EMV will, in consultation with all agencies, develop consolidated fatigue management guidance to inform multi-agency incident operations.

EMV will initiate research into interstate and international rostering and resourcing management arrangements, to identify potential improvements or alternative models to the current Victorian arrangements

EMV will work with the sector to develop and implement a robust system for Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) incident management.

As part of the development of a contemporary emergency management operating model identified in the response to the sector capability and capacity recommendation of the Review report, EMV will:

• develop sector guidelines that optimise deployment; service delivery; employee health; and wellbeing. These guidelines will seek to enhance consistency where appropriate, while supporting an agile and diverse workforce.

EMV will work with the sector to update and re-issue the multi-agency Fatigue Management Safety Fact Sheet and include fatigue management content within pre-season briefings.

EMV will as a priority, develop common incident resourcing principles to maximise deployment and resourcing, along with a fit for purpose safety management system that can integrate information from across agencies.

EMV will work with the sector to examine the application and constraints of resource management, with a view to developing a standing state strategic resource plan. This review will include safety management systems and processes.

The Victorian Government is committed to improving handover processes, particularly across different shifts and personnel changes, to facilitate more effective and consistent handover and incident management practices.

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.

As part of the investment in training for the sector identified in the sector capability and capacity recommendation in the review report, the Victorian Government will ensure that Incident Management Team personnel are provided with the training, exercising and simulation experiences required to effectively perform their roles and apply these processes in an environment with increasing complexities and overlapping emergencies.