Victoria lead an initiative of the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs to ensure that the national curriculum incorporates the history of bushfire in Australia and that existing curriculum areas such as geography, science and environmental studies incl

The State amend s.

The State amend the Regulations under Victoria’s Electricity Safety Act 1998 and otherwise take such steps as may be required to give effect to the following: ■ the progressive replacement of all SWER (single-wire earth return) power lines in Victoria with aerial bundled cable, underground cablin

The State consider either amending the Emergency Management Act 1986 or adopting a standing practice to require the Minister for Police and Emergency Services or the Chief Commissioner of Police to consult the Premier about the possibility of declaring a state of disaster for all of or any part o

The Commonwealth lead an initiative through the Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Management, facilitated by Emergency Management Australia, to develop a national bushfire awareness campaign.

The State initiate the development of education and training options to improve understanding of bushfire risk management in the building and planning regimes by: ■ providing regular training and guidance material to planning and building practitioners; ■ providing regular training and guidance m

The State (through Energy Safe Victoria) require distribution businesses to change their asset inspection standards and procedures to require that all SWER lines and all 22-kilovolt feeders in areas of high bushfire risk are inspected at least every three years.

The Country Fire Authority and the Department of Sustainability and Environment prescribe and audit the minimum number and nature of level 3 joint training exercises in which incident management team staff (including volunteers) are required to participate.

The State consider amending the Emergency Management Act 1986 to introduce a graded scale of emergency declarations short of a state of disaster.

The Country Fire Authority produce for community guidance material on fire-resistant landscape and garden design, including a list of fire-resistant species.

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

The Department of Sustainability and Environment develop and administer a collective offset solution for individual landholders who are permitted to remove native vegetation for the purpose of fire protection.

The State (through Energy Safe Victoria) require distribution businesses to review and modify their current practices, standards and procedures for the training and auditing of asset inspectors to ensure that registered training organisations provide adequate theoretical and practical training fo

The Country Fire Authority and the Department of Sustainability and Environment: ■ amend their procedures to require that an incident action plan summary be completed within the first four hours of an incident being reported and be provided to the State Control Centre and, where established, to t

The Victorian fire agencies amend the AIIMS framework before the 2010–11 fire season in order to do the following: ■ designate the Information Unit as a separate section reporting directly to the Incident Controller and require that the Information Unit contain a dedicated Public Information Offi

The Victorian Building Commission, in conjunction with the Country Fire Authority, develop, publish and provide to the community and industry information about ways in which existing buildings in bushfire-prone areas can be modified to incorporate bushfire safety measures.

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

The State amend the exemptions in clause 52.17-6 of the Victoria Planning Provisions to ensure that the provisions allow for a broad range of roadside works capable of reducing fire risk and provide specifically for a new exemption where the purpose of the works is to reduce bushfire risk.

The State amend the regulatory framework for electricity safety to require that distribution businesses adopt, as part of their management plans, measures to reduce the risks posed by hazard trees—that is, trees that are outside the clearance zone but that could come into contact with an electric

The Country Fire Authority and the Department of Sustainability and Environment establish before the 2010–11 fire season: ■ a uniform, objective and transparent process based on the current DSE approach for the accreditation of level 3 Incident Controllers; ■ a performance review system for level

The Department of Sustainability and Environment amend the Code of Practice for Fire Management on Public Land in order to achieve the following: ■ provide a clear statement of objectives, expressed as measurable outcomes; ■ include an explicit risk-analysis model for more objective and transpare

The Commonwealth, states and territories continue to pursue the National Action Plan to Reduce Bushfire Arson in Australia, giving priority to producing a nationally consistent framework for data collection and evaluating current and proposed programs in order to identify and share best-practice

The State and Commonwealth provide for municipal councils adequate guidance on resolving the competing tensions arising from the legislation affecting roadside clearing and, where necessary, amend environment protection legislation to facilitate annual bushfire-prevention activities by the approp

The State (through Energy Safe Victoria) require distribution businesses to do the following: ■ disable the reclose function on the automatic circuit reclosers on all SWER lines for the six weeks of greatest risk in every fire season; ■ adjust the reclose function on the automatic circuit reclose

The Country Fire Authority and the Department of Sustainability and Environment amend their procedures to require that a suitably experienced, qualified and competent person be appointed as Incident Controller, regardless of the control agency for the fire.

The Country Fire Authority and the Department of Sustainability and Environment amend their procedures for investigating safety incidents and ‘near-misses’ to ensure that all dangerous incidents, including back-burns, are fully investigated and that all relevant people are consulted and informed

The State enact legislation designed to achieve two specific ends: ■ appoint a Fire Commissioner as an independent statutory officer responsible to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services and as the senior operational firefighter in Victoria; ■ make the Chief Fire Officer of the Department

VicRoads implement a systematic statewide program of bushfire risk assessment for all roads for which it is responsible, to ensure conformity with the obligations in s. 43 of the Country Fire Authority Act 1958 and with the objectives expressed in the VicRoads 1985 Code of Practice.

The State (through Energy Safe Victoria) require distribution businesses to do the following: ■ fit spreaders to any lines with a history of clashing or the potential to do so; ■ fit or retrofit all spans that are more than 300 metres long with vibration dampers as soon as is reasonably practicab

The State revise its bushfire safety policy. While adopting the national Prepare. Act. Survive.

The Country Fire Authority and the Department of Sustainability and Environment adopt the title ‘safety officer’ (as opposed to ‘safety adviser’) and require without exception that a safety officer be appointed to every level 3 incident management team.

Councils should strengthen governance arrangements for business continuity by:

Councils should improve assessments of business continuity risks by:
• strengthening risk management practices to assure they identify and consider the full range of specific business continuity risks

Councils should improve the structure, format and content of their business continuity plans to provide greater clarity on roles and responsibilities for emergencies, more specificity on continuity and recovery responses, and better integration with other council disaster recovery and emergency p

Councils should strengthen their continuous improvement frameworks by:
• systematically reviewing the effectiveness of their business continuity activities
• regularly testing business continuity plans to assure they are up-to-date and effective

Local Government Victoria should, further to its work on strengthening the oversight role of audit committees, assist councils to develop good practice approaches to implementing, overseeing and continuously improving business continuity management.

The Department of Human Services should base targets for staff in emergency roles on regional needs and develop a staff deployment strategy. 

The Department of Human Services should communicate strategic priorities to achieve state and regional level alignment in building recovery capacity and capability. 

The Department of Human Services should regularly test recovery plans with partner agencies. 

The Department of Human Services should make sure relevant senior staff complete recovery training. 

The Department of Human Services should work with regions and partner agencies at the state level to create consistent, streamlined impact assessment processes and systems. 

The Department of Human Services should work with the State Emergency Recovery Planning Committee, regions, and other partners to facilitate understanding and ownership of roles and responsibilities for common recovery services. 

The Department of Human Services should develop practical, operational guidelines for implementing recovery at the state level. 

The Department of Human Services should improve regional recovery plans through:
• developing a consistent format that meets Emergency Management Manual Victoria content requirements
• revising plans biennially with recovery partners 

The Department of Human Services should create evaluation guidelines for recovery operations, including links to planning. 

The Department of Human Services should complete work on emergency communication and information management issues. 

In the meantime, the Minister should:

The regulator should pre‐assess and review in a generic sense, and in conjunction with the offshore petroleum industry, available options for well control in the event of a blowout.

If a dispute arises between a licensee and a rig operator in relation to a well control issue, and is not resolved between them, the matter must be raised with the relevant regulator before discretionary operations proceed.

A minimum of two barriers should be in place at all times (including during batched operations) whenever it is reasonably practicable to do so.

Any equipment (including PCCCs) used as, or to install, a barrier should be manufactured for that purpose and be generally recognised as fit for purpose.

Written (rather than verbal) approval from the DA (or new regulator) should be obtained before the commencement of well activities that lead to a physical change of a wellbore, other than in a true emergency situation (requiring amendment to regulation 17 of the Management of Well Operations Regu

The Minister consider legislative amendments to the OPGGS Act which make clear that

In the future, and in the interests of ensuring that all possible well control options are comprehensively pursued to exhaustion, decisions as to well control response options should be the result of collaboration between the regulator and the operator rather than leaving one party to make unilat

Consideration should be given to ways to ensure that contractors who are involved in barrier installation (such as cementing companies) have a direct interest in the performance of works to a proper standard.

Existing well control training programs should be reviewed by the industry, regulators and training providers, with a focus on well control accidents that have occurred (in Australia and overseas).

Perceived time and cost savings relating to any matters impacting upon well control should be subjected to rigorous safety assessment.

Reliance upon one barrier against a blowout must not take place except with the prior written approval of the relevant regulator and then only in a true emergency situation (see below).

Manufacturers should be consulted about how to address non‐routine operational problems affecting their well control equipment.

The OPGGS Act should be amended to allow for a power to suspend a petroleum production licence (in addition to the current power to cancel a licence or suspend its conditions).

In any future similar blowout or offshore emergency situation, the Minister appoint (through either a NOPR or the relevant Department) a senior public servant to establish and oversight a central coordinating body that will facilitate interaction between regulators, industry, AMSA and the owner/o

The National Plan should specify that the cost of responding to an oil spill, or other damage to the offshore marine environment, will be totally met by the owner/operator.

A specific focus on well control training should be mandatory for key personnel involved in well control operations (including both on‐rig personnel and onshore personnel in supervisory capacities).

Wells drilled into hydrocarbon zones should be treated as live wells, with the potential to blowout unless a documented risk assessment establishes otherwise.

Licensees and rig operators should install an additional barrier whenever (i) there is any real doubt as to the integrity of any barrier; (ii) whenever the risk of flow from a reservoir increases materially in the course of operations; and (iii) where the consequences of a blowout are grave (for

Drilling programs dealing with barrier installation should incorporate relevant aspects of manufacturer’s instructions.

The recommendations of the Inquiry in relation to suitable ways of achieving well integrity contained in Chapter 3 be included in a guidance manual that is issued for the assistance of industry and regulators.

The body established to undertake a central coordination and facilitation role in the event of any future blowout in Commonwealth waters should undertake to make all relevant information publically available from one, authoritative and easy to access source.

It is recommended that industry, regulators, and training/research institutions liaise with one another with a view to developing better techniques for testing and verifying the integrity of cemented casing shoes as barriers (particularly in atypical situations such as where the casing shoe is lo

The obligation of companies involved in an incident to meet the full costs of monitoring and remediation should be made a condition of approval of proposals under the EPBC Act and OPGGS Act.

Licensees and rig operators (and third party contractors involved in well control operations) should specifically assess, and document, the nature and extent of knowledge/skills of relevant personnel in relation to well control (including familiarity of personnel with agency‐specific requirements

Regulatory approval to rely on only one barrier should not be given unless (i) a proper risk assessment is carried out; (ii) exceptional circumstances exist; and (iii) risks involved are reduced to ‘as low as reasonably practicable’.

The industry standard of two barriers should be replaced with the concept of ‘two or more barriers’ as a minimum standard. A minimum standard when operations proceed normally should never be regarded as a sufficient standard in other circumstances.

Any pro‐formas used by licensees, rig operators and contractors for recording information about installation of barriers should explicitly provide for ‘exception reporting’, that is, the form should include provision for recording any unforseen or untoward events which occur in the course of inst

The regulator, rather than the responsible Minister, should be given the power to direct an operator to use a particular rig for the purpose of well control operations, if appropriate in the circumstances, and the power should be used in the future if that rig is the best option available.

The Government should examine the scope for a single environment plan to meet the regulatory requirements of both the OPGGS Act and the EPBC Act. This could possibly be achieved by way of bilateral agreements and accreditation arrangements and/or legislative amendment.

Tracking and analysis of cementing problems/failures should occur to assess industry trends, principal causes, remedial techniques and so on.

Industry, regulators, and training/research institutions should develop standards that address best practices for cementing operations (including liaising, as appropriate, with overseas regulators) with a view to overcoming problems which can effect the integrity of cemented casing shoes, annulus

Batched drilling operations should only be undertaken after careful assessment of the special risks which such operations give rise to; well control must be maintained during the course of batched drilling operations.

The regulatory regime should also impose an obligation on an operator to ascertain the availability, and provide details to the regulator, of any potential relief well rigs, prior to the commencement of drilling operations (including prior to each phase of a drilling operation where applicable).<

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.

OSCPs should be endorsed by AMSA prior to regulatory approval to ensure that they align with the National Plan. Once field operations commence, the capability of operators should be assessed against their plans, and exercises conducted to ensure the plans remain effective.

DEWHA should participate in training programs and exercises relevant to an oil spill in the marine environment.

Achievement and maintenance of well control should be written into the job responsibilities of key personnel, at every level up to and including CEOs. That is, a functional line of accountability for well control must exist up to, and including, CEOs.

Careful consideration must be given to equipment compatibility as part of well construction design.

Cement integrity should be evaluated wherever practicable by way of cement evaluation tests, rather than relying on pre‐operational calculations of cement and displacement fluid volumes.

Where multiple wells are drilled, operations and occurrences at one well must be carefully assessed for any implications with respect to well control at other wells.

NOPSA develop a policy of engagement with operators so as to enable experts (including safety experts) to canvas all available options for well control in the event of a blowout.

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

Achievement and maintenance of well control should be written into the job responsibilities of key personnel, at every level up to and including CEOs. That is, a functional line of accountability for well control must exist up to, and including, CEOs.

It should be standard industry practice to re‐test a cemented casing shoe (that is, after WOC) whenever the plugs do not bump or the float valves apparently fail. Standard industry practice should require consideration of other tests in addition to a repeat pressure test.

The mere fact that the rig is over the platform should not be regarded by licensees or regulators as sufficient justification for reliance on only one barrier.

The Inquiry also supports Bills and Agostini’s recommendation: ‘…in relation to safety case development and compliance overall, that NOPSA revise its approach to interacting with operators prior to the safety case assessment process and subsequently direct more resources into its advisory functio

In carrying out a review of PTTEPAA’s permit and licence, the Minister should have regard to this Report, particularly (i) the adverse findings set out in this Chapter; and (ii) the extent to which PTTEPAA has implemented the Action Plan submitted to the Inquiry, or otherwise addressed the matter

Supervision/oversight of well control operations (within licensees, rig operators and by regulators) must occur without assuming adherence to good oilfield practice.

Any indication of a compromised cemented shoe which cannot be resolved with a high measure of confidence should result in the installation of additional well control barrier(s).

Relevant personnel from licensees and rig operators should meet face to face to agree on, and document, well control issues/arrangements prior to commencement of drilling operations.

The National Plan should be reviewed to clarify the arrangements to apply in Commonwealth waters regarding key roles and responsibilities, including in relation to the ESC, in the event of an oil spill. This should also address any necessary training required.

Licensees and rig operators should be astute in ensuring that corporate systems and culture encourage rather than discourage raising of well control issues. For instance, do performance bonuses or rewards actually encourage or discourage reporting of issues?

Well Operations Management Plan (WOMPs) submitted by licensees to the regulator(s) should continue to be the primary framework document for achieving well integrity.