The actions on this page are identified in the Victorian Government response to Recommendation 10 from the IGEM Inquiry into the 2019-20 Victorian Fire Season - Phase 1 report.
IGEM Recommendation 10: Shared responsibility
The Inspector-General for Emergency Management (IGEM) recommends that Emergency Management Victoria – in accepting that emergency management is a ‘shared responsibility’ - collaborate with the emergency management sector and community to:
- establish clear guidance that clarifies the roles and responsibilities of individuals, communities, the private sector, responder agencies and government before, during and after emergencies
- develop, implement and evaluate an ongoing communications strategy that ensures these roles and responsibilities are well understood and reiterated throughout the year.
Actions
Action 10.1: The State Emergency Management Plan will clarify roles and responsibilities in emergency management
Emergency Management Victoria released the State Emergency Management Plan (SEMP) in September 2020.
The SEMP:
- sets out the roles and responsibilities of individuals and households
- clarifies roles and assigns responsibilities to the emergency management sector agencies, business, community groups and networks.
The SEMP forms part of Victoria’s new emergency management planning arrangements, including new arrangements at regional and local levels.
Together, these planning reforms provide critical guidance for communities, ensuring they understand what they can expect in terms of support - and what is expected of them - in the event of an emergency.
Action 10.2: Progress shared responsibility in the State Emergency Management Plan through regional and municipal planning
As part of the development of a state-wide community-led preparedness strategy in response to the community preparedness recommendation of the 10-year Review report, Emergency Management Victoria will work with the sector to ensure that the shared responsibility model in the State Emergency Management Plan (SEMP) is further progressed through the regional and municipal emergency management planning processes.
Action 10.3: Use the Victorian Preparedness Framework to test high-impact scenarios across the sector and with communities
Emergency Management Victoria and its sector partners will use the Victorian Preparedness Framework to plan and test different high-impact, plausible scenarios across the sector and with communities, to embed what shared responsibility means.
Action 10.4: Foster shared responsibility, through partnerships with the private sector in emergency planning and response
Emergency Management Victoria and responder agencies will forge stronger partnerships with the private sector in emergency planning and response as part of the shared responsibility model, building on the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Plans and Sector Resilience Networks.
Action 10.5: Invest in communication strategies to build understanding of emergency risks
The Victorian Government will continue to invest in different communication strategies to build a common understanding of risk and what individuals, households and communities can do to act and mitigate risk. For example, seasonal campaigns, engagement through the Safer Together Program and other year-round opportunities.
An update on these actions can be found in IGEM's progress report
Updated