That the NSW Government investigate the establishment of a centralised source for all government held planning data accessible to all councils across New South Wales, including:
- flood, coastal inundation and fire
- biodiversity
- climate modelling
- any other relevant data.

The Committee recommends that the ACT Government include detailed data on progress against the EPSDD BOP for that financial year in either the EPSDD or JACS Annual Reports that breaks down the data by:
- The overarching type or class of activity (e.g. fuel management, access management, infrastructure, training, audit and monitoring);
- Activity (e.g. grazing, physical removal, prescribed burning, etc);
- The area (hectares), length (kilometres) or number of activities, courses or projects actually completed, as relevant, together with the planned number; and
- The percentage of completion for each over-arching activity class/type and activity.

The Committee recommends that PCS receive adequate funding for the 2023-24 EPSDD BOP to ensure all access maintenance activities listed as Priority 1, and that these activities are completed.

AusNet annually attest to the Minister for Energy and Resources about the currency, completeness, maturity and implementation ability of its emergency risk management practices regarding the transmission of electricity, inclusive of assets, people, resources, governance, systems, processes and arrangements with contractors

As part of its review of the Energy Retail Code of Practice, the ESC should include requirements for energy retailers to collect the phone and email contact details of customers and others in the household for the purpose of sharing with distributors to facilitate information about power outages. Retailers should be required to check data quality and share with distribution businesses regularly.

Distribution businesses annually attest to the Minister for Energy and Resources. The attestation should include specific reference to, but not limited to: Ability to undertake rapid impact assessment at a network-wide scale during an event including integration of:
a. mutual aid resources and state and regional emergency response teams
b. reports of damaged infrastructure by emergency services personnel and community members
c. consistent information flow through to the incident response and restoration planning teams

The committee recommends that the Australian Climate Service and the National Emergency Management Agency work with all levels of government and industry to establish and maintain a national disaster risk map and database, covering all types of natural disasters in Australia, which is accessible to the public.

The committee recommends that the Australian Government increase the Disaster Ready Fund to $400 million per annum for investment in disaster mitigation and resilience measures.

That the Victorian Government prioritise investment in betterment projects to improve the resilience of mitigation infrastructure, and in doing so work with the Commonwealth Government to achieve this goal.

That the Victorian Government pay its bills on time, especially following natural disasters.

That the Victorian Government work with floodplain management authorities and climate scientists to understand how flood modelling can be used to better predict the impact of climate change on flooding and update its flood management policies in line with this understanding.

That the Victorian Government work with the Commonwealth Government to ensure the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements are not unduly burdensome.

That the Victorian Government evaluate the criteria and funding arrangements for financial assistance post-disaster with a view to:
a. better aligning support with costs of recovery
b. proposing options for quickly deploying support mechanisms according to the scale and complexity of the event.

Given the essential role of digital connectivity in emergency management and response, that the Victorian Government, working with the Commonwealth Government as necessary, address connectivity limitations, focusing on rural and remote areas. Potential options to consider are the need for:
- enhanced infrastructure investment
- geographically based coverage
- rapid deployment of temporary satellite vans.

That the Victorian Government provide Victorians with access to appropriate data contained within the FloodZoom platform

That the Victorian Government ensure regional catchment management authorities, with local councils, are funded and resourced to conduct and implement up to date flood studies on a regular basis.

That the Victorian Government simplify the application process for disaster recovery funding. This could include reducing paperwork, providing hands-on assistance and investigating technology to streamline processes.

That the Victorian Government identify and fill critical gaps in the state’s gauge network. New gauges should be installed in priority locations as soon as possible, and existing gauges should be upgraded with telemetry services. Information from flood gauges and telemetry services should be easily accessible by the public.

That Melbourne Water and other floodplain management authorities review flood models every five years and update the models at least every 10 years and after the occurrence of a major flood.

That the Victorian Government increase funding for training of volunteers to boost the capacity of State Emergency Service units and Shepparton and Echuca and Moama Search and Rescue squads to respond during emergencies.

That the Victorian Government ensure that future flood mitigation efforts include updated and rigorous hydraulic modelling before implementation, ensuring the effectiveness of compensatory measures. Additionally, these strategies should undergo independent peer review to validate their expected performance.

That the Victorian Government adapt policies and funding models to prioritise betterment initiatives, including ensuring that financial resources are allocated effectively to meet long-term needs of at-risk communities, and in doing so work with the Commonwealth Government to achieve this goal.

That the Victorian Government fund floodplain managers to develop maps modelling scenarios demonstrating the impact on landholders of specified levee breeches.

The NSW Reconstruction Authority repurpose the funding previously provided for one-off spontaneous volunteering grants to each local council to support a more comprehensive, targeted approach to building community capability to support informal volunteering comprised of:
a. The provision of training and support to councils in high disaster risk areas to support them to build their capability to coordinate community based informal volunteers.
b. The engagement of an expert, external organisation to coordinate, train and support informal volunteers in the recovery stage of disaster events when it is warranted by the scale of the disaster, volunteer interest and potential risks.
c. Grants to support businesses, non-government organisations and community groups in high disaster risk areas with locally developed initiatives to build community resilience and capability.

That the National Climate Service Improve access and usability of climate information by making Commonwealth-funded products free and open-source by default.

That the Australian Government establish an appropriate data solution (e.g. a data platform) to publish climate and hazard data; enable federated data curation including for domain data; support access for a broad range of data providers and public; create data insights and publish information as needed.

That the National Climate Service establish and grow a knowledge brokering service that assists users to find the data, information and advice needed to resolve their climate questions and understand the uncertainty inherent in climate models.

That the Australian Government develop a long-term national strategy and funding approach for computational infrastructure and data storage for climate data and modelling.

That the National Climate Service 5.2 establish a portal for climate information, products and services sourced from across a range of quality assured providers that:
5.2.1. gradually builds over time a library of open-source climate information products and services
5.2.2. provides publicly available, up-to-date climate information for Australia (including states and territory regions and coastal zones, Australia’s oceanic Exclusive Economic Zone and external territories)
5.2.3. presents information in easy-to-understand ways with a variety of formats for download and visualisation
5.2.4. includes external, reputable information from up-to-date sources domestically and around the world, including from other national and transnational climate services.

That the National Climate Service develop robust quality assurance processes for data, tools, information and services provided by the National Climate Service and made available on the climate information portal.

That the National Climate Service conduct a gap analysis of Australia’s climate data and information needs and user literacy and refresh this regularly.

That the National Climate Service promote data standards to integrate and connect data from different fields, aligned with international best practice.

That the Australian Government require, and fund as necessary, the responsible agencies to uplift natural hazard data inputs to a level required by the National Climate Service and the National Emergency Management Agency, with co-ordination of data for emergency management (e.g. hazard extent mapping, forecasting and tracking of historical events) to be managed by National Emergency Management Agency and hazard projections to be co-ordinated by the National Climate Service.

That the Australian Government require the National Emergency Management Agency make its data and products opensource and accessible to government and the public wherever possible.

That the Australian Government ensure the National Climate Service has adequate budget allocation to reasonably meet escalating needs for a national climate service capability.

That the Australian Government signal to partners and suppliers that the National Climate Service is open to collaborating and data sharing

That the Australian Government require all publicly funded climate models to be published on the National Computing Infrastructure with minimal restrictions, to encourage wide reuse and scientific scrutiny.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code Governance Committee publish aggregate data on code breaches by clause, individual insurer, and brand.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government continue to work with the states and territories through National Cabinet to ensure that disaster and resilience funding, and non-financial support, are accessible and adequate for all councils, particularly smaller councils. The Committee recommends that the Government work with the states and territories through National Cabinet to ensure more disaster support can be triggered at the sub-Local Government Area level when needed.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government continue to work with the insurance industry through the Hazards Insurance Partnership to collate:
- data contained in the National Flood Information Database, and
- household-level data held by insurers (de-identified where appropriate).

The Committee recommends that a climate financing framework be developed in relation to government mitigation and adaptation funding. That this framework create the appropriate incentives for both public sector and private sector investment in mitigation and more resilient buildings and infrastructure. This would include:
- Rigorous project evaluation and prioritisation, including cost benefit analysis and the incorporation of climate modelling.
- Strong project governance including reporting, monitoring and evaluation.
- Post-project price monitoring where appropriate.
- The development of resilience financing where feasible and appropriate.
- The exploration of public-private partnerships to coinvest in new or upgraded infrastructure.

The Committee recommends that the General Insurance Code of Practice provide that final cash settlements:
- Be provided in a template form that is standardised across all insurers. The template should include a clear itemisation of all key elements of the total sum. The template be designed with input from peak consumer organisations and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
- Should include actionable, comprehensive, and transparent quotes.
- Should clearly identify compensation for unforeseen risks and project management risk (as identified in Recommendation 9).

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government ultimately move towards a national, centralised, public-facing portal containing flood risk data at the household level for:
- all households and small businesses across Australia, and
- all land being considered for release for development and all land that has been released for development, but not yet developed.
Agencies tasked with developing the portal should reflect upon governments’ past efforts to develop similar portals and lessons learnt. The portal should be easily accessible, user friendly and display high-quality flood risk information in a way that is readily understandable to communities. That before data is released on such a portal for existing properties (residential and small business), that the entity creating the flood study release that data through a staged process involving appropriate community consultation and engagement.

The Committee recommends the Australian Government continue to fund community level mitigation, ensuring at least $200 million per year ongoing.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government work with state and territory governments to ensure flood maps are produced to a high standard across the nation, regardless of the size of the local government area producing the modelling. This may require:
- increased funding for local government areas and water authorities, and
- the development of agreed standards to ensure that flood mapping is completed to at least an agreed minimum standard.
That, over time, this higher quality flood modelling be made freely accessible to homeowners and the general public along with easy to understand information about flood risk exposures at each property. This may be best undertaken in the first instance by local councils and/or water authorities responsible for generating the flood modelling, consistent with Recommendation 3 of the Actuaries Institute’s Funding for Flood Costs report (August 2023).

The Committee recommends the Australian Government consider measures to improve the affordability of flood insurance for existing policyholders with high flood risk properties, including the appropriateness of a government supported reinsurance arrangement. Any interventions to improve the affordability of flood insurance should be pursued in accordance with to the following interdependent principles:
- Affordable cover for even high-risk properties. Flood insurance should be available to all Australian homeowners and body corporate lot owners at an affordable price, but with conditions.
- Price signals. Any assistance to affordable insurance should not compromise price signals against full cost of risk. This could be achieved by partial (but not full) reduction of the premium and/or a gradual phasing out of some assistance.
- Cross-subsidies. Any scheme of reinsurance support or subsidies should minimise cross-subsidisation through premiums where possible as this could raise issues of fairness (for example, low-income households cross-subsiding higher risk high-income households) and could be economically inefficient in that it may create a disincentive to insure.
- Phase-out. That any scheme involving public funding being devoted to a reinsurance pool or subsidies, should be phased out over time in line with ongoing investment in community and household mitigation to reduce the underlying risk over time.
- The underlying risk: no new developments. Governments at all three levels should commit to arrangements (including more public disclosure) to ensure that no new developments occur in high-risk areas.
- The underlying risk: community mitigation. Federal and State governments should commit to ongoing investment in community mitigation. This should include a guaranteed minimum annual investment level and the development of rigorous business cases.
- The underlying risk: household mitigation. Households and small business should be provided with information on mitigation options and their premiums should be reduced immediately when they undertake such mitigation.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s MoneySmart life insurance claims comparison tool be extended to general insurance.

The Committee recommends the Australian Securities and Investments Commission consider seeking data from insurers on their performance based on the metrics recommended in Recommendation 51:
- Quarterly, for business-as-usual operations
- Monthly, for each declared event.

The Committee acknowledges the increased funding for the community legal sector recently announced. While the focus of this funding will be for family violence services, the Committee recommends that an appropriate proportion be dedicated to natural disaster services.

The Committee recommends that insurers invest in their IT systems to improve the storage of policyholders’ key documentation and case notes, including correspondence and discussions. Case managers should also be suitably trained and resourced to implement quality record-keeping.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the General Insurance Code Governance Committee share data so that it is possible to evaluate breaches of the General Insurance Code of Practice in the context of an insurers’ overall claims profile.

The Committee recommends a more flexible approach to post-flood grant arrangements, to expand eligibility to include some insured people, including:
- The Australian and state governments, in consultation with local governments and the insurance industry, make design, implementation and communication improvements to recovery programs to avoid future delays due to unanticipated or poorly managed interactions with insurance claims processes.
- The Australian and state governments review eligibility criteria for recovery programs, including grants, to ensure they are fit for purpose. This should include consideration of extending support currently restricted to uninsured people to include some insured people, where justified by local and individual circumstances.
- The Australian Government investigate the advantages and risks of enabling access to the Home Equity Access Scheme for resilience improvements by people who cannot access or afford flood cover.

The Committee recommends the Australian Government and Insurance Council of Australia explore measures to facilitate the exchange of substantiated information about the resilience of a property to insurers, including new mitigation measures undertaken through state-based grant and loan programs.

The committee recommends that the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements be amended to set aside a proportion of funding to be offered to local governments up-front to help facilitate disaster recovery and resilience to ensure councils do not always have to bear the burden of financing repairs up-front.

The committee recommends that the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements and relevant guidelines be amended to enable funds to be distributed for the purpose of building betterment into recovery and reconstruction, ensuring that this funding is available to all jurisdictions.

Disaster funding investments should elevate the role of local First Nations leadership in emergency management through formal recognition and resourcing for their actions and decision-making during disasters.

When designing disaster management outcomes for First Nations communities, the Commonwealth should consider flexible funding arrangements to support community self-determination towards disaster preparedness, risk reduction and resilience as part of the Outcomes Policy.
- Existing relevant programs, such as the National Indigenous Australians Agency administered Indigenous Rangers Program, could be expanded to include specific support for disaster risk reduction, resilience and recovery efforts.

The Commonwealth should clarify and more narrowly define an exceptional circumstances consideration (currently Category D). This should include:
- More narrowly and explicitly defining when the exceptional circumstances consideration can be utilised for recovery objectives consistent with a categorisation that acknowledges short-, medium- and long-term recovery.
- Requiring the completion of a comprehensive impact assessment, or noting if a project was identified as a priority through the Risk Profile.
-Aligning longer term recovery initiatives considered as part of the (current) Category D in conjunction with the Risk Profile.

The Commonwealth should prioritise the redirection of AGDRP funding, which occurs because of a refined role, towards natural disaster resilience and risk reduction program/s.
- The DRF could be a vehicle through which any funding redirected from the AGDRP could be used to progress national disaster risk reduction and resilience priorities.

The Commonwealth should prioritise its data coordination efforts, including the provision of timely decision relevant information to assist decision makers to manage their risks and satisfy their disaster management objectives.
- Relevant data includes disaster risk information, climate hazard impact, capability and capacity information and vulnerability data.
-The data provided should be in a format that is usable by decision makers across all levels of government.

The Commonwealth should ensure that the Outcomes Policy includes outcomes that directly reference disadvantaged or disproportionately impacted groups to ensure their needs are appropriately considered by disaster funding programs.

The Commonwealth should remove existing current DRFA Category A, B, C, and D and negotiate their replacement with a criteria framework that categorises measures into short- (or immediate), medium-, and long-term recovery initiatives and groups initiatives according to their domain (natural, social, economic and built).

The intent of the AGDRP should be refined to clarify its role in the disaster management funding system. This should be achieved through:
- Prioritising a clear intent statement that clarifies the purpose of the AGDRP.
- De-conflicting the AGDRP and existing DRFA hardship payments.
- Considering the AGDRP as part of a holistic package of support to individuals and families, not in addition to existing DRFA provisions. This should include consideration of the Disaster Recovery Allowance (DRA).
- Aligning eligibility with the clarified role and intent of the AGDRP.
- Strengthening eligibility based on criteria including geographic location, impact zones and reducing the eligibility timeframes.

The Outcomes Policy should:
- Outline natural disaster related investment priorities of the Commonwealth and apply to all Commonwealth departments and agencies investment initiatives.
- Ensure appropriate consideration of investment that is scalable, sustainable, effective, equitable, transparent and accessible.
- Give deliberate consideration to funding initiatives across the disaster continuum, and particularly across the four domains: natural, social, economic and built.
- Ensure that all Commonwealth disaster investment is coordinated, monitored and evaluated.

The Commonwealth should clarify the role of the DRFA in the current Commonwealth disaster arrangements. This should be achieved through:
- Reinforcing that the DRFA is a recovery focused funding agreement designed to support state and territory governments to respond to, and for communities to recover from, natural disaster events.
- Acknowledging that the DRFA is not the primary funding mechanism to achieve disaster risk reduction, resilience, and prevention objectives.
- Acknowledging that, wherever possible, recovery measures progressed under the DRFA should still seek to reduce future risk (including betterment provisions) and build future resilience.

The Commonwealth should reconsider, with a view to increasing, the current amount of funding allocated to the DRF, or other similar future programs, to address the disaster risk reduction and resilience priorities identified by the Risk Profile.

The Commonwealth should ensure that all non-self-governing Australian territories are clearly eligible for financial support during and after a natural disaster. Specific reference to external Commonwealth territories should be included in the DRFA, and appropriate triggers for support should be included in all other natural disaster funding related programs.

To the extent possible, where programs are requested to be funded by the Commonwealth that have previously been agreed as part of the Risk Profile, thresholds and administrative arrangements should be streamlined to encourage pre-planning and a risk-based approach.

The DRF should be underpinned by an investment strategy that is informed by the Risk Profile. This should be done through:
- Prioritising state and territory projects that address needs identified through the Risk Profile.
- Introducing an expanded ‘national projects’ stream that the Commonwealth could use to pursue national risk reduction priorities, as identified by the Risk Profile.
- Linking the desired outcomes of the DRF to the Outcomes Policy.
- Aligning the timing and process of decision-making with state and territory governments to ensure proper prioritisation of agreed risk reduction measures.

The Commonwealth should prioritise nation-wide investment in disaster risk reduction and resilience initiatives.

The Commonwealth should adopt an evidence-informed, risk-based approach to Commonwealth disaster funding.

The Commonwealth should review the existing DRFA cost sharing arrangements with state and territory governments, taking into consideration simplicity, equity and the capacity of the individual state and territory governments. Consideration should be given to the appropriate thresholds, reimbursement rates and whether insurance costs should be taken into consideration when determining thresholds.

The committee recommends that the Australian Government ensure that future releases of modelling are provided well in advance of key dates in the ongoing roll-out of the Cyclone Reinsurance Pool.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government strengthen procurement project specifications under the new Federation Funding Agreements Schedule for state and territory government co-funded project proposals to include minimum or preferred requirements for the use of innovative road asset technologies and recyclable materials and methodologies to enable sustainable long-term asset resilience and support a circular economy.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government review funding allocation to support road asset maintenance works under its Infrastructure Investment Program and consider other measures to incentivise increased investment in maintenance works.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government strengthen procurement requirements under the new Federation Funding Agreements Schedule on transport infrastructure for state and territory government cofunded project proposals to incorporate resilience design, minimum road construction requirements, and performance specifications to enable sustainable long-term resilience over an asset’s lifecycle.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a review into the distribution formula of the Financial Assistance Grants road component.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government investigate options to include flexibility to fund preparedness measures through Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements to assist in mitigating against future disaster events.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government implement options for greater flexibility for betterment funding for resilient infrastructure builds, where structural, economic or social benefits are identified, through Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements eligibility criteria following natural disaster events

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government review the funding approval timeframes as part of the joint Australian-State and Territory Government Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government work with state, territory and local governments and road agencies, including Austroads and the National Transport Research Organisation, to address existing road asset data gaps by developing a comprehensive understanding of the road network condition and standardised road asset dataset, with agreement on the following:
- a common definition of road asset data
- a consistent format across road asset data collection and storage.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government, as part of the development of a Federation Funding Agreements Schedule on transport infrastructure, assess options to improve the alignment and coordination of funding programs and application and approval processes with state and territory partner-funded bodies.

The National Emergency Manaement Agency:
a. clearly and accurately presents Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements related information in its Portfolio Budget Statements; and
b. develops an appropriate set of Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements performance measures that cover the efficiency and effectiveness of the full range of the National Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements activities

For future emergency response programs, the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water develop requirements for service provider reporting that enables output and outcome data to be compared or aggregated to provide assessment of progress at the program level.

Melbourne Water should immediately update the Mid Maribyrnong flood model with a modern two dimensional flood model developed in accordance with Melbourne Water guidelines and use this model to set new design flood levels.

Melbourne Water should review their flood models every five years and update them at least every 10 years and after the occurrence of a major flood.

Melbourne Water should commission an independent expert review and audit of their forecasting system with the aim of identifying areas where forecast accuracy, warning times and model run times could be improved.

Melbourne Water should use the hydraulic model being developed (expected to become available in April 2024) to determine (and be subjected to independent peer review) the impact of the Flemington Floodwall and the efficacy of the associated downstream compensatory works.

Melbourne Water should adopt forecasting tools which enable forecasts to be made within a total of no more than 60 minutes.

Melbourne Water should ensure that their rating curves, which represent the relationships between river levels and corresponding river flows, extend also to rare and extreme flood events and have been derived using established bestpractice.

Melbourne Water should have a protocol that enables flood forecasting at intervals at less than two hours when prudent to do so by reason of the responsiveness of the catchment for significant events.

Melbourne Water needs to ensure that rainfall runoff and flood models are calibrated to observed flood information.

To ensure that the LEMA Review leads to improved LEMA processes and outputs that are responsive to the needs and capacity of the WA LG sector, WALGA recommends that the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and SEMC approve and secure funding for a three-year LEMA Improvement Project to implement the LEMA Review improvement actions (August 2023 – August 2026).

Advanced technologies Insurers should consider the commercial feasibility of technologies such as machine learning, automation and generative AI to improve handling times and customer experience, particularly in the context of responding to a catastrophe

To support customer communication, insurers could consider an app or portal for customers to self-serve information on claim process, status, time to next update, key contact details etc. Further advancements could include the ability to extract claim details for third-parties (e.g. government, banks).

ICA data capture To provide greater transparency on the industry’s response to catastrophes, the ICA should develop a data dictionary to enhance industry-wide reporting and investigate the feasibility of extending data capture to other claim outcome measures such as closure rates, quality and complaints.

Insurers would benefit from an integrated infrastructure that allows them to understand, track and monitor claims, including third-party supplier involvement, to enable improved decision making and better interaction and information provision to customers.

Insurers should improve data capture, modelling and reporting to assist with identifying and mitigating against factors that impact their ability to progress claims in response to a catastrophe, including bottlenecks (e.g. hydrology reports).

Insurers should review the manual processes that result in bottlenecks during catastrophes, to consider how digitisation or re-engineering would improve claim processing.

Improved coordination between insurers and government is required when access to government disaster funding requires evidence of an insurance claim status. Improvements should focus on removing unnecessary information requirements, agreeing the format and nature of information required, and alignment on timeframes.

The Inspector-General of Emergency Management recommends the following change to the way that Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements are supported through Queensland’s Disaster Management Arrangements:
a. That the Queensland Reconstruction Authority be Queensland’s lead agency coordinating Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. Ministerial responsibility for activation of Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements should transfer from the Minister for Police and Corrective Services and Minister for Fire and Emergency Services, to the Minister responsible for the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.

Jurisdictions should also contribute resourcing to implement the priorities for action, such as contributions in-kind and other funding, proportionate to the size of the jurisdiction. Funding should not be sourced from the Disaster Ready Fund given the dependence local government has on that funding source.

The Commonwealth should allocate a significant program budget to the Ministerial Council to enable effective implementation of its five national priorities for action.
- To achieve this, it should consider, in consultation with the States and Territories, renewing the Disaster Risk Reduction Package (DRRP) fund, which expires in June of next year and includes a major component focused on national-level efforts to reduce disaster risk.
- An allocation on the order of $10m per year would be a reasonable approximation of the level of funding required to support implementation of the NEMMM’s five national priorities for action.

In light of the fact that NEMA is a small agency with far fewer options than much larger government departments to reallocate resources for their Ministerial Council Secretariats, the Commonwealth should consider supplementing NEMA’s funding for this purpose.
- The NEMA Secretariat should be staffed by a well-resourced team with high-level public policy experience across the preparedness and response and recovery and DRR/resilience agendas.
- The Secretariat should be led by a senior executive, with the high-level policy, communication and facilitation skills and experience, as the core function of that person’s job.
- A significant travel budget should be included for the Secretariate to enable regular in- person engagement with the jurisdictions.
- NEMA should identify options, including incentives, to reduce staff turnover in these critical Secretariat functions.

The Commonwealth should allocate a significant budget to ANZEMC to support implementation of the NEMMM’s five priorities for action. The States and Territories should contribute as well, with their support, such as contributions in-kind and other resourcing, proportionate to the size of the jurisdiction.

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.  

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.

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.

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.

Housing and development funding options: That, to empower vulnerable people and communities to avoid significant impacts from flood as well as drive broader investment in adaptation, Government through NSWRA:
• consider establishing a NSW Mitigation Fund as a form of secured finance as a lien on title, such as rates-based or utility-based financing, to allow the Government to harness private sector monies to deliver cost-effective flood-resilient retrofits for existing dwellings
• investigate whether trading mechanisms for development rights, renegotiation with developers with existing rights, or uplift value capture to fund buy-outs could reduce existing and anticipated development in areas of greatest flood risks, with an initial focus on the Northern Rivers region and the Hawkesbury-Nepean. In doing so, Government should:
— ensure that tradeable rights facilitate the construction of additional homes in line with regional plans, in particular the Government’s six cities vision developed by the Greater Cities Commission
— fund voluntary property purchases in identified locations through the issuing of tradeable development rights
• work with the insurance industry to ensure that works are undertaken such that they would improve access to lower cost insurance products, improving upon existing guidelines from voluntary house raising schemes
• ensure that local delivery partners provide a seamless consumer experience in a cost-effective manner, whilst meeting community expectations for consumer protection and responsible lending
• consider how the NSW Mitigation Fund mechanism can address other adaptation and mitigation opportunities such as improving flood resilience for structures in areas of extreme risk and reducing emissions and bills whilst improving human health outcomes through energy efficient retrofits and home electrification.

That the NSW Government advocate through the National Cabinet to widen eligibility under the Disaster Funding Recovery Arrangements to allow local councils to build back better.

That the NSW Government allocate funding to the improvement of the Pitt Town Evacuation Route and other key possible evacuation routes in Sydney's northwest.

That the NSW Government consider entering into a service agreement with an organisation that has the resources and capacity to manage donations and activate quickly during natural disasters.

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.

That the NSW Government ensure that flood affected individuals can continue to access financial assistance for as long as there is demonstrated need. 

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 work with local governments to identify alternative routes to vulnerable roads, and that the NSW and Australian Governments fund the construction of these important routes to improve evacuation and access options in times of disaster.

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. 

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.

We recommend that DELWP enhances bushfire modelling by: - exploring multiple bushfire modelling tools to lower the uncertainty and limitations associated with using a single modelling tool - applying more detailed fire-severity data - validating and updating fuel accumulation curves - establishing and regularly updating an archive of well-documented fire events and using this to systematically test it against a broad range of burning and fuel conditions - establishing and implementing processes to routinely review and update its underlying datasets.

The Inspector-General for Emergency Management recommends that Emergency Management Victoria – in consultation with relevant agencies – develop a system to manage personnel and asset deployments to all tiers of incident management to meet the needs of the emergency and support the health and wellbeing of personnel. Where appropriate and within occupational health and safety requirements, this may include:
a) standardised shift rosters across agencies and incident management tiers
b) a single or integrated platform to allow consistent recording of shift times and locations
c) records of accreditation, qualification, training and currency. 

Australian, state and territory governments should agree to: 
(1) develop consistent and compatible methods and metrics to measure health impacts related to natural disasters, including mental health, and 
(2) take steps to ensure the appropriate sharing of health and mental health datasets. 

Australian, state and territory governments should establish a national register of fire and emergency services personnel, equipment and aerial assets. 

Australian, state and territory governments should continue to develop a greater capacity to collect and share standardised and comprehensive natural disaster impact data. 

Australian, state and territory governments should create simpler Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements application processes. 

Australian, state and territory governments should create common information platforms and share technologies to enable collaboration in the production, analysis, access, and exchange of information, data and knowledge about climate and disaster risks. 

Australian, state and territory governments should develop consistent processes for the classification, recording and sharing of fuel load data. 

Australian, state and territory governments should broaden Category D of the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements to encompass funding for recovery measures that are focused on resilience, including in circumstances which are not ‘exceptional’. 

Australian, state and territory governments should prioritise the implementation of harmonised data governance and national data standards. 

Australian, state and territory governments should ensure greater consistency and collaboration in the collation, storage, access and provision of data on the distribution and conservation status of Australian flora and fauna. 

Australian, state and territory and local governments should develop greater consistency in the financial support provided to individuals, small businesses and primary producers under the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements. 

Government consider adopting a similar model to NSW for the management of emergency costs and reimbursements within ACT Government agencies.

Government consider an alternative funding arrangement for extraordinary costs borne by Government agencies in combating emergencies such as bushfires.

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.

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.

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.

That Government work with other Australian governments to provide long-term funding certainty to AFAC, including the National Resource Sharing Centre (NRSC) and the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC).

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 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, 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, as part of the spatial technology acceleration program, Government support deployment of remote sensing and picture processing technologies to monitor and audit how well Asset Protection Zones and defendable space are being maintained, especially around towns.

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 improve capability to detect ignitions and monitor accurately all fire edge intensity and progression automatically across the State in near real time, Government establish a spatial technology acceleration program to maximise the information available from the various remote sensing technologies currently in use and to plan for inclusion of new remote sensing systems that can sense precisely and rapidly through heavy smoke, cloud, fog and dust. This will require work within the State and with partners nationally and internationally.

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 the NSW Government, along with other Australian governments, ask AFAC to establish a national bush fire database. This database would enable:
- monitoring of trends in bush fire activity and impacts, including timing, cause, extent and intensity across all land tenures and vegetation types
- tracking trends and identifying patterns in associated weather and climate signals that contribute to severe bush fires
- evaluation of the cost and effectiveness of risk mitigation efforts, including hazard reduction, and fire suppression activities so we have a better understanding of what works.

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 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.

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.

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.

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. 

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

The ability to share, analyse, interrogate and display information from disparate entities should be progressed as a matter of some urgency.

We recommend that, in the absence of stand-alone catchment management authorities, the Department of Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning as a matter of priority, establish what funding is reasonably required and complete all elements of the Brisbane River Catchment Flood Studies.

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

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.

Subject to funding, that the Flood Warning Consultative Committee investigates the hydrological matters and advice received during this Review and detailed in this Report in Sections 4.1.9 and 4.1.11.

That the Flood Warning Consultative Committee considers the merits of delineating the Ouse River as a separate catchment from the Derwent River Basin.

That Government:
• undertakes a comprehensive assessment of flood mapping in Tasmania with a view to identifying data gaps, quality and currency, and works collaboratively with councils to identify funding to improve current statewide flood data; and • explores the feasibility of undertaking a comprehensive flood mapping of Tasmania, using LiDAR or other contemporary technology, with the objective of identifying which parts of our State are, and are not, prone to riverine flooding.

That agencies undertaking flood studies adopt a standardised approach, based on Australia Handbook 7, maintain public ownership of underlying data sets to support future modelling, and ensure open access to these studies.

That SES uploads current flood studies and plans to the Common Operating Platform as a flood plan layer and that councils, subject to resolving licence restrictions, arrange to have appropriate access.

That BoM and the Flood Warning Consultative Committee, in consultation with gauge owners, review flood gauges and develop a program to update data used to support hydrologic modelling. This should include reviewing gauge maintenance before and after floods.

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

That consideration and resources be given to support the implementation of recommendations in the report prepared on behalf of Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources (Australian Water Environments, 2016), for flood warning classification of stream gauges and other locations.

That the Flood Reform Task Group identify an appropriate mechanism for stakeholder agencies (including the State Emergency Service, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Bureau of Meteorology and SA Water, as a minimum) to share data and information and develop plans and strategies for management of water levels in reservoirs and spill management during floods in South Australian water catchments

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

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 development of an integrated intelligence system that allows police officers secure access to all information platforms should also provide for the recording of all command decisions, the reasons for them, and the dissemination of those decisions.

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

The Committee recommends the State Fire Commission be fully reimbursed for the costs of the State Emergency Service transfer in years 2014 to 2017.

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.

Investigate the costs and benefits of delivering a public education and awareness program.

Make coastal mapping available to public.

Extend current tsunami maritime hazard modelling project to deliver coastal inundation modelling.

Investigate the costs and benefits in enhancing the current Tsunami warning arrangements with signage and audible warning systems at key exposed locations (e.g. Port Arthur and Kingston Beach).

Deliver updated inundation mapping.

Ensure sufficient investment in controls across the PPRR spectrum with a focus on Prevention and Mitigation.

Investigate the costs and benefits in enhancing the current Tsunami detection buoy network.

Develop a statewide flood hazard map for use within the Tasmanian Planning System.

Improve beach morphology mapping to understand coastal inundation, including post-event surveys.

Impact Assessment Data Collection: The Office of Emergency Management continues to progress the Impact Assessment Data Collection Project and: · incorporate recovery schema in Rapid Impact Assessments · review procedures for collection of Rapid Impact Assessment Data · review and combine current templates into one, single template for Impact Assessment Reports that is used by all agencies · further develop Impact Assessment Guidelines for agency personnel undertaking impact assessments

That the NSW Rural Fire Service investigate mechanisms to enhance the predictability of megafires and how this information is communicated easily to the public.

That the Department of Justice & Regulation broadens Budget Paper 3 response time measures to more comprehensively cover emergency responses to fires, rescues and other emergencies.

In accordance with recommendations of the BMT WBM report, the Banana Shire Council, SunWater, and the Bureau of Meteorology, under the stewardship of the Department of Natural Resources and Mines, jointly identify the requirements for a suitable gauge network for the Callide Valley to allow meaningful and timely flood warnings. The review should identify key stakeholders, examine potential funding sources and include a cost benefit analysis.

Impact Assessment Data Sharing Project
There is a clear need to train and raise awareness amongst Local and Regional Emergency
Management Committees (LEMC / REMC), as well as community and non-government
agencies about how important impact assessment data is to recovery planning. The Impact
Assessment Data Sharing Project should continue in development, exploiting opportunities
to improve efficiency and effectiveness of response and recovery decision making.

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.

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

The State equip itself to undertake rapid air quality monitoring in any location in Victoria, to: • collect all relevant data, including data on PM , carbon monoxide and ozone; and 2.5 • ensure this data is used to inform decision-making within 24 hours of the incident occurring.

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 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.

Alternatively, I recommend that the RFS consider developing such capacity to deploy weather balloons itself, in conjunction with mobile weather stations, for this purpose.

That the Rural Fire Service consider proposing an arrangement with the Bureau of Meteorology to deploy weather balloons specifically for the purpose of assessing atmospheric instability during periods of severe to catastrophic fire danger in locations most likely to be severely affected, for example, areas in which a very high C-Haines index reading is registered and local fires have been identified.

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

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. 

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. 

The Australian Government should gradually increase the amount of annual mitigation funding it provides to state and territory governments to $200 million. Initially, this funding should be distributed to state and territory governments in accordance with the allocation under the National Partnership Agreement on Natural Disaster Resilience.

Governments should task the Australia–New Zealand Emergency Management Committee with leading the development of guidelines for the collection and dissemination of natural hazard mapping, modelling and metadata. Guidelines should be developed for all hazards that need to be modelled and mapped at the local/regional level and where consistency across regions is desirable.

Funding to state and territory governments for community recovery should be provided as untied grants, with a transition period pending the development of a framework to assess community recovery costs. During the transition period, the Australian Government should continue to provide funding for community recovery through a reimbursement model.
Eligible community recovery expenditure during this transition period should be rationalised to counter disaster operations, personal hardship relief and community relief packages. Eligible expenditure should be limited to activities that arise as a direct consequence of a natural disaster and that:
• have widespread community benefits and would be underprovided without government support
• provide targeted longer-term assistance to people who have limited financial resources and have suffered severe losses
• provide personal and financial counselling aimed at alleviating personal hardship and distress arising as a direct result of a natural disaster
• are additional to the normal responsibilities of state, territory and local governments.

Governments at all levels should make new and currently held natural hazard data publicly available in accordance with open public sector information principles. When collecting new natural hazard data or undertaking modelling, all levels of government should:
• make information publicly available unless it would not be in the public interest to do so
• use private-sector providers where cost effective, and use licencing arrangements that allow for public dissemination. Where there are costs involved in obtaining intellectual property rights for existing data, governments should weigh up these costs against the public benefits of making the data freely accessible
• apply cost recovery where governments are best placed to collect or analyse specialist data for which the benefits accrue mostly to private sector users.

Where asset management plans at the local, state or territory level pre-identify and cost betterment of assets (improving asset resilience to natural disasters), the Australian Government should share 50 per cent of the betterment component of reconstruction costs following damage from a (eligible) natural disaster.

The Australian Government should fund natural disaster recovery by:
• cost sharing with state and territory governments for community recovery and reconstruction of essential public assets at a rate of 50 per cent above an annual expenditure threshold
• providing funding based on assessed damages and benchmark prices
• providing an option for state and territory governments to purchase ‘top-up’ fiscal support at an actuarially fair price.
Australian Government involvement should be triggered where an annual (financial year) cumulative expenditure threshold of 0.45 per cent of total state government revenue is met, on an accrued basis. A small disaster criterion of $2 million (indexed over time) should be applied to events at the state or territory level.
The Australian Government should also establish a transparent mechanism for exceptional circumstances fiscal support in the event of extraordinary and catastrophic natural disasters that clearly overwhelm a state or territory’s medium-term fiscal capacity.

The Australian Government should develop a formula for allocating mitigation funding to state and territory governments on the basis of where such funding is likely to achieve the greatest net benefits, taking into account the future risks of natural disasters. This should be completed within five years and in consultation with state and territory governments.

The Australian Government should:
• publish estimates (and their confidence ranges) of future costs of natural disasters to its budget in the Statement of Risks. These estimates should be informed by catastrophe loss modelling
• provision for a base level of natural disaster expenditure in the budget forward estimates, in recognition of the fact that there will be some level of Australian Government expenditure on natural disasters each year.

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 collate and centrally monitor financial data including the cost to government of IHPT

Western Australia Health should develop and agree with St John Ambulance a new funding model for emergency ambulance services focusing on standards, performance and allocation of risk

That police and other emergency service agencies establish and maintain effective recording systems for emergency operations.

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

That the resources available to the Parks and Wildlife Service, to manage bushfire risk following the recent increase in land under its tenure, is reviewed.

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

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

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

That Tasmania Fire Service establishes suitable systems and practices for recording fire management objectives and tactics.

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

That if a sound business case is developed, the Emergency Information Management and Sharing Project be supported.

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

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

TFS should take steps to obtain cell transmission coverage maps for LBS-based EA messages and take note of the need for training of staff to ensure that messages are drafted carefully and appropriately so as to take cell transmission coverage into account.

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.

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.

That duplication of infrastructure be costed and taken into account when considering whether to proceed with the Whole of Government network.

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 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 cease drawing from South Australia Police or other Community safety and emergency service budgets to fund the Directorate and instead merge its work and functions with the pre-existing South Australia Fire and Emergency Services Commission for zero total State and other Community safety and emergency service budget impact.

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 the Government increase the budgets of all emergency services and community safety organisations, including: i. seeking Federal funding where appropriate (and assisting at no cost volunteer organisations with the grants application process); and ii. considering, with full public and cost benefit analysis, reviewing the effectiveness and efficiency of the Emergency Services Levy; and iii. consider including St John Ambulance Australia SA Ltd in the bodies to benefit from the Emergency services Levy if the funding of other Community Safety and Emergency services providers is improved in line with this recommendation.

That the Government increase the budgets of all emergency services and community safety organisations, including:
i. seeking Federal funding where appropriate (and assisting at no cost volunteer organisations with the grants application process); and
ii. considering, with full public and cost benefit analysis, reviewing the effectiveness and efficiency of the Emergency Services Levy; and
iii. consider including St John Ambulance Australia SA Ltd in the bodies to benefit from the Emergency services Levy if the funding of other Community Safety and Emergency services providers is improved in line with this recommendation.

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 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 the Government cease drawing from South Australia Police or other Community safety and emergency service budgets to fund the Directorate and instead merge its work and functions with the pre-existing South Australia Fire and Emergency Services Commission for zero total State and other Community safety and emergency service budget impact.

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.

The Manager of the Geographic Information Systems unit conduct an audit of the Firecom mapping system to ensure that rural Brigade and road addressing is up to date.

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 the Rural Fire Service Queensland upgrades its subscription to technology for the Brigade Mapping Toolset to make it available to all Brigades who want it.

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 the State Government contribution towards the purchase of operational vehicles is to be retained at 80 percent but that the District Inspector can recommend full Government subsidy of vehicles for Brigades experiencing financial hardship.

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.

That the RFSQ central office undertake a review of Firecom procedures in relation to Rural Fire Service callouts. Each Rural Fire Service Queensland district office should also undertake a review of the Firecom data sets/callout information for their district to establish call out protocols are correct.

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.

That the State Government contribution towards the construction of Brigade sheds be changed from $10,000 to a maximum of 25 percent, subject to the approval of the Deputy Chief Officer, Rural Fire Service Queensland.

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 catalogue accurately reflects the range of equipment available.

When a local Rural Fire Brigade requests an equipment and maintenance levy from a local government authority, that authority will either supply the brigade’s equipment and maintenance costs or raise the requested levy. The amount to be collected is to be agreed between the local Brigade and the local government authority.

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 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 Rural Fire Service Queensland develops a simple data collection system to record the activities of brigades.

That the current Urban Fire Levy be changed to the Queensland Fire Levy.

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

That the Department of Health facilitates the sharing of hospital patient outcome data with Queensland Ambulance Service to help measure the effect of pre-hospital care on patient outcomesThat the Department of Health facilitates the sharing of hospital patient outcome data with Queensland Ambulance Service to help measure the effect of pre-hospital care on patient outcomes.

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 a budget based on the desired functional accountabilities should be appropriated to the Portfolio Business as part of the Government budget process.

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 the funding model for the Portfolio Business is not based on fee- for-service arrangements or notional contributions from the operational services.

That should the Westgate project proceed, that consideration must be given to opportunities to partner the investment with the private and public sectors. The business case should also consider alternative facilities such as Australian Defence Force sites.

That a new business case for Westgate project should be prepared by an independent party.

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 proposed Chief Executive Officer Portfolio Business be responsible for developing a cost attribution model for portfolio agencies, including the Queensland Police Service, as a priority.

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 Office of Portfolio Business follows the same budget processes as other agencies.

That all agencies participating in these activities should, as far as legally possible, share data sets whether or not the relevance is immediately obvious.

That the NSW Rural Fire Service apply for funding from the NSW Treasury for the development of a multi-agency business case for a BRIMS replacement that includes internal management, risk communication, community engagement capability and publishing activities on websites.

That the NSW Rural Fire Service and the NSW Treasury explore ways to ensure that unspent hazard reduction funds be carried over to the next financial year in a timely manner and to ensure that hazard reduction funding has a seamless transition from one financial year to the next.

The committee recommends that the government develop a process by which the ATSB can request access to supplementary funding via the minister.

In order to further build on the value for money review work being undertaken by the National Disaster Recovery Taskforce (on behalf of the Australian Government Reconstruction Inspectorate), the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO)  recommends that the Taskforce:
(a) apply greater scrutiny to project cost data, particularly in circumstances where the data provided for review includes lump sums; and
(b) develop the capacity to independently benchmark actual cost data for Queensland reconstruction projects.

The committee recommends that the Australian Government direct an appropriate portion of the proceeds derived from the auction of spectrum to fund the allocation of 20 MHz of spectrum in the 700 MHz band for the purposes of a national public safety mobile broadband network.

The Territory and Municipal Services Directorate should annually (and on a cumulative basis) track and report on funds allocated for, and spent on, its Bushfire Operations Plan to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services.

The Territory and Municipal Services Directorate should enhance internal monitoring of its implementation of bushfire management activities and spending under the Bushfire Operations Plan by routinely reconciling figures in this plan with those in the Directorate’s corporate financial system.

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 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. 

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 the Commonwealth prioritise completion of a hydrographic survey of Christmas Island and ensure that such a survey is completed in the near future. 

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. 

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

Better maps are required for urban/rural interface fires

Fuel loads on private property need to be identified and included in understanding fire behaviour in determine the contribution they make to the burn risk assessment.

Maps prepared for prescribed burns should address the fuel type and burn history of the burn area as well as surrounding areas. Predicted rates of spread under prescribed and other conditions should recognise the complexity of coastal heathlands.

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

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.

The Minister for Emergency Services ensure that a Statewide fuel load database that includes data from Western Power, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and the Department of Environment and Conservation be established before the 2013-14 bushfire season.

The Ministers for Emergency Services, Environment and Police provide additional funds in the 2013-14 Budget so that the State’s emergency response agencies can implement a Psychological First Aid approach to preparing staff to deal with critical incidents and disasters, as is used in other Australian jurisdictions.

The state government review the current funding approach used for the operation, maintenance and upgrade of river gauges, with a view to improving the river gauge network.

The funding model for works on levees and their ongoing maintenance be revised, to be primarily based on the beneficiary pays principle. The state government should give consideration to wholly funding, or contributing to, the initial upgrade of high priority levees to an agreed standard. The construction of any new public levees will be the subject of a cost‐benefit analysis to be undertaken by DSE and the public authority, and be supported by a floodplain management study. Levees deemed low priority will be wholly the responsibility of the beneficiaries.

The state government should provide core, ongoing funding to the responsible authority for the FloodSafe community education program. Funding should be provided for education about prevention, response and recovery phases and include information on rates notices about the height of particular floods.

Councils should make their flood and overland flow maps and models available to applicants for development approvals, and to consultants engaged by applicants.

Emergency Management Queensland should develop and implement a new formula for the distribution of its recurrent SES subsidy, which takes into account relevant factors including the size of a local SES contingent and the population, area and natural hazard risk profile of the local government area concerned.

Councils should, resources allowing, maintain flood maps and overland flow path maps for use in development assessment. For urban areas these maps should be based on hydraulic modelling; the model should be designed to allow it to be easily updated as new information (such as information about further development) becomes available.

CS Energy should supplement physical monitoring of Splityard Creek Dam with visual monitoring by installing surveillance cameras or similar devices.

Seqwater should consider engaging a technical writer to develop completely new manuals after the operational strategies for Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine dams are set by the Queensland Government.

All councils should, resources allowing, map the overland flow paths of their urban areas.

That a cost benefit analysis of an integrated ICT desktop and portable capability including iPads and iPhones for all operational personnel be conducted.

A specialist investigation be conducted, using expertise from NT Treasury, to identify more appropriate ways to optimise the use of available funding for bushfire management.

Identify where Australian Government funding is available and apply for funding for integrating weed management, controlled burning, bushfire management and carbon farming initiatives.

Review and rebalance relative investment in long term climate modelling and medium-term seasonal outlook.

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

Review level of investment in research activities to free up budget and reduce pressure on computing capacity

Increased automation and outsourcing of observations

Firm up approval processes and funding for any departures from provision of the basic product set

Explore opportunities to re-phase investments in large scale projects and programs such as the Strategic Radar Enhancement Program, the NexGen Forecast and Warning System Products and the Improving Water Information Program.

Explore options to obtain revenue from advertising on the Bureau’s website

Apply a consistent cost-recovery model to all services delivered to state/territory fire agencies.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government allocate additional and continuing funding in the 2012–2013 budget to the Insurance Law Service to establish a consumer advisory position at the Financial Services Ombudsman. The position should be co-funded by the Insurance Law Service and the insurance industry.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government and relevant State and territory governments jointly allocate additional and continuing funding in the 2012–13 budget to the Insurance Law Service for the mobilisation of a temporary physical presence in areas of need following natural disasters. The service should be available to all persons in an affected disaster area and not subject to means-testing.

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 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 Emergency Services, with advice from the Interagency Bushfire Management Committee Fuel Load Management sub-committee, report to Parliament by May 2012 on the estimated cost of developing one fuel load information system across all lands in Western Australia, no matter who manages it. This system’s information should be readily accessible and easily understood by all stakeholders, including the public.

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

The Fire and Emergency Services Authority, the Department of Environment and Conservation and local governments jointly develop a single, integrated system for fuel load assessment and management. The system should enable public access to allow members of the community to access information about the fuel load in a given locality.

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 Western Australian Local Government Association explore the feasibility of local governments utilising aerial and satellite imagery to monitor firebreaks and fuel loads on private property.

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 Fire and Emergency Services Authority and local governments ensure that the ability to: measure and map fuel loads maintain fuel load databases draw up prescriptions for, and oversee controlled burns are included as key competencies in any future recruitment of Chief Bushfire Control Officers and Community and Emergency Services Managers.

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 State Government move the responsibility for the management and distribution of the Emergency Services Levy to the Department of Finance.

The State Government move the responsibility for the management and distribution of the Emergency Services Levy to the Department of Finance.

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

The State Government ensure that the continued development of the Fire and Emergency Service Authority’s Integrated Bushfire Risk Management System is dependent on an independent comparative assessment of its functionality and cost effectiveness against the Spatial Support System used by the Department of Environment and Conservation.

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 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 state take into account any outcomes from the Commonwealth Government’s flood mapping reviews in the continual development of the Victorian flood database and to incorporate into the database flood data currently held by Melbourne Water.

the state establish standards for flood mapping to ensure they are kept contemporary and meet the purposes of landuse risk planning and emergency response. In doing so, maps should extend where appropriate to include Probable Maximum Flood, over a range of Annual Exceedence Probability levels and be explicitly linked to a stream gauge.

the state ensure that regional and local flood plans incorporate all available flood mapping and intelligence, including assessments of levees and flood consequence information.

the state, in consultation with Bureau of Meteorology and Melbourne Water, take the necessary action to ensure that all flood warnings issued are linked to the geographical location of the gauge the data was derived from.

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 Fire Services develop a program that enables all communication mediums, including social media and agency websites, to be monitored in real time to provide quality assurance for outgoing messages and additional sources of information and intelligence relating to an emergency

Funding be sought to enable the State Fire Management Council to take a greater coordination role for bushfire risk management and mitigation.

The Committee recommends the provision of substantial funds to improve road infrastructure in the Mitcham Hills to be spent over the 2010/11, 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14 budgets.

that the for Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Emergency Services undertake a thorough review, including consultation with rural fire brigades, regarding the proposed formula for distribution of funding.

that the for Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Emergency Services implement system of fire levies for landholders situated in urban, iZone and village brigade areas.

that QFRS cover the cost of annual vehicle inspection certificates for rural fire brigade registered vehicles.

that QFRS undertake a thorough review of Firecom’s systems, including data integrity and dispatch procedures.

that the for Minister for Police, Corrective Services and Emergency Services ensure that the formula for distribution of funding as recommended above allows rural fire brigades to control any donation or sponsorship funding raised by individual brigades.

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.

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 that the Commonwealth Grants Commission ensures that as part of the current redesign of its data request, state and territory governments are required to include their past insurance and reinsurance receipts for natural disaster insurance premiums. These data must be taken into account by the Commission in determining the states' GST share. 

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 Country Fire Authority and the Department of Sustainability and Environment improve mapping support in the following ways: ■ DSE providing mapping data free of charge to emergency response agencies; ■ greatly increasing the CFA’s ‘write’ access to FireMap for incident management team staff; ■ establishing a joint DSE–CFA training program to ensure that mapping officers in level 2 and 3 incident management teams are fully trained in using FireMap, including in producing fire prediction maps; ■ requiring before the 2010–11 fire season that FireMap be used for joint incidents.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment significantly upgrade its program of long-term data collection to monitor and model the effects of its prescribed burning programs and of bushfires on biodiversity in Victoria.

The State replace the Fire Services Levy with a property-based levy and introduce concessions for low-income earners.

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 conduct biodiversity mapping identifying flora, fauna and any threatened species throughout Victoria and make the results publicly available. The format used should be compatible with that used for Bushfire-prone Area mapping.

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 identify a central point of responsibility for and expertise in mapping bushfire risk to: ■ review urgently the mapping criteria at present used by the Country Fire Authority to map the Wildfire Management Overlay, to ensure that the mapping used to determine building and planning controls is based on the best available science and takes account of all relevant aspects of bushfire risk; ■ map and designate Bushfire-prone Areas for the purposes of planning and building controls, in consultation with municipal councils and fire agencies; ■ finalise the alignment of site-assessment methods for planning and building purposes, taking into account bushfire risk to human safety as well as to property.

The funding arrangements that support the National Plan should be reviewed to ensure that the costs associated with both preparedness and response capability are equitably shared between the shipping and offshore petroleum industries.

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.

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.

Further Commonwealth funding for bushfire suppression be made conditional on state fire agencies agreeing to the Commonwealth evaluating and auditing their fuel reduction programs.

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.

Add an ‘Aviation’ map to the standard set of incident maps. The standard for this map will need to be developed by subject matter experts from the Air Ops 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.

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.

ESWG recommends investigation of options to fund NGERAC’s on-going activities including through AEMO’s funding model.

That port/channel managers are responsible for funding the preparation of marine emergency risk assessments and marine emergency response arrangements and ensuring the availability of identified marine resources in support of response to a marine emergency, to meet their statutory obligations. 

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 port/channel managers should be able, within the general context of the pricing/cost recovery arrangements established under the Port Services Act 1995 and pricing determinations made by the Essential Services Commission, to recover the reasonable costs of meeting their statutory obligations (as per recommendation 26) through charges for prescribed service applied to port users. 

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.

That emergency services are responsible for funding the development of the emergency services marine emergency response capacity/capability to meet their statutory obligations. 

That the Victorian Government provide recurring funding for a significant increase in regionally-based, permanent, or long-tenured, fire management personnel dedicated to the prescribed burning program. The increase in personnel should be consistent with the level required to achieve an annual prescribed burning target of 385,000 hectares.
The pool of available personnel should be suitably diverse and possess a wide variety of disciplines and skill sets, including practical skills. The Department of Sustainability and Environment and its partner agencies should also increase the proportion of personnel with specialist tertiary qualifications, including fire behaviour specialists, forest scientists, landscape ecologists and conservation biologists.
The Department of Environment and Sustainability and its partner agencies should also prioritise the development of programs to reduce the level of staff turnover and the problem of the ageing workforce, through more effective succession planning.

That the Victorian Government establish a five year rolling fund which allows unused prescribed burning monies to be rolled over into future financial years for the purpose of subsequent prescribed burning activities.

Biosecurity Victoria should enhance controls to provide assurance regarding data integrity. This process should include:
• working with local government to provide accurate and complete property data across the state
• enhancing processes for ensuring consistent notification of disease events across regions
• reviewing all processes related to the collation, input, processing, output and protection of data to improve the integrity of the system.

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

That the fees charged in relation to the importation and quarantining of horses be reviewed and fixed without delay having regard to the following factors:
(a) the cost of the drafting, preparation, printing, distribution, publishing, collection, checking, recording and filing of all documents, questionnaires, certificates and forms concerning the importation and quarantining of horses
(b) the cost of employing all people paid by the Commonwealth and engaged in work concerning the importation and quarantining of horses, including the Inspector General and the officer responsible for the importation of horses and their staff
(c) a risk factor that has regard to risks to the Commonwealth, its employees, contractors and all other people, things and animals arising out of, or such as could arise out of, any act or omission for which the Commonwealth might be held liable concerning the importation and quarantining of horses and to the costs that might be incurred by an event or events of the kind that occurred in August 2007
(d) the costs of all drugs, implements, tools, laboratories, establishments, lands, places, buildings and things used or held, licensed or leased or owned by the Commonwealth for or in respect of the importation or quarantining of horses. Depreciation, amortisation, holding and all other costs should be taken into account in calculating these costs
(e) costs and fees charged by other individuals (if any) carrying out the same or similar work to that done by AQIS
(f) any costs of preparing, auditing, reviewing, checking or training in relation to the work instructions and standard operating procedures
(g) an additional and reasonable cost for contingencies of not less than 10 per cent of the sum of all other costs.

That the budgets for airport reception of horses and government controlled and operated quarantine stations be determined so as to be sufficient to fund the operations of the Quarantine Stations in accordance with these recommendations and any further procedures and requirements that are laid down from time to time.

That, until the review of those fees has been completed, the fee charged by the government controlled and operated quarantine stations for thoroughbred stallions temporarily imported into Australia be not be less than $165.00 plus GST a day and the fee for all other horses be not less than $65.00 plus GST a day. No discount is to be allowed for the number of horses in a consignment.

The ANAO recommends that, to ensure that grant conditions are satisfied, EMA enhance procedures to monitor the progress of projects and follow up those behind schedule or not fulfilling funding agreement requirements.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government provide funding support for the ongoing activities of the Australian Coastal Alliance in providing a national information and communication interface between research organisations and local government authorities and other coastal stakeholders.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a National Coastal Zone Database to improve access to and consistency of information relevant to coastal zone adaptation. The National Coastal Zone Database should be an online portal that allows ready access to:
- ‘first pass’ National Coastal Vulnerability Assessment data
- state and local Digital Elevation Modelling
- National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility reports
- federal Local Adaptation Pathways Program reports
- state and local coastal vulnerability assessment results

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government give consideration to establishing a separate funding program for infrastructure enhancement in coastal areas vulnerable to climate change. Such funding should be provided according to a formula requiring contributions, either financial or in-kind, from state governments and relevant local government authorities.

The Committee recommends that the Department of Climate Change share all data collected through vulnerability assessments undertaken as part of the Australian Government Local Adaptation Pathways Program on the proposed National Coastal Zone Database (see also recommendation 42).

To further enhance Australia’s disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery arrangements in the event of possible major coastal disasters, the Committee recommends that the Australian Government establish a grants program, the Coastal Natural Disaster Mitigation Program, to fund natural disaster mitigation projects in the Australian coastal zone.
The Committee also recommends that the Australian Emergency Management Committee (AEMC) consider the following issues:
- improved data on coastal disaster risk assessment and vulnerable coastal sites
- improved access and evacuation routes for coastal communities
- improved coastal community awareness of and resilience to natural disasters
- improved coordination of coastal disaster mitigation arrangements with other initiatives currently underway, such as reviews of the Australian Building Code and land use planning policies to take into account climate change impacts
- improved early warning systems for coastal areas in the event of an extreme sea level event (storm surge, erosion, flooding)
The Committee further recommends that the AEMC provide a report on these matters to the Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Management.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government:
- continue the Local Adaptation Pathways Program as a competitive funding program
- review the program’s guidelines to secure better outcomes by:
* use of consistent methodology for vulnerability assessments
* evaluation of the outcomes of the projects that are undertaken with the grants
* encouraging regional applications from local councils whenever possible

The Committee recommends that the National Coastal Zone Database be expanded over time to include information on environmental data and management and planning information relevant to the coastal zone.

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 recommends that the Australian Government, through the Australian Bureau of Statistics, ensure that:
- accurate and consistent methods of measuring the numbers and the impact of tourists and other non-residents in coastal areas are undertaken to enable resources to be better matched with demand for infrastructure and services
- improved data on long-term demographic trends in coastal areas is made available to assist in coastal zone planning and management

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.

That, in tandem with their consideration of local government cost sharing arrangements under WANDRA (refer Recommendation 1), the Fire and Emergency Services Authority and Main Roads Western Australia also establish ‘exceptional circumstances’ criteria to provide for additional assistance to local government where it may be warranted in order to avoid undue financial pressure caused by delays to secure reimbursement.

That Fire and Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia and Main Roads Western Australia, in consultation with the Western Australian Local Government Association, investigate a more equitable means of calculating the local government contribution to road and infrastructure restoration costs. In particular consideration should be given to regulations applying in the eastern states i.e. Queensland.

That consideration be given to the establishment of a ‘Heritage Reserve Fund’ that might underwrite urgent initial repairs to private heritage listed properties.

That the ‘opportunity cost’ for Local Authorities in meeting the 25% contribution to the restoration of eligible public assets damaged by a natural disaster event be considered when FESA and Main Roads Western Australia, in consultation with Western Australian Local Government Authority, investigate a more equitable means of calculating the local government contribution to road and infrastructure restoration costs as recommended in Recommendation 1.

That the Department of Treasury and Finance, in consultation with FESA, consider alternative funding arrangements to alleviate the need for FESA to ‘underwrite’ NDRA costs during the year.

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

RHH Neonatal Emergency Transport Service receive DHHS funding for a Senior Registrar to assume the responsibilities of retrieval staffing, quality assurance, data collection and reporting demands.
(1 FTE new)

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.

Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to fund 3 Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) Senior Registrar positions at the Royal Hobart Hospital (RHH) for the Tasmanian Medical Retrieval Service (TMRS). One registrar in the Anaesthesia Department, one in the Intensive Care Unit and one in Emergency Department is proposed.
(1.0 Existing, 2.0 FTE new)

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

Databases with a common minimum data set complete with incident monitoring should be established for TAS Air Ambulance, TMRS and NETS missions.

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.

The State Medical Retrieval Cost Centre (TMRS and NETS) be formed and be supported by the appropriate administrative and resource accountant expertise. This cost centre should be placed with those responsible for its management.

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

A uniform retrieval charge to the region of referral should be considered. This should be independent of the mode of transport used.

Development of a helipad at Mersey Hospital.

DHHS fund the equivalent of 2 FTE Consultant positions for retrieval duties (1.5 FTE existing, 0.5 FTE new)

That the Department of Primary Industries restore the level of discretionary testing funds provided to District Veterinarians to previous levels and maintain these in the future in real terms.

That the Department of Primary Industries consider applying discretion to the use of user charging policies for testing in times when farm incomes are affected by external circumstances such as widespread drought.

That the Department of Primary Industries should provide specific information on levies to contributing producers through a separate document, rather than rely on standard audit documents and annual reporting requirements.

That the Department of Primary Industries continue to pursue improvements to consultation with industry and accountability mechanisms to further build trust between industry and government, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of the OJD Program.
The Committee notes that the new governance arrangements for the OJD Program include the appointment of a Fund Administrator. The same requirement will apply to any future disease control program. The Committee is concerned that producers may have been unable to readily access information regarding the expenditure of levies for the OJD Program and other animal health programs, particularly when multiple sources of funding are involved.

The Committee encourages the Department and the Rural Land Protection Boards to discuss the need for funding of poultry surveillance activities in the context of reviewing the Memorandum of Understanding between the two parties.
While some sectors of the industry are concerned with Government’s expectation that primary producers will contribute funds to the management of animal diseases, the Committee considers this is in accordance with the economic principle that the beneficiaries of services should pay for them. The processes for establishing disease control funds require the consultation and commitment of affected producers and have robust accountability processes.

That an appropriate geographic information systems capability be maintained to enable the production of fire-specific maps as the need arises and that personnel from the Emergency Services Agency and other agencies be trained in the operation of map production systems, so that 9maps can be modified to include fire-specific information as required

That the Emergency Services Agency introduce a program with land management agencies in the ACT to ensure that maps of all public and private land in the ACT are subjected to regular review and amendment as required. Maps of a scale sufficient to facilitate fire management operations should be available in printed form and maintained on an electronic database capable of modification to add relevant features during a firefighting operation

That the ACT Government allocate sufficient funds to enable full-time and volunteer firefighters to participate in relevant courses and programs

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.

The Committee recommends that government consider options for assistance (including cost sharing) for farmers to fence native vegetation areas on private property affected by the Wangary fire.

The ITSRR should establish a data and information management system, containing all data and information that it requires, to continually monitor the safety of the New South Wales rail system.

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

The data and information management system should be compatible with any data and information management system established by the ATSB for the designated interstate rail network, provided that the establishment of a compatible system does not reduce the amount or quality of the information obtained by ITSRR below the optimum levels which it needs to conduct trend analysis, and otherwise properly manage the safety of rail operations in New South Wales.

The ANAO recommends that the Attorney-General’s Department better monitor and account for the expenditure of individual exercise costs under the National Capability Development Exercise Programme, through:
a) the provision of more detailed guidance on, and subsequent monitoring of, the financial reporting required for the exercises; and
b) the provision of committed and actual cost reports for each exercise to the National Counter- Terrorism Committee to allow decisions to be made that will maximise the benefit of the exercise programme for the moneys expended.

That DPI establishes a system to ensure the security of all samples at all times, but particularly during their handling and transport.

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 DPI prepares guidelines, both internally and externally with Treasury, about funding arrangements for an outbreak.

That DPI upgrades the Crop Health Services diagnostic database so that it alerts PSB and PIRVIC to the receipt of samples from nearby areas with similar symptoms and can be linked to other PIRVIC diagnostic databases.

When the research into prescribed burning and optimum fire protection described in Chapter 11, and the financial analysis of appropriate funding levels for prevention and suppression recommended in Chapter 15, are completed, DSE should develop a business case with Department of Treasury and Finance for assured funding to an agreed level over a three-year rolling cycle.

That DSE and CFA map all unplanned fires greater than four hectares on public and private land in order to further develop an understanding of the risk to rural Victoria from unplanned fires.

That the financial models incorporate changes in public land use, particularly ‘Our Forests Our Future’, and the subsequent changes in fire management priorities.

That Government funding for Community Development Officers engaged in community support and rebuilding incorporates flexible resources to enable the purchase of services from a range of providers to ensure choice for those requiring support.

That DSE and CFA, recognising that the Bureau of Meteorology does not routinely store all variables required to produce the calculations and indices necessary for research and planning into fire occurrence and behaviour, develop appropriate systems to ensure that such current and historical information is readily available and accessible.

That Government supports the immediate development of financial models to analyse and determine the appropriate level of investment in fire management planning, preparedness and suppression on public land.

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 DSE includes the cost of tracks, as above, in the development of financial models to analyse and determine the appropriate level of investment in fire management planning, preparedness and suppression on public land.

That DSE institute additional routine data storage and analysis to supplement current climate records with at least daily 3 pm values for the Grassland and Forest Fire Danger Index, and Keetch-Byram Drought Index, for selected high quality stations representing a cross-section of environments throughout Victoria. 

That DSE assesses the environmental and monetary cost of establishment and rehabilitation of temporary tracks, per 100 km, constructed during firefighting operations, and compare this with the recurrent costs of a program of maintaining existing tracks.

That Government acknowledge the importance of spatial information as a key element of planning, operations and program evaluation, and support the Geospatial Emergency Information Network as a means of ensuring integrated and co-ordinated information management on a whole-ofGovernment basis.

That Government reviews the funding for DSE for the 2004-2005 fire season to ensure that appropriate resources are available for fire prevention planning and preparedness.

That all emergency service agencies, CFA and DSE in particular, give greater priority to information management – especially the collection, maintenance and quality control of base data sets necessary for planning, operations and program evaluation.

That the financial arrangements incorporate full cost recovery for prescribed burning to be undertaken over a number of weekends utilising Project Firefighters, CFA volunteers and MFESB members.

The Committee recommends that Geoscience Australia take responsibility, in conjunction with Emergency Management Australia, for developing a national spatial data policy to coordinate the development of data systems, the collection of data and the sharing of data between all the emergency response agencies across Australia, and that both agencies participate in the development and delivery of spatial information
systems as part of a national approach to emergency planning and management data. The first priority in policy development and of systems should be related to bushfire hazards.

The Committee strongly recommends that the New South Wales, Victorian and Tasmanian Governments abolish the Fire Levy tax they impose on home and business insurance premiums (wherever applicable), making it payable through household rates instead. Any cost savings gained by the insurance industry through relief from collecting Fire Levies should be passed on to policyholders through reduced premiums. At the same time the Committee urges the Insurance Council of Australia to run ongoing education campaigns to increase public awareness on bushfire preparedness, including the need for insurance.

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 1:100,000 national mapping program be accelerated to achieve an average life of no greater than 10 years with priority given to those areas most susceptible to national disasters.

The Committee recommends that, for the purpose of communications for the police, ambulance and fire brigades, any rental costs associated with the use of radio sites under the care, control or management of the Commonwealth, state, territory or local government be waived, other than for the ongoing cost associated with the use of power at the site.

The Committee recommends that Emergency Management Australia be required to participate in the development and delivery of spatial information systems as part of a national approach to emergency planning and management data. The first priority in policy development and of systems should be related to bushfire hazards.

The Committee recommends that the Commonwealth should commit funding for aerial fire fighting beyond the 2003–04 season on the proviso that the Australasian Fire Authorities Council and the state and territory governments make a commitment to:
- Rapid initial attack of all wildfires during the bush fire season regardless of tenure.
- Deployment on long term contracts of a mix of aircraft, including fixed wing.
- Deployment of aircraft on a nationally coordinated risk analysis basis to be updated as each fire season unfolds.
- Provision of nationally coordinated full ground support.
- Development of training arrangements for air crews, ground support crews, incident management teams and fire fighters to a national standard.
- Development of systems of effective aerial control of fire bombing operations.

The Committee recommends that any change to the funding system reflect in a reduction of the total price charged to consumers through premiums by the insurance industry.

The Committee recommends that any change to the funding system reflect in a reduction of the total price charged to consumers through premiums by the insurance industry.

The Committee recommends that an equitable funding system be implemented which relates premiums to:
• Risk covered; and
• Standard of Fire Cover.

The Committee recommends that an equitable funding system be implemented which relates premiums to:
• Risk covered; and
• Standard of Fire Cover.

The Committee recommends that the Government act urgently to make the existing system of funding the fire services fair and equitable to all Victorians.

The Committee recommends that the Government act urgently to make the existing system of funding the fire services fair and equitable to all Victorians.

That the cost of a Bureau of Emergency Services Telecommunications centre be recovered through user charges.

That the cost of a Bureau of Emergency Services Telecommunications centre be recovered through user charges.

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.

A fund be established to subsidise the purchase of equipment for bush fire brigades but that the granting of subsidies depend upon a certificate being received from the Bush Fires Board that the brigade in question is of a standard that will be available at all times for effective use and that adequate facilities are available for its storage and maintenance at a centre suitable for the brigade.

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

It is recommended that an annual grant be made to the Association for distribution among the brigades for the purposes of purchase of equipment of which the brigades are in urgent need.

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

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

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.

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

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.