Distribution businesses annually attest to the Minister for Energy and Resources. The attestation should include specific reference to, but not limited to: Participation in Regional Emergency Management Planning Committees and Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committees to support response planning for areas at high risk of prolonged power outages.

DEECA work with distribution businesses, emergency service agencies, and peak bodies to integrate prolonged power outage preparedness into existing business and household emergency preparedness plan templates by June 2025.

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet include in the Australian Government Crisis Management Handbook criteria for the publication of plans to appropriately inform stakeholders of crisis arrangements.

The Committee recommends that insurers amend their home insurance policies to provide fully paid temporary accommodation until the insurer has closed the claim, unless the extension of the time required can be demonstrated to be a result of behaviour on the part of the policyholder that is unreasonably causing delay; That final cash settlements include a provision for temporary accommodation that takes account of the Scope of Works; progress on the project to date; and a reasonable uplift; and That the cost of covering temporary accommodation should be a separate entitlement and not be funded out of the sum insured amount.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) appropriately use powers that it has as a result of the removal of the exemption of claims handling of insurance products under the Corporations Act 2001. The Committee notes that ASIC has only recently been granted such powers and they are as yet untested.

The Committee recommends the Australian Government work with the Insurance Council of Australia to develop and publish advice on the mitigation measures households could undertake to improve the flood resilience of their property.

The Minister for Emergency Management should deliver an annual Statement to Parliament that:
- Defines the Commonwealth’s role in prioritising risk reduction, prevention, resilience, and mitigation against natural disasters.
- Outlines the national natural disaster risk reduction investment priorities.
- Reports against nationally agreed natural disaster risk reduction and resilience investment outcomes.
- Updates Parliament on the progress of disaster impacted communities where Commonwealth programs and investment are involved.

The ANZEMC workplan and meeting agendas should be explicitly organised under two headings: “Disaster Resilience and Recovery” and “Preparedness and Capabilities Policy”.

ANZEMC’s core mission should be narrowed to:
1) Supporting the NEMMM, particularly to identify its five priorities for action and ensuring they are implemented; and
2) Providing a forum for key senior officials to address other nationally (e.g., cross- jurisdictionally) pressing, emerging and longer-term challenges.

Given the importance of NEMMM’s work, meetings should occur quarterly and be in-person at least twice yearly, be of sufficient length to allow for issues to be properly canvassed and discussed and be preceded by an opportunity for the NEMMM members to meet informally alone together.

ANZEMC should meet four times each year, including twice face-to- face, with one of the in-person meetings devoted predominantly to “Disaster Resilience and Recovery.” The face-to-face meetings should be preceded by an opportunity for the ANZEMC members to meet informally.

NEMMM agendas should ensure that discussion of urgent tactical challenges don’t crowd-out consideration of the strategic challenges.
- NEMMM should request ANZEMC, facilitated by NEMA, to conduct “stress-testing” scenario planning of the consequences (e.g., exhausted emergency workers, insufficient emergency housing and shortages of trades people) of year-on-year increases in consecutive and intensifying national-scale disasters.

Each jurisdiction should be allowed a maximum of three senior officials on ANZEMC to enable the inclusion of these jurisdictional responsibilities (see Appendix F for Summary of State and Territory responsibilities).

NEMMM should co-convene a joint Ministerial Council meeting with climate change adaptation ministers to promote greater coherence between NEMMM’s resilience work and climate adaptation—two key components of a future national resilience strategy. This should be a face-to-face meeting.

The government members of ANZEMC should be senior officials (Commissioners, Deputy Secretaries or Heads of Agencies) from agencies that have the lead jurisdictional responsibility for preparedness and response and resilience and recovery.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services adopt measures to achieve a common operating picture between deployed Queensland Fire and Emergency Services assets in disaster management operations by 1 November 2023.

The Australian Government should make provision, in legislation, for a declaration of a state of national emergency. The declaration should include the following components:
(1) the ability for the Australian Government to make a public declaration to communicate the seriousness of a natural disaster
(2) processes to mobilise and activate Australian Government agencies quickly to support states and territories to respond to and recover from a natural disaster, and
(3) the power to take action without a state or territory request for assistance in clearly defined and limited circumstances. 

That, in order to improve fireground communications between NSW agencies and interstate personnel:                                      a) Government ensure all NSW fire authority personnel and vehicles can access and utilise the Public Safety Network (PSN). This should include access to NSW RFS Private Mobile Radio networks where PSN coverage is not yet available.
b) the NSW Telco Authority review cross-border communications availability and planning and advise NSW fire authorities on next steps to enable multi-state interoperability for wide area communications.

That, in order to ensure all agencies have a clear understanding of cross-border communication channels during bush fires, all MoUs between state or territory agencies include an agreed protocol about how agencies will communicate across borders and that these are reflected in Incident Action Plans.

That, in order to ensure emergency response agencies can communicate across state and territory borders, the Commonwealth Government allocate 10 + 10 MHz as a dedicated spectrum for Public Safety Mobile Broadband (PSMB) at no cost to states and territories.

That, in order to ensure the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) can maintain communications during emergencies, the Government provide the SEOC with independent Public Safety Network functionality.

Further define the principle of landholder responsibility for fire management and strengthen its fundamental place in the Act. This should include a clear requirement for landholders to prevent fire on their land from spreading to neighbouring properties.

That heightened awareness and action is needed by communities when BoM issues flood watches and related warnings. Councils and SES need to facilitate this.

Consider bringing other agencies onto the SA Government Radio Network, in particular, Department of Education and Child Development and local government, to support more effective coordination and provide a reliable communications contingency during emergencies.

That the State Emergency Service together with the Local Government Association and Country Fire Service establish a plan for coordinated provision of sandbags to the public, including options for what is provided, where and when, and the process for effective communication of availability to the public.

Identify, document and communicate contingency arrangements and procedures for emergency services in the event SA Government Radio Network paging is turned off to conserve power, or other loss of paging capacity.

I recommend that the Commissioner of Police consider seeking an agreement with news media outlets whereby the New South Wales Police Force will establish a way for such outlets to rapidly and confidentially determine whether publishing specific material could compromise the response to an ongoing high-risk incident and the media in turn will agree not to publish such material without first alerting a nominated senior police officer of their intention to do so.

Cross-agency resource management system

Develop an integrated inter-agency resource management system: Large and complex fire incidents require resources from multiple agencies. Developing an integrated inter-agency resource management system will have three main benefits: identifying potential resources will be more straightforward • the status and location of resource deployments can be tracked • planning of deployments can take into account all relevant information

That the Department of Health & Human Services uses Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority Computer Aided Dispatch data to report ambulance emergency response time performance. 

That SACFS consider a review to develop an effective interagency messaging system and agency resource management system.

A dynamic online list of positions and contact details is published for those able to authorise Emergency Alert, and made accessible to local government.

Farm Management Deposits
The Farm Management Deposit Scheme appears to be a well-structured framework for
building rural resilience, however its uptake is low. Recent Commonwealth Government
announcements regarding this scheme should be applauded, but more work appears to be
needed to understand why the scheme is not more widely used, and to promote its use as a
means of building enterprise resilience.

That Emergency Management Victoria novates the head contract for the StateNet Mobile Radio network to the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority.

That Victoria Police implements the recommendations relating to protective services officers in the Service Demand and Dispatcher Capacity Analysis dated September 2013 and:
- works with the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority to implement revised Metropolitan Mobile Radio channel arrangements to reduce the impact of protective services officer usage on other police users 
- investigates the use of smart devices and applications for protective services officers to minimise their use of the Metropolitan Mobile Radio network for routine enquiries.

That Ambulance Victoria:
- reassesses the current structured call-taking script
- develops a single structured call-taking script for Triple Zero calls.

That the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority includes Victoria State Emergency Service vehicle capability details in the Computer Aided Dispatch database.

That Emergency Management Victoria expedites the expansion of the Rural Mobile Radio network to all emergency services organisations.

That the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority, assisted by the Inspector-General for Emergency Management and responder agencies, improves the process for changing call-taking and dispatch procedures by comprehensively appraising the costs, benefits and operational impacts of these changes and agreeing a plan for their implementation with all affected agencies.

That the Rural Fire Service consider extending pre-emptive section 44 to whole of Castlereagh RFS/Warrumbungle Shire area.

That the Rural Fire Service and National Parks and Wildlife Service review the procedures for requesting aerial support in ‘severe’ or worse fire conditions to ensure that delays in providing it are reduced to the minimum time possible.

That NPWS and the RFS consider developing a land management policy that requires active engagement with property owners adjoining the Park to ensure that hazard reduction and asset protection is encouraged and undertaken before the bush fire season commences

That evacuation centres and other centres have a standard operating procedure for communications.

That Tasmania Fire Service reviews the communication systems used for all emergency management operations, ensures operators are qualified, and ensures there is appropriate accountability.

That the Tasmania Emergency Management Plan enable, and all organisations with a role in emergency management activate, emergency plans at lower threshold events to practice their arrangements and achieve a ‘hot start’ in escalating events.

That police and other emergency services examine options for achieving radio interoperability between them in the absence of an integrated radio system.

That the Government reconsider the current position on emergency declarations in the Emergency Management Act 2006 and the Act is amended to provide: • a graduated scale of emergency declarations; • the ability to make a declaration when an emergency has occurred, is occurring or is about to occur; • the ability for the State Controller (or whatever the person in overall control of response and recovery operations is called) to make one or more declarations; • a declaration to enable access to all emergency powers.

That all agencies and the Government support moving to an integrated communications technology for police and the emergency services.

That Tasmania Police, Tasmania Fire Service (TFS), Ambulance Tasmania and State Emergency Services (SES) investigate ways of providing secure and confidential radio communications.

That TFS and Ambulance Tasmania work together to resolve problems around congestion, particularly during the fire season.

That on all land where fuel load creates a fire risk, the owner shall be responsible for the construction and maintenance of effective firebreaks. Failure to provide effective and accessible firebreaks will result in the cost of firebreak construction to control a wildfire on this land being debited to the land owner

The committee recommends that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau retrieve VH-NGA flight data recorders without further delay.

Individuals without a mobile phone who are concerned about access to Triple Zero during a prolonged telecommunications outage could consider purchasing a low cost mobile phone with a charger to keep at home for use during such outages. Since mobile phones do not require SIM cards to make emergency calls (‘000’ and ‘112’), there will be no ongoing costs.

A system of vehicle tracking should be fitted to all fire appliances and linked to the common operating picture. Good communications planning is essential for good command and control.

Communications planning for geographic regions with recognised black spots and specific communications challenges should be prepared in advance of an emergency in order to support the IMT Communications Planning Officer

Future coordination/support/control of integrated emergency management across all agencies in Albany needs to be merged and located in a single joint facility. This issue needs to be reviewed statewide.

DFES or DEC (depending on land tenure) is mandated to take over control of emergency incidents from Local Government once they have been declared Level 2 incidents. WESTPLAN BUSHFIRE and legislation to be amended accordingly.

The Disaster Management Act 2003 should be amended to give the chief executive of the department administering the Act (or his or her delegate) the authority to appoint an officer of Emergency Management Queensland to direct SES operations in extraordinary circumstances

Councils should consider making available to business owners locality specific information that would assist them to develop evacuation plans for commercial premises, for example, any evacuation sub-plan created under Emergency Management Queensland’s disaster evacuation guidelines.

If the Queensland Development Code is amended to include provisions requiring homeowners to install sewage reflux valves, the Queensland Government should develop and make available to homeowners appropriate guidance material to assist them in meeting their responsibilities to maintain reflux valves.

Councils should support and encourage business owners to develop private flood evacuation plans by providing the following to business owners in areas known to be affected by flood: • information about the benefits of evacuation plans • contact details of relevant council and emergency service personnel for inclusion in evacuation plans.

The Queensland Government should consider whether to empower Seqwater, through the flood operations centre, to direct CS Energy to stop or delay releases from Splityard Creek Dam where a flood event is declared under the Manual of Operational Procedures for Flood Mitigation at Wivenhoe Dam and Somerset Dam.

As part of the longer term review of the Manual of Operational Procedures for Flood Mitigation at Wivenhoe Dam and Somerset Dam the Queensland Government should consider whether the dam operators should be able to extend the drawdown of the lake beyond seven days in order to reduce downstream bank slumping

Spreading the message of enforcement of landholder’s obligations and responsibilities through active consultation and ultimately the issuing of infringement notices be adopted as a planned strategic intervention to promote the importance of compliance with the Bushfires Act.

That the Office of Environment and Heritage amend its operating procedures for the Environment Line to ensure that there are clear obligations to pass on information relevant to other agencies, to those agencies in a timely manner.

The Minister for Emergency Services amend section 50 of the Emergency Management Act 2005 by June 2012 to allow the State Emergency Coordinator, as well as a hazard management agency, to make an emergency situation declaration.

The Minister for Emergency Services makes it a priority that the annual budgets of FESA and WA Police are sufficient to bring forward the completion dates of the current radio projects now underway.

Local residents must take a degree of shared responsibility to prepare their properties by reducing the risk of bushfire around their properties and planning for a bushfire emergency.

FESA must actively manage the transition to WAERN and provide alternative means for regional crews to communicate when in areas where WAERN is not operated.

FESA and local governments jointly review radio communications capability prior to the 2011/12 bushfire season with a view to improving the current delivery of service to firefighters.

The State Government amend section 50 of the Emergency Management Act 2005 to allow the Chair of the State Emergency Coordination Group to declare an emergency situation.

The Department for Child Protection, the Western Australian Police and the Fire and Emergency Services Authority develop improved arrangements for communicating the loss of home and possessions to persons gathered at evacuation centres with a view to increasing privacy.

the state ensure: • a common, functional and accessible system be introduced to enable effective Municipal Emergency Coordination Centre and Incident Control Centre communications • a regime of regular Municipal Emergency Coordination Centre exercising is introduced with oversight by an appropriate independent body. Such exercising should include testing of systems utilised for Incident Control Centre and Municipal Emergency Coordination Centre communications • those required to perform Emergency Management Liaison Officer roles have undertaken appropriate training; and • resource requesting arrangements are clarified and documented so that control and coordination functions do not overlap.

the state, as a matter of urgency, develop a multi-agency Incident Control Team capability to be readily available for statewide deployment to establish incident control or to relieve functioning control structures.

the state ensure that interoperable information management practices are developed and implemented by emergency management agencies. Common systems should be utilised to the fullest extent possible.

the state ensure that common and interoperable resource management systems are developed and implemented by emergency management agencies. Common systems should be utilised to the fullest extent possible.

the state commit to securing effective multi-agency interoperable communications as a high level priority and that all future communications projects and upgrades incorporate compliance provisions mandating interoperability requirements.

the state develop an efficient process to ensure that, during flood events, temporary construction of flood mitigation works, such as levees, is controlled so as not to unacceptably impact on flood intelligence.

The Fire Services investigate the reported technical communication issues for this fire

The Fire Services move towards a common and more disciplined approach to fireground communications.

The Fire Services introduce systems, procedures and operational training that promote information sharing and consistent situational awareness at every level, including to and from the fireground. This should include agencies such as police members on duty at roadblocks

The Country Fire Authority review and improve its communications strategy as a matter of priority and develop a program for identifying and responding to black spots in radio coverage.

The State amend the Country Fire Authority Act 1958 to enable the Chief Officer to delegate the power to issue fire prevention notices.

NOPSA’s prohibition powers should be extended such that a prohibition notice can be issued where a NOPSA Occupational Health and Safety Inspector believes, on reasonable grounds, that an activity is occurring or may occur at a facility involving an immediate threat to the health or safety of a person.

There needs to be a system that allows laptop computers brought to an incident to be configured at the start of the season and allow them to be easily activated to the correct configuration when they arrive at the incident.

Portable, reliable mobile repeaters are required to provide radio communications into areas not covered by existing repeater networks. These repeaters need the capacity to be linked.

SEMC and EM WA should: ensure that agencies have a common or compatible crisis information management system in place

Suggested escalation trigger points be discussed with District Disaster Coordinators and Local Disaster Coordinators, and if considered practical and useful, be incorporated in Local, District and State Disaster Management Plans.

The SDMG lead an initiative to integrate and/or inter-connect all of the control centres involved at all levels of the Disaster Management system in Queensland as part of the project to integrate State communications.

District and State levels utilise the current Act to make pre-emptive declarations of a disaster event (likely disasters) so as to be proactive in leading and controlling disaster events. All levels of the system should immediately notify other levels if they activate the Disaster Management arrangements. ƒ The Public Safety Preservation Act 1986 be amended to provide powers for Police Officers to provide an immediate response in the event of a rapid onset disaster event such as a landslide.

That the Rural Fires Act 1997 be amended to provide to designated Fire Investigation Officers of the Rural Fire Service the power to enter any land upon which a bushfire has occurred for the purposes of investigation for a period of up to 24 hours after a fire has been declared out.

All Victorians should:
• make sure that they have a plan for severe storms which includes:
- an emergency kit (batteries, torch, radio with batteries, spare medication etc)
- actions to protect their family, property and pets
• ensure that vegetation surrounding power lines on private property is appropriately managed
• know where and how to access emergency information and advice.

Immunity be prescribed for persons (including volunteers) using force in the exercise of a power or function under the FES Act or carrying out any direction or requirement given or imposed at the scene of a fire or other emergency.

Crown Law opinion be obtained to determine whether the FES Act gives the Minister power to direct and control individual Chief Officers and if that provision does not exist then the FES Act be amended to include that power. 

That measures be taken to ensure that ACT and NSW Rural Fire Service radio communications systems are integrated, so that ACT and NSW firefighting units can communicate with each other

That the Emergency Services Agency review the communications systems used by the four services (the ACT Ambulance Service, the ACT Rural Fire Service, the ACT State Emergency Service and the ACT Fire Brigade), by the Australian Federal Police, by NSW emergency services and by aircraft and ensure the systems are compatible

RailCorp should continue its system of voluntary self-identification and rehabilitation of employees with alcohol or drug related problems.

That when Incident Management Teams implement significant changes to objectives and strategies, these are effectively communicated to firefighters, fire ground supervisors and affected communities, and are incorporated into the broader organisational planning. 

That CFA should not be given the power to direct Forest Industry Brigades to engage in fire prevention and suppression activities off their land and that decision should remain the responsibility of the plantation company.

That after each fire season, measures of the effectiveness of aerial firefighting be collated, analysed and used for the assessment of the State Aircraft Fleet composition and the adequacy of Training and Accreditation programs.

The Committee recommends that Emergency Management Australia and the Australian Communications Authority work with state and territory bush fire authorities to ensure that that district communication plans
have regard for the amount of radio traffic that may be generated under the most severe conditions.

The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth investigate, and where necessary, require the urgent enhancement of the provision of emergency power and telecommunications services for the purpose of
restoring essential services expeditiously in areas affected by fire or other natural disaster and where necessary to place licence requirements on telecommunication providers to do so.

The Committee recommends that:
- As a short term objective, the use of ‘40’ channel UHF CB equipment be adopted for coordination and interoperability of communications at fire ground level.
- As a longer term objective a national communications plan be developed and incorporate the provision of low powered VHF channel allocations for the purpose of ensuring compatible fire ground communications between all agencies on a national basis.
- That the use of UHF CB between units on the fire ground be included in communications planning for intra-state and interstate deployments.

The Committee recommends that the state and territory bushfire agencies ensure that, on a district basis, communications are addressed within the district operations plans and that the plans are capable of easy adoption to incident action plans.