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 loca

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 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.

That the newly proposed index linked limits for Personal Hardship and Distress Relief Payments as outlined in the paper “National Disaster Relief Arrangements - An Analysis and Recommendations for Personal Hardship Distress Measures” be accepted by government.

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, investig

That the Professional Assistance Grant is formally extended by WANDRA to include non rural businesses and that it be made available to assist with the clean up of disaster related damage to farms and businesses.

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

That, in line with recommendations contained in the 2004 Report to the Council of Australian Governments, greater flexibility should be introduced to WANDRA to enable damaged infrastructure to be upgraded to a more resilient standard where that is both feasible and cost-effective.

Formation of a subcommittee of the DHHS Tasmanian Medical Retrieval Services Committee to identify risk exposures, system problems and potential solutions. The subcommittee should review data, problem cases, system issues and generate a risk register. Meetings should occur at least quarterly.

Royal Flying Doctor Service fixed wing to remain in Launceston for the duration of the current contract.

A rapidly responsive helicopter and road retrieval capability to be developed out of RHH.

Launceston General and Burnie Hospital’s Emergency Departments require sufficient equipment, monitors and human resources to provide occasional safe local retrieval in their region.

A senior Tasmanian NETS representative be confirmed on the Tasmanian Medical Retrieval Services Committee.

A DHHS website be developed to list policies, procedures and guidelines relevant to critical care retrieval including the NETS policies.

The fragmentation and duplication of fixed wing and helicopter clinical coordination should be eliminated through centralisation to TAS Communications.

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

A senior, experienced, clinically trained ambulance officer to be based in TAS Communications in Hobart for at least 14 hours a day.

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).

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.

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)

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

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

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

Development of a helipad at Mersey Hospital.

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

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

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.

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

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

The preferred model for the Tasmanian Medical Retrieval Services is to have TMRS and NETS staff based in RHH. The fixed wing would remain based in Launceston (for the present) with the helicopter to remain based in Hobart.

DHHS need to confirm adequate accident insurance coverage for staff working in retrieval medicine. Coverage specific to helicopter and fixed wing duties is required.

The Tasmanian Ambulance Service Clinical Advisory Committee review helicopter and fixed wing Flight Paramedic training and consider extending the scope of practice to embrace the role of retrieval paramedic in the Doctor/Paramedic retrieval team setting.

SA Country Fire Service to be responsible for Bushfire Management Plan preparation, analysis of future risks trends based on investigation and executive support to Bushfire Management Committees.

The principle of developing Codes of Practice for Bushfire Management, referenced in the SA Fire and Emergency Services Act and Regulations 2005 be endorsed and further developed by the State Bushfire Coordination Committee.

The current provisions for permit to light and maintain fire under Section 81 of the SA Fire and Emergency Services Act and Regulations 2005 to be reviewed for improvement with an accreditation for a self-regulation process.

The State Bushfire Coordination Committee work with the Native Vegetation Council to develop more streamlined processes for the prescribed burning of native vegetation for hazard reduction.

The SA Bushfire Prevention Advisory Committee established under section 71 of the SA Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005, is removed and replaced with the State Bushfire Coordination Committee.

The requirement to establish Regional Bushfire Prevention Committees under section 73 of the SA Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005, is removed.

Local Government to be maintained as an important component of bushfire management in South Australia because of the link with the community.

The requirement for a rural council to establish a District Bushfire Prevention Committees under section 75 of the SA Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005 is removed.

The requirement for a rural council to appoint a suitably qualified Fire Prevention Officer under section 77 of the SA Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005 is removed.

The requirement to establish a Bushfire Management Committee is inserted into the SA Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005.

The SA Country Fire Service investigates the establishment of a Minister’s Bushfire Risk Management Reward Scheme.

The State Bushfire Coordination Committee will have the following functions:
- Develop policy, procedures, codes of practice and standards for bushfire management in South Australia;

The SA Country Fire Service to analyse the Coroner’s Report into the Wangary Bushfire 2005, and consider the relevant recommendations from this report in the implementation of the Ministerial Bushfire Management Review recommendations.

The State Bushfire Coordination Committee will have the following members with experience in bushfire management:
- The Chief Officer, SACFS, who is the Chairperson;
- An officer of the SA Metropolitan Fire Service;

Bushfire Management Committees will have the following functions:
- Develop, implement and monitor a Bushfire Management Plan for its area of responsibility;

Bushfire Management Committees will have the following members who reside and/or are employed/assigned in the area of responsibility, with experience in bushfire management:
- A regional officer of the SA Country Fire Service;

Bushfire Management Committees be given the appropriate powers under the SA Fire and Emergency Services Act 2005 to ensure that bushfire management strategies that have been identified in a Bushfire Management Plan or any other action to reduce bushfire risk, are completed by individuals, the com

The area of responsibility for Bushfire Management Committees will be established based on bushfire risk and the capacity of the area to cooperate and collaborate.

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

I recommend that CASA consider creating firm guidelines that require consideration of workload, lines of authority, potential conflicts of interest and any other factors that impact upon the ability of “key personnel” to discharge their responsibilities within an aviation organisation when its of

I recommend that Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) expedite the introduction of mandatory crew resource management training. 

I recommend that CASA reconsider the introduction of measures to ensure the efficiency of training and checking organisations for air transport operations.

In any future disaster of comparable proportions, consideration should be given to the co-location of the Building Coordination Centre and the principal One Stop Shop. 

The Queensland Government should consider the endorsement of transitional arrangements proposed in this report, in order to ensure as far as possible the smooth completion of the recovery and the ultimate return to government operations as usual in the cyclone-affected area. 

That consideration be given to additional ways and means to improve broadcast capability into disaster-affected regions, particularly for the early aftermath of any disaster when a loss of power characterises the event.

In any future large-scale disaster or event, consideration be given to a centrally located Media Operations Centre.

This Report should be considered for publication so that the insights, data, conclusions and recommendations are available within Queensland and other jurisdictions to assist with disaster management issues in the future.

An early and high priority task in recovery from a natural disaster should be the development of a coordinated, succinct, practical and flexible public communications plan.

The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) recommends that the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Animal Health Australia review:

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

To improve the management of the National Medical Stockpile, the ANAO recommends that the Department of Health and Ageing develop and implement procedures for:
- maintaining the content of the Stockpile;
- approving sub-contracting arrangements;

To improve the effectiveness of deployment arrangements for the National Medical Stockpile, the ANAO recommends that the Department of Health and Ageing:

Investigate engaging with other agencies involved in emergency management including SES, VicRoads, VicPolice, OESC and DHS to establish a single united emergency information line for Victoria that can be used to provide information to the public from all agencies involved.

Investigate procedures for updating the Victoria Bushfire Information Line (VBIL) Integrated Voice Response recorded message system to allow recording of permanent bushfire safety, and incident-specific, messages, accessible when the VBIL is experiencing high call volumes during large and/or nume

Need for scripting of messages by fire agency representatives when promoting VBIL services via radio, TV and newspapers.

Joint development of templates for provision of core incident information by regional Incident Management Teams to CFA and DSE emergency coordination centres as basis for updates to the VBIL and other authorised information recipients

CSC investigating possible change of location when contract for current location at Wendouree expires in 2008.

Clarifying protocols for activating VBIL beyond normal working hours and for 24 hour activations

Development of framework document investigating future direction of VBIL including its role during incidents and its role in the transition from bushfire preparation to incident to bushfire recovery phases

Analysing information from the joint CFA/DSE Post 2006 Wildfire Community Survey about public perceptions of information provision during January bushfires. Note implications for the VBIL and other information provision methods

We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and develop distinct surge capacity plans within each Area Health Service to manage emergency staffing needs, isolation facilities, intensive care units, assisted ventilation services, hospital beds and medical supplies.

We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and continue to improve communication mechanisms with those, such as GPs, likely to be affected in major infectious disease outbreaks.

We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and apply the lessons learnt from Exercise Cumpston to further improve preparedness for major infectious disease emergencies.

We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and establish a performance management framework with targets and indicators to assess progress in preparing for infectious disease emergencies.

We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and formally establish and oversight a comprehensive program of training, testing and evaluation of plans at the state, area and facility level.

We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and conclude agreements with private health providers specifying roles, and expectations in the case of an infectious disease pandemic.

We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and continue to develop and test its surveillance systems for early detection of infectious diseases.

We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and continue to develop and test the capability of its contact tracing system to deal with a public health emergency.

We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and consider building on influenza pandemic preparedness planning to develop broader contingency plans to address the emergence of other new, highly transmissible and/or severe infectious diseases.

We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and consider a more structured and systematic approach to the planning and risk assessment of major infectious diseases to assist transparency and decision making.

We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and establish a time table to finalise all emergency and contingency plans.

We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and continue to develop systems to bring all the information relevant to the surge in demand for health resources together in real time.

We recommend that NSW Health continue with its good work and continue to develop plans to respond to the surge in demand for diagnostic tests and for laboratory personnel.

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 continue efforts to develop the skills of private sector veterinarians to increase the level of resources available in emergency responses.

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, as a matter of principle, the NSW Government provide public reports on the lessons learned from emergency exercises which it manages or in which it participates. If necessary, such reports should exclude material which might jeopardise security.

That emergency animal health training be included in induction programs for newly recruited District Veterinarians and all District Veterinarians be encouraged to maintain their skills by attending regular refresher training as appropriate.

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.

That the Department’s performance against tactical and strategic benchmarks be regularly reported in annual reports or animal and plant health emergency evaluation reports and compared to other jurisdictions where possible.

That the Department of Primary Industries be conscious of its responsibilities in maintaining the continued enthusiasm of Industry Liaison Officers and offer training and refresher training as required.

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.

That the Department of Primary Industries make every effort to meet its targets for the TSE program and encourage public and private sector veterinarians across the State to submit samples. The Department should include reports on its performance against these targets in annual reports.

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 should ensure the roles and capacities of Rural Lands Protection Boards and industry are effectively monitored to enable assessment of the effectiveness of animal health programs.

That the Department of Primary Industries and Rural Lands Protection Boards employ outreach activities to alert these small producers to their responsibilities and improve their awareness of animal and plant pests and diseases.

That the Department of Primary Industries should continue to raise awareness among producers of OJD risks and the operation of Sheep Health Statements.

That the Department of Primary Industries should endeavour to improve its knowledge and skills base in the pig industry by recruiting a specialist pig industry liaison officer.