A status bar showing the action is in progress
Report name
Review of 10 years of reform in Victoria's emergency management sector
Lead agency
EMV - Emergency Management Victoria
Status
In Progress
Due date
June 2023 (revised)
Finding
IGEM considers that this action is progressing satisfactorily, noting a revised due date was approved by SCRC
Recommendation theme
Recommendation 2: Risk management arrangements
Recommendation details

The Inspector-General for Emergency Management recommends that Emergency Management Victoria – in collaboration with the community and emergency management sector:
a)    updates the 2012–13 State Emergency Risk Assessment to include strategic and operational elements of emergency management. This should consider:
•    the place-based risk assessment development through the community emergency risk assessment process
•    consequence management capability across the sector
•    existing risk models for natural and human-induced hazards.
b)    provides guidance and support for the sector on how to incorporate the updated risk assessment in emergency management planning, policy development, decision-making and assurance activities.

Action

In 2021, EMV will lead the development of a contemporary and systemic approach to identifying and mitigating risk across Victoria:
•    This approach will consider key drivers of change and make use of predictive forecasting tools to inform data analytics and intelligence.
•    It will establish partnerships with other jurisdictions and research organisations to establish and embed world-leading practice for risk assessment and the technological interdependence of systems and services.

Summary of progress

Victorian Emergency Risk Assessment
EMV is addressing this action through the 2022–23 Victorian Emergency Risk Assessment (VERA) Project, which will update the current state emergency risk assessment in the Emergency Risks in Victoria report (2020). 

EMV updated the Emergency Management Planning Reform IDC on the project on 15 March 2022 and subsequently circulated the project concept brief to State Emergency Management Planning Committee (SEMPC) members. 

In June 2022 SCRC approved a revised due date for this action of June 2023 due to previous resource and funding constraints. EMV has since secured funding to support Phase 1 of the project through the National Partnership Agreement on Disaster Risk Reduction.

Phase 1 of the project aims to: 
•    develop a methodology based on Australian and international best practice using qualitative and quantitative data
•    develop a repeatable process for emergency risk assessments and enable targeted reviews of specific emergency risks
•    incorporate climate change modelling to plan for future emergency risks, in coordination with DELWP and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

The project will begin by focusing on emergency risk assessments at the municipal level from the CERA results, and recent Regional Emergency Risk Assessments (RERA), as well as previously identified risks at the state level. 

EMV is establishing the VERA Project Working Group to progress this work and intends to circulate a Terms of Reference to SEMPC for feedback at its September 2022 meeting.

Depending on funding availability, Phase 2 of the project aims to improve access to emergency risk data through the creation of an interactive online platform for state, regional and municipal level data.

Emergency Management Strategic Outlook
EMV also produces an Emergency Management Strategic Outlook every six months on strategic considerations that are likely to impact the sector. The analysis is based on consequence management methodology and intelligence assessments.

The April–September 2022 outlook expands the focus beyond COVID-19 pandemic risk to take an all-hazards approach.

Regional Emergency Risk Assessment
In July 2021 EMV commenced the Regional Emergency Risk Assessment Project to develop a regional level risk assessment methodology and facilitate assessments of selected emergency risks. 

EMV engaged a consultant to conduct 16 risk assessment workshops between September and November 2021 across all eight of Victoria’s emergency management regions. In December 2021 the consultant provided EMV with the assessment results and a summary report. 

The assessments will be used by REMPCs to inform future versions of their REMPs and identify any specific sub-plans and mitigation, response and recovery actions needed at the regional level. 

Municipal Emergency Risk Assessment 
Refer to 10YOR Action 2.5 for information on the updating of MEMPs using existing risk assessment processes.