Communities to have say in review of emergency management reform

The Inspector-General for Emergency Management (IGEM) invites public submissions to the review of ten years of emergency management reform.

Over the last decade many changes to the emergency management arrangements have been introduced to improve the way Victoria prepares for, responds to and recovers from emergencies such as bushfire, flood, storm and heatwave.

Independent inquiries and reviews which have followed significant Victorian emergencies including the devastating 2009 bushfires, the 2010–11 floods, the 2014 Hazelwood Coal Mine fire and 2016 thunderstorm asthma event have all aimed to improve our emergency management practices.

Inspector-General Tony Pearce is conducting a comprehensive review of the progress made in the emergency management sector since the devastating 2009 Victorian Bushfires.

To establish the scope of the review, the Inspector-General is inviting individuals and organisations to make submissions outlining issues that they would like IGEM to consider.

“The emergency management sector is constantly evolving in its practices and approaches, including changes made in response to significant inquiries and reviews,” Mr Pearce said

“However, it is appropriate to review if changes over the past 10 years are actually achieving better outcomes for Victorians – before, during and after emergencies.”

Mr Pearce said the insights and experiences gathered from this initial consultation will be used to scope the significant review to be conducted through 2019.

“It is important for communities to have their say on themes or issues about Victoria's emergency management arrangements - introduced since 2009 - they would like explored”, he said.

The primary goal of this review is to understand whether Victoria’s emergency management reform strategy has achieved the outcomes it set out to achieve for the sector, and importantly Victorian communities.

This review will not re-examine past emergencies, nor the findings or recommendations from independent inquiries and reviews such as the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission.

The Inspector-General will provide his report to government by December 2019.