This section provides a description of each core capability and details their critical tasks.
1. Planning
Conduct a systematic process engaging the whole community as appropriate in the development of executable strategic, operational, and/or tactical level approaches to meet defined objectives.
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1.1 Share information with relevant stakeholders to assist effective emergency management planning for example: planning principles, priorities and governance arrangements for the relevant level of planning, including an understanding of the planning footprint’s emergency risk profile, resilience, and the likely emergencies that may impact their communities |
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1.2 Community and agency stakeholders participate in emergency management planning, preparation, and review of relevant emergency management plans |
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1.3 Identify, analyse and evaluate the likelihood and consequences of emergency events holistically, and document within relevant emergency risk assessments and relevant emergency management plans |
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1.4 Community and agency stakeholders are engaged to explore, determine and implement mitigating actions to reduce or manage the likelihood and/or consequences of emergency events |
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1.5 Communicate information to communities and agency stakeholders on the residual likelihood and consequences of an emergency after planning and mitigation is undertaken |
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1.6 Exercise, review and updated emergency management plans regularly with agencies and community stakeholders using scenarios related to the relevant emergency risk profile |
2. Community Information and Warnings
Deliver public information and warnings that are authoritative, consistently constructed and relevant for all Victorians and visitors in all emergencies.
Provide timely and tailored information that supports the community to make informed decisions before, during and after emergencies.
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2.1 Provide information to people and communities on the risks, risk mitigation actions, and incident/events that may affect them |
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2.2 Deliver a whole-of-Victorian-Government preparedness and awareness campaign |
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2.3 Deliver timely, coordinated, accessible, tailored and relevant information and warnings to communities |
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2.4 Undertake evaluations and research to understand community information needs and effectiveness of warnings |
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2.5 Plan for and deliver collaborative and proactive messaging to promote recovery in impacted communities |
Establish and maintain a unified and coordinated operational structure and process that appropriately integrates all critical stakeholders and supports the execution of core capabilities, including operational communications. Operational Communications are the communications within and between emergency management agencies, when responding to emergency incidents, performing business as usual activities in the field or responding to multi-agency, large scale emergency events.
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3.1 Establish command and control to effectively deliver emergency management |
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3.2 Activate established coordination networks to support operational response |
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3.3 Identify and maintain facilities for emergency management activities |
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3.4 Identify, maintain and protect operational communications networks used by emergency services |
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3.5 Develop communication networks connecting communities and emergency managers |
To provide timely, accurate, tailored and actionable intelligence to inform decision making and planning, by collecting, processing, and analysis of multiple data sources, to assist with anticipating and forecasting hazards and risks across all phases of an emergency. It also includes the assessment of risks and hazards so that decision makers, responders, and community members can take informed action to reduce their entity’s risk and increase their resilience.
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4.1 Collaboratively identify and plan for intelligence requirements |
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4.2 Develop and implement effective governance, processes, and networks to improve intelligence capacity and doctrine |
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4.3 Develop, establish and monitor surveillance systems, integrated information sharing systems, tools and networks of trained personnel to deliver intelligence requirements |
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4.4 Collect, collate, process, analyse and where appropriate share data and information for current and emerging risks and hazards across all phases of an emergency |
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4.5 Tailor and disseminate relevant intelligence to stakeholders |
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4.6 Provide relevant and actionable intelligence and predictive assessment |
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4.7 Systematically review and adjust intelligence processes based on feedback and evaluation |
Provide a safe, secure and orderly society through the active prosecution of regulations and laws related to the prevention of serious emergencies and to afford a safe environment for those communities affected by an emergency and any responding personnel engaged in emergency operations.
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5.1 Secure the affected area |
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5.2 Evacuation of affected persons (no mandatory evacuation order in Victoria) |
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5.3 Establishment of traffic management points and the maintenance of supply lines |
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5.4 Maintain security and meet the protection needs of affected communities and responders |
Building community safety and resilience includes working together at the local level. Communities can strengthen their lifelines by better connecting and working together with appropriate support from organisations.
Build on combined community and organisational strengths across all phases of an emergency through the below critical tasks.
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6.1 Connecting with people and by supporting them to use their networks to communicate effectively |
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6.2 Using local knowledge to better understand and identify local needs |
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6.3 Working through likely scenarios to manage underlying stresses and cope with shocks that may continue to impact the community |
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6.4 Working together to identify local context and develop local solutions |
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6.5 Sharing information and learning from experiences to make better decisions in the future |
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6.6 Encourage self-reliance by enabling communities to cope for up to 72 hours without significant external assistance |
Provide firefighting capabilities to manage and suppress fires while protecting lives, property, and the environment in the affected (land and water) area.
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7.1 Reduce incidence and consequence of fire |
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7.2 Suppress, contain and extinguish major fires |
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7.3 Co-ordinate deployment of local, state, national and international people and resources |
Source: Based on US Federal Emergency Management Agency learning's we have included Fire Management and Suppression as the only hazard specific capability.
Provide fatality management services, including search, recovery, victim identification (following Interpol Standards), and repatriation. As well as the sharing of accurate and timely information with other agencies and the community, and the provision of support to the bereaved.
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8.1 Oversee all coronial investigations of fatalities |
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8.2 Establish and maintain operations to recover a significant number of fatalities over a geographically dispersed area |
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8.3 Provide investigative and operational support services for victim identification |
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8.4 Establish and maintain temporary mortuaries ensuring they have adequate storage for the predicted number of fatalities |
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8.5 Provide staffing and equipment to adequately examine and document all fatalities to enable accurate identification and support coronial/ police investigations |
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8.6 Manage family communication regarding coronial process and repatriation |
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8.7 Communicate accurate and timely information to emergency services and communities about the safe handling of fatalities |
Plan for and provide response and recovery services during emergencies that affect the road network including alternative routes, emergency permits and escorts for responders, clearing and restoration of damaged roads.
Provide response to major public transportation emergencies including infrastructure access and accessible transportation services to ensure community movement including coordination of all private rail, tram and bus services to support priority response objectives.
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9.1 Secure disaster area |
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9.2 Establish physical access for responders |
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9.3 Identify and enact alternate/ detour routes |
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9.4 Coordinate alternate public transport provision |
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9.5 Clear debris from critical routes |
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9.6 Undertake engineering/ safety assessments |
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9.7 Undertake temporary remediation works |
Deliver essential commodities, equipment, and services in support of impacted communities and survivors, to include emergency power and fuel support, as well as the coordination of access to community staples.
Synchronise logistics capabilities and enable the restoration of impacted supply chains, including removal of debris.
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10.1 Identification of essential supplies and equipment to support agency emergency management activities |
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10.2 Identification of essential supplies and equipment to aid affected communities |
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10.3 Manage, coordinate the end-to-end procurement and distribution of essential supplies and equipment, and services |
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10.4 Manage and coordinate the demobilisation and reconciliation of essential supplies, equipment and facilities |
Provide all decision makers with relevant information regarding the nature and extent of the hazard, and any potential consequences during and after an emergency to ensure efficient, timely and appropriate support for communities.
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11.1 Gather information regarding extent of damage, immediate threats, loss of life and persons displaced |
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11.2 Collect progressive assessment data of the scale and characteristics of the impact across the social, economic, built and natural environments |
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11.3 Provide consistent and meaningful impact assessment data through a co-ordinated process to decision makers |
Deliver traditional and atypical search and rescue capabilities, including people and resources with the goal of saving the greatest number of endangered lives in the shortest time possible.
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12.1 Conduct search operations to locate persons |
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12.2 Coordinate spontaneous volunteers |
| 12.3 Conduct rescue of trapped or isolated persons |
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12.4 Coordinate the deployment of interstate, national and international people and resources |
Promotes and protects the public health of Victorians by monitoring notifiable diseases and responding to any disease outbreaks in order to control and minimise the risk of infection. This includes regulating the safety of food, drinking water and human environmental health hazards such as radiation, legionella and pesticides. Includes informing the community and health providers about public health risks and promoting behaviours and strategies to mitigate and avoid risk. It also includes the development of national policies, standards and strategies to promote improvements in public health generally and supports the health system to respond to national public health risks.
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13.1 Maintain an ongoing state of preparedness to respond to a public health emergency |
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13.2 Identify and characterise risks and commence enhanced arrangements |
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13.3 Prepare and support public and private health entities to manage and control public health risks |
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13.4 Effectively communicate public health and clinical health management guidance to the health sector |
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13.5 Effectively communicate the health risks, through public health promotion and prevention campaigns |
The planning, provisioning, response and coordination of pre-hospital and health emergency care, including triage, treatment and distribution of patients, in a timely and structured manner, using all available resources to maximise positive health outcomes.
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14.1 Identify existing and developing health risks |
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14.2 Assess patients |
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14.3 Establish primary patient treatment points |
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14.4 Deploy specialised resources as required |
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14.5 Undertake and coordinate patient transport |
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14.6 Work with hospitals to identify strategies and resources that may be implemented in response to a surge in demand |
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14.7 Provide treatment and ongoing medical care |
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14.8 Coordinate across the health sector to provide advanced clinical care, speciality services, and investigations required for patient treatment and care |
The provision of well-coordinated, integrated and timely assistance to meet the immediate health, wellbeing, financial and essential needs of affected communities, during and immediately after an emergency event.
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15.1 Establish temporary shelter options for displaced persons |
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15.2 Coordinate and manage services to meet the physical needs of affected populations |
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15.3 Coordinate and manage services to meet the psychosocial needs of affected populations |
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15.4 Assess and provide financial hardship assistance payments |
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15.5 Monitor emerging needs and adapt services to minimise the long term consequences on health and wellbeing |
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15.6 Facilitate the reunification of family and friends separated during an emergency |
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15.7 Coordinate and manage services to meet the immediate needs of affected livestock |
To assess and manage the consequences to the community, environmental values, domestic animals and livestock of a hazardous materials release, naturally occurring pests or biological hazard.
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16.1 Conduct risk / epidemiological assessments and identify consequence management strategies |
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16.2 Conduct monitoring and surveillance activities |
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16.3 Coordinate the delivery of diagnostic services |
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16.4 Restrict the movement of spread vectors or hosts using legislative instruments (includes ‘standstill’) |
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16.5 Restrict the movement of hazardous materials or organisms using physical containment methods |
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16.6 Destroy the organism and/or susceptible hosts |
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16.7 Render (disperse / dilute / neutralise) the hazardous material safe |
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16.8 Dispose of contaminated waste |
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16.9 Decontaminate affected people, places and equipment |
Support the recovery and resilience of economic and business activities (including food and agriculture) to provide the community with jobs, goods and services, and higher living standards.
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17.1 Assess and identify business and economic needs |
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17.2 Assist impacted businesses to access information and advice |
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17.3 Coordinate insurance industry information and advice |
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17.4 Provide technical advice on re-establishment or alternative strategies |
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17.5 Deliver targeted intervention strategies if required |
Protect natural values and cultural heritage values through appropriate planning, mitigation, response, and recovery actions to preserve, conserve, rehabilitate, and restore them consistent with post-disaster community priorities and best practices. This process is to be undertaken in compliance with applicable environmental and heritage preservation laws, along with consultation with all affected communities, including Victoria’s First Peoples and Traditional Owner groups.
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18.1 Identify natural heritage values and cultural heritage values at risk in affected areas, in consultation with all affected communities, including Victoria’s First Peoples and Traditional Owner groups |
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18.2 Undertake assessment of risk posed to natural and cultural heritage values, in consultation with all affected communities, including Victoria’s First Peoples and Traditional Owner groups |
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18.3 Coordinate and undertake stabilisation works on private and public land to remediate response actions |
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18.4 Coordinate and undertake natural values rehabilitation works, in consultation with all affected communities, including Victoria’s First Peoples and Traditional Owner groups |
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18.5 Coordinate and undertake cultural heritage values rehabilitation works, in consultation with all affected communities, including Victoria’s First Peoples and Traditional Owner groups |
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18.6 Establish recovery monitoring of natural and cultural heritage values, in consultation with all affected communities, including Victoria’s First Peoples and Traditional Owner groups |
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18.7 Transition recovery services and programs to previous management arrangements |
19. Built Recovery
To restore critical and community infrastructure and establish safe areas during and following an emergency, ensuring the provision of facilities and services to support and benefit communities. Residential properties are the responsibility of the owner, however individuals and communities are supported regarding residential property loss through personal and social support.
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19.1 Undertake technical assessments for critical infrastructure |
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19.2 Undertake technical assessments for community infrastructure |
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19.3 Undertake stabilisation and remediation works |
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19.4 Assess and prioritise restoration needs of the affected community |
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19.5 Restore community infrastructure to be sustainable and more resilient to future events |
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19.6 Ensure continuity of critical infrastructure during restoration works |
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19.7 Undertake and facilitate the restoration of critical infrastructure |
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19.8 Ensure continuity of critical infrastructure during restoration works |
20. Social Recovery
The longer-term provision of assistance and access to services that allows individuals, families and communities to achieve an effective level of functioning after an emergency event. This includes safety, security, shelter, health and psychosocial wellbeing and re-establishment of those elements of society necessary for well-being.
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20.1 Assess and provide for medium to long term psychosocial needs |
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20.2 Provide housing / accommodation options |
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20.3 Assess and provide financial re-establishment assistance |
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20.4 Coordinate and adapt health programs to ensure continuity and availability of advice / activities |
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20.5 Assess community service needs, including socio-economic disadvantage |
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20.6 Work with communities to transition recovery services and programs to mainstream community delivery / services |
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20.7 Provide bereavement support for communities |
Support continuous improvement to improve emergency management practice and community safety by extracting understanding from experience and research, reviewing community consequences, investigating causes and outcomes, providing assurance and translating lessons into behaviour change.
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21.1 Undertake assurance activities before, during and after major emergency events |
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21.2 Analyse insights and identify lessons from assurance activities |
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21.3 Assess identified lessons for change / improvement activities |
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21.4 Monitor and measure improvement activities and outcomes |
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21.5 Provide opportunities for all personnel to access and utilise identified lessons |
The department acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and acknowledges and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.