Victorian Emergency Operations Handbook

The Victorian Emergency Operations Handbook summarises the operational management structures and systems used by agencies and government departments for preparedness, readiness, response and recovery to major emergencies in Victoria.

The purpose of this handbook is to provide emergency personnel with a convenient reference to the key agency structures and systems required to undertake effective and safe incident management operations in Victoria.

It is important to note that the handbook is a subordinate document to the State Emergency Management Plan (SEMP), procedures produced by the Emergency Management Commissioner (EMC) and to all other agency procedures, plans and manuals. 

The handbook is split into three parts:

Part 1 - Arrangements

• Emergency Management Arrangements
• Information System
• Safety
• Incident Management
• Aircraft and Aviation
• Public Information
• Traffic Management Points
• Evacuation
• Impact Assessment 
• Relief and Recovery 
• Lessons Management and Continuous Improvement

Part 2 - Hazards

• Bushfire Readiness and Response
• Flood and Storm
• Landslide
• Extreme Heat
• Animal, Plant, Marine and Environmental Bio Security

Part 3 – References 

• Doctrine
• SCC/RCC/ICC Contact Lists
• Acronyms 

At the time of publication, the handbook is consistent with procedures, plans and manuals. However, the overarching procedures, plans and manuals always remain the primary reference documents.

Due to the new national standards of the Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS) coming into effect in September 2022 and the Machinery of Government (MoG) changes from Bushfire Recovery Victoria (BRV) to Emergency Recovery Victoria (ERV) in October 2022, updates were required to be made to the online version to reflect the new operational requirements.

The Victorian Emergency Operational Handbook - Edition 4.1, 2022 will not be printed and will only be available via the online version.