems

Update the SEMP Part 3, Annex F ‘Debriefs’ to provide more guidance regarding the types of debriefs, when they are required to be undertaken and at what level and guidance for undertaking and recording debriefs, and implementing lessons identified.

That systems for Automatic Vehicle Location and personnel tracking be implemented within the emergency services sector.

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.

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.

I recommend that the New South Wales Police Force undertake a formal assessment of alternatives to the TOU’s current soft-point ammunition to determine whether a more appropriate form of ammunition is reasonably available.

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.

I recommend that if it has not already done so, the New South Wales Police Force acquires the audio surveillance technology that in similar circumstances would allow a device to be monitored in the Police Forward Command Post and/or the Police Operations Centre and that the organisation ensures that its capacity in this regard keeps pace with technological advances in the area.

The Department of Parks and Wildlife to plan for the highest priority hazard reduction burning effort around settlements and critical assets in the South West and Perth Hills. The annual objective is to treat a total of 60,000 hectares of priority hazard reduction per annum, comprising 20,000 hectares per annum of Land Management Zone A and 40,000 hectares per year of Land Management Zone B.

The Department of Fire and Emergency Services, utilising the Office of Bushfire Risk Management, to develop a simplified and fast track hazard reduction burn (and other fuel mitigation techniques) planning and approval process to ensure the timely conduct of township and asset protection burns by Bush Fire Brigades and individual property owners. The process is to be agile and adaptable for the range of stakeholders which may participate in low risk, small scale, low complexity burn planning and approvals.

The Department of the Premier and Cabinet to conduct an independent review of the current arrangement for the management and distribution of the Emergency Services Levy. The review will have the specific purpose of: · seeking input from key entities including the Departments of Treasury, Finance, Fire and Emergency Services, Lands, and Parks and Wildlife, WA Local Government Association, and the Office of Bushfire Risk Management. · ensuring the arrangement has the flexibility and agility to deal with emerging bushfire risk priorities. · establishing a budget process that enables a shift in investment towards prevention, mitigation and building community resilience and capability.

The Department of Parks and Wildlife to continue emphasis on landscape hazard reduction burning with the annual objective of treating 140,000 hectares per annum in Land Management Zone C. In combination with Recommendation 2 (above) the strategic objective will be that a fuel age of less than six years will be maintained across 45% of the landscape on State Forest, National Parks and other Parks and Wildlife managed lands in the South West and Perth Hills. This will address the current backlog (created from under achievements of the recent two decades of burn programs) by the end of the 2020-2021 burning season (i.e. within the next 5 years).

The State Government to explore options for streamlining the functions and the independence of the State Emergency Management Committee Secretariat and the Office of Bushfire Risk Management with a view to including an inspectorate function, and appointing a person who is dedicated to that role. The purpose is to provide assurance and reporting, and to inquire into, monitor and report transparently on emergency management standards, preparedness, capability, service delivery and investment performance outcomes. Within two years of the establishment of this arrangement the State Government to review and assess whether it is meeting the desired outcomes.

Live resource tracking system that can be used by all response agencies

The Committee finds that on the evidence presented, that the Fuel Reduction Burn Program should be maintained and have its budget directly funded to ensure that the program continues and does not hinder other services or programs.

The Committee finds that on the evidence presented, that the Government should undertake a review of how firefighting equipment and gear in Tasmania can be better standardised with interstate equipment and gear to improve cross-jurisdiction resource utilisation.

The Tasmanian fire agencies commission a review into the efectiveness of aerial firefghting in the 2016 fires, in order to better understand and to document for future reference the cost-efectiveness of specifc fire suppression strategies and tactics in different vegetation types. The Review should include a comparative analysis of fire suppression options whether aerial or ground-based.

The Tasmanian fire agencies take steps at a national level to share learnings from the 2016 fires about the administration of interstate assistance and support the codifcation of the workings, structure and reporting lines of an Interstate and International Liaison Unit for future complex deployments within Australia and New Zealand.

Review seismic monitoring network alert systems to ensure emergency managers are on the contact lists.

Review legislation relating to Fuel Stove only areas, Fire Permit System and Total Fire Bans to ensure appropriate incentives to modify individuals’ behaviour.

Continue the Fuel Reduction Program.

Personal protective equipment (masks, gowns, gloves, goggles) – review supply/distribution arrangements.

Consider outcomes of national review of warnings and review resilience of warning systems’ infrastructure.

Personal protective equipment (masks, gowns, gloves, goggles) – enhance stocktake methods.

Test the Biosecurity Act 2015.

Review temporary bridge stockpile for adequacy (DSG).

The report recommends that Ambulance Tasmania investigate why the level of multiple responses had increased.

The report recommends that Ambulance Tasmania investigate whether the additional resources in the North and North West regions were effective in reducing average response times.

Preventing Flood Related Fatalities: The NSW Government consider the recommendations from the Preventing Flood Related Fatalities Report when it is released.

That the NSW Government commit to and fund a long term program of prescribed burning based on the recommendation of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission of an annual rolling target of a minimum of five per cent of public land per year, and that the NSW Government commit to extending the funding for the National Parks and Wildlife Service five year hazard reduction program past 2016.

That the Minister for Police and Emergency Services review the communications technologies used by the NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue NSW, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and Forestry NSW during fire fighting operations, to ensure that systems are standardised and effective. Within this context, the potential value of satellite phone technology should be investigated.

That the NSW Rural Fire Service:
-commission an independent investigation into the allegations that brigade group captains and captains were not duly, or in a timely way, notified of the outbreak of the Wambelong fire
-improve procedures for the notification of group captains to ensure that they are notified of any fire outbreak in and/or adjoining their brigade areas.

That the NSW Rural Fire Service:
-streamline the regulatory system for hazard reduction burns, including the permit system, in order to identify and remove any unnecessary impediments to timely, planned hazard reduction burning

-improve accountability in relation to the implementation of bush fire risk management plans as a means of delivering more hazard reduction.

That the NSW Rural Fire Service, in collaboration with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, review and improve the system of bush fire management zones to ensure that greater priority is given to hazard reduction on land classified within land management zones.

That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service establish a regime of frequent mosaic burning within the Warrumbungle National Park, where conditions permit, to be monitored and evaluated via a formal fully funded research program. This program should then inform the Service’s approach to the wider national park estate.

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

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.

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.

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:
• to the Parks and Wildlife Service, Tasmania, for appropriate management activities and resources; and
• for research projects aimed at providing qualitative and quantitative data specific to climate-related and ecological threats to the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (such as dry lightning strike).

SACFS and the BoM review current weather, fuel loads and curing rates to determine the most appropriate and accurate forecast is prepared, issued and validated against current conditions.

An audit of all local government areas vulnerable to storm tide events is completed and opportunities identified to resolve gaps in evacuation zone planning to ensure consistency with the Queensland Evacuation Guidelines for Disaster Management Groups and neighbouring local government areas.

The Queensland Emergency Alert Guidelines is reviewed to reflect current practice and incorporate evidence-based improvements informed by lessons learned and research.

The Queensland State Disaster Management Plan is reviewed to:
- clarify core disaster management functions in relation to the issue of warnings, and provide guidance on state agency lead, co-lead and support roles and responsibilities
- include direction for primary agencies to ensure local groups are included in the development and issue of hazard-specific warnings and public information
- ensure the role of the Crisis Communications Network and the Public Safety Business Agency Public Information Cell is clearly articulated to enable effective public information and messaging at all levels of the arrangements, including local 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:
(a) obtain project level information from states and territories to enable more informed analysis of claim amounts; and
(b) implement a risk‐based approach to examining the eligibility and value for money of a sample of recovery and reconstruction projects.

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) recommends that the Attorney‐General’s Department significantly improve the administration of disaster relief and recovery funding by:
(a) adopting more timely processes for developing, finalising and promulgating disaster funding guidelines and advisories; and
(b) implementing administrative arrangements that provide it with greater details of the amounts included in expenditure claims, including project specific information.

Radio infrastructure in the Perth Hills should be reviewed to assess whether it is practicable for radio and/or mobile phone coverage to be improved to achieve better coverage across the area.

Every effort should be made to enhance the ability of communications personnel to cope with fast moving and time critical fire events by providing and maintaining: ongoing extensive communications training; advanced vehicle capability for clear communication within areas of radio coverage dead spots; ability to receive Air intelligence live streaming; map production facilities; deployment of multiple Incident Control Vehicles when required; all Incident Control Vehicles with access to DFES Information Technology Systems.

Automatic Vehicle Location technology should be adopted to enable a better appreciation of the deployment and location of appliances at an incident, in order to increase situational awareness

SEMC Secretariat Community Emergency Management Officers should work with the Shire to document the Shire of Mundaring’s learnings from the Parkerville Stoneville Mt Helena fire with a view to sharing this with other local authorities particularly those facing similar situations in order to extend the range of tools available to assist local governments to understand their roles and responsibilities in future emergencies.

Procedures should be established to monitor the use of heavy plant during a bushfire incident, including the tasking of support appliances. Procedures should provide for the appointment of a dedicated Machinery Supervisor as prescribed within the Australasian Interservice Incident Management System.

GDF Suez: • consequences of fire in the worked out areas of the Hazelwood mine, and an assessment of the most effective fre protection for the exposed coal surfaces; conduct, assisted by an independent consultant, a risk assessment of the likelihood and • controls are in place to eliminate or reduce the risk of fre; and prepare an implementation plan that ensures the most effective and reasonably practicable • implement the plan

The State empower and require the Auditor-General or another appropriate agency, to: • oversee the implementation of these recommendations and the commitments made by the State and GDF Suez during this Inquiry; and • report publicly every year for the next three years on the progress made in implementing recommendations and commitments.

GDF Suez: • practice and ensures that, by taking a risk management approach, it is suitable for fire prevention, mitigation and suppression in all parts of the Hazelwood mine; and review its ‘Mine Fire Service Policy and Code of Practice’ so that it refects industry best • work plan for the Hazelwood mine. incorporate the revised ‘Mine Fire Service Policy and Code of Practice’ into the approved

That the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service establish a regime of frequent mosaic burning within the Warrumbungle National Park, where conditions permit, to be monitored and evaluated via a formal fully funded research program. This program should then inform the Service’s approach to the wider national park estate.

That the Minister for Police and Emergency Services review the communications technologies used by the NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue NSW, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and Forestry NSW during fire fighting operations, to ensure that systems are standardised and effective. Within this context, the potential value of satellite phone technology should be investigated.

That the NSW Rural Fire Service review its procedures, systems and infrastructure for notifying community members of bush fires, both when a fire has broken out and as it proceeds, to ensure the provision of timely and adequate information.

That the NSW Rural Fire Service:
- commission an independent investigation into the allegations that brigade group captains and captains were not duly, or in a timely way, notified of the outbreak of the Wambelong fire
- improve procedures for the notification of group captains to ensure that they are notified of any fire outbreak in and/or adjoining their brigade areas.

That the NSW Rural Fire Service:
- streamline the regulatory system for hazard reduction burns, including the permit system, in order to identify and remove any unnecessary impediments to timely, planned hazard reduction burning
- improve accountability in relation to the implementation of bush fire risk management plans as a means of delivering more hazard reduction.

The NPWS conduct a review of its prescribed burns program to ensure, as far as reasonably practicable, that all necessary managerial approvals for a prescribed burn are provided as promptly as possible.

That the National Parks and Wildlife Service consider reviewing its guidelines and protocols in respect of hazard reduction planning and burning-off operations in the light of the evidence from experts witnesses in these proceedings that the incidence of, and intensity of, major fires is increasing and in the light of expert evidence given in these proceedings concerning the dangers of vorticity-driven lateral spread.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority structures all regulations not yet made with the three-tier approach, and subsequently reviews all other Civil Aviation Safety Regulation Parts (in consultation with industry) to determine if they should be remade using the three-tier structure.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority implements a system of using third-party commercial audits as a supplementary tool to its surveillance system.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority assures consistency of audits across all regions, and delivers audit reports within an agreed timeframe.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority provides full disclosure of audit findings at audit exit briefings in accordance with international best practice.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority shares the risk assessment outputs of Sky Sentinel, its computerised risk assessment system, with the applicable authorisation holder.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigates as many fatal accidents in the sport and recreational aviation sector as its resources will allow.

The Regional Director-Defence Support-Northern NSW, make contact with Deputy Commissioner ~~~~~ Director of Operational Services Rural Fire Service, to arrange a headquarters driven bipartite review of the events of 16 October 2013 with a review to mitigation of future fire events generally, and with specific reference to: 
a. hazard reduction programming and site works on Marrangaroo Training Area;
b. bushfire response within Marrangaroo Training Area, with specific reference to equipment to be kept on or present on site and operated by Defence personnel and the circumstances in which the Rural Fire Service will respond to a report of bushfire within Marrangaroo Training Area; and
c. the development and implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding between Defence and the Rural Fire Service in relation to these matters.

A Stryker unit, or an upgraded firefighting unit, be present at the range sentry point, remain manned and ready to deploy during range activites, with its driver in direct radio contact with the Range Safety Officer. Upon the range being declared clear by the Safety Officer inspecting the range after a demolition serial, the firefighting unit must proceed forward to the range wile the periphery of the range continues to be inspected by the Safety Officer, and remain on the range until the Safety officer declares that the area is clear of fire or that it is otherwise appropriate for the fireghting unit to leave the range area. 

Defence undertake a review of its ability to respond to a fire within Marrangaroo Training Area, whether bushfire or structural. The underlying assumption should be that the only response available to fight a fire within Marrangaroo Training Area will be provided by Defence. Further, such response must occur while a fire is in its initial stages. A review must either acknowledge the risk of fire occurring in th future, or upgrade Defence's firefighting capability at Marrangaroo Training Area. 

Defence Security Authority conduct an investigation into the whereabouts of items of anaccounted explosive ordnance issued to Defence Explosive Ordnance Training School Exercise Marrangaroo.

Defence should not procure any firefighting vehicle for Marrangaroo Training Area without first consulting relevant personnel within the Rural Fire Service on an appropriate type of vehicle, and obtaining training for the personnel proposed to use it. Alternatively, Defence should explore contracted firefighitng support during periods of live-fire on Marrangaroo Training Area.

Firefighitng capability at Marrangaroo Training Area be upgraded so that Australian Defence Force members are not placed in situations of unacceptable risk. Specifically, those participating in range practices must have access to a firefighting vehicle close by and easily deployed, and capable of throwing a large quantity of water an appreciable distance into areas adjacent to the ranges, should a fire occur. 

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.

The Australian Government should schedule an independent and public review of the progress of reforms to natural disaster funding arrangements five years after implementation has commenced. This review should examine the operation and efficacy of the arrangements, including the:
• use of assessed damages and benchmark prices for the reconstruction of essential public assets
• use of upfront grants for community recovery
• feasibility of moving away from a cumulative trigger for recovery funding and towards an event-based model
• quantum and impacts of mitigation funding, and the institutional arrangements used by states and territories to allocate the mitigation funding they receive
• accountability arrangements for each level of government, including those that relate to Australian Government budgeting for natural disasters, insurance of state and territory government assets, and use of asset management planning by state, territory and local governments
• progress implementing the Commissions’ recommendations in relation to land use planning, information provision and insurance.
In developing terms of reference for this review, the Australian Government should consult with state and territory governments.

As a minimum requirement, all vehicles entering the fireground must be fitted with an accessible fire blanket – one per person in each vehicle plus roll down, in-cab, radiant heat shields.

Western Australia Health should carry out targeted clinical audits in volunteer country sub-centres until longer term solutions are in place

Western Australia Health should carry out targeted clinical audits in volunteer country sub-centres until longer term solutions are in place

The Department of Premier and Cabinet should lead: x the development of an evaluation framework, based on work undertaken to date by the Department of Human Services, to be used in assessing the impact of relief and recovery programs in the recent floods and in future disaster events x an evaluation of the impact of relief and recovery programs in the recent floods, using this framework.

The Department of Justice should review the current model for rapid impact assessment to improve the quality of the information collected.

That an accountability process be established for managing improvement in the emergency management arrangements, including annual State of Readiness Reports by relevant departments and agencies and on the overall emergency management arrangements.

That a review be conducted of the resource capacity and capability to provide effective and efficient emergency operations, including approved improvements.

That membership of the State Emergency Management Committee, and other processes to link in appropriate agencies and organisations to emergency management, be included in the recommended review of the emergency management arrangements.

That bushfire agencies develop, implement and maintain air operations procedures.

That a process be established for the timely implementation of approved recommendations from the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.

That bushfire agencies develop procedures for the automatic activation of aircraft to fires at pre-determined trigger points on high fire risk days.

That Tasmania Fire Service conducts a review of the fire permit system in the Fire Service Act 1979, and implements change to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the system by: • considering whether it is appropriate to authorise persons or organisations to conduct fuel reduction burning during a permit period • providing a better match between the period, area and fire risk • maintaining a timely and efficient process for issuing permits • naming the period in a way that draws attention to bushfire risk • establishing a reporting and accountability process.

That the plans for social recovery be reviewed, and plans and procedures are established ready for implementation.

That bushfire agencies evaluate the use and effectiveness of fixed wing water bombing aircraft.

That an independent means of monitoring and reporting on the implementation of approved recommendations is established.

That the police and other emergency service organisations discuss their resource issues for emergency operations with the Government.

That Tasmania Fire Service or another suitable agency provides information to the community which shows, in simple form, the legislation applicable to approvals for lighting fires on private property and the various relationships between that legislation.

That the role of Red Cross in emergency management plans and procedures for the activation of Red Cross be reviewed.

That a structure and facilities be established for the State Controller or other person managing multi-agency response and recovery operations.

That the Strategic Fuel Management Plan includes measurable targets and they are actively monitored and reported on to the community.

That further options to appropriately supplement the resources available for emergency management operations be examined.

If it is considered more information is required on action to suppress the fires in Dunalley and why fire operations did not continue, the Department of Justice should conduct an independent examination of this matter.

Recommendation 9 TFS should review the capacity of its Fire Information Line to handle very large scale events, and explore additional options for a surge capability for the Fire Information Line.

TFS seek to address the following outstanding items from the recommendations of the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission. § 45 out of 53 Community Bushfire Response Plans for “at risk” communities have been finalized. The remaining eight should be completed as a priority action. § That TFS progress the development of Community Bushfire Mitigation Plans for the 53 at risk communities, possibly as an action for reactivated Fire Management Area Committees. § TFS, together with other ESOs and local government, should develop a common comprehensive approach to the option of planned evacuation from dangerous or potentially dangerous areas to safer areas and eventual return. § TFS should include factors for consideration for evacuation during a bushfire into their training doctrine for Incident Controllers. § The IAP Template and its application be reinforced as an important operational requirement for IMT’s during the 2013-14 pre-season briefing program. 10 § That TFS review their use of IRMS to ascertain if either its full potential is not being realized through a lack of operator training or it is in fact not providing the required functionality and there is a need to research an improved resource management system which enhances interoperability. § The TFS Publication: Guidelines for Development in Bushfire Prone Areas of Tasmania http://www.fire.tas.gov.au/userfiles/stuartp/file/Publications/BushDeve… s2012.pdf requires an update to reflect the provisions of Planning Directive #5 Bushfire-Prone Areas Code.

That the network managers produce business cases for all major upgrades.

That network managers develop and document strategic plans for the management of their radio networks.

That until the outcome of the Whole of Government project is complete (and interoperability is achieved), emergency services should investigate and implement methods for further improving interoperability.

That the project team become independent from any of the entities involved in the Whole of Government network.

That stakeholders involved with the Whole of Government radio project re-engage positively to ensure a solution to the current impasse is achieved in the best interests of the stakeholders and the State as a whole.

When judging major incidents in the future, consideration be given to Eburn and Dover’s proposal to establish processes with a statutory basis that sufficiently balance the community’s interests in ensuring that true lessons, including lessons of error or neglect, are identified, whilst also protecting members of the emergency services. Processes need to be developed for emergency services such as those used in aviation and medicine, to facilitate open and honest disclosure of errors.

That an independent review of the operational and geographic boundaries of the ESOs be conducted recognising the limitations of the current governance structures to adequately address such issues. Such a review needs to be performed periodically, but not less than every 8 years.

An external audit of shared services performed by SAFECOM and services now provided by the three ESOs which have the potential to be shared, be undertaken to determine the most efficient and cost effective way such services can be delivered to the sector. The three ESO Chiefs need to have input into this process.

Review Section 134 to ensure that it is not a deterrent to a group of farm fire units operating at an incident.

Review employment conditions under the F&ES Act to align with those under the Public Sector Act unless there is a compelling reason to the contrary.

That the Government adequately fund Community Safety and Emergency Services budgets so that fire-bombing aircraft are available on call for rapid deployment throughout Autumn and Spring at short notice to bomb fires at the earliest and safest possible opportunity.

That Government agencies work closely with the Bureau of Meteorology and radio stations that broadcast emergency service announcements, to ensure the earliest possible determination of, and communications about, dangerous bushfire conditions.

That the Government resume funding for the helicopter surveillance service rather than by fixed-wing aircraft along Adelaide, South Coast and other high-risk coastlines during summer recreational periods for monitoring shark and other rescue situations, to bring the State back into line with interstate best practice.

That the Government consult broadly upon and review impediments to volunteering in the community and establish a taskforce to assist in removing barriers to volunteering, particularly with respect to:
i harmonising the regime for reimbursement to community safety and emergency services volunteers for their out-of-pocket expenses; and
ii reviewing the impact of work health and safety laws on the community safety and emergency service sector, particularly on the volunteer organisation.

That the reflective livery on Rural Fire Service Queensland staff vehicles be kept to a minimum of a light bar and affixed Rural Fire Service Queensland logo. These vehicles are to be appropriate to the task and location.

At the next reprint of the ‘Permit to Light Fire’ book, the requirement to notify neighbours when applying for a permit is reinstated to properly reflect the requirement under the Fire and Rescue Service Act 1990.

That Rural Fire Service Queensland, in consultation with Primary Producer Brigade volunteers, redesign and reconfigure slip-on units to bring the total cost below the level required for asset registration. The redesign should allow for the foam system to be optional.

The issue of red and blue lights for RFSQ and SES vehicles be further pursued by the Department of Community Safety

That all land on which rural fire brigade sheds are located be re-evaluated to formalise enforceable lease agreements.

That the Rural Fire Service Queensland needs to provide greater emphasis and acknowledgement of the use of fire as a tool in sustainable land management.

That the Rural Fire Service Queensland catalogue accurately reflects the range of equipment available.

That the State Government supply and logistics for Personal Protective Equipment and other equipment be urgently reviewed with a focus on timely and cost effective delivery to volunteer members.

That Rural Fire Brigades only be required to conduct an audit of finances if the Brigades income exceeds $5,000 for a financial year. RFSQ District offices should investigate options for savings on the costs of auditing Brigades in their district through either an in-house or external provider. Legal Status of Brigades

That RFSQ retain responsibility for Air Operations and re-evaluate avenues for cost recovery when aircraft are used by other agencies. The coordination of incendiary tasking to support mitigation should sit with the RFSQ in coordination with other agencies

That an ‘Options Paper’ be developed by District Inspectors on the suitability and supply of PPE and equipment to volunteers for their district.

That each District Inspector prepare a report on vehicles required over the next ten years based on current age of fleet.

That the Rural Fire Service Queensland revoke its current 20 year maximum age policy on volunteer Brigade vehicles to allow Brigades wanting to retain their vehicle to do so, providing the vehicle has an annual mechanical certificate. A 30 year maximum age policy for vehicles will replace the 20 year policy.

That the electronic fire permit system used in the Mackay District be made available across the state for Fire Wardens who wish to use it.

That a policy be developed around the ownership, insurance and safe use and operation of All Terrain Vehicle 4WD vehicles by brigades for fire fighting purposes.

Use of private aircraft to be at the discretion of District Inspector or Incident Control and reimbursement of fuel to be authorised accordingly.

That Section 66 (2) of the Fire and Rescue Service Act 1990 relating to the exemption for issuing of permits to burn in State Forests, National Parks and Reserves is withdrawn and Departments must work within the District Fire Management Plan.

That vehicles are fit for the purpose and the Brigade locality for which they are intended. A group of two volunteers, in conjunction with the Rural Fire Brigades Association Queensland, should be charged with reviewing current models and providing Recommendations on vehicle suitability.

That efforts by the courts, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the legal profession, Queensland Corrective Services and the Queensland Police Service to adopt technology for court processes should be supported through Government funding in so far as they create efficiencies, result in lower costs and produce better human rights outcomes.

That as part of its efficiency review, the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service instigate an independent review of commercial operations in terms of statutory obligations and current ‘full cost pricing’ methodology to ensure:
a. compliance with all necessary obligations
b. that if current understanding of profitability is not valid, then Training and Emergency Management Unit operations should be wound up.

That the review of this Queensland Fire and Rescue Services business unit be done in conjunction with the efficiency review proposed for the Queensland Police Service.

That the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service community safety operations be joined in the efficiency review of the Queensland Police Service focussing on both the community safety outcomes achieved and the extent to which they support the Government’s economic priorities.

That the proposed efficiency review of the Queensland Police Service examine whether:
- the Queensland Police Service is losing money from indirect costs associated with extraneous activities through sick leave or additional overtime shifts allocated to cover officers undertaking ‘special services’ activities
- there is a degree of transfer of risk to the Queensland Police Service when their services are ‘bought’ for commercial activities such as crowd control for private events.

That the information and communication technology solution being developed to provide situational awareness, decision support, event management and that logs critical decisions receives urgent attention to ensure timely completion.

That the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service undertake a review of all standing orders, incident directives and guidelines regarding response protocols with a view to reducing risk to staff and other road users associated with urgent duty driving.

That the proposed efficiency review consider whether special service functions are core business, whether this practice is sustainable, and other options such as the use of casual employees.

That Queensland Corrective Service should increase the use of technology as an alternative to court appearances and ensure the provision of appropriate number and level of facilities under its control.

That the proposed efficiency review includes a focus on the rank structure of both the Queensland Police Service and the proposed Fire and Emergency Services.

That as the Queensland Police Service moves to a digital platform the strategy around effective targeting and alternative ANPR models should form part of the design architecture considerations.

That the Chief Executive Officer Portfolio Business leads an efficiency review of portfolio agencies beginning with the Queensland Police Service.

Review the NSW state-wide governance arrangements for flood risk management so that broader issues identified by this Review can be most effectively addressed.

The committee recommends that the relevant agencies review whether any equipment or other changes can be made to improve the weather forecasting at Norfolk Island. The review would include whether the Unicom operator should be an approved meteorological observer.

The committee recommends that the ATSB review its process to track the implementation of recommendations or safety actions to ensure it is an effective closed loop system. This should be made public, and provided to the Senate Regional and Rural Affairs and Transport Committee prior to each Budget Estimates.

The committee recommends that a short inquiry be conducted by the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport into the current status of aviation regulatory reform to assess the direction, progress and resources expended to date to ensure greater visibility of the processes.

The committee recommends that CASA processes in relation to matters highlighted by this investigation be reviewed. This could involve an evaluation benchmarked against a credible peer (such as FAA or CAA) of regulation and audits with respect to: non-RPT passenger carrying operations; approach to audits; and training and standardisation of FOI across regional offices.

The committee recommends that the investigation be re-opened by the ATSB with a focus on organisational, oversight and broader systemic issues.

The committee recommends that the relevant agencies investigate appropriate methods to ensure that information about the incidence of, and variable weather conditions at, Norfolk Island is available to assist flight crews and operators managing risk that may result from unforseen weather events.

Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy seek regular updates from Telstra on the implementation of the recommendations of its inquiry into the Warrnambool exchange fire.

The Australian Government coordinate the development of a highly skilled workforce which can respond effectively to a sustained pandemic in Australia.

The Australian Government, in consultation with state and territory governments, commission an independent review to assess the case for establishing a national centre for communicable disease control in Australia. The review should outline the role of a national centre and how it might be structured to build on and enhance existing systems. It should examine different models, considering a range of options for location, governance and staffing. The review should incorporate a cost-benefit analysis for each of the models presented.
The outcomes of the review should be made publically available.

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.

The Australian Government, in consultation with state and territory governments, conduct a comprehensive national audit and mapping exercise to:
- identify all of the agencies (not limited to those within the health portfolio) and expert committees/working groups involved in managing infectious disease risks;
- clarify roles, responsibilities and map hierarchies and lines of communication;
- identify all relevant infectious disease policies and plans, explain how these operate in relation to one another;
- identify any duplication and present options for streamlining; and
- identify any policy or response gaps that need to be addressed.
The outcomes of the audit and mapping exercise should be made publically available.

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:
- establish a set of protocols and procedures for the identification and treatment of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases in Papua New Guinea and the Torres Strait Islands; and
- consider what clinical services should be available in both Papua New Guinea and Australia for the identification and treatment of tuberculosis and other infectious diseases.

The Department of Health and Ageing review the existing evidence base to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of its policy to use heat scanners at ports of entry as a measure to mitigate the risk of infectious disease importation.

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.

The Emergency Services Agency, in consultation with the Territory and Municipal Services Directorate, should review the Farm FireWise Program, including:
a) its purpose;
b) to whom it applies;
c) the relationship between this Program and Land Management Agreements; and
d) planning and implementation processes.

The Emergency Services Agency, in consultation with the ACT Bushfire Council, should conduct a review of the ACT Bushfire Council against its recently developed terms of reference (July 2013) within two years.

The Emergency Services Agency should undertake audits to meet the requirements in the Strategic Bushfire Management Plan for the preparation, sharing and publication of annual progress reports. Annual progress reports should be made available to the ACT Bushfire Council.

I recommend that the Commonwealth and the Shire of Christmas Island take steps to ensure that the Ethel Beach boat ramp is significantly upgraded, that it should be provided with shelter in the form of a rock groyne or similar buffer and that provision should be made so that a person can walk beside the ramp on a stable footing; or If this is not considered likely to be effective in providing an appropriate means of deploying a rescue vessel in adverse conditions, such other action be taken as is necessary to ensure that there is a means of deploying a rescue vessel in adverse conditions. 

I recommend that Border Protection Command continues to examine ways of improving its surveillance capability around Christmas Island so that the risk of SIEVs arriving undetected is reduced. 

I recommend that the issue of RHIB jet intake protection be allocated a high priority and that there be ongoing investigation of possible solutions to reduce the problem.

I recommend that consideration should be given to acquiring two personal water craft for deployment by appropriately trained and equipped staff of the AFP or the VMRS or both on Christmas Island. 

I recommend that the Commonwealth ensure that there is a mooring buoy which will enable the mooring of SIEVs to take place and free up the Christmas Island response vessel for ongoing surveillance duties. 

I recommend that the AFP be provided with a search and rescue vessel which is suitable to the specific conditions of Christmas Island. I further recommend that steps be taken to ensure that if for any reason the search and rescue vessel is not available, there is a replacement vessel on Christmas Island capable of providing an emergency response in difficult sea conditions. 

I recommend that the Commonwealth liaise closely with representatives of the Christmas Island VMRS prior to purchasing or replacing any vessels for the VMRS in the future. 

I recommend that the AFP take steps to determine whether access can be obtained to the National Search and Rescue Council endorsed SARMAP program covering the Australian Search and Rescue Region as well as adjoining tiles for Indonesia. Steps should be taken to ensure that if possible coverage would include high traffic areas where SIEVs enter the Australian Search and Rescue region allowing timely search and rescue plans to be drawn up for any potential incidents. 

A risk management approach is needed which considers risks both inside the prescribed burn and the risks that will need to be managed if the fire escapes. This risk assessment should be dynamic in line with the four day and seven day weather forecast.

The state should converge on a single communications platform for all emergency management and support agencies.

Rolling risk assessment conducted during ignition of prescribed burns should identify whether an escape is likely to develop into a Level 3 incident. As soon as possible after it has been identified that the escape cannot be contained, the incident should be declared a Level 3.

The state should progressively align on a shared platform, such as WebEOC, to establish a COP [Common Operating Picture or Platform?].

Prescribed burns which meet the ‘red flag’ criteria should have mandated risk Establish risk management criteria for management criteria imposed.

There should be clearly established criteria for burns which are specially challenging, and these criteria need to extend beyond the intended boundaries of the prescribed burn.

As a minimum requirement, all vehicles entering the fireground must be fitted with an accessible fire blanket – one per person in each vehicle plus roll down, in-cab, radiant heat shields.

: In due course, acts of bravery are considered and recommendations for awards are submitted, including commendations for the delivery of First Aid.

The Government consider enacting legislation to facilitate the review of all future major incidents, including but not limited to fire, earthquake, storm and marine inundation, and the emergency response to them.

The Department of Environment and Conservation urgently undertake a review of its risk management practices as they relate to prescribed burns including but not limited to: *reviewing risk management practices to ensure that they are in accordance with AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009; * finalising and implementing the new complexity model developed in house by the DEC; * considering a broader set of parameters of risk by conducting an environmental scan or similar tool for areas under consideration for a prescribed burn; *updating the prescribed fire plans to reflect the broader risk considerations discovered through environmental scanning; *better informing the risk considerations by updating the ‘Red Book’ to reflect current research on burning in coastal heath; and * reconsidering the utility of the ‘Red Flag Burn’ notification on files and either adopting it as a policy across the State or removing it as a consideration.

The response operation to the Margaret River bushfire in November 2011 be the subject of a review with independent oversight.

The Department of Environment and Conservation review its current policies and operational guidelines in particular by: * strengthening the governance of operations by ensuring the Guidelines are relevant and practical; * ensuring the processes that are implemented for prescribed burns are: (a) value adding to the decisions and approvals required (b) informed by substantive input (c) focussed on outcome rather than process; *completing the draft management plan for the Leeuwin-Naturaliste Capes Area Parks and Reserves in accordance with the provisions of the Conservation and Land Management Act 1989; * exploring the possibility of automating and streamlining the various processes for formulating a prescription for prescribed burns for ease of access and updating; and * clarifying the guidance provided to decision makers as to the ‘edging’ and security of prescribed burns.

The Department of Environment and Conservation review its implementation of the findings of the Ferguson Review conducted in 2010.

The Ministers for Emergency Services, Environment and Police ensure their departments undertake a formal review by 30 June 2013 of the welfare services addressing stress and trauma provided to both their career and volunteer members.

The Ministers for Emergency Services, Environment and Police ensure their departments include provisions for regular external audits of invoices for payment in their next round of Employee Assistance Program contract negotiations.

The Minister for Emergency Services request the State Emergency Management Committee to review by June 2013 the sharing of data between the State’s emergency response agencies using the WebEOC software and any further enhancements that can be made to this process.

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.

The state government implement the Victorian Floods Review recommendation 8, to review the flood gauging network. As part of the review, consideration should also be given to the use of portable telemetered river gauges, and to the replacement of manual gauges with telemetered gauges over time and where appropriate.

Regulators can help to achieve improved outcomes by auditing compliance with the BPEM guidelines on a regular basis

Seqwater should ensure that proper support and oversight mechanisms are put in place around both the substantive and procedural aspects of drafting flood event reports. Seqwater should consider engaging consultants with expertise in the production of reports following significant events to advise on these mechanisms. Measures to be considered should include: • ensuring appropriate systems are in place to ensure the recollections of flood engineers and other parties are recorded immediately after the event, perhaps by engaging an external party to interview the flood engineers and other parties • ensuring that a methodology for writing the report is set out clearly in advance, in writing, and that the final report includes a statement of that methodology • putting in place systems to ensure that members of senior management have sufficient understanding of both the methodology and process by which the report is prepared to allow themselves to be satisfied that these are appropriate.

Prior to each wet season, the Department of Environment and Resource Management should audit the compliance of each owner of a referable dam with the obligation to have an emergency action plan approved by the Queensland Government.

The Queensland Fire and Rescue Service should require that each region records in writing the results of its risk assessment undertaken as part of its annual review of its special operations functional plan.

Seqwater should consider commissioning an investigation into the extent of cracking below the level of the upper gallery of Somerset Dam and the impact of any such cracking on the dam’s stability and, in turn, its operation.

Carriers, councils and the Australian Communications and Media Authority should take into account the risk of flooding when considering the placement of telecommunications facilities.

Seqwater should, in creating the new Wivenhoe and North Pine flood mitigation manuals, comprehensively consider: • the amount of discretion that is able to be exercised by the flood engineers and the senior flood engineers, and the description of the circumstances in which such discretion may be exercised • the circumstances in which it might be appropriate to release water in advance of an impending flood on the basis of forecasts from the Bureau of Meteorology • if strategies of the form of strategy W2 and W3 in Revision 7 are included in the revised manual, or any strategy defined as a ‘transition strategy’, when and how those strategies should be implemented • if the concept of ‘urban inundation’ is relevant to the operation of the dam, how it should be defined, and if the definition involves diverse concepts, how those concepts can be related back to the strategies, so that flood engineers can reach a clear understanding of their objectives and primary considerations • if the concept of ‘natural peak flow’ is relevant, how it should be defined.

Seqwater should ensure that any future peer review process: • is co-ordinated by someone independent of those who wrote the report • entails the provision of all relevant information to the peer reviewers • permits sufficient time for the review • documents all contact between those whose actions are under review and the reviewers.

The Department of Environment and Resource Management should ensure that an independent and appropriately qualified person immediately starts the task of reviewing the March flood event report to ensure that the review is completed before the start of the 2012/2013 wet season.

The Department of Environment and Resource Management should prioritise dam safety audits according to risk. The risk assessment should be informed by criteria including: • structure and materials used in construction • age of the dam • time since last inspection • occurrence of a flood event since last audit and the size of that flood event • population at risk if the dam were to fail • experience and capability of dam owner • dam owner compliance history • time since last audit.

Update the Asset and Equipment Register for all assets and equipment.

Conduct a stocktake of all assets and equipment in all regions for Bushfires NT and Volunteer Brigades.

Conduct a stocktake of all PPE and implement a top up program to bring all PPE to a fully operational standard.

An equipment replacement schedule for all Bushfires NT equipment be developed.

The Assets and Equipment Register be reviewed prior to each fire season.

Implement maintenance schedules for all common assets and shared equipment.

An evaluation be conducted into the integration of the appropriate elements of the South Australian Country Fire Service “Crimson” networking system into Bushfires NT ICT.

That OEH’s testing procedures for determining the impact of pollution incidents incorporate additional requirements for the checking and verification of results before those results are released.

Fund delivery of improved seasonal forecasting services by:
(c) Identifying potential offsets from government beneficiaries of any additional investment in seasonal forecasting services
(d) Undertaking market research to establish industry willingness to pay for enhanced seasonal forecasting services

Improved seasonal forecasting capabilities: 
(a) Improved presentation of existing products
(b) Enhanced capability – keeping pace with international standards

Focus the Bureau’s evolving environmental information role on natural hazards in the first instance.

Phase out seasonal prediction development and modelling and rely on products generated elsewhere

Upgrade to the Bureau’s supercomputing capacity:
(a) Status quo
(b) Step change
(c) Further enhancements

Boost the Bureau’s flood warning capacity by:
(a) Increasing the number of frontline hydrologists
(b) Upgrading the flood monitoring system

Cease or reduce the Ionospheric Prediction Service or offer it as a commercial service.

Additional frontline meteorologists and specialised centres and systems:
(a) Enhanced severe weather units
(b) National extreme weather centres
(c) Integrated all-hazards decision system
(d) Enhanced observation network

Boost the number of frontline meteorologists to build response capacity in regional forecasting centres.

Centralise media services and establish protocols for media activity.

Lower yield options identified by the Bureau:
(a) Reduce staffing at remote observing stations
(b) Close the training facility at Broadmeadows, Victoria
(c) Consolidate forecasting functions for Northern Queensland
(d) Outsource the Bureau’s library

Explore options to limit forecaster intervention in site-specific web forecasts.

Lower yield options identified by the Bureau:
(a) Reduce staffing at remote observing stations
(b) Close the training facility at Broadmeadows, Victoria
(c) Consolidate forecasting functions for Northern Queensland
(d) Outsource the Bureau’s library

Explore use of social media to enhance data gathering from authorised and informal sources and to disseminate weather information

Complete workforce planning project and succession plans as a matter of urgency.

Extend ICT governance arrangements to all applications and subject in-house development to rigorous approval processes.

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.

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.

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:
- remove the clauses that set aside the Code standards in times of disasters;
- require insurers to refrain from advising policyholders against making a claim under their insurance policy, and incorporate a ‘right to claim’ so that policyholders who contact their insurer about their eligibility to make a claim are offered the opportunity to lodge a claim and have it assessed fully;
- ensure that a full explanation of the claims-handling process, including the right to escalate decisions to internal dispute and external dispute resolution systems, is given when policyholders lodge a claim;
- ensure that an acknowledgement of the claims lodgement, contact details of the claims officer, and expected timeframes for the claims-handling process are provided to policyholders in writing;
- require that copies of external expert reports used in the determination of a claim to be provided to claimants within 10 days of request; and
- introduce the following minimum standards for claims handling in times of exceptional circumstances such as declared disasters:
⇒ a timeframe for informing claimants of the progress of the claim;
⇒ a timeframe for advising claimants if an external expert has been appointed;
⇒ assurance that external experts are fully qualified to undertake assessments;
⇒ an undertaking to provide claimants with information about the qualifications, employer, and role of external experts that are appointed to assist with their claim;
⇒ a maximum timeframe of 12 weeks for external experts to provide reports;
⇒ a maximum timeframe for accepting or denying a claim;
⇒ a timeframe for responding to requests for information;
⇒ an undertaking to communicate all decisions about insurance claims to the claimant in writing with clear and explicit reasons relating to their particular claim; and
⇒ a timeframe for informing claimants of the progress of their complaint or dispute.

The Australian Government should commission an independent public review of disaster prevention and recovery arrangements. This should be broader than the review currently being conducted by the Attorney-General’s Department. The review should cover the Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements, as well as the funding mechanisms for disaster mitigation, including the National Partnership Agreement on Natural Disaster Resilience. This review should:
• consider whether arrangements lead to inadequate disaster-mitigation infrastructure investments or insurance decisions, or reduce the incentives of state and territory governments to appropriately manage their risks
• clearly outline the process for the identification of disaster-mitigation infrastructure needs, the provision and appropriate funding of this infrastructure, and the allocation of operational responsibilities
• evaluate the adequacy of current arrangements for the provision of post-disaster assistance, including guidelines and processes for project evaluation and the criteria for approving and funding the betterment of essential public assets
• consider the balance of resources devoted to prevention and preparedness relative to response and recovery through a cost–benefit analysis of reform options
• involve extensive consultation with the community and all levels of government.

The Council of Australian Governments should commission an independent public inquiry to develop an appropriate response to managing the risks of climate change to existing settlements. The inquiry should:
• explore, via extensive consultation with all levels of government and the community, in a variety of locations, the community’s acceptable levels of risk for public and private assets
• identify the options available to manage climate change risks to these assets
• assess the benefits and costs of each option
• establish policy frameworks that can be applied by state, territory and local governments.
State and territory governments should draw on the findings of the inquiry to:
• manage risks to their own assets
• clarify roles and responsibilities for managing climate change risks for each level of government and the community
• provide appropriate support to local governments that face capacity constraints.

Local Emergency Management Committee (LEMC) processes should be reviewed to ensure that:
- Local government authorities, emergency service organisations, other government agencies and event organisers are made aware of the requirements of a LEMC, and that
- Consideration is given to extending LEMC abilities to review and advise on proposals for higher risk and adventure spoting events.

The Department of the Attorney General consider conducting a review of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (WA) in light of the 2011 Kimberley Ultramarathon. Such a review should consider issues such as the effectiveness given to competitor waivers under the Act and the potential difficulties of establishing proceedings and enforcing a judgement against foreign‐based providers of recreational activities.

There should be clearly established criteria for burns which are specially challenging, and these criteria need to extend beyond the intended boundaries of the prescribed burn. The criteria should be clarified and adopted as agency S OPs.

Prescriptions need to be interpreted by experienced and knowledgeable personnel to ensure risk is fully understood. It is important that the background and justification for these decisions are captured at each stage and are visible to all levels in WA fire management hierarchy.

Decisions taken on the basis of this risk assessment need to be captured and distributed across district and state.

Contingency plans for escaping burns should be prepared in advance.

A rolling risk assessment is required which captures the risks of the burn escaping and provides adequate resources.

Once a burn is ignited, it needs to be the subject of continuing risk assessment and appropriate mitigation.

DEC should investigate embedding an experienced forecaster in the state operations centre.

Prescriptions should mandate consideration of measures to retire risk.

Core ignition, particularly of red flag burns, should be informed by the 4 & 7 day forecasts (including a longer term perspective over 3 to 4 months)

A risk-management approach is needed which considers risks both inside the prescribed burn and the risks that will need to be managed if the fire escapes. The risk assessment should be organised and in line with the four and seven day weather.

The burn prescription should capture the fuel characteristics and potential rate of spread for those areas outside the burn that will likely be critical during the initial attack on any escaping fire.

At the conclusion to the 2011-12 bushfire season, the Minister for Emergency Services institute a thorough review of the operations of FESA, the Police and DEC in protecting the State from bushfires and other natural disasters, with a primary focus on: · staffing levels; · equipment levels and coordination; and · training needs. The Minister report to Parliament by June 2012 on any changes that need to be made to the current departmental structures to optimise the State’s preparedness for the 2012-13 bushfire season.

The Minister for Emergency Services ensure that FESA has the funds to implement the installation and use of WebEOC for use during the 2011-12 bushfire season and immediately put in place common protocols with the Police and DEC to record significant events during a bushfire.

The Minister for Emergency Services report to Parliament every six months on the progress made in completing all of the outstanding Recommendations of the Keelty Report.

The Minister for Emergency Services ensure that a whole-of-government equipment register of the firefighting equipment held by FESA, DEC and local government authorities is in place for the 2012-13 bushfire season.

The Minister for Local Government have urgent discussions with the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) as to why they are not supporting the full Recommendations addressed to local government in the Keelty Report. The Minister ensure that by May 2012 WALGA and its member councils have the resources to fully implement theimplementation of the Recommendations.

FRS fire appliance allocation and training needs to be reviewed to enhance offensive bushfire capability within the metropolitan area.

The State Government consider resourcing the Department of Environment and Conservation and local governments to develop and administer a comprehensive prescribed burning program in Perth’s urban/rural interface to compliment DEC’s existing landscape-scale program.

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority review its use of the Australian Interagency Incident Management System to ensure that the most appropriate resources (including aerial resources) are used to respond to an incident. If resources are rejected during an incident either through the decision making process or other grounds, the reason for the decision should be documented.

The Water Corporation immediately review the outstanding orders for hydrant repairs and develop strategies to reduce the backlog.

The State Government review implementation of the Special Inquiry’s Recommendations in two years.

The State Government transfer responsibility for the installation, removal, maintenance of fire hydrants to the Water Corporation, in accordance with the Recommendations of the 2006 CDJSC Inquiry into Fire and Emergency Services Legislation.

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority, the Department of Environment and Conservation and local governments take proactive steps to conduct their prescribed burning programs as joint exercises. This will give effect to:
- Reducing fuel load
- Improving inter-operability
- A mutual understanding of the fire fighting techniques of each agency.

The State Government review implementation of the Special Inquiry's recommendations in two years.

The State Government reaffirm its 2009 decision to approve DEC exercising greater flexibility in managing smoke within national guidelines, in order to achieve its prescribed burn program.

Emergency Management Western Australia develop mechanisms to calculate the estimated total cost of a fire to the community.

Western Power and the Water Corporation continue to work collaboratively to assess options to better protect the power supply to water pumping stations in bushfire prone areas.

The State Government consider resourcing the Department of Environment and Conservation and local governments to develop and administer a comprehensive prescribed burning program in Perth‟s urban/rural interface to compliment DEC's existing landscape-scale program.

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority convene a facilitated debriefing session between the families who remained behind to protect their properties, and the incident controllers.
This session should include open discussion and explain the decisions of all parties – including how the incident controllers determined priorities, and why residents chose not follow their advice to evacuate.
The learning outcomes should be promulgated across all agencies and incorporated in future level 3 incident controller training programs.

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority, the Department of Environment and Conservation and local governments take proactive steps to conduct their prescribed burning programs as joint exercises. This will give effect to: Reducing fuel load Improving inter-operability A mutual understanding of the fire fighting techniques of each agency.

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority convene a facilitated debriefing session between the families who remained behind to protect their properties, and the incident controllers. This session should include open discussion and explain the decisions of all parties – including how the incident controllers determined priorities, and why residents chose not follow their advice to evacuate. The learning outcomes should be promulgated across all agencies and incorporated in future level 3 incident controller training programs.

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA) review its program to decommission vehicles and ensure that when such vehicles are offered during an incident that FESA staff adhere to FESA’s own policy of ‘Use of Private Vehicles in Fires’.

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.

the state: • undertake a strategic review to identify areas at risk from flash or riverine flooding. Shortcomings in the flood gauging networks identified in the review should then be the focus of remedial action • seek to address as a priority any notable gaps in the total flood warning system as apparent in the 2010–11 floods (including south west Victoria, Wimmera and north central region) by enhancing mapping, gauging and education programs; and • seek a commitment from the Bureau of Meteorology to ensure any new gauges installed are utilised to enhance flood prediction capability and coverage.

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.

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.

the state task the Emergency Services Commissioner with the responsibility to establish an effective audit regime of the total flood warning system.

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).

the state task the Emergency Services Commissioner with the responsibility to develop and undertake the regular audit of emergency management plans at all levels.

the state ensure that any new systems and equipment purchased by state emergency management agencies are interoperable with other relevant agencies to the fullest extent possible. This should involve the state establishing a procurement gateway process with input from the Emergency Services Commissioner.

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.

the state ensure that appropriate record management processes are developed and implemented and that these processes also provide record accountability for multi-agency operations. Agency processes should be standardised to the fullest extent possible

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.

the state take the necessary measures to upgrade existing manual stream and rain gauges and ensure that all future gauges provide a seamless transfer of data from the gauges to the Bureau of Meteorology.

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

the state develop and implement operational performance standards for each state agency involved in emergency management response and recovery and that: • each agency be assessed by the Emergency Services Commissioner periodically against these performance standards for both capability and capacity; and • where performance against these standards for either capability or capacity cannot be demonstrated by any agency – appropriate advice is communicated to the relevant Minister, departmental/agency head and State Emergency Response Coordinator; and – an action plan is developed and implemented to address the relevant capability or capacity deficiency in both the short and longer term.

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.

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.

the state clarify which agency is responsible for collecting post-flood extent and related data. This should include: • the development of guidelines to ensure consistent standards are applied to post-flood data collection; and • an appropriate process to ensure funding availability for such activities.

the Bureau of Meteorology expand its volunteer amateur weather watch groups to enhance its weather and flood information gathering procedures.

That a review of the Country Fire Authority Act 1958 and the Country Fire Authority Regulations 2004 be undertaken.

The Fire Services Commissioner requests the Federal Government to revise the National SEWS Guidelines

Local government councils implement a zoning approach to fuel management as recommended by COAG 2004.

The Committee recommends that Parliament establish a standing committee for natural disasters. The purpose of this committee would be to ensure that Government agencies and emergency services are fully prepared to deal with natural disasters and to provide an opportunity for Members of Parliament, as opposed to Cabinet, to have input into disaster management.

In developing and improving its policies and practices for stakeholder engagement, NOPSA should ensure that:
a) they are underpinned by a clearly stated commitment to representative, tripartite and consultative engagement (this could be included in a service charter 5);
b) a clear program for stakeholder engagement be developed and implemented as part of NOPSA’s Annual Operating Plan, with appropriate preliminary scoping of stakeholder needs and issues and the outcomes of such engagement analysed and reported to the Advisory Board

NOPSA should:
a) maintain effective policies and procedures that ensure that NOPSA inspectors and other decision makers interpret and apply the OPGGS legislation and NOPSA’s policies fairly and consistently in similar circumstances; and
b) periodically examine consistency in regulatory decision making and the exercise of regulatory powers, for example, by audits or surveys.

To ensure that NOPSEMA is in a strong position to perform its functions effectively:
a) NOPSA (and NOPSEMA) should continue and strengthen ongoing, constructive engagement, directly and through their representatives, with the industry and the offshore workforce;
b) agreed legislative changes should be given priority attention, including the issues of when its jurisdiction ceases to apply and the proposed updating of the compliance tools available to it under the legislation;
c) consideration should be given to providing for the recovery of costs for NOPSA’s work undertaken on a safety case that is formally submitted but (a) withdrawn before a decision is made on it, or (b) rejected.

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.
a) Ministers should consider developing an overarching national understanding under which Commonwealth and State or NT regulators are expected to work cooperatively in respect of a large or complex Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (OPGGS) project or activity that requires their regulatory attention in their respective jurisdictions.
b) The aim of that cooperation would be to ensure that, as far as possible:
i. information about such projects is shared,
ii. regulatory actions are co-ordinated under a regulatory plan relating to the project or activity;
iii. approvals and other necessary steps in each jurisdiction occur speedily, 
iv. possible regulatory gaps or inconsistencies arising from the crossjurisdictional nature of the project or activity are identified and addressed; and
v. there is continuous improvement in the cooperative regulatory inter-action.
c) The understanding would provide a framework for MOUs or similar arrangements between regulators and provide accountability by requiring annual reporting to Ministers on:
i. the OPGGS projects or activities that had come within the scope and application of the MOUs or similar arrangement;
ii. how well the MOUs or other arrangements were working;
iii. what action had been taken or should be taken to improve regulatory cooperation;
iv. whether any significant regulatory gaps or inconsistencies had been identified.
d) To allow for a smooth transition to the Ministerial understanding and supporting regulatory cooperation, the understanding should be developed for early consideration by Ministers.

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:
• coordinate flood mapping across the country (while leaving responsibility for undertaking flood mapping in the hands of State and Territory governments and local authorities);
• introduce national guidelines for flood risk mapping and classifications, prepared in consultation with producers and users of flood risk information;
• act as a national repository of flood risk information, primarily through collating and analysing information collected by others;
• continue development of the Insurance Council of Australia’s National Flood Information Database or an equivalent developed by the Agency;
• monitor the effectiveness of flood risk mitigation initiatives across the country and advise on priorities for flood risk mitigation;
• publish and disseminate flood risk information in forms appropriate to various groups of users; and
• oversee the quality of flood risk information.

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.

The committee recommends that interoperability of narrowband voice radiocommunications between federal, state and territory emergency service organisations is achieved as soon as practicable and that all services attending major incidents be compelled to maintain a common emergency communications platform to ensure seamless real time communication from and to the Incident Controller.

The committee recommends the Commonwealth Government require guaranteed access to emergency call services for people with a disability at all times.

The committee further recommends that any allocation of broadband spectrum to emergency service organisations (ESOs) for PPDR must be provided on the basis of interoperability amongst Australian ESOs and with ESO counterparts overseas.

The committee recommends the Commonwealth Government allocate sufficient spectrum for dedicated broadband public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) radiocommunications in Australia.

Maintaining the DEC fleet of tankers, bulldozers and low loaders is crucial to DEC’s fire management and control capability.

The development of a three year aerial firefighting strategy for W.A. would ensure optimal development of a joint air capability.

FESA reviews its air reconnaissance capability and determines if multiple multi-sensor air reconnaissance aircraft or unmanned aerial vehicles are required for managing concurrent and/or complex incidents.

The State consider the development of legislation for the conduct of inquiries in Victoria —in particular, the conduct of royal commissions.

The State appoint an independent monitor or the Victorian Auditor-General to assess progress with implementing the Commission’s recommendations and report to the Parliament and the people of Victoria by 31 July 2012.

The State, in conjunction with Emergency Management Australia and the Department of Defence, develop an agreement that allows Commonwealth aerial resources that are suitable for firefighting and support activities to be incorporated in preparedness plans and used on days of high fire risk.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment report annually on prescribed burning outcomes in a manner that meets public accountability objectives, including publishing details of targets, area burnt, funds expended on the program, and impacts on biodiversity.

The Country Fire Authority and the Department of Sustainability and Environment amend their policies on aerial preparedness and standby arrangements, their dispatch protocols and the management of aircraft in order to do the following: ■ require that at locations that attract the risk assessment or preparedness level A on code red days all personnel needed for air operations must be on standby by 10.00 am; ■ establish a system that enables the dispatch of aircraft to fires in high-risk areas without requiring a request from an Incident Controller or the State Duty Officer.

The State fund and commit to implementing a long-term program of prescribed burning based on an annual rolling target of 5 per cent minimum of public land.

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.

In the meantime, the Minister should:
a. consider revoking the existing delegation to the Director of Energy, NT DoR providing the functions and powers of the DA under the OPGGS Act and Regulations specified in item 1 of the Schedule to that instrument (the Minister’s DA powers and functions) and transferring this delegation to either NOPSA, RET, or a DA from another state;
b. enquire into whether the other DAs to whom he has delegated his functions and powers relating to well integrity are adequately fulfilling their roles; and
c. consider amendments to the OPGGS Act to enable DAs to be given direction as to the performance of their regulatory roles.

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.

Responsibility for well integrity should be moved to NOPSA (as also proposed by the Productivity Commission).

In view of the numerous well integrity problems in all of the Montara Oilfield wells, the Minister should commission a detailed audit of all the other offshore wells operated by PTTEPAA to determine whether they too may suffer from well integrity problems.
 

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.

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.

The Minister should, as the JA for the offshore area of the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands, undertake a review of PTTEPAA’s permit and licence to operate at the Montara Oilfield.

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.

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.

There should be a review to determine whether it is appropriate to introduce a rigorous civil penalty regime and/or substantially increase some or all of the penalties that can be imposed for breaches of legislative requirements relating to well integrity and safety.

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).

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.

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.

Logistics management of well control equipment should be conducted in such a way as to operate as a check against deficient well control practices, for example, use of serial numbers to track availability, testing, and deployment of well control equipment.

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.

In order that the ACT public can be reassured about the project management and financial planning in relation to the Fairbairn site as a proposed centralised accommodation facility for emergency services, the Auditor-General undertake a review of the project from a financial probity and project management perspective.

For the purposes of that review, the Minister should issue a ‘show cause’ notice to PTTEPAA under s 276 of the OPGGS Act.

The Commonwealth publish all fuel reduction plans and related audit findings on a national database.

The Commonwealth co-ordinate a standing national arson forum between fire and law enforcement agencies to be held every two years.

The Commonwealth Government examine potential new arrangements for Commonwealth involvement in the development and implementation of a national policy for bushfire management.

The committee recommends that the Commonwealth co-ordinate a national approach to the pooling of ground fire fighting resources across agencies and jurisdictions to maximise the efficiency of their use.

The Commonwealth encourages further research into prescribed burning and its effectiveness and into alternative bushfire mitigation approaches through improved bushfire risk understanding at the asset level.

To provide adequate assurance on the validity of claims paid for disaster recovery assistance, the ANAO recommends that Centrelink:
• undertake an analysis of the risks to payment integrity that arise from service delivery decisions (such as claimant self‐declaration) taken during a disaster response; and  
• address the risks identified in the analysis as either high or significant as part of its follow‐up payment integrity activities.

A centralised, regional, multi-agency resource coordination and tracking system/facility be established to accommodate and coordinate the movement of resources from all agencies within and between regions.

Ensure the S61 helicopter has all appropriate channels for water bombing operations throughout the State by including this requirement on a pre-deployment checklist.

Provide a photocopier in the Mobile Communications Facility or the mobile equipment cache that is capable of large volume production of collated documents.

At large incidents a communications bus should be provided for the use by Air Ops and a designated work space should be provided for the Air Ops management group.

There is an established need to develop mobile accommodation and accommodation facility support solutions that allows an acceptable standard of accommodation to be provided to fire fighters in close proximity to the incident.

Suppression resources should be ordered and mobilised as 2 truck Strike Teams with a STL and consistently deployed to the fire ground as a unit.

That in any consideration being given to the allocation of responsibility for control of operations in respect of major fires, consideration be given to the availability of technology and other resources, particularly when particular skills are required to make best use of such technology or resources.

Agencies should: annually assess their capability to respond to emergencies and take measures to address any shortfalls

That the Tasmania Fire Service conduct an audit of all shopping centres to ensure that there exists within those centres adequate fire protection and evacuation systems.

That the Tasmania Fire Service consider improvements in radio units installed in breathing apparatus:
(a) It is recommended that investigations, which the Tasmania Fire Service already initiated, continue as to alternative radio units to be installed into breathing apparatus but until a suitable replacement unit is found that specific training be given to fire fighters not to rely solely upon breathing apparatus radios for communication. Specific training should be directed at fire fighters to assist them in emergency situations when breathing apparatus communications fail.

SERCon consider that the proposed State Recovery Committee provide an interim report to government on these and
related recommendations within 12 months of being so tasked.

That National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority review the risk assessment of pipelines. National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority should focus, in particular, on the efficacy of anti-corrosion systems, and recognise potential interference effects and MAE escalation risks associated with adjacent pipelines and unlicenced pipes even if they fall outside its direct regulatory responsibilities.

The ANAO recommends that Centrelink develop and promulgate a business continuity plan (BCP) template and require business units to develop BCPs that identify:
(a) risks to the business/service and their impact, based on the respective business impact analysis; and
(b) risk treatments and business resumption tasks to manage these risks, which can then be tested on a regular basis.

To improve the governance arrangements for business continuity management (BCM) in Centrelink ,the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO)
recommends that:
(a) the recently constituted Business Continuity, Crisis Management and Security Sub committee be provided with regular reports on IT business continuity
issues; and
(b) Centrelink review existing BC and risk management planning and implementation activities to identify areas where coordination and collaboration could be further improved.

ACTAS should improve patient care processes by:
• developing risk-based procedures for selecting, planning and conducting ‘Patient Care Record Reviews’, ‘Specific Reviews’ and ‘Medical Reviews’;
• monitoring whether these reviews are carried out as planned; and
• reporting results to management.
Management in turn should monitor whether agreed recommendations are implemented.

That port/channel managers are required to ensure, through service agreements, licensing, direct acquisition or other means as appropriate, the availability of the critical Level 1declared assets.
As a minimum, Level 1 declared assets must include:
• emergency harbour towage;
• waterborne firefighting capability that is commensurate with risk and in accordance with the
standards endorsed by the nominated marine safety authority and relevant fire services;
• vessel/s that can transport and transfer emergency services personnel to ships from shore;
• vessel/s suitable for command and control platforms on the water;
• any other critical service requirements as determined by the nominated marine safety
authority.

That port/channel managers are required to identify in the declared asset system (in conjunction with the emergency services) critical Level 1 declared assets and other Level 2 declared assets, that may be required in support of a marine emergency within the port, and that identified resource availability, accessibility and call out time is recorded.

That the nominated marine safety authority undertakes a further assessment to determine the recommendations from this Review that may also be applicable to State waters outside commercial port waters. 

That the nominated marine safety authority is responsible for development of a declared asset system and is required to ensure that port/channel managers utilise and maintain the declared asset system.

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.

That in order to enhance the protection of community and ecological assets, the Department of Sustainability and Environment increase its annual prescribed burning target from 130,000 hectares to 385,000 hectares. This should be treated as a rolling target, with any shortfalls to be made up in subsequent years.

That the Department of Sustainability and Environment implement remote sensing imagery as a routine part of its pre-burn and post-burn assessment process for prescribed burning. Maps of every prescribed burn should be produced in a similar format to those used in Western Australia, indicating the boundary of each burn and the varying fire intensities achieved within the burn area. The boundaries of all Fuel Management Zones within each burn should also be indicated.
Each prescribed burn map should be made publicly available on the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s website, together with a map of the same burn area which shows the pre-burn fuel hazard levels and a statement of the total area treated within each Fuel Management Zone by each prescribed burn.

A comprehensive review of the effectiveness of the increased prescribed burning target in meeting ecological and bushfire suppression needs should be conducted every three years.

That the Minister for Emergency Services and the Minister for Local Government cause local council plant and equipment that is suitable for use in bushfire fighting be fitted with radios connected to the Government Radio Network.

That the Minister for Emergency Services and the Minister for Local Government consider the enactment of legislation that would empower Local Government to require the owners or occupiers of rural land to create fire breaks on the land of a kind that Local Government may determine and/or to require the removal of flammable materials from the land, as measures for preventing the outbreak of a bushfire, or for preventing the spread or extension of a bushfire.

That the Minister for Emergency Services give further consideration to acquiring a firefighting helicopter to be permanently or primarily stationed in South Australia.

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.

NOPSA should consider an audit regime that targets Greenfields operations at commencement of operations.

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.

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.

That the facilities at Eastern Creek and Spotswood Quarantine Stations be reviewed by AQIS in consultation with experts in biosecurity and interested parties including state and territory governments, import agents, veterinarians, farriers, operators of private quarantine stations, and representatives of horse owners, horse racing organisations and equestrian organisations. There should in any event be constructed without delay, an adequate supply of hygienic, modern showering facilities and places of entry and exit to the stations and the horse sections of them that can be supervised and monitored continually. There should also be provided at those stations as soon as is practicable suitable means of electronic surveillance, including closed-circuit television; a secure place to store chemicals, drugs, instruments and equipment for use by people attending the quarantined horses, and a set of horse stalls and yards separate from the main stalls and yards to enable isolation of horses suffering from contagious or infectious diseases. These reviews should also consider the desirability of separate areas in quarantine stations to hold horses forming part of a single quarantine intake but that have been imported from different regions or have undergone pre-export quarantine in different places. The reviews should be carried out without delay, and the two quarantine stations should be upgraded in accordance with the recommendations of the reviews.

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.

That the officer responsible for the importation of horses arrange for Biosecurity Australia or another qualified body to inspect and review the activities and events that occur from the time horses enter pre-export quarantine until the time they arrive at an airport in Australia, in order to identify any biosecurity risks and recommend any necessary changes to import conditions or other requirements. This inspection and review shall be performed without delay for each country or region from which horses are imported to Australia, and it should take account of my other recommendations and comments in this report.

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.

That Biosecurity Australia review that formal import risk analysis at least once every two years to take into account any relevant developments in scientific knowledge—specifically testing methods, vaccines, vaccination procedures and other matters that affect biosecurity. Reports on the reviews should be provided to the officer responsible for the importation of horses and should contain recommendations for any necessary changes to policies for importation.

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.

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.

That the person holding the position of Inspector General of Horse Importation may be removed in the following circumstances only:
(a) automatically
(i) on bankruptcy or on an application to take the benefit of a law for
the relief of bankruptcy
(ii) on conviction for an indictable offence
or
(iii) on loss or suspension of any licence or authority to practise his or her regular profession
(b) by dismissal by the Governor-General in Council for proved misconduct in or relating directly or indirectly to the performance of his or her duties
(c) by resignation in writing to the Minister responsible for quarantine
(d) on certification by two medical practitioners of mental or physical
incapacity to perform the duties of Inspector General.

That there continue to be in Australia government controlled and operated post-arrival quarantine stations for horses.

That the officer responsible for the importation of horses arrange for Biosecurity Australia to review, at least once every two years, the operating procedures to ensure that they adequately identify and manage the risk of entry and spread of equine influenza associated with the importation of horses into Australia. The outcome of each such review should be the subject of a written report and recommendations to the person responsible for the importation of horses and the Executive Director of AQIS. A determination should then be made as to whether any, and if so what, changes should be made to the operating procedures.

That the person holding the position of Inspector General of Horse
Importation:
(a) be appointed by the Governor-General in Council following public advertisement
(b) be appointed for a term of five years only or for such lesser term as may remain at the time of appointment
(c) receive such remuneration and other benefits as fixed or recommended by the Remuneration Tribunal
(d) be a person with expertise in equine affairs and with such other qualifications and experience as the Governor-General in Council considers appropriate
(e) not hold or take other employment or consultancies that might give rise to an actual or perceived conflict of interest with the duties of Inspector General
(f) be obliged to submit to any medical examination reasonably required by the Minister responsible for quarantine before or during the term of appointment for the purpose of assessing his or her suitability for the position
(g) shall not be, or have been within the two years immediately preceding the appointment, employed or engaged by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.

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.

That the officer responsible for the importation of horses arrange for Biosecurity Australia to conduct within six months, an inspection and review of the process of horse importation from the time horses arrive in Australia until the completion of their post-arrival quarantine in order to:
(a) identify all relevant biosecurity risks
(b) review the standard operating procedures for clearance and quarantine
of horses, as issued on 5 December 2007
(c) recommend any changes that should be made to those operating procedures, after taking account of my other recommendations and comments in this report.

The committee recommends the Australian Government strengthen CASA's governance framework and administrative capability by:
• introducing a small board of up to five members to provide enhanced oversight and strategic direction for CASA; and
• undertaking a review of CASA's funding arrangements to ensure CASA is equipped to deal with new regulatory challenges.

The committee recommends that the Australian National Audit Office audit CASA's implementation and administration of its Safety Management Systems approach.

The Committee recommends that, following the completion of the ‘first pass’ National Coastal Vulnerability Assessment, the Australian Government consider the resourcing and financing of second and third pass assessments, in conjunction with state, territory and local government authorities.

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.

The Committee recommends that a thorough review be undertaken of the communications and coordination between the separate agencies which make up the Emergency Services Agency, to assess the extent to which cultural factors are detrimental to the effective operation of the ESA.

That FESA investigate the use of new technologies such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) for supplementing the dissemination of WANDRA information in cases where landlines have been disrupted.

The use of hospital transport vehicles to support retrieval operations be investigated.

The medical equipment used in retrieval and air ambulance duties undertaken by helicopter and fixed wing must be standardised.

An additional secure emergency oxygen supply source to be located in the BK 117 helicopter. An internal supply is preferred.

Development of a helipad at Mersey Hospital.

RHH requires a helipad. Plans to rebuild RHH must include a helipad at its earliest stage of conception.

A service level agreement is negotiated with the Police department that will cover access, tasking, price, equipment and staffing. This will enable a more strategic use of the helicopter.
Once the current agreement has concluded, the Tasmanian Ambulance and the DHHS should be involved in the negotiations at the highest level. A whole of government helicopter contract is proposed.

The TMRS medical equipment inventory requires an overhaul. The TMRS medical equipment should be located with the TMRS team.

Accordingly I recommend that the Federal Minister for Transport, consider engaging an external consultant to assess whether high level intervention is warranted. 

To improve the management of the National Medical Stockpile, the ANAO recommends that the Department of Health and Ageing incorporate into its governance framework:
(a) an assessment of the risks associated with the Stockpile in a risk management plan that is periodically reviewed; and
(b) a performance management and reporting framework for the Stockpile.

That the Department of Primary Industries incorporates reviews of plans and operating procedures as a result of emergency incidents and exercises and ensures that there is adequate commitment from all participants in the review process.

That clarification be provided and information be made public in connection with the hazard reduction proposed under the Strategic Bushfire Management Plan for the area designated ‘Land Management Zone’, which appears to cover about 70 per cent of the ACT landscape and might be excluded from fuel-reduction burning

That the taskforce review the extent to which the recommendations in the McLeod report have been implemented in order to ensure implementation of those not yet implemented

That a hazard-reduction program be introduced, involving regular and strategic burning in all areas of the ACT – including the catchment areas – with a view to having fuel-reduced areas in a pattern across the landscape, excluding only small areas of particular ecological or conservation importance

That regular periodic reviews be undertaken of changes made to the operational and management arrangements for dealing with wildfires and other emergencies in the ACT, to ensure that those arrangements continue to comply with the Australian Inter-Agency Incident Management System Incident Control System

That the ACT Government commission a review of coroners’ jurisdiction in order to determine whether that jurisdiction ought to be limited or expanded and, if so, to what extend

That prescribed burning operations be conducted according to agreed standard burning prescriptions

If it is not part of the proposed version 2 of the Strategic Bushfire Management Plan, that the plan be revised to provide for a fuel-reduction burning regime in the ‘Land Management Zone’ that is equivalent to that contemplated for the corridors designated as the ‘Landscape Division Zone’ and that the regime involve burning areas in rotation to achieve an appropriately varying fire age spectrum across the entire landscape

That the taskforce review the recommendations of the seven reviews of the Emergency Services Bureau carried out before the McLeod inquiry and ensure implementation of any of those recommendations that remain relevant but have not been implemented 

That the Emergency Services Agency give priority to ensuring it has guaranteed access to an adequate number and type of bulldozers, as well as experienced operators, during the fire season, for immediate deployment as required

That agencies develop a detailed improvement plan and commit resources to its implementation.

That agencies assess the cost-effectiveness of establishing a dedicated and proven asset management information system which is integrated with the other information systems used to manage drainage assets.

Align policies and processes, within the year round 365 day focus on fire management, to provide consistency in the approach to fire regardless of its origins,- that is fuel reduction burning, regeneration and ecological burning or unplanned fire;
• extend contracted fire season services to increase resources available in high risk periods during the prescribed burning program
• revise documentation to remove distinctions between planned and unplanned fire
• extend Emergency Coordination Centre operations to include the prescribed burning program
• apply Australasian Interagency Incident Management System-Incident Control System rules to the prescribed burning program as a priority element of improving risk management processes

Develop new prescriptions for prescribed burning to accommodate local conditions in those areas where standard prescriptions are assessed to be inappropriate: 
• develop prescriptions for heathland/peat at Wilsons Promontory
• finalise development of prescriptions for the Mallee
• disseminate the fuel hazard guide to all burn personnel
• develop a training program to interpret prescriptions

All agencies review formal and informal incident notification processes to ensure they support the earliest possible reporting of emergencies to all stakeholders involved in the Airport Emergency Plan and in so doing, ensure early access to specialist advice and support.

The ITSRR, when considering a re-application for accreditation, should conduct a field audit of the organisation to ensure that it is carrying on its activities in accordance with the basis upon which it seeks accreditation.

Recommendations one to seven of the final report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Glenbrook Rail Accident should be fully implemented, save that the random auditing referred to in recommendations five and seven should be carried out by ITSRR.

The ITSRR should conduct field audits to satisfy itself that all accredited rail organisations conduct their activities in accordance with the safety management system on the basis of which each was accredited.

The ITSRR should conduct random audits of accredited rail organisations for compliance with communications protocols.

Following completion of any external audit, a corrective action plan to remedy any identified safety deficiencies should be developed by RailCorp, implemented and followed up within the business groups affected, to ensure appropriate and timely completion of the action plan, by a formal examination of the effectiveness of the controls put in place. Senior management personnel should certify that the corrective action plan has been implemented and is effective. Senior management personnel should be accountable for any such certification.

ITSRR should ensure that, as a condition of accreditation, each of these recommendations is carried into effect and should audit against them to enforce compliance.

Satellite telephones should be provided by RailCorp to all rail commanders at any emergency.

RailCorp should conduct internal and external safety audits to evaluate the adequacy of its safety management system and to ensure that any risk control measures are effective.

The ITSRR should audit the RMC to ensure communications protocols are being followed. The sanction for non-compliance with communications protocols should be identical to that in the aviation industry and involve immediate removal from duty. Any RailCorp employee not following communications protocols should be required to undertake further training. If, following return to duties after such training, the officer continues to fail to comply with communications protocols, that officer is not to be employed in communications related work.

The RailCorp Board should establish independent external safety auditing processes to regularly audit and report to the Board on the implementation of an integrated safety management system by RailCorp and on safety performance generally.

The OTSI should continue to conduct rail accident investigations on behalf of ITSRR and report directly to the Chief Executive of ITSRR.

It is recommended that the Board: 
- require the Chief Executive of each rescue provider to certify on an annual basis that all rescue units comply with the Board’s accreditation standards (page 31)
- develop an audit program to test compliance with accreditation standards (page 31).

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.

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.

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;
• Tsunami
• Bushfire (working with the Bushfire CRC)
• Severe storm
• Flood
• Cyclonic wind and storm surge
• Earthquake
• Temperature extremes and the impact of climatic change
• Disease threat – human, animal and flora/fauna 

That DPI, as part of the development of the Victorian plant biosecurity strategy, undertake a strategic review of its plant health planning framework so that: • corporate and business unit plans at all levels of the department align to each other and to government policy so that staff have a coherent frame of reference to guide their work • performance indicators are developed, used, reported against and evaluated regularly • all plans (including service agreements with other parts of DPI) are communicated to staff and implemented in their day-to-day activities and responsibilities.

That the recommendations of the 2000 DPI report into the reference collection’s storage facility be implemented, to secure the collection in a purpose-built facility.

That Department of Primary Industries (DPI), in partnership with the Department of Sustainability and Environment, reviews all legislation relating to plant biosecurity with a view to streamlining the legislative framework.

That DPI conducts and documents debriefs after all incursions, and adopts any improvements that are identified through debriefs.

That DPI maintains ISO 9000 accreditation for at least one laboratory and seeks NATA accreditation for key diagnostic tests. This should be done in combination with Plant Health Australia’s laboratory accreditation project.

That the model for state funding be reviewed to ensure that DPI can confidently build and maintain a core level of diagnostic expertise and research capability.

It is recommended that the State Disaster Management Group and the Department of Emergency Services review the current disaster district boundary framework and its relevance to the regional boundaries established by other public sector lead entities to ensure that resources within the Disaster Management System are economically, efficiently and effectively allocated across Queensland.

That DSE and CFA review methods of gathering and processing fire information to ensure all methods are pursued to greatest effect.

That CFA, having regard to terrain, continue to review the mix of firefighting appliances currently in service. In particular, consideration should be given to the number and distribution of smaller ‘slip-on’ type equipment.

That aviation contractors be required to submit a copy of their annual independent regulatory compliance audit prepared for Civil Aviation Safety Authority to the State Aircraft Unit.

That the Government identifies an appropriate body, or bodies, to undertake the audit of the Municipal Fire Management Plans.

That a systematic performance audit of State Aircraft Fleet contractors be conducted jointly by agency and SAU personnel.

That a review of the fuel management zones be implemented with a view to reducing the number of zones so as to focus clearly on (i) asset protection (especially at the Public/Private land interface), and (ii) ecological burns.

That DSE and CFA review the management of personnel deployed ensuring that:
• Shift changeovers of fire line personnel and fire line supervisors are conducted in such a way that the fire line is not left inappropriately unattended;
• Management protocols for Strike Teams are made more flexible; and
• Strike Team Leaders and Task Force Leaders undertake refresher training in the management of resources under their control

That quality control or performance assessments are routinely completed post fire season, to ensure that contractors who have not performed to an agreed standard are not re-engaged for the consequential rehabilitation works.

That in doing so, this Review must consult with the agencies mentioned above, and others such as VICSES and the Departments of Human Services and Primary Industries.

That DSE and CFA work cooperatively to review the management and application of bulldozers in fire suppression operations to ensure that they are used effectively, appropriately and are adequately supervised.

That the Review of emergency operations centres by the Departments of Premier and Cabinet and Treasury and Finance and the Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner:
• Explore opportunities to significantly reduce the number of regional emergency operations centres; and
• Evaluate opportunities to pre plan and establish ‘all hazards–all agencies’ emergency operations centres at the regional or district level.

The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth seeks to ensure that the Council of Australian Governments initiate consideration of the relaxation of restrictions on the movement of fire fighting equipment
during declared emergencies.

The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth seek to ensure that the Council of Australian Governments seek agreement from the states and territories on the optimisation and implementation of prescribed burning targets and programs to a degree that is recognised as adequate for the protection of life, property and the environment. The prescribed burning programs should include strategic evaluation of fuel management at the regional level and the results of annual fuel management in each state should be publicly reported and audited.

The Committee recommends that Emergency Management Australia initiate a process involving Australasian Fire Authorities Council and the Australian Assembly of Volunteer Fire Brigades Association to review
the coordination of cross border fire fighting arrangements and interstate deployment of fire fighting resources. The review should specifically consider training on the full range of equipment and procedures likely to encountered, standardisation of equipment and procedures, communication and the provision of information about local characteristics such as access to water.

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.

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.

The Committee recommends that the Metropolitan Fire Brigades Board be reviewed five years from the tabling of this report in Parliament.

The Committee recommends that the Metropolitan Fire Brigades Board be reviewed five years from the tabling of this report in Parliament.

The Forests Department make every endeavour to improve and extend the practice of control burning to ensure that the forests receive the maximum protection practicable consistent with silvicultural requirements.

It be made clear to all fire control officers that the conditions for burning prescribed in the Bush Fires Act are minimal only, and that it is their duty to prescribe such further conditions as will ensure that should unfavourable weather conditions un-expectedly develop a situation would not arise which the local bush fire control organisation could not reasonably be expected to handle. 

No opportunity be lost by the Forests Department to improve the efficiency of their fire fighting gangs, radio and other equipment in the light of the latest practical and scientific developments.

Landowners desiring to carry out developmental burns be required to inform the local authority sufficiently early to enable that body to direct them or request the local bush fire brigade to carry out protective burning around the area before the prohibited season starts.

It is recommended that the A.R.P. dams or earth tanks be kept filled during possible danger periods.

To arrange for uniform water facilities, where possible, by having large taps attached to elevated tanks, suitable approaches made to dams for filling carts, and convienient gates to approach same.

To burn, where necessary, at least 33 feet where there is a risk of fire, on the outside of the railway fence, in conjunction with the railway employees.

To recommend to shire councils the purchase of fire carts and necessary equipment for fire fighting.

The Commission recommends that there be continuous supervision of every chamber in which electrical machinery is worked by currents of medium pressure.

The Commission recommends that systematic tests be made and recorded of apparatus and circuits as a precaution against fire and so that any gradual deterioration of the system may be detected.

The Commission recommends that every precaution be taken to keep water off electrical machinery.

The Commission recommends that buckets of sand or other apparatus for extinguishing fire be kept in any chamber where high powered electricity is used.

The Commission recommends that conductors carrying currents at medium pressure should not be encased in wood in damp places.

That the Railway Department, while gradually reducing the number of different types of locomotives, should steadily keep in view the adoption of English and American railway practice, by providing engines with larger boilers, fire boxers, and smoke-boxes, and with wide blast-pipes, in order to insure ample steaming power with a minimum of forced draught.

That the use of a spark-arrester and cinder-arrester by the Railway Department shall not constitute a defence to an action for damage caused by fire escaping from a locomotive, unless the Department proves that such spark-arrester and cinder-arrester were in a thoroughly efficient condition when the fire took place. 

That suitable metal receptacles be fitted under the spittoons of all smoking compartments of country trains, to receive pipe ashes, lighted tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, matches, or other inflammable matter used by smokers.

That the standard pattern of cinder arrester be affixed to the ash-pans in all locomotives during the summer months.