IGEM a Public Sector Awards finalist

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.

The Inspector-General for Emergency Management (IGEM) has been announced as a finalist for the IPAA Victoria Leadership in the Public Sector Awards 2018.

IGEM’s nomination titled ‘Innovative regulation for emergency services telecommunications in Victoria’ centres on its regulation model for the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (External link) (ESTA).

ESTA provides the critical link between the Victorian community and the state’s emergency services agencies via the triple zero (000) emergency call service and other sources. It provides Victoria’s 24-hour emergency call-taking and dispatch services for ambulance, fire, police, and state emergency service.

On average, ESTA responds to a call every 12-seconds, or more than 7500 calls per day.

Among its legislative functions, IGEM monitors and investigates ESTA’s performance for the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, for the purposes of continuous improvement.

IGEM works with ESTA to identify performance issues and opportunities for improvement that aim to drive interoperability, and optimise ESTA’s call-taking and dispatch performance for multiple emergency services organisations.

Built in consultation with ESTA, IGEM’s risk-based model of regulation ensures that recommendations for improvement align with the SMART principles – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-limited.

As a result, whenever IGEM considers possible solutions to identified problems, it develops – in close cooperation with stakeholders – recommendations that aim to reduce identified systemic risks associated with performance issues, reduce burden on emergency services, and improve outcomes for Victorian communities.

The IPAA Victoria Leadership in the Public Sector Awards - Innovative Regulation Award (External link) is sponsored by the Department of Justice and Regulation. IPAA Victoria will announce the award-winners at a ceremony on 19 February 2019.

About us

Our work

Publications

Assurance in Emergency Management

Who we work with