The Working Group recommends that the National Recovery Coordinators Group approach the Investment and Financial Services Association Limited, with a view to identifying the most appropriate way of engaging the life insurance industry in the recovery process.

The Working Group recommends that jurisdictions plan for the logistics of supply and delivery of meals to large numbers of homebound persons in an attempt to identify possible ways of resolving existing shortcomings. 

The Working Group recommends that participants in the exercises designed to test continuity of executive government plans and procedures should be the office holders themselves. 

The Working Group recommends that Emergency Management Australia and the jurisdictions through the AEMC develop a three year rolling national exercise strategy aimed at testing the response and recovery aspects of large scale disasters. 

The Working Group recommends that each jurisdiction; 
• Examine the interdependency of essential services provided by the private sector, utilising where possible other existing programs such as the National Critical Infrastructure Protection Initiative

Firefighting organisations should: address their key training and development issues

Firefighting organisations should: resolve existing telecommunication problems and work with other emergency service organisations to establish compatible telecommunications systems.

Government should: establish a State-wide command structure across volunteer Bush Fire Brigades for fighting major bushfires, to more effectively manage the coordination of personnel and resources

FESA should: in addition to its current initiatives, develop and implement structured programs (with clearly identified objectives, target groups and time lines for achievement) aimed at:
- increasing the level of adoption of AIIMS by local governments and volunteer Bush Fire Brigades

Government should: establish emergency management legislation which clarifies State and local government responsibilities, and which rectifies the deficiencies in the State’s bushfire Emergency Management Plan, Westplan Wildfire.

That DPI improves monitoring and surveillance of high priority threats and improves the quality of information provided to the Commonwealth.

That the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Control of Use) Act 1992, Plant Health and Plant Products Act 1995 and Livestock Disease Control Act 1994 be registered with the Department of Justice’s PERIN system.

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

That DPI negotiates access, as and when required, to an AQIS PC4- accredited laboratory.

That DPI develops diagnostic protocols for high-priority threats, in conjunction with other jurisdictions and industry, as soon as practicable.

That DPI reviews the work of entry level graduates to ensure career paths are clear and encourage the retention of staff.

That DPI works with industry to develop a training module on the certification and verification system for inclusion in industry quality assurance programs.

That better use be made of Primary Industries Research Victoria's (PIRVIC) facilities by strengthening links with relevant groups of expertise, such as the Forest Science Centre.

That DPI provides plant incursion-specific AIIMS training for anyone who might be involved in, or providing resources for, an incursion response. This includes senior management, field and research staff, contractors and industry participants.

That DPI effectively communicates to all sectors of the industry their responsibilities to report new threats, and how to report them.

That DPI formalises agreements between divisions and groups that allow staff to be involved in incursion responses and reflects this requirement in individual duty statements.

That DPI ensures that AIIMS training includes information to ensure that everyone understands their role, and how information will be managed internally and externally, in the event of an incursion.

That DPI develops a comprehensive strategy for communicating to industry their rights and responsibilities in relation to threats, incursions, outbreaks and post-outbreak; and also for communicating internally.

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

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.

That Department of Primary Industries (DPI), in partnership with the Department of Sustainability and Environment, reviews all legislation relating to plant biosecurity with a view to streamlining the legislative framework.

That PSB and PIRVIC review their service agreement to ensure that PIRVIC is compensated for its costs in providing PSB with the specified level of service.

That DPI, as part of the development of the Victorian plant biosecurity strategy, undertake a strategic review of its plant health planning framework so that: • corporate and business unit plans at all levels of the department align to each other and to government policy so that staff have a cohe

That the model for state funding be reviewed to ensure that DPI can confidently build and maintain a core level of diagnostic expertise and research capability.

That DPI maintains ISO 9000 accreditation for at least one laboratory and seeks NATA accreditation for key diagnostic tests. This should be done in combination with Plant Health Australia’s laboratory accreditation project.

That DPI develops a consistent process to identify, assess and prioritise potential plant pest and disease threats, and aligns it with prioritisation processes used at the national level by Plant Health Australia.

That DPI conducts and documents debriefs after all incursions, and adopts any improvements that are identified through debriefs.

That DPI formalises agreements within the Regional Services and Agriculture Division to ensure that plant health information is included in extension programs.

That PSB’s enforcement procedures are consistent with those of the rest of the department.

That DPI develops a consistent approach to recording and enforcing breaches of the certification and verification system.

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 makes arrangements to use contract labour for fruit fly trap monitoring and surveillance before the predicted fruit fly outbreak season.

That DPI develops a department-wide enforcement policy and specific guidelines for Plant Standards Branch (PSB).

To ensure an effective and co-ordinated approach to communication throughout the Queensland disaster management system, it is recommended that —

It is recommended that public sector entities establish frameworks which will provide for more effective governance over business continuity management.

To enhance the delivery of disaster management services, it is recommended that the Department of Emergency Services —
• finalise and implement a suitable disaster management training framework; and

To provide the strategic leadership and governance required to implement the Disaster Management Act 2003, it is recommended that the State Disaster Management Group supported by the Department of Emergency Services develop a suitable governance framework for disaster management which includes th

To enhance disaster risk management planning processes, it is recommended that the State Disaster Management Group supported by the Department of Emergency Services develop a suitable performance management system to ensure local, district, functional and threat specific Disaster Management Plans

To enhance the governance of the Queensland disaster management system, it is recommended that the State Disaster Management Group supported by the Department of Emergency Services ensure that —

It is recommended that the State Disaster Management Group and the Department of Emergency Services review the current disaster district boundary framework and its relevance to the regional boundaries established by other public sector lead entities to ensure that resources within the Disaster Ma

That the State Disaster Management Group supported by the Department of Emergency Services ensures that State-wide a robust disaster risk management process is established that includes the aggregation of relevant information from local, district, functional and threat specific plans to develop a

That all fire agencies include a formal mentoring scheme as part of their workforce development programs; and that consideration be given to the use of suitably competent and experienced individuals (such as retired staff), to act as coaches or mentors with inexperienced Incident Controllers.

That the Statewide Fire Control Priorities:
• Be developed annually by CFA and DSE;
• Be endorsed by the Victoria Emergency Management Council;
• Be incorporated into the cooperative agreement between DSE and CFA; and

That CFA and MFESB encourage householders to review their fire safety plan annually. 

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 thr

That DSE:

That Government confirms that the Model of Fire Cover/Fire Safety Victoria strategy should be a seamless model for the whole of the State and include both private and public land.

That CFA, DSE and MFESB continue to develop the partnership approach for fire safety with Local Government, industry and communities. 

That DSE and CFA work in cooperation with the Municipal Emergency Response Coordinators to develop and conduct joint exercises that practise the skills and test procedures for operations of the Municipal Emergency Coordination Centre, Municipal Recovery Centre and Incident Control Centres. <

That DSE and CFA review methods of gathering and processing fire information to ensure all methods are pursued to greatest effect.

That Victoria Police Media Unit coordinate work with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the emergency service agencies to implement this arrangement.

That existing DSE and CFA regional co-ordination arrangements be reviewed and any changes, such as the continued use of Integrated Multi-Agency Co-ordination Centres, be reflected in the Victorian emergency management arrangements.

That CFA, in conjunction with isolated small communities, develop and promote a suite of appropriate fire readiness and fire management strategies to meet their needs.

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 infor

That the joint agencies introduce a system of performance measures for reporting the effectiveness of aircraft in firefighting operations.

That a State Emergency Operations Centre be established to replace the existing separate fire agency centres. This could, if necessary, be initially confined to being a State Fire Operations Centre as recommended in Chapter 18, Part D.

That the fire agencies develop a program to significantly increase the amount of joint training and exercises undertaken.

That DSE and CFA work cooperatively to review the management and application of bulldozers in fire suppression operations to ensure that they are used effectively, appropriately and are adequately supervised.

That CFA and DSE work with Australian Broadcasting Corporation Local Radio to identify black spots, and explore opportunities to further improve coverage for broadcasting emergency information.

That, wherever possible, Incident Management Team members from DSE, CFA and MFESB who are likely to be deployed together to manage fire, should train and exercise together. 

That communities, public land managers, Water Authorities and Catchment Management Authorities jointly identify and implement local and environmentally sound solutions to improve the availability of water for firefighting through the Municipal Fire Management Planning process.

That Victoria Police, CFA and DSE review the relationship between fire service regional co-ordination arrangements and Divisional Emergency Response Plans and that any changes be formalised in the emergency management arrangements.

That CFA reports to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services on recommended solutions and implementation strategies for isolated small communities by June 2004. 

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 instances where demand for air support outstrips the supply of State Fleet Aircraft available are recorded. 

That quality control or performance assessments are routinely completed post fire season, to ensure that contractors who have not performed to an agreed standard are not re-engaged for the consequential rehabilitation works.

That CFA and the Plantation Industry jointly develop and agree on Fire Prevention Guidelines for Plantations by June 2004, to be then promoted and distributed by the Industry.

That opportunities be explored to use community radio to complement other methods of communication with isolated communities.

That CFA further develops the information supporting the decision to stay or go, to incorporate a better understanding of both the likely consequences of leaving home at inappropriate times, and the conditions and

That the practice of appointing Deputy Planning Officer, Deputy Operations Officer and Deputy Logistics Officer in an Incident Management Team be abandoned.

That DSE undertake community consultation on policies relating to roads and access tracks on public land, particularly in respect to fire management.

That DPI actively promote as widely as possible within the community, the agricultural recovery service available during emergencies to ensure that all farmers are aware of the services provided.

That the Emergency Management Act 1986 be amended to require the development of agreements that describe joint operational arrangements between emergency response agencies.

That CFA clarifies and restates the roles and function of existing Community Fireguard Groups (including their relationship to the Municipal Fire Prevention Plan) to members, co-ordinators, Incident Controllers and Municipal Emergency Resource Officers, prior to the 2003-2004 fire season.

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 DSE undertake a formal study of the level of prescribed burning in south western Australia for its possible application in Victoria by comparing respective fuel arrays, terrain, weather, ground access, staff, prescribed burning days, areas conducive to prescribed burning and fire response sy

That DSE and CFA review the management of personnel deployed ensuring that:
• Shift changeovers of fire line personnel and fire line supervisors are conducted in such a way that the fire line is not left inappropriately unattended;

That Victoria Police ensure all police members understand the Victorian legislation in relation to evacuation, and that any decision to recommend evacuation remains with the Incident Controller.

That DSE and CFA develop an agreed process for the effective transfer of control from one Incident Control Centre to another, including processes for communicating this change to fire ground supervisors and local communities.

That CFA, in their education and information packages, encourage appropriate insurance cover, and ensure that insurance becomes a part of the householder’s annual checklist.

That VicRoads and Municipal Councils review procedures and processes to ensure that the identification and delivery of remedial works on State and Council roads following emergency events are as efficient as possible. 

That the emergency management arrangements be amended to require Police Divisional Emergency Response Coordinators, in consultation with other response agencies, to establish and document procedures and structures at regional level in order to ensure there is:

That Community Fireguard Group co-ordinators’ names are supplied to their local municipality for the 2003-2004 fire season, and are updated annually for use in information exchange should a Municipal Emergency Co-ordination Centre or Incident Control Centre be established.

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 a systematic performance audit of State Aircraft Fleet contractors be conducted jointly by agency and SAU personnel.

That the fire agencies ensure that Incident Action Plans developed by Incident Management Teams are consistent with, and built on, the agreed Fire Control Priorities.

That Government work with the insurance industry to explore options for incentives such as a reduction in premiums for those who take appropriate self-protection measures on their properties, similar to incentives for anti-theft home security

That the Victorian Government recommend to the Commonwealth Government that it reviews eligibility for those without employment who may or may not be engaged in an emergency response, and are unable to access the appropriate infrastructure to register for financial assistance.

That CFA and DSE jointly develop procedures to ensure that a more consistent strategic approach can be maintained at shift and tour of duty changes.

That CFA provides technical advice to Community Fireguard Groups in the selection and purchase of appropriate equipment and protective clothing for use on their own land.

That, according to available scientific evidence, a decision regarding cattle grazing in the High Country should not be based on the argument that ‘grazing prevents blazing.’

That aviation contractors be required to submit a copy of their annual independent regulatory compliance audit prepared for Civil Aviation Safety Authority to the State Aircraft Unit.

That DSE and CFA ensure that agreed strategy and tactics, and the rationale, be communicated to personnel involved in the fire fight and be included in briefings for fire line personnel.

That the Victorian fire agencies negotiate with their counterparts in New South Wales and South Australia to put in place agreements for mutual aid and the development of cross border strategy for the management of fires burning in the vicinity of, or across, State borders, and these agreements a

That DSE commences discussion with the Victorian WorkCover Authority in respect to employer liability for those staff being released to, and directed, by another agency in fire prevention and suppression activities.