Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission - 2015 Progress Report | Inspector-General for Emergency Management Victoria

All hazards

Risks spanning across multiple hazard types and across the emergency management system.

Biosecurity

Exotic animal and plant disease outbreaks and pest incursions can have significant economic, community and environmental impacts.

Bushfire and other fires

Bushfire and other fires have potential consequences including loss of life and property, and damage to infrastructure and environment.

Climate change

Risks include more days of extreme heat, harsher fire weather, less rainfall and rising sea levels.

Communications disruption

Communications services are crucial in keeping communities safe, connected and informed before, during and after emergencies.

Cyber security and ICT systems failure

Risks relating to the confidentiality, availability, integrity of information and data and disruption of services.

Energy supply disruption

Reliable energy supplies are critical to many social and economic activities.

Flood

Major flood events have occurred in Victoria every 10 to 20 years, with much of the increasing risk created by human settlement.

Hazardous material incident

Potential risks relate to many places where Victoria’s hazardous materials are manufactured, stored, transported, used and disposed.

Heatwave

Heatwaves are considered to be the ‘silent killer’ of extreme weather events and are the leading cause of weather-related deaths in Australia.

Public health emergency

Risks may relate to the delivery of public health services, with impacts on community health and wellbeing and potential for loss of life.

Supply chain disruption

Geopolitical, environmental, economic, societal and infrastructure-related shocks can expose supply chains to wide ranging consequences.

Terrorism and extremism

Attacks carried out by individuals or non-state groups with ideological, political or religious goals can result in loss of life, severe injury and/or material damage.

Water supply disruption

Risks include collection, storage, treatment, delivery, availability and allocation of water for consumption and environmental, recreation and cultural uses.

Workforce and resourcing

Risks may relate to human resource supply and skills to support emergency management operations.

This is the first progress report prepared by the Inspector-General for Emergency Management (IGEM) on the implementation progress of the recommendations and associated actions from the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.

Since his appointment in 2010, Bushfires Royal Commission Implementation Monitor, Mr Neil Comrie AO, APM produced a total of four progress updates on implementation actions in relation to the Royal Commission recommendations. In his final report tabled in August 2014, he advised that implementation of 56 of the 67 recommendations was complete.

Following the conclusion of Mr Comrie’s appointment in 2014, the Victorian Government asked IGEM to monitor recommendations and related actions from the 2009 Royal Commission reported as ‘ongoing’ in his 2014 annual and final report.

As detailed in this first annual report, of the 21 actions previously reported by Mr Comrie as ongoing, IGEM has identified eight actions that are now complete and two that have been closed.

IGEM also considers the emergency management sector to be making satisfactory progress towards completing the implementation of the remaining seven recommendations and 11 actions.

The IGEM 2015 Progress Report was tabled in Parliament on 8 October 2015.

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