Federal Parliament passes the National Emergency Declaration Bill 2020
On 10 December the Parliament passed the National Emergency Declaration Bill. The Bill will now go to the Governor-General for royal assent and will then become law. I expect that will happen any day...
View ArticleFederal Parliament passes the Defence Legislation Amendment (Enhancement of...
On 8 December the Parliament passed the Defence Legislation Amendment (Enhancement of Defence Force Response to Emergencies) Bill 2020. The Bill will now go to the Governor-General for royal assent...
View ArticleNo emergency service leave for students
Today’s correspondent is a … university student in [New South Wales]…, and I’m currently in the process of joining the local SES unit. However, I had a concern about my university commitments...
View ArticleThe role of insurance in disater recovery
Today’s correspondent is doing a project on insurance and natural disasters. I offered to answer their questions provided I could put the answers here (private answers cost a professional fee). They...
View ArticlePaying overtime for F&RNSW firefighters whilst on intrastate deployment
In March 2017 heavy flooding in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales led to the deployment of firefighters to assist in emergency rescue work. The Fire Brigade Employees’ Union of NSW (“the...
View ArticleThe coronavirus question
Just like the virus reaching the ACT a question was, I suppose, just a matter of time. This question comes from a volunteer with NSW SES who asks about … an SES Duty Officer asking questions of...
View ArticlePaying for Commonwealth assistance
This question was received as a comment to the post What is a ‘national emergency’? (December 25, 2019) but I thought it deserved a post in its own right. The question is: Under the existing...
View ArticleConfusing titles of ’emergency officer’, ‘senior emergency officer’ and...
This question comes from a NSW SES volunteer so I’ll answer it with an SES focus. The question is: A few of us were wonder about the powers of an Emergency Officer in NSW as per the SERM Act, but more...
View ArticlePrevent or respond – a question for emergency services
The mantra is Prevent, Prepare, Respond and Recovery. Preventing an emergency is better than responding to one; but equally we want resilient communities where individuals and communities take...
View ArticleNo duty to prevent a disaster and no duty to rescue
In my work I hear from people in the emergency services who fear that they will be liable, either personally or that their agency will be, if they fail to protect people from disaster or their own...
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Employment protection for volunteers in current NSW storm response
Another question arises out of the current storms that have been keeping the NSW SES busy. This correspondent says: With the severe hailstorms which lashed parts of Sydney in mid-December, the...
View ArticleNSW SES following up on jobs assigned to other agencies
This question arises out of recent storm events across NSW. My correspondent received an email from a NSW SES Local Commander that said, in part (emphasis added by me): … As the combat agency, we own...
View ArticleRevisiting the status of volunteer rural fire brigades in Queensland.
Today’s post again revisits the vexed question of the status of volunteer rural fire brigades, again in Queensland. See also: Should a NSW RFS brigade retain its incorporated status? (February 16,...
View ArticleNSW Coroner’s findings into Dungog floods
On 21 April 2015, the town of Dungog in rural NSW suffered experienced a sudden, apparently unprecedented flash flood that claimed three lives. Between 28 and 31 August the NSW Deputy State Coroner...
View ArticleUsing private property to house evacuees in Victoria
A consultant ‘to a number of organisations, including local governments, in emergency management’ asks for comment on the following question “Can a Victorian emergency agency (e.g. fire service or...
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Liability for advice on dangerous trees
A correspondent with NSW SES says: I was out with the NSW SES during the recent storms. On two occasions residents had claimed they had asked the local Council for permission to remove a tree that had...
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Employment Protection for NSW Volunteers
With the recent severe weather and many volunteers responding to help their community, the NSW Premier made a declaration under Part 3A of the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989 (NSW). You...
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Refusing service to repeat SES callers
A member of the NSW SES asks: Is the NSW SES able to refuse to provide assistance to storm affected properties, where the owner/resident has previously had the NSW SES provide assistance multiple...
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Forcing entry to save a life
Today I’m asked: To what extent can a forceful entry be conducted to save a life that either doesn’t want to leave or doesn’t want to live. This would also include forcefully handling the victim. From...
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Responding to a Request for Assistance received via FaceBook
This is a matter that I too have had to consider when working as an SES media officer. I’m a volunteer with a local NSW SES unit and manage the Facebook Page for the unit. It has always been unit...
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