The Inspector-General for Emergency Management recommends that Emergency Management Victoria – in partnership with agencies engaged in state, regional and incident control centres:
a) review and update shift roster and handover processes to ensure they are procedurally consistent and support the achievement of objectives at all stages of a protracted event
b) provide training and guidance to ensure shift roster and handover processes are consistently applied in state, regional and incident control centres.
IGEM recognised the significant achievements of Victoria’s response to the 2019-20 bushfires, despite the challenges presented by the scale, extent and duration of the season. Resources were drawn from multiple agencies over an extended period, including from other jurisdictions in Australia and internationally. The complex and prolonged nature of this event and the varying industrial arrangements around shift rotations across a multitude of agencies, made information exchange and handover processes within regional and incident management centres critical.
IGEM notes that no implementation activity is required by this action, which paraphrases content from the Phase 1 report.