The emergency management arrangements include the development of partnerships between the public and private sectors, in particular the involvement of government departments and essential services.

The Department of Human Services improve its communication with councils to enhance delivery of recovery services.

All Victorians should:
• make sure that they have a plan for severe storms which includes:
- an emergency kit (batteries, torch, radio with batteries, spare medication etc)
- actions to protect their family, property and pets

The Victoria State Emergency Service finalise its development of strategic emergency response management plans including severe weather and storm events.

The State Government endorse the establishment of the Victorian Emergency Information Line and it is developed with appropriate protocols to ensure linkages and information flows to the energy sector.

The Victoria State Emergency Service improve its communication with local governments, especially in relation to severe weather and storm warning information.

The Department of Primary Industries responsibility for emergency management within the energy sector needs to be reinforced consistent with Recommendation 5.

The Department of Premier and Cabinet, the Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner and other relevant departments conduct further work to determine the need for a power to appoint a coordinator of essential services restoration.

Emergency Service Organisations work with government departments, local governments and private industry to identify and implement a model for communication flow during an emergency incident.

The Department of Primary Industries, Department of Premier and Cabinet, and the Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner review and clarify energy sector emergency event trigger points for the activation of Central Government Response Committee.

Emergency Service Organisations review their use of Emergency Alerting System paging message categories to ensure that priority messages are not compromised by inappropriate use.

The Department of Primary Industries clearly document responsibilities within the Department to ensure better co-ordination of public information during emergencies.

Victoria progress, as a matter of priority, a telephony based public emergency notification system to reduce demand on Triple Zero and other emergency telephone lines during a major emergency.

The Country Fire Authority review their procedures regarding receipt of Triple Zero calls on the Brigade Spectrum Preset Conference including training material, testing procedures and interface back to the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority Computer Aided Dispatch system.

The Victoria State Emergency Service, Department of Primary Industries, Energy Safe Victoria and the energy sector develop a coordinated set of safety messaging about preparedness for storm events and clearly outline the responsibilities for delivering these messages before during and after an em

The Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority develop a protocol to direct the suspension or cessation of scheduled telecommunication maintenance or testing to emergency alert systems during an emergency event.

The electricity distribution businesses enhance power outage information on their websites which are accessible to electricity retail businesses, the media and the public and also consider improving their capacity to communicate with customers.

The Department of Primary Industries should work through the appropriate Ministerial Councils to seek alignment of competency standards for line workers across jurisdictions.

The Emergency Service Organisations and the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority agree on the direct telephone numbers to be used for contacting the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority in relation to emergency incidents.

The Office of the Emergency Services Commissioner facilitate further research into technologies that will reduce the need for the public to speak to an operator during an emergency as a component of the proposed emergency warning and alert system and Victorian Emergency Information Line.

The Australian Broadcast Corporation and Emergency Services Organisations redevelop the protocols for the use of the Memorandum of Understanding; and all relevant emergency services and ABC staff are trained in the use of the protocols.

The Department of Primary Industries should establish a senior emergency management position to strengthen the Department’s role in emergency management.

Victoria’s emergency management arrangements as they relate to the Emergency Management Joint Public Information Committee be enhanced to include greater clarity of its operational role in the Emergency Management Manual Victoria.

The integrated Emergency Coordination Centre be utilised during all significant multi-agency or multi-incident events with effective liaison with the State Emergency Response Coordinator.

The Emergency Services Organisations and relevant agencies ensure that the operation of the Emergency Management Joint Public Information Committee is included in their resourcing and operational planning.

The operational protocols of the Emergency Management Joint Public Information Committee be formally endorsed by the State Emergency Response Planning Committee and the Victorian Emergency Management

That in relation to Fire Operations Plans, the Department Sustainability and Environment extends the number of community meetings during the public consultation period to a minimum of one meeting for each Fire District, with the possibility of repeat visits to particular areas.

That the Department of Sustainability and Environment implement remote sensing imagery as a routine part of its pre-burn and post-burn assessment process for prescribed burning.

That the Department of Sustainability and Environment and its partner agencies continue to develop a proactive approach to engagement with the local and wider media to achieve continuous improvement in the standard of community information and education.

That the Victorian Government expedite the implementation of its 2006 election commitment to provide four wheel drive clubs with access to management vehicle only tracks.

That in order to enhance the protection of community and ecological assets, the Department of Sustainability and Environment increase its annual prescribed burning target from 130,000 hectares to 385,000 hectares.

That the Victorian Government consider all available means, consistent with conservation values, for substantially increasing the access of apiarists to the public land estate.

That a process of year round community engagement in the preparation of Fire Operations Plans be established. In addition a record of year round community engagement, as contained in the Gippsland Fire Operations Plan, should be a requirement of all Fire Operations Plans.

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.

That the Victorian Government, and responsible agencies, expedite the implementation of the Integrated Fire Management Planning framework.

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 Department of Sustainability and Environment should report its performance against the increased prescribed burning target in its annual report, which should also include the following details:
- the total area treated within each fuel management zone for each region;

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

That the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Department of Primary Industries, Parks Victoria & VicForests separately cost, and report, annual expenditure on fuel reduction burning, ecological burning and regeneration burning in their Annual Reports.

That the Department of Sustainability and Environment and its partner agencies conduct or commission research, and a possible trial study, to determine the potential of thinning and other silvicultural practices – whether alone or in combination with prescribed burning – as a means of reducing fu

That finalised Fire Operations Plans be made publicly available in their entirety (with the exception of any private information) on the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s website and in hard-copy, and that this requirement be clearly stated in future Codes of Practice.

That the Victorian Government replace or compensate for water taken from domestic, stock and irrigation dams, or water needed for essential use, in the event of a fire, regardless of where the bushfire starts.

That the details of any variation or amendment of a Fire Operations Plan, including: the carrying forward or postponement of burns within the three-year period covered by a Fire Operations Plan; the carry over, removal or rescheduling of burns between past, present and future Fire Operations Plan

That the Integrated Fire Management Planning framework establish zones in the interface between public and private land in which bushfire risk management is the shared responsibility of the Victorian Government and private landholders.

That the Victorian Government establish a clear and consistent Bushfire Fencing Policy for damage caused by all future bushfires and prescribed burns. The Bushfire Fencing Policy should include the following provisions:

That all information pertaining to current and planned prescribed burns be published more prominently on the Department of Sustainability and Environment’s website, with a single prominent link to this material on the website homepage.

DPI should more closely align planning and risk management processes to support its decision-making and response to changing priorities, capacity, capability and investment.

DPI should develop a strategy to deliver an integrated and coordinated approach to prevention and early detection across the livestock value chain. As part of the strategy DPI should:
• target high risk groups

DPI should develop an Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Human Services that capitalises on and strengthens the current good working relationship to support joint forward planning and risk management and mitigates against relationship failure in the event of leadership chang

To improve response preparedness, DPI should clearly link the selection of simulation exercises to the risk management framework to target coverage of high risks.

DPI should develop a surveillance strategy with agreed goals and a comprehensive, integrated approach to surveillance across the livestock value chain. The surveillance strategy should:

DPI should formalise the approach and framework for evaluating simulation exercises and response to Emergency Animal Disease incidents with guidelines to define the nature of the review process. This should include:

To support increased effectiveness in EAD (Emergency Animal Disease) response management DPI should:
• develop a strategy to improve capacity and capability

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

Department of Primary Industries (DPI) should broaden the focus of its planning for biosecurity to include a longer term horizon and demonstrate closer alignment with national planning frameworks. To support this DPI should:

That the Chief Officer and the Editors of all newspapers and other media outlets develop a Memorandum of Understanding that ensures that all CFS press releases concerning total fire ban days and ongoing bushfire incidents are published in full.

That the South Australian Country Fire Service create as part of a Level 2 and 3 Incident Management Team Logistics Division an Officer whose function it is to seek out, locate and identify sources of water, be they on land or provided by carrier.

That the South Australian Country Fire Service design tuition courses aimed specifically at developing among its members skill and competency in risk assessment.

That the Minister for Emergency Services and the South Australian Country Fire Service implement programs to develop in the minds of citizens a heightened awareness of bushfire risk, and in particular to encourage citizens to listen for radio announcements relating to the progression of a fire du

That the South Australian Country Fire Service develop as part of competency for inclusion on a Level 2 or Level 3 Incident Management Team a minimum requirement of demonstrated skill and competency in identifying and implementing feasible and appropriate containment measures designed to bring co

That the South Australian Country Fire Service design tuition courses aimed specifically at developing among its members skill and competency in identifying and implementing feasible and appropriate containment measures designed to bring control to a fire incident so as to minimise the risk posed

That the Minister for Emergency Services cause independent scientific or other research to be undertaken to identify the effects of continuous cropping, minimum tillage, direct drilling seeding practices and of the retention of cropping stubble, in respect of bushfire risk and prevention. 

That the Minister for Emergency Services cause independent scientific or other research to be undertaken to establish means by which risk of bushfires, as created by continuous cropping, minimum tillage, direct drilling seeding practices and the retention of cropping stubble across the landscape,

That the Minister for Emergency Services in conjunction with the Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service, the Chief Officer of the South Australian State Emergency Services and the Commissioner of South Australia Police develop policies and practices regarding the issuing of pu

That the Minister for Emergency Services, the Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service, the Chief Officer of the South Australian State Emergency Services and the Commissioner of Police establish a panel to develop policies and practices to ensure that at the time bushfire warni

That the Minister for Emergency Services and the Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service consider the creation of a position within an Incident Management Team of a Landowner Liaison Officer the duties and responsibilities of whom is to establish contact with and liaise with th

That the Minister for Emergency Services, the Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service, the President of the Farmers’ Federation of South Australia and the Minister for Local Government, with a view to developing a Code of Practice, establish a body to investigate the impact of

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 South Australian Country Fire Service empower the Regional Public Warnings Officer to create and deliver public warnings on that Officer’s initiative without the necessity of seeking the approval of personnel at State Headquarters.

That the South Australian Country Fire Service establish preplanned Level 2 Incident Management Teams in each Region for deployment to Level 2 incidents.

That the Minister for Emergency Services, the South Australian Country Fire Service, the South Australia Police and the South Australian Farmers’ Federation together continue to develop strategies to reduce the risk of harm to private firefighters and in particular:

That the Minister for Emergency Services and the Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service cause to be included among the SACFS’ Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) a requirement that Incident

That the Minister for Emergency Services and the Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service cause to be included among the SACFS’ Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) a requirement that Incident

That the Minister for Emergency Services and the Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service cause to be included among the SACFS’ Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) a requirement that Incident

That the Minister for Emergency Services, the Minister for Environment, the Chief Officer of the CFS and the Native Vegetation Council, together develop a Code of Practice relating to the management of native vegetation as it affects bushfire prevention.

That the South Australian Farmers’ Federation encourage its members and constituents to keep and maintain on rural land in proper working order machinery that is capable of removing, modifying or reducing cropping stubble at short notice in order to minimise or mitigate bushfire risk. 

That the Minister for Emergency Services and the Minister for Local Government consider the enactment of legislation that would empower Local Government to require the owners or occupiers of rural land to create fire breaks on the land of a kind that Local Government may determine and/or to requi

That the Minister for Emergency Services and the Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service reinforce in the minds of those Officers who perform the role of Regional Duty Officer the duties and responsibilities attaching to that position insofar as they apply to an ongoing fire in

That the Minister for Local Government cause rural councils to appoint an Officer whose duties consist entirely of bushfire prevention, such Officer being required to become a trained, operative member of the South Australian Country Fire Service during the currency of his or her appointment.

That South Australian Country Fire Service create and develop the role of a Regional Public Warnings Officer as a member of the paid staff of the SACFS whose role it would be to identify the need for, and to deliver, timely bushfire warnings to the public during the course of a bushfire incident.

That the Minister for Emergency Services and the Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service reinforce in the minds of those Officers who perform the role of Regional Duty Officer the need to deliver to the Deputy State Coordinator timely, accurate and relevant information pertaini

That the South Australian Country Fire Service utilise wherever possible the skills of paid, professional staff to perform the roles of Incident Controller and/or Planning Officer in Level 2 Incident Management Teams.

That the Minister for Emergency Services and the Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service reinforce in the minds of all Incident Management Team members, in particular but not limited to the Incident Controller and Planning Officer, of the need to conduct a full risk assessment

That the President of the South Australian Farmers’ Federation of South Australia draws these recommendations and findings to the attention of its members and constituents

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

That the South Australian Country Fire Service identify and impart minimum skills and competencies to members who fulfil the roles of the four core AIIMS functionaries of a Level 2 Incident Management Team.

That the South Australian Country Fire Service develop as part of competency for inclusion on a Level 2 or Level 3 Incident Management Team a minimum requirement of demonstrated skill and competency in risk assessment.

That the Minister for Emergency Services in conjunction with the South Australian Country Fire Service conduct tuition courses to be made available to the general public to enable members of the public to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to implement their preparation and planning for b

Paid administrative support at the Brigade/Local level

The development of a more efficient, user-friendly website

Reduce the number of hours per month attending meetings

Engendering strong working relationships between volunteers and paid staff within the Emergency Services Sector

The streamlining correspondence to Emergency Service Agencies

Clarity of Role with regard to legislative and policy requirements

Consistent with the requirement for Emergency Service Organisations, the FES Act be amended to require South Australian Fire and Emergency Commission (SAFECOM) to submit a workforce plan to the Board. 

Regulation 48 regarding prescribed offences be amended to include Section 79(2)(e) or its equivalent under the amendment proposed in Recommendation 22 above. 

Accountability for matters of policy, strategy and resource allocation for the emergency services sector, currently the province of the Board, be given to the position created in Recommendation 3 above. 

Crown law opinion be obtained to determine whether additional functions now undertaken by the Commission following the devolvement of the functions of the Security and Emergency Management Office (SEMO) require an amendment to the FES Act. 

Where in the FES Act reference is made to, ‘an officer of the National Parks and Wildlife Service’ this be removed and replaced with, ‘an officer of the Department for Environment and Heritage’. 

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