AFAC Annual Report 2019-20

Annual Repor t 2019 –20

AFAC acknowledges the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as traditional custodians of Australia and MÄ ori, as the Tangata Whenua and Treaty of Waitangi partners in Aotearoa-New Zealand.

We recognise their unique cultural and spiritual relationships to the land, waters and their rich contribution to society.

We pay our respects to ancestors and Elders, past, present and future.

CONTENTS

06

43

President’s message

Professional development and events

07

49

CEO’s message

AFAC Awards

08

53

AFAC governance

Collaboration Model

15

63

Business units and partners

Financial highlights

27 Major projects and initiatives

Copyright © 2020, Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council All rights reserved. Copyright in this publication is subject to the operation of the Copyright Act 1968 and its subsequent amendments. Any material contained in this document can be reproduced, providing the source is acknowledged and is not used for any commercialisation purpose whatsoever without the permission of the copyright owner.

OUR VISION Integrated fire and emergency management supporting resilient communities.

OUR PURPOSE AFAC is the facilitator and custodian of contemporary fire and emergency service knowledge and practice, for the benefit of our members and through them, the community.

We will be recognised and have impact as the National Council for fire and emergency services, through collaboration and influence.

OUR VALUES RESPECT COLLABORATION MUTUAL OBLIGATION MUTUAL BENEFIT EVIDENCE-BASED DECISION MAKING

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Elected by the AFAC Council, the AFAC Board provides governance and oversight for the effective management of AFAC as a company. Meeting bi-monthly throughout the year, the AFAC Board has continued to ensure that AFAC is sustainable and able to adequately provide the services its members require during what has been a challenging year for the fire and emergency services sector.

Over the 2019–20 period maintaining capabilities such as the National Resource Sharing Centre (NRSC) and the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) through one of our most challenging fire seasons has assisted AFAC members through the provision of services that support and enable operations.

Key to maintaining this support is collaboration and facilitation, which is at the core of all AFAC business. Building relationships with members and stakeholders across Australia, New Zealand and the world, has been integral to the growth and development of AFAC. Collaborating and sharing knowledge across our networks is why AFAC has cemented itself as a trusted source for our members and stakeholders alike.

As well as overseeing the delivery of nationally agreed doctrine, professional development and significant national projects, this year provided opportunities for review and planning for the future. The AFAC Board facilitated a strategy session to review AFAC’s purpose, operations, new opportunities and the pursuit of strategic objectives while ensuring value to its members. AFAC is currently looking at new approaches to maximise the delivery of research outcomes for members, following the final year of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC. The AFAC Board remains committed to the objectives of the Champions of Change Fire and Emergency Group and were pleased to support the new 40:40:20 campaign. The reporting indicates where we are at and how we can all work towards achieving our goal of 40:40:20 gender representation across collaboration groups.

Several committees support the work of the AFAC Board. The Risk and Audit Committee, in particular, has been meeting more regularly to proactively manage the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the AFAC business. I am pleased to report that AFAC as a company is well placed financially to manage the limitations presented during COVID-19 restrictions. At the same time, the AFAC Secretariat continues to deliver support to AFAC members.

On behalf of the AFAC Board, I would like to express my gratitude to the membership, the AFAC CEO and staff for their efforts throughout what has been a successful year under challenging circumstances.

PAUL BAXTER, QSO Commissioner, Fire and Rescue NSW AFAC President

06

Overview

Welcome

CEO’S MESSAGE The end of the financial year is a fitting time to reflect on what has been an extraordinary period for the fire and emergency services in Australia and New Zealand. Australia’s ‘Black Summer’ presented challenges for all who strive to preserve life, property and the environment. The protracted event saw significant loss, including the tragic loss of life of those in our communities and emergency services, together with extensive support from New Zealand and further overseas.

Reviews and inquiries have been underway in the first half of 2020 in each affected jurisdiction, examining insights and observations into recent events. AFAC has responded to requests for submissions, highlighting its function as the facilitator and custodian of current knowledge and practice. AFAC continues to provide evidence to the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements, responding to questions about the role of AFAC and national resource sharing.

AFAC’s role in enabling the operation of the National Resource Sharing Centre and the National Aerial Firefighting Centre, as well as supporting the decisions of the Commissioners and Chief Officers Strategic Committee and AFAC member agencies has been our focus this year. The scale of the 2019–20 fire season drew on our ability to fulfil a need for national collaboration and call on relationships built over many years. Our counterparts in Canada and the United States were able to return the favour and assist us in our time of need through numerous deployments over the fire season.

National projects, including the Australian Fire Danger Rating System and the Australian Warning System, have continued to progress as a priority. These initiatives respond to the needs of our members and support building safer and more resilient communities.

As well as working to support projects, AFAC has also focused on developing its people. In particular, the Senior Leaders Cohort has been refreshed to broaden its scope and activities to support the future leaders of our fire and emergency services.

During the 2019–20 year, AFAC’s ability to deliver face-to-face meetings and events was impacted by an early and extended fire season and then subsequently, the COVID-19 pandemic. Where possible, meetings and professional development activities were adapted and delivered online. In total, AFAC conducted 122 collaboration group meetings, bringing together 992 individuals across 34 groups representing 31 Members.

The award-winning AFAC19 powered by INTERSCHUTZ conference and exhibition was held in Melbourne and was the largest on record. Additionally, AFAC conducted 29 events, offering members and the broader emergency management community access to professional development and learning opportunities.

In what was a challenging year, I offer my thanks and gratitude to the National Council, the AFAC Board and AFAC staff for their efforts, contributions and dedication.

STUART ELLIS, AM Chief Executive Officer, AFAC

07

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

AFAC GOVERNANCE Elected by the AFAC National Council, the AFAC Board provides governance oversight to the effective management of the organisation.

Board members hold office for two years and are eligible for re-election, the Board meets on a bi-monthly basis.

PRESIDENT

DEPUT Y PRESIDENT

TREASURER

PAUL BA X TER, QSO

SHANE FIT ZSIMMONS, AFSM

STEPHEN GRIFFIN

Commissioner

Commissioner

Chief Executive Officer

Fire and Rescue NSW

NSW Rural Fire Service

Victoria State Emergency Service

Paul Baxter was appointed Commissioner of Fire and Rescue NSW on 16 January 2017. Commissioner Baxter was previously National Commander and CEO of the New Zealand Fire Service and the National Rural Fire Authority, which comprises 10,000 volunteers and 2,200 career staff serving at 650 fire stations nationally. He has more than 30 years of fire service experience, originally serving as a volunteer firefighter, then as a firefighter with the New Zealand Air Force. He became a full time firefighter with the New Zealand Fire Service and worked through the ranks until being appointed as National Commander and CEO a year after the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. He holds a degree in business, is a Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers, a Member of the New Zealand Institute of Management, and has completed the Executive Fire Officer Program at the United States Fire Academy.

Shane Fitzsimmons has over 30 years’ experience with the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS), serving as both a volunteer and salaried officer. In 2004 he was appointed as the inaugural AFAC Visiting Fellow to the Australian Institute of Police Management (AIPM), and in September 2007 he was appointed Commissioner of the NSW RFS. He was appointed a Director of the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) in March 2008 and was Chair of the NAFC Board from 2009 to 2013. He is a member of the NSW State Emergency Management Committee and the NSW State Rescue Board, and was Chairman from 2008 to November 2015.

He was awarded the National Medal in 1999 and the Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM) in 2001.

Stephen (Steve) Griffin was appointed Chief Executive Officer for the Victoria State Emergency Service in May 2014.

He came to Victoria State Emergency Service from the Geelong City Council where he was CEO for five years. Prior to this, he has collected over 28 years of local government experience including City of Melbourne, City of Werribee and the Wyndham City Council, where he was the recovery manager. Throughout his career, Steve has been recognised for his transformational leadership and robust management of service delivery programs and corporate functions.

December 2012 – present.

08

October 2016 – October 2019.

April 2015 – present.

Governance

NEIL COOPER, PSM

CHRIS ARNOL, AFSM

DARREN KLEMM, AFSM

Senior Director, Fire, Forest and Roads

Chief Officer

Commissioner

ACT Parks and Conservation Service

Tasmania Fire Service

Department of Fire and Emergency Services WA

Neil Cooper is currently the Manger of the Fire Management Unit with the ACT Parks and Conservation Service. He completed his BSC (Forestry) degree at the Australian National University in 1982. His early career saw him involved in plantation forestry establishment, silviculture and harvesting up until 1999 when he took on the role of Manager of Fire with the then ACT Forests Department. Since then he has been on several overseas deployments to the United States, involved in a number of large campaign fires in Australia and presented papers at international forums including the United Nations in Rome in 2010 and 2012.

Chris Arnol joined the Tasmania Fire Service as a recruit firefighter in 1985.

October 2013 – present.

In 2009 he moved to Western Australia where, as Assistant Commissioner for Country Operations, he was responsible for fire, SES and marine rescue services. In the wake of major bushfire inquiries, Chris helped to drive corporate reforms that delivered a ‘new’ Department of Fire and Emergency Services in WA. Chris has been deployed operationally, interstate and overseas on many occasions and was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 2007 for his studies into rural/urban interface fires. He also represents Tasmania on the Australia and New Zealand Emergency Management Committee.

Chris was appointed Chief Officer/Chief Executive of the Tasmania Fire Service in 2016. Since then his focus has been on a fresh agenda of emergency service integration, legislative reform and business improvement.

October 2018 – present.

Darren Klemm has more than 27 years of experience in fire and emergency services, having served three years with the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service before joining the WA Fire Brigades Board in 1993.

Over the last six years he has successfully delivered and implemented a number of high level strategic reforms, and has been responsible for significant structural and cultural reform in the training and professional development of personnel and volunteers in the Department of Fire and Emergency Service, including management of the WA Fire and Emergency Services Academy and the introduction of the Professional Pathways competency-based framework.

He has been involved in strategic operations at State and Incident Controller level during significant emergencies such as the Waroona, O’Sullivan and Toodyay bushfires and Tropical Cyclone Olwyn.

Commissioner Klemm is a member of a number of national committees concerned with emergency management in Australia, and holds a Graduate Certificate in Management from the Australian Institute of Management.

October 2018 – present.

09

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

RHYS JONES

DAVID NUGENT, AFSM

CARLENE YORK, APM

Chief Executive

Director of Fire, Environment, Land and Water

Commissioner

Fire and Emergency New Zealand

NSW State Emergency Service

Parks Victoria Rhys Jones is the first Chief Executive of Fire and Emergency New Zealand, which was established on 1 July 2017. He is responsible for leading the integration of urban and rural fire in the new organisation and towards full unification from 2020.

Rhys comes from a Defence background, where he rose to Chief of Defence Force (CDF) over a 35-year career. He has led a large, complex organisation through a period of change and the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the largest civil assistance organisation ever conducted by the New Zealand Defence Force.

Rhys is a strong advocate of equity and diversity and understanding how different groups work together has been a consistent theme throughout his military career.

October 2018 – present.

David Nugent is the Director of Fire, Environment, Land and Water at Parks Victoria. He was appointed to the AFAC Board in July 2019. David was awarded an AFSM for his leadership and contribution to improved management of Victorian forest firefighting over more than two decades at a local, national and international level.

July 2019 – present.

On 30 October 2019, Carlene was appointed NSW State Emergency Service (NSW SES) Commissioner. Carlene leads the combat agency with legislated responsibility for storms, floods and tsunamis and is the largest volunteer provider of rescue services in NSW. Commissioner York joined the NSW Police Force in 1980 and held various roles during this time, including the position of Assistant Commissioner, Human Resources. Her career has covered forensic services, operational policing, prosecuting matters of complex and sensitive nature; strategic review of diverse and complex issues within field and specialist operations. Carlene was Commander in the Forensic Services Group, Northern Region and Human Resources, providing strategic leadership and direction in the areas of human capital, forensics, policy development, operational planning, emergency management response and delivery of frontline police responses.

Carlene was awarded the Australian Police Medal in 2014, is a recipient of the Australasian Council of Women and Policing’s highest honour – The Audrey Fagan Memorial Award and the Australian Human Resources Director of the Year in 2017.

March 2020 – present.

10

Governance

DR STEPHANIE ROTARANGI

STUART ELLIS, AM

Deputy Chief Officer

CEO (non-Board member)

Country Fire Authority

AFAC

Dr Stephanie Rotarangi joined the Country Fire Authority (CFA) in March 2018 from the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, where she served as Chief Fire Officer since 2016.

Stuart Ellis was an army officer for over 22 years serving with the Special Air Service (SAS) Regiment. In 1996 he was appointed Chief Executive Officer/Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service.

In 2002, he established a consultancy company and has been involved in over 20 operational reviews including the Canberra Bushfires, the Victorian Bushfire Royal Commission and the operational response to the Christchurch Earthquake.

Stuart was appointed Chief Executive Officer of AFAC in 2012.

As Deputy Chief Officer, she is responsible for overseeing the operational capability of CFA across the state and growth programs which has oversight of service delivery in Melbourne’s outer metro area and Victoria’s growing regional cities.

Before moving to Victoria, Stephanie was the Chief Executive and Principal Rural Fire Officer for the Otago region of her native New Zealand.

Stephanie has a firefighting career spanning twenty years and is passionate about the people who make up our fire services. She has a PhD in Geography, a Masters in Environmental Science and a Bachelor of Forestry Science.

March 2020 – present.

AFAC BOARD MEETING AT TENDANCE DIRECTOR

P Baxter

N Cooper

S Griffin

S Fitzsimmons

C Arnol

D Klemm

R Jones

D Nugent

C York

S Rotarangi

NUMBER ELIGIBLE TO ATTEND

7

7

7

3

7

7

7

7

2

2

NUMBER ATTENDED

5

5

7

3

5

7

7

7

2

1

11

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

AFAC NATIONAL COUNCIL, MEMBERS AND AFFILIATE MEMBERS AFAC members support Australian and New Zealand communities through mitigation and response phases of emergency management and support the transition to recovery. We build knowledge by bringing together collaborators from across jurisdictions, capabilities and hazards to find opportunities and solve problems with collective effort.

Senior representatives of fire and emergency service agencies from Australia and New Zealand form the AFAC National Council, with one representative per member organisation.

Please note all AFAC member, affiliate member and National Council representatives listed are correct as at 30 June 2020.

31 MEMBERS

22 AFFILIATE MEMBERS

AUSTRALIA WIDE

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Airservices Australia Department of Home Affairs, Emergency Management Australia (DHA-EMA)

Department for Environment and Water, SA (National Parks and Wildlife Service) (DEW-SA (NPWS)) Department for Environment and Water, SA (National Parks and Wildlife Service) (DEW-SA (NPWS)) South Australian Country Fire Service (SA-CFS) South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (SA-MFS) South Australian State Emergency Service (SA-SES)

AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY ACT Emergency Services Agency (ACT-ESA) ACT Parks and Conservation Service (ACT-PCS) NEW SOUTH WALES Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Forestry Corporation of New South Wales (ForestryNSW) NSW Rural Fire Service (NSWRFS) NSW State Emergency Service (NSW-SES NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NSW-NPWS) NEW ZEAL AND Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) NORTHERN TERRITORY Bushfires NT (BushfiresNT) Northern Territory Fire, Rescue and Emergency Service (NTFRES) QUEENSL AND Queensland Fire and Emergency Services (QFES) Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS)

12

Australasian Road Rescue Organisation (ARRO) Australian Maritime Safety Authority Australian Red Cross Brisbane City Council Bureau of Meteorology Council of Australian Volunteer Fire Associations (CAVFA) Department of Conservation New Zealand Department of Health and Human Services, VIC Emergency Management Victoria

TASMANIA

Geoscience Australia

Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania (PWS-TAS) Sustainable Timber Tasmania (STTAS) Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) Tasmania State Emergency Service (TAS-SES)

Hong Kong Fire Services Department

VIC TORIA

National SES Volunteers Association

Country Fire Authority, Victoria (CFA-VIC) Forest Fire Management Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (FFMV-DELWP) Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board, Melbourne (MFB-VIC) Parks Victoria (PARKSVIC) Victoria State Emergency Service (VIC-SES) WESTERN AUSTRALIA Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions WA, Parks and Wildlife Service (DBCA-WA, PWS) Department of Fire and Emergency Services, WA (DFES-WA)

HQPlantations Pty Ltd Melbourne Water Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management NSW Environment Protection Authority NSW Volunteer Rescue Association Pacific Islands Fire Emergency Services Association (PIFESA) Resilience NSW South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission (SAFECOM) State Emergency Management Committee, WA Surf Life Saving Australia

Governance

Photo: NSWRFS

13

Business units and par tners

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

Department of Home Affairs

AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE FOR DISASTER RESILIENCE Since its establishment in 2015, the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) has developed, shared and curated knowledge and delivered a program of professional development events and networks to build national capability to support a disaster resilient Australia. The AIDR Achievements Report 2015–2020 captures this progress.

Building on extensive knowledge and experience in Australia and internationally, AIDR has worked with government, communities, NGOs, not-for-profits, research organisations, education partners and the private sector to enhance disaster resilience through innovative thinking, professional development and knowledge sharing.

Over the past year, AIDR has delivered five handbooks as part of the Australian Disaster Resilience Handbook Collection together with a range of companion documents. This includes Land Use Planning for Disaster Resilient Communities, Community Engagement for Disaster Resilience, Flood Planning for Disaster Resilience, Emergency Planning, and a review of the National Emergency Risk Assessment Guidelines.

The Australian Disaster Resilience Conference was held for the second time in Melbourne in collaboration with AFAC19 and achieved a record number of 160 registrations, approximately double the number of delegates for the inaugural event in 2018.

AIDR partnered with Emergency Management Australia to deliver the highly successful Understanding Disaster Risk Forums to raise awareness and enhance the uptake of the National Disaster Risk Reduction Framework and support resources. Forums were held in each state and territory throughout October, attracting more than 720 participants from all levels of government, fire and emergency services, business, community, NGO’s, and academia sectors.

The Education for Young People program delivered the National DRANZSEN Forum as part of AFAC19, attracting more than 50 participants. Membership of DRANZSEN, the AIDR education network, has expanded to 630 members and 790 readers subscribe to the quarterly program newsletter. AIDR supported students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts to design and implement a disaster resilience education project for Emerald Secondary College in Victoria and participated as a mentor in the Queensland Virtual STEM academy Grand Challenge for Disaster Resilience.

The Volunteer Leadership Program continued to attract substantial numbers of participants. AIDR delivered six courses, engaging 157 volunteers. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, AIDR adapted to offering volunteer leadership themed webinars in 2020.

16

AIDR hosted the 2019 Resilient Australia Awards National Ceremony at the Adelaide Convention Centre, in Adelaide, on Thursday 7 November. One winner and two highly commended awards were presented in each category: Resilient Australia National Photography Award, Resilient Australia National Local Government Award, Resilient Australia National School Award, and Resilient Australia National Award. The 2020 awards program has been well supported, with a record 173 applications submitted.

In response to the unprecedented bushfires that impacted several jurisdictions, AIDR moved quickly to support the needs of recovering communities and practitioners. AIDR developed a Recovery Collection on the Knowledge Hub, producing Knowledgeinto-Action briefs on key principles from the Community Recovery Handbook, and delivering the Recovery Matters webinar series.

AIDR partnered with Emerging Minds to develop guidance for school teachers to support student wellbeing and engaged with the Victorian Department of Education on a Trauma Recovery Team supporting bushfire-impacted communities.

With the impacts of COVID-19, AIDR has demonstrated resilience by adapting its professional development events for online delivery. This has included the Meteorology for Disaster Managers Masterclasses in partnership with the Bureau of Meteorology, and group training programs funded through the Emergency Management Scholarship Program for emergency management volunteer leaders in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia.

The Australian Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub continues to be the ‘go-to’ place for disaster resilience knowledge with significant numbers of users seeking out the website during the bushfires and the pandemic that followed. Several new collections have been developed, including Climate Change, Recovery and Pandemic.

The National Monitoring and Evaluation Data Base for Recovery was evaluated, with several recommendations made to improve access to and use of the database.

AIDR has been supported by its partners: the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, AFAC, the Australian Red Cross and the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC. AIDR is in a strong position to provide leadership for those working in disaster risk reduction and disaster resilience and to continue its role in supporting a disaster resilient Australia.

Business units and partners

NATIONAL RESOURCE SHARING CENTRE The Commissioners and Chief Officers Strategic Committee (CCOSC) tasks the AFAC National Resource Sharing Centre (NRSC) to support interstate and international deployments of fire and emergency service personnel between Australian states and territories, New Zealand and Canada and the United States (US).

Endorsed by CCOSC, the AFAC NRSC Strategy 2020–2023 published in 2019, outlined how the AFAC NRSC plans to support national resource sharing arrangements into the future. It emphasised the need for a coordinated approach to sustain large-scale emergency response efforts over extended periods.

The 2019–20 bushfire season saw the largest interstate and international deployments of fire and emergency personnel ever to have been mounted in Australia. From September 2019 to March 2020, the AFAC NRSC maintained a national situation room and Duty Officer capability, and provided Deployment Managers to affected jurisdictions, to assist in coordinating interstate and international movements and tracking of resources.

AFAC member agencies deployed a total of 56 personnel in NRSC Deployment Manager and support roles, including 20 personnel deployed as NRSC Duty Officers to the AFAC NRSC office.

The AFAC NRSC worked closely with Emergency Management Australia to coordinate the significant volume of international offers of assistance received by Australia and hosted a range of international delegates and visitors during the season. Personnel included US and Canadian International Liaison Officers, and Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre and National Interagency Fire Center executive leadership.

Throughout the campaign 6,386 interstate personnel deployed under the auspices of the AFAC NRSC across ACT, QLD, SA, NSW and VIC, culminating in hundreds of individual deployments. 599 personnel from the US and Canada deployed across NSW, VIC, SA, ACT and 320 personnel from New Zealand deployed across NSW, QLD and VIC. These deployments were key to affected jurisdictions being able to maintain operations in the face of an extraordinary bushfire season in both length and impact.

The AFAC NRSC demonstrated its value as a national capability to coordinate personnel deployments from interstate and overseas, and relationships between AFAC member agencies and Australasian and North American partners were deepened and strengthened.

Caption. Photos: Neal Herbert, US Department of the Interior

17

AFAC

Annual Report 2019 – 20

NATIONAL AERIAL FIREFIGHTING CENTRE The National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) is a business unit of AFAC that provides a national cooperative arrangement for the provision of aerial resources to states and territories for firefighting and emergency response. NAFC is co-funded by Australian states and territories and the Australian Government.

2019–20 saw aerial firefighting activity at levels significantly higher than has previously occurred, over extended periods. Political and community interest was also elevated. At the commencement of the bushfire season, NAFC had contracted 147 specialised aircraft services on behalf of the states and territories. A further 21 services were subsequently added to the NAFC fleet in response to the season’s extreme bushfire conditions, reaching a total of 168, the largest fleet contracted by NAFC since its inception in 2003.

The first NAFC service commenced on 1 July 2019 in the Northern Territory and services continued nationally until early May 2020.

Close to 100,000 hours were flown, which was estimated to be approximately four times the average activity in recent years. The busiest days were 13 December 2019 with 203 aircraft flying a total of 1350 flights and 16 December 2019 when 185 aircraft were active.

Overall, 328 individual aircraft were deployed over the season by state and territory agencies, including the NAFC contracted fleet.

On 23 January 2020, one of NAFC’s contracted Large Air Tankers (LATs), the C130 Hercules Bomber 134, collided with terrain while conducting firefighting operations in southern New South Wales.

Tragically, the three crew members, all US citizens, lost their lives in the first fatal incident for a NAFC contracted aircraft. It is with great sadness that NAFC remembers the crew of Bomber 134 and offers sincere condolences to their families, colleagues and friends.

Photo: CFA

18

The season posed some significant challenges in that an unusually high rate-of-effort at times limited availability of aircraft and crews.

The very high number of hours flown per day, in some cases over extended periods, resulted in some aircraft very quickly reaching maintenance limits that have not been encountered during a bushfire season. Similarly, pilots reached statutory flight and duty time limitations that would not have applied typically.

The season also saw an unprecedented level of resource sharing between jurisdictions. Due to multiple concurrent bushfire events, the season posed challenges in sharing aircraft resources between states and territories at times. NAFC acknowledges the considerable efforts of state and territory aircraft units and airdesks to ensure resource sharing worked seamlessly.

As in previous years, the Australian Government contributed nearly $15 million to provide aerial firefighting resources through NAFC. Recognising the nature of the 2019–20 bushfire season, in December 2019 the Australian Government provided a further $11 million.

This funding contributed to the cost of leasing the 21 additional services, as well as assisting the extension of the service periods for much of the fleet into late March and April. In January 2020 the Australian Government announced a further additional contribution of $20 million bringing their total contribution to $46 million for the year. The $20 million funding package allowed for the leasing of an additional two DC10s and two MD87 LATs to position strategically in Sydney as well as Canberra, Adelaide and Perth. Part of the funding contributed to the cost of infrastructure upgrades required to host LATs at these airbases, with benefits retained for future LATs hosting.

Photo: CFA

Business units and partners

A particular feature of the 2019–20 bushfire was the logistic and operational support provided by the Australian Defence Forces (ADF), including hosting of firefighting aircraft at RAAF bases. NAFC gratefully acknowledges the efforts of the ADF over the season.

ARENA reliably provided an effective system to administer and support the large fleet of aircraft deployed over the busy season.

As a national system, ARENA made it easier for personnel to coordinate and assist between states and territories. NAFC is continuing the development of ARENA to meet the evolving requirements of the users, especially to support aircraft operations in the field and to enhance reporting and analysis.

Alongside the heightened procurement activity resulting from resourcing requirements for an unprecedented bushfire season, NAFC finalised a significant procurement process for 22 fixedwing firebombing and reconnaissance aircraft based in Victoria.

Procurement also took place to extend the number of call-whenneeded services on national contracts, focussing mainly on type 1 rotary wing aircraft.

The COVID-19 pandemic reached Australia toward the end of the fire season, somewhat hampering the orderly demobilisation of the fleet. Due to relatively benign risk at the end of the southern bushfire season, two international aircraft completed service early to return to the northern hemisphere ahead of impending travel restrictions. Several others remained in the country longer than anticipated. NAFC continued to monitor the effects of COVID-19 on offseason maintenance programs carefully and initiated cooperative planning with contracted providers and members to allow seamless commencement of operations in 2020–21.

The high level of operational activity in 2019–20, closely followed by the COVID-19 pandemic, interrupted some planned NAFC projects, including workshops aimed at collaboratively developing future strategy. These exercises are being rescheduled. The major project to review and refresh the Fire and Emergency Aviation Training Framework, jointly managed with the AFAC Learning and Development team, did continue and will be completed in 2020.

Late in 2019–20, NAFC initiated two other significant projects aimed at advancing the use of remotely piloted aircraft capabilities, and developing the use of simulation technology for training of aviation supervision and support specialists. These important projects will continue through 2020–21.

The NAFC Strategic Committee met formally on five occasions in 2019–20. NAFC recognises their contribution and thanks those members who departed the Committee over the year; Commissioner Georgeina Whelan, Andrew Stark and Commissioner Andrew Crisp.

With the closure of the AFAC office as part of the Victorian Government directive, NAFC staff continued to work remotely to wind-up the 2019–20 season. Their efforts to provide effective support over the heightened season, under trying circumstances, is recognised.

Photo: Wayne Rigg

19

AFAC

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONALISATION SCHEME The Emergency Management Professionalisation Scheme (EMPS) continued to grow in 2019–20. A strategic plan for 2019–23 was endorsed by the EMPS Panel, the AFAC Board and AFAC National Council. The plan includes credentialing of practitioners; alignment of credentials with skills required of personnel participating in international deployments of fire managers; promoting further and higher education within the sector; and exploring options for growing the scope of the scheme beyond the fire and emergency services sector.

Over the year, EMPS shifted its database of practitioners to a tailored platform that supports specific EMPS workflows and will enable future developments for interstate and international deployments of personnel.

Credentialling of fire and emergency services personnel continued throughout the period with applications received from fire and emergency service agencies across the country. EMPS Fire Investigation credentials have proved popular with fire investigation practitioners, reflecting a strong wish for national professional standards to be established within the field of practice. EMPS has identified aviation support roles and interstate liaison officer roles, as opportunities for the future development of credentials.

This year saw the first awards of the EMPS Certified Strategic Commander credential, aimed at recognising the most senior and accomplished jurisdictional-level strategic commanders across Australia and New Zealand. The credential was awarded to senior executive level operational commanders who demonstrated their mastery of managing operations at the strategic level.

20

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC COLLABORATION AND SECRETARIAT The Collaboration Network is the core of AFAC. It allows members to share knowledge, exchange insights, explore opportunities and create solutions that shape practice and guide the sector’s development. It is through the facilitation and work of the which many of AFACs benefits are delivered.

The AFAC Collaboration Framework encompasses 34 groups, technical groups and networks. The AFAC Collaboration Framework adds value to and is highly regarded by the fire and emergency services industry and ultimately enhances community safety.

These groups, technical groups and networks, organised across the five Strategic Directions identified by the sector, offers emergency services agencies the opportunity to collaborate, share ideas and initiatives and learn from agencies across Australia and New Zealand. These groups provide a core knowledge capability within AFAC, engaging over 900 senior agency personnel from AFAC’s 31 member agencies and leads to the development of national doctrine that is critical to the consistent utilisation and application of research and knowledge.

Business units and partners

COMPANY STRUCTURE

AFAC NATIONAL COUNCIL

AFAC BOARD

National Aerial Firefighting Centre Strategic Committee

Risk and Audit Committee

Commissioners and Chief Officers Strategic Committee

Research Committee

Remuneration Committee

(CCOSC)

MANAGEMENT

National Aerial Firefighting Centre

National Resource Sharing Centre

(NAFC)

(NRSC)

Secretariat and Collaboration

Emergency Management Professionalisation Scheme

Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience

(EMPS)

(AIDR)

Corporate Services

21

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

AFAC CONFERENCE PTY LTD

FIRE PREDICTION SERVICES

Established in 2015, the AFAC Conference Board provides governance and strategic direction of the region’s premier emergency management conference and exhibition.

Over the last year, Fire Prediction Services has completed a program of work to develop a strategy for advancing Australia’s capability to simulate the development and spread of bushfires.

The Board comprises of representatives from Deutsche Messe, Hannover Fairs Australia and AFAC. In 2019, the Board welcomed two new directors, Amanda Leck representing AFAC and Tim Bostridge representing Hannover Fairs Australia.

The work program has included:

A key focus of the Board has been the development and growth of the conference and exhibition. The Board noted the successful outcome of AFAC19 powered by INTERSCHUTZ, which attracted the largest number of participants to date. Positive feedback provided by exhibitors and delegates demonstrated the value they see in participating in this unique event.

The conference program has diversified, building on the expertise of conference committees and with the concurrent running of the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference and Institution of Fire Engineers Australia Conference.

As a result of these collective efforts, AFAC19 powered by INTERSCHUTZ was recognised in 2019 at the Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia Awards for Excellence, winning the category for Best Association Event. The award was a fitting recognition for the AFAC and Hanover Fairs Australia team who work tirelessly throughout the year to produce what is truly a world-class conference and exhibition.

The Board met regularly out-of-session to discuss the implications of COVID-19 on the planned AFAC20 event. Drawing on the expertise of Deutsche Messe and considering the significance of the exhibition, current health advice and consultation with the AFAC National Council, the Board decided to postpone AFAC20.

The event will next be held in Sydney in 2021 and will return to Adelaide in 2022.

22

˃

Supporting the Phoenix Rapidfire simulator, currently operating in many jurisdictions, through the extensive revision of system documentation and the user manual, investigation of concerns raised by fire agencies and the development and distribution of new versions.

˃

Commissioning a cost-benefit analysis to inform investment decisions for improved simulator capability. The cost-benefit analysis has found that the benefits of a national bushfire simulator are substantial, being at least ten times the estimated cost in investment.

˃

Developing national business requirements for bushfire simulation with the assistance of state fire agencies. The AFAC Predictive Services Group endorsed the business requirements in October 2019.

˃

Reviewing existing bushfire simulators to assess their suitability for national implementation. The review found that the Phoenix simulator code would need a complete rewrite before significant improvements could be made.

It concluded that Spark, currently under development by CSIRO-Data61 while requiring considerable work to meet business requirements, is designed for flexibility and includes well-separated functions that could be safely and efficiently changed. The recent development of Spark by CSIRO-Data61 to improve the software architecture has given Spark the structure needed to form a solid basis for a new national simulator capability.

˃

Building a staged strategic plan with a road map for future development, endorsed by AFAC Council meeting on 29 April 2020.

˃

Working towards a high-level terms of agreement with CSIROData61 for the development of the CSIRO-Spark simulator.

Negotiations are underway with CSIRO-Data61 to make the system available to all agencies to use for operational and related purposes on an ongoing basis.

Business units and partners

EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AUSTRALIA One of the most important relationships AFAC maintains is with Emergency Management Australia (EMA) within the Department of Home Affairs. EMA is a member of AFAC, which generates both mutual benefits and understanding. The Director-General EMA to co-chairs the Commissioners and Chief Officers Strategic Committee (CCOSC).

AFAC links to the Federal Government mainly through EMA and during 2019–20 the relationship with EMA and federal politicians have assisted the sector through: ˃

the acceptance of a business case, increasing the National Aerial Firefighting Centre’s annual funding contribution from the Commonwealth by an additional $11 million per annum to $26 million per annum supporting co-funding with the states and territories of fixed leasing costs of aerial firefighting aircraft

˃

an additional $20 million for Large Air Tanker support specifically during the 2019–20 summer

˃

the signing of a new contract to the value of $12 million to continue AFAC’s management and progression of the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience

˃

the announcement by the Commonwealth of $88 million funding over ten years for national research into bushfires and natural hazards

˃

AFAC gaining greater access to the Australian-New Zealand Emergency Management Committee and the Ministerial Council for Emergency Management.

Importantly, the relationship has enhanced the lines of communication between the Commonwealth and the statebased agencies on national issues and during times of national emergencies. The relationship continues to develop through collaborative mechanisms such as CCOSC, AFAC National Council and the broader AFAC Collaboration Model as well as a number of contractual arrangements.

Noting the imminent retirement of Mr Rob Cameron, OAM, AFAC would like to acknowledge his efforts and contribution to the sector over many years.

23

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

Key Relationships REL ATIONSHIPS BET WEEN AFAC AND THE WIDER EMERGENCY SEC TOR

Nat

s Au

t

a n Gove r nm ral i

CSI

en

t

Bushfire and Natu

National Bulk T Institution of Fire

Home Fire Sp Australia New Zealand Emergency Management Committee Department of Home Affairs, Emergency Management Australia

Australian Buil

Australian Institute

Council of Amb

Standard

Australia New Zealand

Australian Se

Forest Fire Ma

Fire Protection Ass

Bureau of

24

Business units and partners

t ional

IRO

ural Hazards CRC

Inte

r nat i onal

Tanker Association Engineers Australia

prinkler Coalition

Deutsche Messe

lding Codes Board

e of Police Management

bulance Authorities

Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre

National Interagency Fire Center

ds Australia

d Policing Advisory Agency

Pau Costa Foundation

ecurity Industry

anagement Group

sociation Australia

f Meteorology

25

Major projects and initiatives

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

RESEARCH The AFAC Research Committee met throughout the 2019–20 year. It provided significant elevation in profile, analysis and advice for AFAC National Council regarding research priorities and opportunities.

The Research Committee directly contributes to achieving Strategic Direction Five: ‘Informed by knowledge and research’.

This year, the Committee has assisted in identifying research priorities for the sector, providing added guidance to both the AFAC National Council and the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC. While the Committee formally reports to the AFAC Board, it has provided advice to the National Council on future research capabilities.

The Committee reviewed tactical research proposals before presenting these to the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC for consideration. Projects currently being progressed are: ˃

SES Physical Fit for Task

˃

A guide to develop bushfire case studies – A case study of cropland fires

˃

Risk Assessment of Non-Compliant Building Materials on Buildings

˃

Skin exposure science of firefighters: Understanding health risks from skin exposure to toxic substances during firefighting activities

˃

Using pre and post fire LiDAR sensors to assess the severity of the 2019 Tasmanian Bushfires

˃

Smoke Alarms Standards.

28

The Committee maintained a research register which details 376 projects available to AFAC members through the Knowledge Innovation and Research Utilisation Network (KIRUN). The register is updated twice a year. KIRUN members are responsible for coordinating updates for their agency and AFAC updates the central register. The projects are mapped against the Strategic Directions, which help to identify research gaps and identifying another research theme around adapting agency capability. Members are encouraged to look at the register before undertaking new research to maximise thecollaboration opportunities with other member agencies.

A significant role of AFAC is to support and direct research and research utilisation through the AFAC Collaboration Network.

These groups, technical groups and networks are the custodians of agency knowledge and practice, which needs to be informed by research. As representatives of end users, these groups should be the initial source of research proposals. The Research Committee supports this approach.

Rhys Jones, CEO of Fire and Emergency New Zealand and member of the AFAC Board is Chair of the AFAC Research Committee.

Dr Noreen Krusel, AFAC Director of Knowledge and Research Implementation has managed the group since its inception. Noreen departed AFAC in 2020 after six years, following seven years with the Bushfire CRC. She has been a strong advocate for industryled research and an effective translator of research into useful outcomes within the sector. We thank Noreen for her contribution to AFAC.

Major projects and initiatives

CHAMPIONS OF CHANGE The Champions of Change Fire and Emergency Group’s second progress report was released in December 2019. The report demonstrated that real progress is being made to ensure that fire and emergency services better represent the communities they serve. Members achieved gender balance or an increase in women’s representation across 77.6 per cent of employment categories. Across AFAC member agencies, there was a 2.3 per cent increase compared to the previous year in women’s representation, now achieving 24 per cent in 2019.

The progress report indicated 79.3 per cent of members have a formal policy or strategy in place for preventing and addressing sexual harassment. However, as the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces indicated, this remains an ongoing problem in workplaces across the country. Sexual harassment needs to be addressed as an occupational health and safety issue that is reported and treated in the same way we routinely identify other hazards in the workplace. It is important that the fire and emergency services sector collectively acts to send a clear message that sexual harassment will not be tolerated in any form.

Participation in AFAC’s Collaboration Groups is a key development opportunity for many in the emergency management industry, and core to what AFAC does. At the Champions of Change April 2020 meeting, the group was pleased to report that 86 per cent of AFAC groups and networks have experienced a year-on-year increase of women representation or reached the target of 40 per cent. This is a very positive development.

While progress is being made, individual and collective efforts must continue. Further work needs to be done to achieve the goals of maintaining safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces for all in the sector. Measuring and reporting on targets holds us accountable. The individual commitment of Commissioners, Chiefs and Fire Managers as Champions of Change provides the leadership and example so dearly needed to maintain progress and achieve real cultural change.

The group’s ongoing thanks and appreciation is extended to Kristen Hilton as our Convenor, Julie Bissinella from Male Champions of Change who works tirelessly to support the group and the Implementation Leaders who progress much of what needs to occur.

29

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

AUSTRALIAN FIRE DANGER RATING SYSTEM The Australian Fire Danger Rating System (AFDRS) Program is designing, developing and implementing a national fire danger rating system to better calculate and communicate the overall fire danger and risk to communities, emergency service agencies and others. The new AFDRS is due to be implemented in mid 2022.

There are three key elements to the AFDRS Program to improve the calculation, description and communication of fire danger.

1.

Improved calculation of fire danger. The Operational Build Project, led by NSW Rural Fire Service, is building a new ITbased system to input fuel conditions, calculate fire danger more accurately using eight fire behaviour models rather than the current two, and display fire danger to agencies through a purpose-built web viewer. A contract was let for the IT build in December 2019 and the detailed design of the web interfaces finalised in May 2020. The IT build is underway and will be ready for user testing in the 2020–21 fire season. The Bureau of Meteorology has also initiated a project to provide seasonal outlooks of fire danger as part of the AFDRS.

2.

Improved description of fire danger. Building on the significant social research project led by SA Country Fire Service in 2018, the AFDRS Implementation Project undertook extensive national consultation in 2019. The process confirmed the preferred design direction of the AFDRS, including a four-level fire danger rating framework, a modified colour palette and use of a semicircular design similar to that currently in use. Work continues to finalise the design and detailed messaging that will prompt appropriate community responses at each rating level.

3.

Improved communication of fire danger. Based on the outcomes of the social research, opportunities were identified to explore improved ways to communicate fire danger to the public. These included the use of current and emerging technologies such as online maps and other websites, as well as apps that provide information and send notifications based on a user’s current location.

30

Implementation of the AFDRS requires a coordinated effort by all Australian jurisdictions. In early 2020, all jurisdictions commenced an assessment of the change management implications for their jurisdiction and the development of their jurisdictional implementation plan. The AFDRS Implementation Project led by AFAC, facilitates and supports this process.

NSW Rural Fire Service is also leading the Other Indices Project to evaluate the benefits of including factors other than fire behaviour in the calculation of fire danger. In mid-2020 the design specifications for a research prototype to test potential ignition, suppression and impact indices were agreed, and development of the research prototype has commenced for testing over the 2020–21 fire season.

AFAC is contracted as the Program Management Office for the AFDRS Program, acting as the secretariat to the Program Board and supporting the overarching governance.

Major projects and initiatives

TOWARDS AN AUSTRALIAN WARNING SYSTEM In October 2017 the Commissioners and Chief Officers’ Strategic Committee identified warnings as a national priority and committed to establishing a nationally consistent three-level warning framework across multiple hazards.

In 2018–19 a significant social science research project was conducted with Australian communities to establish a sound evidence base. The research identified strong community support and a compelling case for a nationally consistent three-level warning framework using a nested model with associated calls to action and consistent application of colours, iconography and warning names.

The AFAC Warnings Groups has used this research as evidence to develop the proposed Australian Warning System for hazards including bushfire, flood, severe storm, cyclone and extreme heat.

The Australian Warning System has several features including: ˃

Warning level names – To build upon the existing warning framework for bushfire, the levels of ‘Emergency Warning’ and ‘Advice’ will be used. There has been considerable research effort and subsequent discussion about the name for the middle level, which is subject to further research*.

˃

Call to action statements – The research supports the establishment of action-oriented statements, to give the community a clear action to reduce their risk from a hazard.

A suite of call to action statements will be used together with the warning level name (e.g. Emergency Warning – Evacuate Now).

˃

Warning order – The proposed order for warnings will be: warning level, hazard type, location, call to action, e.g. Watch and Act, Bushfire, Noosaville area, Prepare to Leave.

˃

Spatial display - A set of nationally agreed icons that show the escalating hazard type within the scaled colour palette of yellow, orange, red is under development.

˃

Applicability to other hazards – The proposed Australian Warning System is designed for bushfire, flood, cyclone, heatwave and extreme weather; however, it can be adapted to other hazards.

HOME FIRE SPRINKLER COALITION The Home Fire Sprinkler Coalition (HFSC) is a partnership between AFAC and Fire Protection Association (FPA) Australia to provide the leading national resource for independent, non-commercial information about home fire sprinklers. The HFSC was formed as a result of the work between Fire and Rescue NSW, AFAC and FPA Australia to introduce new sprinkler requirements into the National Construction Code (NCC).

Since its establishment in 2018, the HFSC has been focussing on marketing and training to ensure the relevant industries are equipped and ready to design, install and maintain costeffective residential fire sprinklers. Building on the introduction of residential sprinklers in Class 2 and 3 buildings between 4 storeys and 25 metres high, the HFSC has been developing a new proposal for change to the NCC to extend the requirement of residential sprinklers in Class 2 and 3 buildings down to the ground floor.

Through the HFSC, AFAC is working with FPA Australia to develop technical specifications for Class 1a homes based closely on the FPAA101D specifications for Class 2 and 3. These new specifications will assist HFSC and fire services to engage developers considering residential sprinklers in new Class 1a estates. Having an endorsed specification will reassure developers and homeowners that their systems are being designed and installed to a minimum standard.

The HFSC is supporting the development of online training for plumbers and sprinkler fitters regarding the FPAA101D and FPAA101H systems, which will help the increasing uptake of these residential sprinkler systems.

Before COVID restrictions in March 2020, HFSC held a stakeholder event in Sydney to update fire services and prospective members on the activities and progress of the HFSC. A second stakeholder event planned for Melbourne later in 2020 will be held online.

The results of this work will be a nationally consistent warning system for Australia with a common set of data standards. This will address current inconsistency in warnings across jurisdictions which particularly impacts border communities. *Note: the middle level ‘Watch and Act’ was confirmed at the CCOSC meeting on 3 September 2020.

31

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR PRESCRIBED BURNING The need for prescribed burning in Australasia, and globally, is drawing increased focus as land managers and emergency services face significant escalation in bushfire risk due to climate change, urban expansion and declining biodiversity.

One response to these pressures is to increase the use of prescribed burning to lower forest and bushland fuel levels and increase ecological health. It is a significant challenge to study fire in Australia’s ecosystems—the subject is vast and direct experiments are complicated and risky to conduct. Nonetheless, a considerable body of fire science has been accumulated over the last three decades. Knowledge of fire behaviour, fire ecology and the social aspects of fire has increased significantly through the work of universities, fire and land management agencies.

In May 2019, the book Prescribed Burning in Australasia: the science, practice and politics of burning the bush was launched by the Centre of Excellence for Prescribed Burning. The knowledge contained in the book gives a comprehensive insight into the science and practice underpinning the planning and execution of prescribed burning to achieve the objectives of minimising risks to people, property, biodiversity and country.

32

During 2019–20 the Centre also continued to deliver on its objectives to: ˃

manage and develop of prescribed burning knowledge

˃

implement and support capability development initiatives for prescribed burners

˃

promote leading prescribed burning research and practice to a growing audience.

Aside from established initiatives of a webinar program and online Knowledge Hub resources the Centre, in conjunction with AFAC19, collaborated with Traditional Owners and land management agencies to provide a field trip that highlighted relationships to build opportunities for cultural burning.

The Centre established the FTS Excellence in Prescribed Burning Award that recognised individuals or agencies that have shown significant leadership and commitment to leading practice and spreading the benefits of innovative solutions for bushfire mitigation through prescribed burning. Brian Levine of ACT Parks and Conservation Service received the award in recognition of his development of the Prescribed Burning Decision Support Tool which has been adopted by agencies across Australia. The tool allows agencies to make informed decisions regarding risk parameters on the day of the burn.

Major projects and initiatives

AFAC INDEPENDENT REVIEWS AFAC offers its members and their governments the facility of commissioning independent operational reviews of individual events, or the broader management of a series of events or an operational season. Using its Collaboration Network to access senior practitioners from across Australia and New Zealand, AFAC assembles credible, independent review teams composed of subject matter experts. These experts can identify the issues arising from an event, identifying lessons and making recommendations for continuous improvement.

In 2019–20 three reports were produced following AFAC-led reviews.

1.

A team led by Deputy Commissioner Mal Cronstedt of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, WA undertook an Independent Operational Review of the management of the 2018–19 bushfire season on behalf of the Tasmanian Government.

2.

A team led by Neil Cooper of the ACT Parks and Conservation Service undertook a review of the management of the New Zealand Tasman fires of February 2019.

3.

A team led by Assistant Chief Officer Daniel Austin of the Country Fire Service, SA (now Deputy Commissioner, NSW SES) carried out a Peer Review of the East Victorian fires of 2019 using a lessons-based methodology supported by the EM-Share online platform, on behalf of Emergency Management Victoria.

The contrasting methodologies used in these reviews demonstrates the ability of the AFAC professional network to access industry experts from across the country with the capability to conduct both lessons management-based activities as well as more traditional forms of review.

In each case, a formal report was provided to the commissioning body containing recommendations to support continuous improvement (in the case of the Tasmanian Fires and Tasman fires reviews) and lessons identified to support ongoing organisational learning (in the case of the East Victorian Fires review).

33

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

STANDARDS INVOLVEMENT AFAC plays a key role in the development and revision of Australian and International Standards which advance and guide the interests of the broader emergency management sector.

PRIMARILY AFAC PARTICIPATION FOCUSES ON: management of fire related risks

˃

fire protection and fire safety

˃

standards for firefighter’s personal protective equipment

˃

fire protection systems and equipment

˃

fire safety systems and equipment

˃

storage, transportation and handling of dangerous goods and hazardous materials.

Maritime Structures

CS-062

Solid Fuel Burning Appliances

EL-003

Electric wires and cables

EL-005

Secondary Batteries

EL-042

Renewable Energy Power Supply Systems

FP-001

Maintenance of Fire Protection Equipment

FP-002

Fire Detection, Warning, Control and Intercom Systems

FP-008

Fire Pumps and Tanks

FP-009

Fire Hydrant Installations

CH -0 0 00 9-0 4 CH 902 -00 9-0 CH -00 9 1 MB -02 7 IT-268 MB-0 25 CH -

FP-009-01 Drafting Subcommittee AS 2419.1 FP-011

Special Hazard Fire Protection Systems

FP-017

Emergency Management Procedures

FPAA101

Automatic Fire Sprinkler Installations

FP-004-03 Combined Sprinkler and Fire Hydrant Systems

19 -0 FP 20 -0 FP 2 -02 FP 007 LG011 LG004 ME62 ME-0 01 ME-062ME-062-09

FP-002-03 Network Monitoring Fire Extinguishers

FP-008 FP-00 9 FP-0 09-0 1 FP011 FP -01 FP 7 -0 18

7 ME-01 015 E M 2 -00 8 ME 9-0 -00 -05 H C 09 -0 CH

FP-002-02 Product/Panel

FP-004

FP-004 FP-004-03

ME-093

ME-070 ME-057

FP-002-01 Installation Standards

FP-003

0

NASH

CE-030

01 -0 FP 2 -00 FP -01 002 FP- 02-02 FP-0 2-03 FP-00 FP-003

8

01

SF-0 06 SF-00 3 ME-030

50

NFPA

Tiltup Construction

TC/94/SC14-SC15 JWG

BD-066

SF-

49

52

Thermal Insulation

-0

-0

-01

-0

SF

Built Environment and Planning Technical Group BD-058

SF

SF

05

Public Safety, Public Administration, Business and Management/Security

SF

Smart Cities and Communities

MB-025

SF-

Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience IT-268

14 TC/94/SC /SC13 TC/94 94 TC/ 1 -02 TX 3

AFAC IS CURRENTLY REPRESENTED ON THE FOLLOWING COMMIT TEES:

BD-058 BD-06 6 CE-0 30 CS062 EL00 3 EL EL 005 -0 42

AFAC and its members have a significant voice to drive progress in the sector through the Standards Network of representatives.

All AFAC member agencies are consulted when comment is provided in relation to the development or revision of Australian or International Standards, ensuring the collective view of AFAC member agencies is put forward.

˃

Community Engagement Technical Group MB-027

PPE Technical Group

Ageing societies

SF-003

Occupational Protective Footwear

Hazmat and CBRN Technical Group

SF-006

Eye and Face Protection

Safe Handling of Chemicals

SF-010

Occupational Respiratory Protection

FP-018

Fire Safety

CH-009

FP-019

Passive Fire Protection (Chair)

CH-009-01 Emergency Response Guide Working Group

SF-018

Occupational Protective Helmets

FP-020

Construction in Bushfire Prone Areas

SF-049

Firefighters PPE

FP-022

Fire Protection of Mobile and Transportable Equipment

CH-009-02 Compressed Gases, Flammable Gases and Poisonous Gases

SF-050

High Visibility Clothing

LG-007

Emergency Lighting Buildings

CH-009-05 Oxidising Substances

SF-052

Occupational Protective Clothing and Equipment

LG-011

Photoluminescent Exit Signage

CH-009-08 Corrosive Substances

SF-053

Occupational Protective Clothing

ME-004

Lift Installations

ME-002

Gas Cylinders

TX-021

Sun Protective Clothing

ME-062

Ventilation and Airconditioning

ME-015

Storage and Handling - LPG

ME-06201

Ventilation and Airconditioning

ME-017

Flammable and Combustible Liquids

TC/94

Personal Safety - Protective clothing and Equipment (Chair)*

ME-057

Road Tankers for Hazardous Liquids and Gases

TC 94/SC13 Personal Protective clothing*

ME-06209

Ventilation and Airconditioning

ME-070

Liquefied Natural Gas Storage and Handling

TC 94/SC14 Firefighters personal equipment*

FPAA101

Automatic Fire Sprinkler Systems Design and Installation

NASH

Steel Framed Construction in Bushfire Areas

CH-009-04 Flammable Solids, Spontaneously Combustion

ME-093

Hydrogen Technologies Operational Equipment Technical Group

ME-030

Pumps

TC 94/SC14 Respiratory Protective Device (RPD)* -SC15 JWG NFPA

NFPA Correlating Committee on Fire and Emergency Services PPE*

*International Standards Committee

34

Major projects and initiatives

INDUSTRY SUBMISSIONS AND INQUIRIES AFAC actively contributes to parliamentary inquires on behalf of its members and the sector more broadly. Whilst individual agencies and jurisdictions lodge submissions, they are often technical. The advice of AFAC remains broad and strategic. In the last 12 months, AFAC lodged the following public submissions: ˃

˃

˃

Inquiry into the importance of a viable, safe, sustainable and efficient road transport industry (Federal) This submission advocated for the development and maintenance of road transport infrastructure to ensure a safe and efficient road transport industry. It reflected on the regulatory impact, including the appropriateness, relevance and adequacy of the legislative framework for all stakeholders in the road transport industry. AFAC provided feedback on the effects of proposed new technologies and advancements in freight distribution, vehicle design, road safety and alternative fuels and on the social and economic impact of road-related injury, trauma and death.

Independent review into South Australia’s 2019–20 bushfire season This submission provided advice to support South Australia’s preparedness for dealing with significant bushfire activity and actions to mitigate the impact of bushfires on communities into the future. This included sharing of operational lessons from the AFAC National Resource Sharing Centre assisting with South Australia’s strategic aviation resource planning.

New South Wales Independent Inquiry into Bushfire Season 2019–20 This submission highlighted the participation of NSW agencies in a holistic approach to emergency management and being key contributors to disaster resilience. A large amount of work has been undertaken by NSW agencies, collaborating nationally, to develop and contribute to appropriate regulatory frameworks including building codes to keep the public safe from fire. National and international resource sharing arrangements managed through AFAC allowed agencies to call upon thousands of interstate firefighters and hundreds of international bushfire suppression experts.

National arrangements for aerial firefighting allowed significant aviation firefighting resources to be applied against the fires for months at a time.

˃

Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements AFAC had significant engagement with the Royal Commission on National Natural Disaster Arrangements towards the end of 2019–20. During the financial year AFAC made three submissions to the Royal Commission; responded to six mandatory notices to provide information or documents; participated in a forum on aerial firefighting; and the CEO, AFAC and General Manager, NAFC both gave live evidence to the Commission. The engagement has continued into the financial year 2020–21, and the outcomes of the Royal Commission will be significant for AFAC with findings likely relating to aspects of AFAC’s operations.

˃

Lessons to be learned in relation to the preparation and planning for, response to and recovery efforts following the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season (Federal) This submission highlighted the need for climate change adaptation and the ability to keep the public safe, as the intensity and duration of natural hazards affecting the community increases. A large amount of work has been undertaken by agencies, collaborating nationally, to: ե

develop and contribute to appropriate regulatory frameworks, including building codes to keep the public safe from fire

ե

prepare national best practice principles for prescribed burning to manage fuels and mitigate the impact of bushfires

ե

write and review national doctrine on bushfires to ensure that the lessons learned from Australia’s history of bushfire are used to protect communities.

Agencies have been able to leverage off AFAC membership to prepare and respond to bushfire. The national system of fire danger ratings and warnings provides scientifically based tools for agencies to warn communities and ask them to take appropriate action in response to the threat of bushfire.

Nationally developed predictive tools allow fire agencies to model where fire threatens communities and natural assets and to tailor their response accordingly.

35

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

DOCTRINE AFAC Doctrine is one of AFAC members’ most important intellectual property assets. The suite of sector-agreed, evidencebased doctrine is the official view of the AFAC National Council and is central to supporting AFAC’s strategic directions.

AFAC Doctrine supports AFAC members in defining accountabilities and practice against which AFAC members can measure their organisational performance. By aligning research to organisational strategies, the doctrine can define good practice and support learning, knowledge management, succession planning and benefit organisational culture.

The AFAC Doctrine collection comprises over 100 evidencebased publications and includes positions, guidelines and training resources. Doctrine is classified as capstone, fundamental, procedural, or technical.

In 2019–20 AFAC delivered doctrine proposals, published new doctrine and revised existing doctrine.

Doctrine proposals: ˃

Dry Hydrants Guideline

˃

Fire and HazMat at Marine Incidents Guideline

˃

Thinking Requires Knowledge Creation

˃

Waste Management Facilities and Fire Safety Guideline

New doctrine completed: ˃

Aerial Appliance Strategy Guideline

˃

Fire Brigade Intervention Model

˃

Flood and Severe Weather Community Safety Position

˃

Resilience Through Risk Reduction Position

˃

Urban Search and Technical Rescue Canine Capability Guideline

Revised doctrine: ˃

Aerial Ignition Operations Position

˃

Management of Remotely Piloted Aircraft at or Near Fire and Emergencies and Prescribed Burning Operations Position

˃

Photovoltaic Array Systems Guideline

36

STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS ACHIEVEMENT REPORT The Strategic Directions 2017–2021 guides fire and emergency services to ensure activities focus on supporting resilient communities, trusted response, credible and timely information, effective governance and research. They ensure emergency management organisations are positioned to meet the challenges of changing community needs and expectations: an ageing, growing and diverse population, natural disasters, national security and organisational change. The activities of AFAC and its members are underpinned by principles articulated in the strategic directions: Primacy of Life, Trust and Confidence, Interoperability, and Accountability.

AFAC presents an annual Strategic Directions Achievement Report referenced against the Strategic Directions 2017–2021. The 2019 report is the third publication in the series and is provided to Ministers who have responsibility for policing and emergency services. Through 25 selected initiatives, the report demonstrates the work that has been completed in the last 12 months by all jurisdictions in conjunction with AFAC members and our partner agencies. The report provides just a sample of initiatives undertaken rather than an exhaustive list of all activities relating to the different Strategic Directions.

Together these initiatives support a more disaster resilient Australia by demonstrating a level of national capability, based on operational readiness, and underpinned by the most current qualifications and standards available, lessons management and research utilisation.

Major projects and initiatives

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Over the 2019–20 period, the AFAC Workforce Development Directorate has supported AFAC member agencies in transitioning to the new PUA Public Safety Training Package.

An extension was successfully gained from the Australian Standards Qualifications Authority to extend the transition period for implementation of the fire and emergency services from June 2020 to June 2021, granting agencies an additional 12 months to prepare to deliver the new fire and emergency services qualifications.

AFAC mapped and externally validated 105 fire, emergency services and public safety industry-wide units. The mapping documents support a nationally consistent approach to documenting the changes between the superseded and transitioned units. The mapping documentation is available on the PUA Library for AFAC member to access.

Four supplementary guides were completed to assist AFAC members implement the transitioned qualifications and to support the professional development of their trainers and assessors: ˃

Guide to nationally endorsed training for fire and emergency services

˃

Learning strategies guide for fire and emergency services

˃

Assessment strategies guide for fire and emergency services

˃

Guide to frequently asked questions guide for fire and emergency services.

AFAC has contributed actively to the review of the Diploma and Advanced Diploma (Emergency Management). The review of the two qualifications has been an opportunity to refresh the units and ensure the new units reflect the principles in the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) Handbook Collection and terminology in the AIDR Glossary. The review of the qualifications has been completed and will be submitted by Australian Industry Standards for endorsement to the Australian Industry Skills Committee by December 2020.

A 2020 summary report was prepared to capture vocational accredited data for the period from 1 January 2014 to 31 December 2018 for the fire, emergency services and emergency management qualifications. The data, extracted from the National Centre for Vocational Education and Research VOCSTATS tool, provides trends across the sector and a profile of the student cohort undertaking these qualifications. This is the first time this data has been reported by AFAC and will be an annual practice.

With increased reporting by AFAC member agencies, this data will become an increasingly useful and important tool for strategic workforce capability planning.

11 new learner resources were completed and uploaded to the PUA Library for members to use in delivering training to the following units: ˃

PUACOM001 Communicate in the workplace

˃

PUATEA001 Work in a team

˃

PUAFIR204 Respond to wildfire

˃

PUALAW001 Protect and preserve incident scene

˃

PUAOPE013 Operate communications systems and equipment

˃

PUAFIR303 Suppress wildfire

˃

PUAOPE014 Navigate to an incident

˃

PUATEA002 Work autonomously

˃

PUAFIR309 Operate pumps

˃

PUAOPE015 Conduct briefings and debriefings

˃

PUATEA003 Lead, manage and develop teams.

37

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP GROUP STRATEGY 2020–23 The Pacific Partnership Group Strategy 2020–2023 provides a highlevel description of AFAC member’s collective engagement in the Pacific, by working through Pacific Island in-country partnership mechanisms, and ensuring alignment with Pacific frameworks, and the Australian and New Zealand governments’ humanitarian and development nexus.

It aims to describe AFAC’s work through the Pacific Islands Emergency Management Alliance (PIEMA), Pacific Islands Fire and Emergency Services Association (PIFESA), and the twinning partnerships while recognising broader linkages that may be possible into the future. AFAC supported the establishment of PIEMA. The document describes the capability and technical expertise of AFAC members, and the efficiencies of utilising AFAC member

38

agencies to support disaster preparedness and humanitarian programs in the Pacific. The focus for the PIEMA project for 2019–20 is continuing to progress the Emergency Management Roadmaps, which are country-level needs analysis led by Pacific agencies for identified relevant countries.

The intended outcome of this work is for AFAC members and their Pacific partner agencies to continue collaborating beyond their bilateral partnerships and support one another across the whole AFAC Pacific Partnership Group, PIFESA, and PIEMA memberships.

The Emergency Management Roadmap process has already identified priorities for several Pacific Island nations which will become planning and implementation priorities now and into the future.

Major projects and initiatives

SENIOR LEADERS’ COHORT The Senior Leaders’ Cohort (SLC) is a program designed to enhance future industry leader development through professional development opportunities and events.

culture in our workplace. The next round of newsletters will explore the leadership capabilities of strategic agility, influence and ethics.

Consistent with the AFAC National Council’s pledge to the Champions of Change to increase women’s representation to at least 30 per cent on major industry leadership and policy forums by the end of 2019, working towards 40 per cent by the end of 2020, AFAC undertook a refresh of the membership of the SLC. This was timely given a number of the participants had been either promoted to senior positions or had been on the program for two years or more. The SLC membership for 2020 now comprises 31 new participants, 19 continuing and 35 exiting. In line with the Council’s direction, the gender representation on the cohort has increased from 28 per cent in 2019 to 44 per cent females in 2020.

Agency participation has also increased from 13 agencies in 2019 to 16 in 2020.

All newsletters included podcasts and TED Talks on the related concepts of leadership, and additional references are provided for individuals to review at their leisure. There are between three to four hours of professional development in each newsletter.

A process is underway to allocate CPD points to each newsletter as these can then be also used to support professional development for members of the Emergency Management Professionalisation Scheme. A second benefit of the newsletters is they will become a suite of tools to support the implementation of the AFAC Leadership Capability Framework.

To obtain input from the sector on the individual development needs for participants on the program, AFAC distributed a series of short surveys to senior executives, human resource directors, and program participants. The feedback informed the development of a suite of newsletters targeted to their collective needs. The first newsletter for 2020 was AFAC Leadership Capability of Self and explored the different elements within this capability: selfawareness, lifelong learning, resilience and personal courage.

The second newsletter AFAC Leadership Capability of People.

People capability covers the concepts of empowerment, diversity, development and performance and focuses on the building of individual and team capability and performance. This newsletter builds on the concepts covered in the first newsletter and exposes participants to the work of the AFAC Diversity and Inclusion Group and the Champions of Change to build an inclusive and diverse

Through the Champions of Change Fire and Emergency Group, participants on the SLC have been offered the opportunity to participate in the highly acclaimed McKinsey Accelerate Young Leaders Forum. Thirty participants have been confirmed for this program with the membership including eligible participants in the cohort and from across the fire and emergency services.

Participants will join a cross-industry group for a six-week blended program. This program provides successful candidates with an opportunity to explore flexible delivery strategies to support their professional development and to network and meet leaders from other industries.

A SLC professional development event is planned for August 2020 and AFAC will continue to work closely with participants, senior executives and human resources personnel on future program developments.

39

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

AFAC ecosystem WORKING FOR OUR MEMBERS TO BUILD SAFER, MORE RESILIENT COMMUNITIES.

Local Government

Resilient

AFAC

Independant

Cities

Conference

Reviews

AFAC

AFAC

Doctrine

Events

AIIMS

EMPS

Senior

AIDR

MCC

Handbooks

CCOSC

Leadership Cohort

Community

Research

Groups

Management

AFAC

NAFC

National

Strategic

Council

Committee

Collaboration

AIDR

AFAC Board

Model AFAC National Council

Research Utilisation CoE

Risk and Audit Committee Training

Prescribed

PUA

Burning Fire Predictive Services Ltd

40

NRSC

Major projects and initiatives topic

Key AFAC achievements over the last 10 years

Maintained 34 Collaboration Groups and national doctrine Completed National Burning Project Delivered research utilisation from Bushfire CRC and supported Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC

ANZEMC

State and

Interstate

Territorial

Deployments

Governments

Developed Strategic Directions

Independant

Australian

Reviews

Government

Governemnt

EMA

Ongoing support to Pacific Islands Fire and Emergency Services Created CCOSC

Overseas Engagement

New Zealand

Enhanced AIIMS

Facilitated the Australian Fire Danger Rating System Published book on Incident Management Sponsored Senior Leadership Cohort Established Centre of Excellence for Prescribed Burning Established National Warnings Project Established EMPS and set AFAC Council on a professionalisation journey Established AFAC Conference Company Joined Male Champions of Change Established Predictive Services Company Build AIDR and Disaster resilience Conference with EMA and partners Transitioned NAFC into AFAC Ltd Created NRSC to coordinate international and interstate deployments Established Memorial Wall to record names of duty deaths and National Memorial Service

41

Professional development and events

AFAC

AFAC18 powered by INTERSCHUTZ, Perth. Photos: AFAC

44

Annual Report 2018 2019 – 19 20

03

Professional development and events

RIDING THE WAVE OF CHANGE AT AFAC19 Over 4,000 practitioners, researchers, critical thinkers, international guests and delegates attended AFAC19 powered by INTERSCHUTZ Conference and Exhibition in Melbourne.

Australasia’s premier event for the fire and emergency management sector returned to Melbourne for the first time in six years, where a shift to the new norm: riding the wave of change was the central theme.

Delegates had the opportunity to explore the concept of change with presentations covering a wide variety of topics including climate change; culture and diversity; land management; prescribed burning; flood mitigation; infrastructure and quantifying risk.

The Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC opened the conference with the annual Research Forum, which investigated the latest scientific research for the sector. The forum connected researchers with practitioners to embed knowledge into practice.

The day concluded with the conference welcome and awards ceremony, where key innovators and leaders were acknowledged for their contributions to the sector.

Keynote Speaker Dr Robert Glasser opened day two of the conference with his discussion on our preparations for an emerging era of disasters. Dr Glasser used his experiences as the Former Head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and his role as the Special Representative to the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction to paint a picture of the impacts of climate change.

‘As our planet continues to warm, we will be entering an unprecedented time, an era of disasters unlike anything we’ve experienced before,’ Dr Glasser said. ‘It’s human nature to assume the future will unfold in the same way as the recent past. That is a dangerously flawed way of managing disaster risk.’

Dr Glasser’s presentation set the tone for the conference as delegates began to think about how to manage and respond to change.

Keynote Eliane Miles then explored how Australian communities are adapting to change. Ms Miles prompted the audience to think ahead to 2030 and the steps to undertake in advance to enhance resilience and preparedness.

Ms Miles spoke about the importance of a whole-of-community approach to preparing for natural hazards and emergencies.

‘Engaging with younger generations is all about purpose, experiences, authenticity and stories, they often see with the eyes of their heart,’ Ms Miles said.

AFAC19 powered by INTERSCHUTZ offered the largest trade exhibition in the history of the event. At 12,000sqm, delegates were able to witness the latest technology and operations equipment up close with a live demonstrations area, further presentations and hundreds of exhibitors.

Day three of the conference opened with New Zealand keynote Dr Lance O’Sullivan, who shared his expertise on positive disruptive leadership. As a self-confessed ‘disruptive troublemaker’, Dr O’Sullivan reflected on the health industry and building foresight to enhance resilience.

Bronwyn Weir followed Dr O’Sullivan with a comprehensive look at the building sector and how the industry has been transforming, particularly after events like the Grenfell Towers.

‘The reason why I’m standing here today is that 72 people died at Grenfell Towers. ‘Taking responsibility is a major part of changing culture and finding a solution to the situation we’re in,’ Ms Weir said.

The day featured presentations on the built environment, fostering inclusive environments, emergency volunteerism and how to empower communities to prepare for the future. The day concluded with a sombre panel discussion that reflected on the lessons learned since Black Saturday, Australia’s most catastrophic disaster.

The conference was co-located with the Institution of Fire Engineers Conference and the Australian Disaster Resilience Conference, which ran concurrently during the event.

The conference also offered opportunities for professional development, with a key highlight being the cultural burning field trip held on 30 September. Practitioners gained valuable insights from Indigenous fire managers about cultural fire, land management and authentic partnerships between Traditional Owners and agencies.

45

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

AFAC LEADERSHIP PROGRAMS

FBIM WEBINARS

AFAC, in partnership with the Australian Institute of Police Management (AIPM), offered several professional development courses during the financial year. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all programs on offer from 1 March 2020 to the end of June 2020 had to be postponed, with new residential dates to be confirmed when interstate travel resumes.

With the Fire Safety Verification Method coming into effect 1 May 2020, the Fire Brigade Intervention Model (FBIM) is now referenced in the National Construction Code (NCC). When using the Fire Safety Verification Method, building designers must use a process such as FBIM to take into consideration the activities related to fire brigade intervention when designing buildings, leading to better health and safety outcomes for fire and emergency service responders. To reflect the NCC changes, AFAC updated its FBIM Manual, publishing Version 3 in May 2020. The previous version of the FBIM Manual (Version 2.2) was released in 2004, so Version 3 was an opportunity to make the model current and streamline some of the workflows.

Representatives from the emergency management sector across Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong attended the range of programs. AFAC member agencies had a combined total of 44 delegates in attendance during the eight months that the courses were delivered.

Only a limited number of courses were able to be delivered through AIPM for the disrupted financial year: ˃

Graduate Certificate in Applied Management

˃

Graduate Diploma of Executive Leadership

˃

Frontline: Developing Future Leaders programs

˃

Balance: Women Leaders in Public Safety

˃

Facilitate: Building Learning Organisations workshop.

Several AFAC agency member representatives also took on the role of Visiting Fellow for the single residentials for the Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma programs across the financial year. Some of the Visiting Fellow placements were postponed in line with the postponement of their associated courses. The Visiting Fellows program provides professional development opportunities for the incumbents, with the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience and provide mentoring and leadership advice to course participants.

To introduce the updated publication, AFAC hosted two webinars, the first for AFAC members in May and the second for the wider fire engineering community in June. AFAC Built Environment Consultant John Clampett, a member of the original FBIM Working Group formed in the 1990s, and Jamie Vistnes, Manager of Fire and Rescue NSW Fire Safety Policy Unit presented a background to FBIM and an overview of the changes and updates in version 3.

The webinar held for AFAC members had 89 attendees, which was an opportunity for agency personnel beyond the AFAC collaboration group representatives to engage with AFAC and improve understanding of this important tool. This professional development opportunity also equipped members with an understanding of the changes, so that when industry engage the fire services, they can provide the necessary guidance on the latest version of FBIM. The industry webinar in June had 356 attendees with significant engagement with the fire engineering community through professional development, and a productive question and answer session. This session was recorded and is available to view on the Fire Brigade Intervention Model Manual Guideline page on the AFAC website.

AFAC also took the opportunity to cobrand the industry webinar with ‘Building Safety Month’ #BuildingSafety365. AFAC has agreed to work with the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) to promote Building Safety Month each year in Australia. The promotion has been going for the past 38 years in the US, and through recent cooperation between building codes authorities in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the US (CANZUS), AFAC is supporting the ABCB in promoting building safety initiatives within Australia.

46

Professional development and events

PREDICTIVE SERVICES (BUSHFIRE) PRACTITIONERS NETWORK The AFAC Predictive Services Practitioners Network (PSPN) provides a regular forum in which researchers and agency personnel can contribute to the professional development of their peers. The PSPN shares insights and facilitates a deeper understanding of the remote sensing tools, the models and simulators for predating fire intensity and spread in different fuel types, and fire weather forecast products that land managers, fire behaviour analysts and fire agency personnel use.

During the 2019–20 year, four webinars were conducted covering the topics of: ˃

fire weather, prototype fire danger ratings and their empirical validation based on the December 2018 – January 2019 Gell River fire in Tasmania

˃

Victoria’s Foresight tool, which incorporates the Phoenix fire simulator and displays current and forecast weather and fire risk information superimposed as layers on a scalable, interactive map

˃

research aimed at the refinement and operationalisation of an active fire detection system using data feeds from the Himawari-8 geostationary satellite

˃

the McArthur Fire Spread Models and the experiments upon which they were based and refined.

All webinars are recorded and made available via the AFAC YouTube channel where a repository of all 17 previous webinars is now available for viewing. The webinars tend to attract between 200–300 views in the six weeks following each webinar as well as up to 30 attending online.

47

AFAC Awards

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

LAURIE LAVELLE ACHIEVER OF THE YEAR AWARD The Achiever of the Year Award recognises Laurie Lavelle’s lifelong commitment to the emergency services in Australia as a longstanding Chief Officer of the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board and inaugural Chief Executive Officer of AFAC from 1993–2001. The objective of this award is to recognise the efforts of an individual who has undertaken a role within an AFAC member agency that has contributed significantly to enhancing the knowledge or skills, operations, performance or public profile in the emergency services sector in Australasia.

In 2019, the award was shared between two winners, Christina Hanger, Senior Engagement Advisor, Program Development Country Fire Authority (CFA) Victoria and Ben Plozza, Volunteer, Leeman Bush Fire Brigade, Western Australia.

Christina was recognised for her outstanding contribution to CFA and communities in Victoria at risk of fire. Her achievements relate specifically to championing new ways to undertake community engagement and empowering volunteers and staff through new programs, training and recruitment practices.

Ben was recognised for his work on the Department of Fire and Emergency Services Operational Fleet Project which has developed a new operational fleet design and delivery model that involves end users in the collaboration and consultation process. His input has shown considerable value which justifies the change in approach to engage volunteer end users.

KNOWLEDGE INNOVATION AWARDS The Knowledge Innovation Awards, supported by the Motorola Solutions Foundation grants program, recognise innovative contributions to the knowledge of the emergency management sector over the past year.

In 2019 the individual award was presented to Rebecca Pianta, Grants Manager, Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Western Australia. The award recognises Rebecca’s development of a range of processes to ensure that funding decisions are better based on research and reflect the real risk data that the states hold to ensure that limited funding is used most effectively to address the highest risks across emergency management. The product of this research is a series of reports tailored to the local, district and state level. Rebecca and the project team use this knowledge to inform state priorities approved by the State Emergency Management Committee and to ensure proposed

projects align with this knowledge. Rebecca introduced explicit research and risk criteria to ensure that the large sums of money available were targeting the highest risks for the state.

The agency award was presented to Fire and Rescue NSW in recognition of the development of the residential sprinklers research project which evolved from a coronial inquest into the tragic Bankstown apartment fire that occurred in September 2012. The research and findings supported the successful joint Proposal for Change (PFC) to the National Construction Code in 2019. The mandatory installation of sprinklers in new Class 2 and 3 buildings under 25 metres and above three levels is the most significant national public safety initiative since the introduction of mandatory smoke alarm legislation in the 1990s. This project and the resultant PFC has delivered the most significant improvement in national built environment public safety in decades.

STEWART AND HEATON LEADING PRACTICE IN MENTAL HEALTH AWARD The Leading Practice in Mental Health Award, presented in partnership with Stewart and Heaton Clothing Company, recognises the continued need to address mental health and wellbeing issues facing the fire and emergency service personnel across Australasia.

Fire and Rescue NSW were awarded for their peer support and mental health programs and launching a customised Resilience at Work (RAW) Mind Coach training program. Developed in partnership with the Black Dog Institute, it is the world’s first mindfulness-based resilience training program delivered wholly online.

50

Fire and Emergency New Zealand were awarded for developing and delivering psychological wellbeing workshops for 1700 career firefighters, 11,7000 volunteers and 1500 corporate employees.

Focusing on leaders by position or leaders by influence, the workshops inform cultural change to reduce stigma and normalise mental health conversations.

04

Recognition of achievement — sector awards topic

51

Collaboration Model

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

GENDER REPRESENTATION IMPROVING ACROSS AFAC Since the formation of the Champions of Change Fire and Emergency Group three years ago, the representation of women has improved across AFAC Collaboration Groups.

Recognising that participation in AFAC’s Collaboration Groups is a key talent development opportunity for fire and emergency service professionals, AFAC launched the 40:40:20 campaign to achieve gender balance across the network.

The campaign aims to see 40 per cent of groups comprised of women, 40 per cent men, and 20 per cent either or non-identified.

The campaign supports the commitment to increase women’s representation as chairs and members of AFAC Collaboration Groups to 40 per cent by the end of 2020.

15 %

25 %

12%

20 %

9%

15 %

The 40:40:20 campaign actively and intentionally promotes women’s participation, so they are not unintentionally excluded from roles and opportunities. Increasing gender balance in AFAC Collaboration Groups aims to reduce the likelihood of known or unknown biases impeding professional development.

AFAC Collaboration Groups are tracking positively toward the 40:40:20 goal, with 86 per cent of groups reporting a year-on-year increase of women’s representation or reaching the 40 per cent target. Overall, women’s participation is currently at 29 per cent, compared to 24 per cent in 2019 and 19 per cent in 2018.

30 %

25 %

20 %

15 % 6%

10 % 10 %

5%

3%

5%

2018

2019

2020

Groups without women

54

2018

2019

2020

Groups with women as chairs

2018

2019

2020

Overall representation of women

Collaboration Model

34

122

Groups and networks in the Collaboration Framework

992

Group meetings and teleconferences

Group members

AFAC COLLABORATION Through collaboration, AFAC assists the emergency management sector to identify and achieve strategic and operational priorities.

Collaboration occurs through sharing knowledge and exchanging insights, exploring opportunities and creating solutions.

This approach enables members to consider common challenges, generate solutions, develop positions and inspire new directions in practice.

The AFAC Collaboration Framework is aligned to the Strategic Directions for fire and emergency services in Australia and New Zealand 2017–2021.

DIRECTION 1

DIRECTION 2

DIRECTION 3

DIRECTION 4

DIRECTION 5

Supporting resilient communities

Providing trusted response

The source of credible and timely information

Effective governance and resource management

Informed by knowledge and research

COLL ABORATION GROUP KEY Council sponsor

Chair

Deputy Chair

AFAC Manager

Current Outgoing

55

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

DIRECTION 1 | Supporting resilient communities COMMUNITY SAFETY GROUP Darren Klemm, DFES-WA Andrew Stark, SA-CFS Amanda Leck, AFAC Allyson Lardner, FFMV-DELWP Andrew Andreou, CFA-VIC Bob Lanigan, MFB-VIC Cassie Royalnce, CFA-VIC Colin Lindsay, SA-MFS Corey Shackleton, BBC Fiona Dunstan, SA-CFS Georgeina Whelan, ACT-ESA Graham Swift, DFES-WA Jeffrey Butler, ACT-ESA Jeremy Smith, TFS Lucy Saaroni, CFA-VIC Mark Whybro, FRNSW Mark Edwards, GA Mark Kahler, QFES Matthew Shonk, ACT Pat Schell, NSWRFS Pete Gallagher, FENZ Rebel Talbert, NSWRFS Rick Curtis, DFES-WA Rob Saunders, FENZ Roxanne Hilliard, FENZ Sally Perry, NSW-SES Sandra Whight, TFS Simon Burt, NTFRS Trent Curtin, MFB-VIC

SES COMMUNITY SAFETY GROUP Chris Beattie, SA-SES Kate White, VIC-SES Amanda Leck, AFAC Ailsa Schofield, NSW-SES Allyson Lardner, FFMV-DELWP Chris Irvine, TAS-SES Eamonn Lennon, QFES Georgeina Whelan, ACT-ESA Graham Swift, DFES-WA Jeffrey Butler, ACT-ESA

BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING TECHNICAL GROUP — BUILT ENVIRONMENT WORK GROUP Mark Whybro, FRNSW Ivan West, AFAC Allan Riley, DFES-WA Andrew Sharrad, SA-MFS Andrew Andreou, CFA-VIC Anthony McKinnon, NTFRS Brian Talbot, ACT-ESA Colin Paton, SA-CFS Corey Shackleton, NSWRFS Daniel Greig, TFS Dave McCurdy, MFB-VIC David Lewis, FRNSW Gavin Rooney, MFB-VIC

FIRE ENGINEERING NETWORK

Tracy Grime, SA-CFS

Simon Davis, FENZ

Vinny Schar, SA-MFS

Ivan West, AFAC Amy Seppelt, SA-MFS Brian Talbot, ACT-ESA Cihan Soylemez, MFB-VIC Daniel Greig, TFS David Boverman, NSWRFS David Kearsley, CFA-VIC Gavin Maund, DFES-WA Jamie Vistnes, FRNSW John Clampett, AFAC Steven McKee, QFES

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TECHNICAL GROUP

Gavin Maund, DFES-WA

Fiona Dunstan, SA-CFS

Ian Shepherd, QFES

Amanda Leck, AFAC

FIRE INVESTIGATION NETWORK Peter Wilding, FENZ Ivan West, AFAC Anthony Miles, NTFRES Ben Millington, NSWRFS Bob Lanigan, MFB-VIC Cheryl Cook, NSWRFS Dale Rayner, TFS Daren Mallouk, QFES David Groer, Airservices Geoff Townsley, QFES George Xydias, VP Graham Kingsland, FRNSW Leslie Vearing, FFMV-DELWP Matthew Shonk, ACT

Joel Taggart, SA-CFS

Amanda Moore, NSW-NPWS

John Clampett, AFAC

Nicole Harvey, CFA-VIC

Anthony Bradstreet, NSWRFS

Julian Aggiss, SA-CFS

Peter Jones, DFES-WA

Brigid Little, AIDR

Marcus Morgan, NSW-SES

Phillip Crossley, SA-MFS

Colleen Ridge, TAS-SES

Mark Carter, MFB-VIC

Richard Maloney, ACT FR

David Webber, NSW-SES

Paul Owens, ACT-ESA

Dominic Scarfe, MFB-VIC

Rebel Talbert, NSWRFS

Fiona Amundson, ACT-ESA

Simon Davis, FENZ

Geoff Kaandorp, MFB-VIC

BUILT ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING TECHNICAL GROUP — BUSHFIRE PLANNING WORK GROUP Andrew Stark, SA-CFS Ivan West, AFAC Caren Siegfriedt, SA-CFS Corey Shackleton, NSWRFS David Boverman, NSWRFS Greg Potts, ACT-ESA Jackson Parker, DFES-WA James Haig, QFES John Clampett, AFAC Leah Bertholini, SA-CFS Len Leslie, CFA-VIC Mark Chladil, TFS

Jen Dick, DEW-SA (NPWS) Joshua McLaren, NSW-SES Julie Harris, MFB-VIC Karen Enbom, CFA-VIC Keiran Stone, SLSA Kristina Riley, BushfiresNT Leah Parlour, DFES-WA Liz Connell, SA-SES Michael Morris, FRNSW Muriel Leclercq, DFES-WA Nicole Hogan, NSW-SES Paul Harris, CFA-VIC Rita Reitano, DEW-SA Rob Saunders, FENZ Sally Perry, NSW-SES Sandra Barber, TFS

Keiran Stone, SLSA

Sarah Anderson, RNSW

Liz Connell, SA-SES

Shane Daw, SLSA

Nicholas Cowham, NTFRES

Steve Cameron, EMV

Rick Curtis, DFES-WA

Steve Turek, FENZ

Sally Perry, NSW-SES

Steve Dorman, MFB-VIC

Shane Daw, SLSA

Susan Davie, VIC-SES

56

Troy Davies, QFES

PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP GROUP Barry Gray, MFB-VIC Luke Purcell, AFAC Anthony Blake, SPC Brad Commens, QFES Brian Graham, NSWRFS Dermot Barry, SASES Gina Jones, SPC Glenn Benham, SA-MFS Glenn Brewer, ACT-ESA Greg Newton, NSW-SES Ian Pickard, FENZ Jeff Harper, QFES Jeremy Smith, TFS Joe Buffone, DHA-EMA Josh Turner, FRNSW Matt Davis, SA-CFS Patrick Haines, SPC Rodney Evans, Airservices Terry Trewin, NTFRS Tony O’Day, CFA-VIC

Collaboration Model

DIRECTION 2 | Providing trusted response AIIMS STEERING GROUP Erin Liston-Abel, AFAC

Clinton Kuchel, DFES-WA Craig Waters, DFES-WA

RURAL AND LAND MANAGEMENT GROUP

URBAN OPERATIONS GROUP

Alex Spence, REMA

Daniel Catrice, FFMV-DELWP

Neil Cooper, ACT PCS

Dan Stephens, MFB-VIC

Andrew Stark, SA-CFS

Danny Armstrong, QFRS

Murray Carter, DFES-WA

Steve Warrington, MFB-VIC

Chris Quinn, Airservices

Deborah Parsons, SA-MFS

Greg Esnouf, AFAC

Gavin Freeman, CFA-VIC

Craig Patterson, SA Pol

Donna Lawrence, QFES

Alen Slijepcevic, CFA-VIC

Daniel Austin, NSW-SES

Douglas King, QFES

Allyson Lardner, FFMV-DELWP

Brad Stringer, DFES-WA

Dave Hunt, DCNZ

Eric Claussen, NSW-NPWS

Andrew Graystone, PARKSVIC

Brad Commens, QFES

David Nugent, PARKSVIC

Fadia Mitri, MFB-VIC

Andrew Dunn, HQP-QLD

Bruce Byatt, TFS

David Coetzee, MCDEMN-NZ

Greg Butters, TFS

Ann Letcher, SA-CFS

Chris Zeitlhofer, ACT-ESA

Gavin Freeman, CFA-VIC

Gregg Paterson, CFA-VIC

Bryan Jensen, DCNZ

Daniel Austin, NSW-SES

Greg Newton, NSW-SES

Jeannie Cotterell, ACT-ESA

Carl Hollis, NSW-NPWS

David Bruce, MFB-VIC

Greg Rankin, FRNSW

Jemma Krasowski, SA-MFS

Jim Hamilton, FRNSW

Iain Mackenzie, IGEM-QLD

Jodie Stevenson, TFS

Chandra Wood, Brisbane City Council

Jacqueline Durand, ANZPAA

Kasie Mowczan, FRNSW

Chris Gibson, ForestrySA

John Watson, QFES

Joanne Greenfield, QFES

Kevin Archer, RNSW

John Cawcutt, QFES

Lawrence Arps, FENZ

Malcolm Cronstedt, DFES-WA

Liz Walker, NTFRES

Mark Brown, ACT-ESA

Marc Bellette, DHHS-VIC

Michael Fleming, AMSA

Mark Beech, ACT-PCS

Neil Gallant, QFES

Mark Harriott, ACT-ESA

Paul Ryan, DFES-WA

Mark Cunningham, Airservices

Paul Turner, FENZ

Michael Dwyer, QFES

Paul McGuiggan, FRNSW

Michael Fleming, AMSA

Paul Seager, NSW-NPWS

Mick Armstrong, NSW-NPWS

Paul Johnstone, FRNSW

Neil Francis, QFES

Paul Flynn, ACT FR

Nicholas de Rozario, DEW-SA

Rick Curtis, DFES-WA

Nick Connolly, TAS-SES

Rob Purcell, MFB-VIC

Nigel Hogan, QFES

Robert Charlton, SA-SES

Olivia Tamlyn, TFS

Russell Dippy, SA Pol

Pamela Simon, SLSA

Scott Hanckel, NSW-SES

Paul Wallworth, VIC-SES

Simon Rickard, Australian Red Cross

Penny Dunstan, CFA-VIC

Steve Davies, Airservices

Rachel Rowett, SA-SES

Stuart Midgley, NSWRFS

Richard Boykett, DBCA-WA, PWS

Stuart Ellis, AFAC

Rosemary Hegner, RNSW

Susan Fayers, EMV

Scott Cashmere, AMSA

Tony Costello, SA-SES

Serena Eales, SA-CFS

Tony O’Day, CFA-VIC

Sherri Adcock, QFES

LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT GROUP Naomi Stephens, OEH-NSW Cassandra Curtis, SA-CFS Sandra Lunardi, AFAC Andrew Richards, QFES Andy Cusack, CAVFA Annette Balmer, SEMC-WA Cara Schultz, NSWRFS

Peter Curran, DFES-WA

Sonya Oyston, NSW-SES Stephen Glassock, NSWRFS Susan Gronow, FRNSW Susan Hodges, DFES-WA

Darrin McKenzie, FFMV-DELWP Dasarath Jayasuriya, BOM Dave Gossage, CAVFA David Tchappat, FRNSW Dean Sheehan, STTAS Erin Liston-Abel, AFAC Evan Morgan, BOM Fiona Gill, DEW-SA (NPWS) Glenn Benham, SA-MFS James Haig, QFES Jason Heffernan, NSWRFS Jeff Harper, TFS Joe Murphy, ACT-ESA John Bates, BNHCRC Katy Edwards, PWS-TAS Leigh Kleinschmidt, HQP-QLD Monique Blason, ForestrySA Naomi Stephens, NSW-NPWS Nathan Connor, QPWS Paul Black, PWS-TAS Paul Bailey, NSW-SES Peter Leeson, QPWS Rob Sandford, SA-CFS Rohan Scott, ACT-RFS Shoni Maguire, BOM Stefan de Haan, DBCA-WA, PWS Tim McGuffog, ForestryNSW Tim Mitchell, FENZ Tim Sanders, Melbourne Water

Erin Liston-Abel, AFAC

Joe Gomez, Airservices Mark Brown, ACT-ESA Mark Spain, NTFRES Mark Swiney, MFB-VIC Michael Morgan, SA-MFS Neil Gallant, QFES Paul Jones, NSWRFS Paul Turner, FENZ Paul Fletcher, SA-MFS Trevor Arnold, SA-SES

FIRE AND EMERGENCY AVIATION TECHNICAL GROUP Andrew Stark, SA-CFS Richard Alder, NAFC Adam Bannister, DFES-WA Adam Salter, TFS Andrew Turner, BushfiresNT Ben Millington, NSWRFS Ben Ribbins, ACT-RFS Brad Commins, DBCA-WA, PWS Brad Bourke, DBCA-WA, PWS Corey Dunn, SA-CFS David Bowing, NSW-SES David Jones, NSWRFS Derek Parks, DFES-WA Glen Crombie, NSW-NPWS Luke Patterson, CFA-VIC Martin Gibson, QFES Martin Piesse, STTAS

Terrence Farley, FRNSW

Michelle Jenkins, NSW-SES

Tim Killen, QPWS

Neil Brooksbank, TFS

Tony Duckmanton, CFA-VIC

Nik Stanley, SA-CFS

Wendy Blair, NSW-NPWS

Richard McNamara, FENZ Rohan Scott, ACT-RFS Stu Whiteley, DELWP

57

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, CHEMICAL, BIOLOGICAL, RADIOLOGICAL AND NUCLEAR TECHNICAL GROUP Jim Hamilton, FRNSW Erin Liston-Abel, AFAC Barry Byrne, MFB-VIC Bruce Rodway, ACT FR Craig Tonks, CFA-VIC Darren Simon, CFA-VIC David Gill, DFES-WA Dean Harrison, Airservices Gary Osborne, NTFRS Greg Howard, SA-MFS Jeff Harper, QFES Jeffrey Davis, DFES-WA Krystle Mitchell, SA-MFS Matthew Allen, CFA-VIC Melanie D’Ambrosio, SA-MFS Michael Logan, QFRS Pat Jones, Department of Defence Paul Smeath, QFES

RESCUE TECHNICAL GROUP Pat Jones, Department of Defence

David Kemp, SAFECOM

Trevor Arnold, SA-SES

Sandra Lunardi, AFAC

Erin Liston-Abel, AFAC

Alexandra Williams, DPFEM

Alan Crossman, DFES-WA

Alison Donohoe, FRNSW

Anita Carlin, MFB-VIC

Anthony Dodd, VIC-SES

Ashley Cogdon, DFES-WA

Brad Turley, NTFRES

Duncan Cochrane, SA-MFS

Brad Quinn, MFB-VIC

Gary Osborne, NTFRS

Darren Crawford, DEW-SA

George Arnold, MFB-VIC

David Heslop, NSWRFS

Graeme Hall, QFES

Emma-Lee Finch, DBCA-WA, PWS

Ian Duncan, FENZ Jay Bland, FRNSW Mark Dobson, TFS Paul Bailey, NSW-SES Paul Flynn, ACT FR Peter Mason, SA-MFS Rick Owen, CFA-VIC

Gary Zuiderwyk, NSW-SES Glen Cook, SA-MFS Jennifer Norman, FRNSW John Kingsbury, FENZ Maria Lambrinos, FFMV-DELWP Mathew Grant, FRNSW

Robert Landon, NSW-SES

Matthew Watson, DFES-WA

COMPUTER SIMULATION NETWORK

Nicole Middleton, FFMV-DELWP

Paul Flynn, ACT FR

Bruce Budge, SA-CFS

Paul Beylerian, FRNSW

Adam Shearer, SA-CFS

Peter Cleary, FRNSW

Benjamin Smith, AFAC

Ryan Murray, DFES-WA

Brad Slater, DFES, WA

Stuart Males, TFS

Chris Mower, SAMFS

Tanya Kuiper, SA-CFS

Fleur Woodley, NSW-NPWS

Tim McNeilly, SA-CFS

James Brandwood, DFES, WA

Trudy Geoghegan, FENZ

James Hall, MFB-VIC

Victor Lenting, FENZ

Lyneece Naylon, SA-CFS

Wayne Atkins, SA-CFS

Mitchell Fitzgerald, SA-CFS

Will Klinge, MFB-VIC

Nathan Smith, Airservices Norm Flawn, FENZ Paul Cockerill, CFA-Vic Paul Wallworth, VIC SES Paul Hattink, QFES Rob Hawxwell, QFES Roy Veal, FENZ Shaun Weston, FRNSW

58

WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY TECHNICAL GROUP

Neil Mott, Airservices Peter Manley, ACT-ESA Robin Marlin, SA-CFS Sam Sanderson, DEW-SA Sandra Taylor, QFES Shaun Goad, SA-MFS Steven Heimann, NVRA Susan Butterworth, DPFEM Terese Howlett, VIC-SES Xave Watson, FFMV-DELWP

Collaboration Model

DIRECTION 3 | The source of credible and timely information PREDICTIVE SERVICES GROUP

Kaylee Rutland, ACT-ESA

Damon Ezis, DEW-SA (NPWS)

Mathew Bartlett, CH

Kirra Waine, NSW-SES

Dan Jones, PARKSVIC

Matt Plucinski, CSIRO

Shane Fitzsimmons, Resilience NSW

Maggie Towers, BushfiresNT

Daniel Heinrichs, CFA-VIC

Matthew Geiger, QFES

Mark Cunnington, NTES

Daniel Idczak, CFA-VIC

Meaghan Jenkins, UW

Mhairi Revie, TAS-SES

Darcy Prior, FFMV-DELWP

Melanie Gent, CH

Nicholas Kuster, NSW-SES

Dave Atkins, DBCA-WA, PWS

Michael Jones, FFMV-DELWP

Nicola Moore, IGEM-QLD

David Field, NSWRFS

Michael Everingham, QFES

Nicole Ely, SA-MFS

David McKenna, DEW-SA (NPWS)

Mika Peace, BOM

Peta Miller-Rose, QFES

David Philp, NSWRFS

Mike Chan, DBCA-WA, PWS

Peter Middleton, TFS

David Taylor, PWS-TAS

Murray Mitchell, DBCA-WA, PWS

Philip Lindsay, FRNSW

David Clarke, NSWRFS

Musa Kilinc, CFA-VIC

Reegan Key, EMV

Deb Sparkes, AFAC

Nathan Faggian, BOM

Andrew Turner, BushfiresNT

Sascha Rundle, Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Dean Putting, CFA-VIC

Neale Hutcheon, CFA-VIC

Mark Gardener, BushfiresNT

Shannon Panchuk, BOM

Duncan Watt, ForestryNSW

Nicholas Bauer, FFMV-DELWP

Alen Slijepcevic, CFA-VIC

Shoni Maguire, BOM

Eddie Staier, PWS-TAS

Nicki Syme, DBCA-WA, PWS

Sarah Harris, CFA-VIC

Sita Bacher, SAFECOM

Elizabeth Mapletoft, DEW-SA (NPWS)

Nicole Warnock, DBCA-WA, PWS

Lachlan McCaw, DBCA-WA, PWS

Steve Dwyer, DHA-EMA

Erin Heinrich, NSWRFS

Nils Waite, NSWRFS

Jackson Parker, DFES-WA

Tamsin Achilles, VIC-SES

Francis Hine, QFES

Noreen Krusel, AFAC

Tim Mitchell, FENZ

Warwick Ellis, DHA-EMA

Frazer Wilson, FFMV-DELWP

Paul Rampant, DBCA-WA, PWS

Gareth George, CFA-VIC

Paul Cook, NSWRFS

Gavin Maund, DFES-WA

Pedro Palheiro, DBCA-WA, PWS

Geoff Selwood, NSWRFS

Rick McRae, ACT-ESA

Simon Heemstra, NSWRFS Mike Wouters, DEW-SA (NPWS) Greg Esnouf, AFAC Brian Levine, ACT-PCS Tony Scherl, ACT-PCS Rohan Scott, ACT-RFS Noreen Krusel, AFAC John Bates, BNHCRC Evan Morgan, BOM

Grant Pearce, FENZ Alice Gower, FFMV-DELWP Darcy Prior, FFMV-DELWP

PREDICTIVE SERVICES PRACTITIONERS (BUSHFIRE) NETWORK

Glen Daniel, DFES-WA

Rob Woodward, QFES

Mike Wouters, DEW-SA

Graeme Martin, QFES

Robert Haigh, FCRC

Greg Esnouf, AFAC

Graham Hardy, DFES-WA

Robert Watchorn, CH

Adam Whitchurch, PARKSVIC

Graham Furlong

Rochelle Richards, TFS

Agnes Kristina, DFES-WA

Greg Mattingley, PARKSVIC

Russell Stephens-Peacock, QFES

Ailish Germain, NSWRFS

Helen Bull, OPL

Samuel Ferguson, TFS

Alex Otterbach, DEW-SA (NPWS)

Ian Tanner, DEW-SA (NPWS)

Sean Walsh, UniMelb

Alex Aitken, DFES-WA

Jackson Parker, DFES-WA

Sharon Merritt, CFA-VIC

Andrew Jones, NSWRFS

Jamie Molloy, FFMV-DELWP

Simeon Telfer, DEW-SA (NPWS)

Andrew Sturgess, QFES

Jason Sharples, UNSW

Simon Heemstra, NSWRFS

Anne McLean, DEW-SA (NPWS)

Jessica Ngo, CFA-VIC

Simon Dawson, QFES

Anthony Cheesman, FFMV-DELWP

Jennifer Hollis, NSWRFS

Stephen Lewin, QFES

Barry Heilbronn, QFRS

Jill Read, PARKSVIC

Steve Summers

Belinda Kenny, NSWRFS

Joanna Wand, FFMV-DELWP

Steve Nicholson, DBCA-WA, PWS

Ben Twomey, QFES

John Stoner, PARKSVIC

Stu King, TFS

Angela Gardner, CFA-VIC

Bradley Stewart, NSWRFS

John Runcie, NSWRFS

Tim McKern, CFA-VIC

Anni Fordham, DFES-WA

Brett Beecham, DBCA-WA, PWS

Joshua Wong, FFMV-DELWP

Tim Hunt, CFA-VIC

Barry Gray, MFB-VIC

Brett Loughlin, SA-CFS

Justin Dally, CFA-VIC

Timothy Groves, DEW-SA (NPWS)

Carla Mooney, BOM

Brian Levine, ACT-PCS

Kathryn Schneider, PARKSVIC

Timothy Wells, CFA-VIC

Christina Hanger, CFA-VIC

Catherine Jolly, BOM

Kelsey Tarabini, BNHCRC

Tom Denman, NSW-NPWS

Corinne Mulholland, IGEM-QLD

Casey Scholten, QFES

Kent Barron, QFES

Tony Smith, DBCA-WA, PWS

Faruk Yay, DHA-EMA

Cassidy Newland, DFES-WA

Kerryn McTaggart, PARKSVIC

Valerie Densmore, DBCA-WA, PWS

Fiona Dunstan, SA-CFS

Catherine Jolly, EMV

Kirsty Idczak, PARKSVIC

Graeme Wynwood, SA-SES

Chris Quinn, NSWRFS

Lachlan McCaw, DBCA-WA, PWS

Hayley Gillespie, QFES

Chris Medlin, FFMV-DELWP

Laurence McCoy, NSWRFS

Jacob Riley, MH

Christopher Collins, TFS

Mark Chladil, TFS

Jill Downard, DFES-WA

Damien Dubrowin, NSW-NPWS

Mark Beech, ACT-PCS

Evan Lewis, FFMV-DELWP Hamish Webb, FFMV-DELWP David Taylor, TPWS Andrew Sturgess, QFES Raymond Bott, QFRS Clint Tunnie, QFRS Christopher Collins, TFS

WARNINGS GROUP Anthony Clark, NSWRFS Amanda Leck, AFAC Ailsa Schofield, NSW-SES Alison Martin, SA-CFS Amy Miller, Health & Human Services Emerge

59

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

DIRECTION 4 | Effective governance and resource management COLLABORATIVE PROCUREMENT BUSINESS STRATEGY GROUP

Claire Cooper, EMV

Chris Pines, FRNSW

Sacha Bouma, Airservices

Colin Thomas, MFB-VIC

Clinton McAlister, ACT-ESA

Shiona Somerville, SA-MFS

Daniel McLaughlin, PARKSVIC

Darren McQuade, MFB-VIC

Steve Richardson, TFS

David Nugent, PARKSVIC

David Lloyd, PSBA

Tammy Moffat, SA-CFS

Derren Halleday, SA-SES

David Goreham, SA-MFS

Trina Schmidt, NSWRFS

Gemma Gray, EMV

David Mack, SA-MFS

Greg Nettleton, SA-CFS

Frank Howe, DPFEM

Hannah Tagore, DFES-WA

Gregory Mason, ACT-ESA

Ian Tanner, DEW-SA (NPWS)

Guy Thomas, QPWS

Jenny Nelson-Willis, NTFRES

Ian Peisley, FRNSW

Anita Anderson, QFES

Katie MacWilliams, DBCA-WA, PWS

Jason Kleemann, SA-CFS

Anne Ward, Airservices

Katrina Bahen, VIC-SES

Arthur Tindall, AFAC

Libby Keefe, Airservices

Jeff Davis, PSBA

Carol Endocott, Airservices

Malcolm Connellan, FRNSW

Chris Weenink, Airservices

Mark Spain, NTFRES

Chris Myers, VIC-SES

Matthew Brocklehurst, TAS-SES

Chris Divitcos, EMV

Monica Smyrek, CFA-VIC

Darryl Purdy, FENZ

Nancy Appleby, DFES-WA

Dean Fornito, MFB-VIC

Natalie Kenely, CFA-VIC

Gavin Wornes, SA-CFS

Neil Cooper, ACT-PCS

Gillian Meakin, EMV

Paul Seager, NSW-NPWS

Liam Shepherd, Airservices

Peter Button, SA-MFS

Lynette Connor, VIC-SES

Rebecca Hughes, ACT-ESA

Mai Ly, SAFECOM

Rosie Amatt, QPWS

Nick Alfieris, FRNSW

Ross Dickson, ForestryNSW

Patrick Cummins, DPFEM

Shane Batt, TFS

Phil Kilsby, SA-MFS

Sharon Kelsey, VIC-SES

Rachel Hanigan, NSWRFS

Sindy McCourt, SA-CFS

Rachel Steinbauer, FENZ

Sonia Mosca, EMV

Richard Burnell, DFES-WA

Stefan de Haan, DBCA-WA, PWS

Stephen Herbert, DBCA-WA, PWS

Robyn White, ACT-ESA

Stephen Miles, Airservices

Tony Slade, NSWRFS

Rodney Lambert, NSWRFS

Stephen Smith, QFES

Trevor Hazenberg, PSBA

Sam Mitchell, NTPFES

Tammy Moffat, SA-CFS

Scott Bridgement, NSW-SES

Trina Schmidt, NSWRFS

Stephen O’Malley, NSWRFS

Wayne Phillips, FRNSW

Guy Thomas, QPWS Darren Stafford, FENZ Kristy Phelps, SAFECOM Dan Jones, CFA-VIC Russell Shephard, AFAC Ajimon Joseph, NTPFES Andrew Rook, FENZ Angela Gruler, NTPFES

Todd Crawford, DPFEM

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION GROUP Julie Bissinella, MCC Noreen Krusel, AFAC Alex Suwitra, EMV Andrew Turner, BushfiresNT Andrew McCullough, NSW-SES Ann De Piaz, SA-CFS Brendan Stevens, ACT-ESA Brendan Nally, FENZ Callum MacSween, QFES Chris Eagle, FFMV-DELWP

60

FLEET TECHNICAL GROUP Tim Smith, CFA-VIC Lee Watson, SA-CFS Russell Shephard, AFAC Alex Lee, DPFEM Andrew Canderle, NSWRFS Andrew Webb, CFA-VIC Ashley Sullivan, NSW-SES Barbara Zandona-Gehan, QFES Bruce McDonald, NSWRFS Bryan Ries, NSW-NPWS Chris Fogarty, NSW-NPWS

Jean Cresswell, FENZ John Gabbedy, Airservices Kim Wiley, MFB-VIC Lynette Connor, VIC-SES Mark Wootton, DFES-WA Mark Saunders, QFES Mark Luchetti, NSW-SES Mick Appleton, FFMV-DELWP Mike Moran, FENZ Natalie Middleton, NSW-NPWS Nathan Symonds, Airservices Peter Hill, NTPFES Phil Kilsby, SA-MFS Po Chung, MFB-VIC Robert Welling, VIC-SES Sam Sanderson, DEW-SA Satinder Sahota, ACT-PCS

WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT GROUP

OPERATIONAL EQUIPMENT TECHNICAL GROUP Arthur Tindall, AFAC Russell Shephard, AFAC Andrew Canderle, NSWRFS Adrien Thompson, ForestryNSW Andrew Canderle, NSWRFS Anthony Mallia, ACT-ESA Carl Hollis, NSW-NPWS Chris Myers, VIC-SES Craig Brownlie, CFA-VIC Darren Stafford, FENZ Donald McErlich, FENZ Donna Rosenberg, QFES Evonne Harding, QFES Ian Bounds, TFS Jeremy Stubbs, FRNSW John Kagis, DFES-WA Lee Watson, SA-CFS Lynette Connor, VIC-SES Mark Aylward, FFMV-DELWP Natalie Middleton, NSW-NPWS Nathan Ferguson, NTFRS Owen Parker, FFMV-DELWP Paul Foster, MFB-VIC Phil Kilsby, SA-MFS Rob Walker, QFES Robert Landon, NSW-SES Ross Trimboli, MFB-VIC

Michael Morgan, SA-MFS

Sam Sanderson, DEW-SA (NPWS)

Mark Roche, QFES

Scott Chamberlin, Airservices

Sandra Lunardi, AFAC

Scott Turner, SA-CFS

Anna Tsentidis, SAFECOM

Stephanie Mundy, ACT-ESA

Chris Bowyer, ACT-ESA

Stephen Boucher, SA-CFS

Chris Wells, FENZ

Stephen McKay, NSW-NPWS

Elizabeth Holley, MFB-VIC

Terrence Farley, FRNSW

Erin Baker, DPFEM

Timothy Moore, DFES-WA

Jason Elmer, DPFEM Katrina Bahen, VIC-SES Michael Baldi, FRNSW Nancy Appleby, DFES-WA Peter Mason, SA-MFS Rebecca Hughes, ACT-ESA

Collaboration Model

DIRECTION 5 | Informed by knowledge and research EMPLOYEE RELATIONS NETWORK

Mark Aylward, FFMV-DELWP Mark O’Donnell, TFS

MENTAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING NETWORK

Shiona Somerville, SA-MFS

Matthew Mavity, ACT-ESA

Malcolm Connellan, FRNSW

Lorna O’Dwyer, AFAC

Matthew Price, NSW-SES

Michael Baldi, FRNSW

Sandra Lunardi, AFAC

Natalie Middleton, NSW-NPWS

Lorna O’Dwyer, AFAC

Bernard King, FRNSW

Nathan Ferguson, NTFRS

Annette Balshaw, FFMV-DELWP

Chloe Sellars, DBCA-WA, PWS

Pat Jones, ACT ESA

Ann-Marie Burgoyne, ACT-ESA

Chris Bowyer, ACT-ESA

Phil Taylor, MFB-VIC

Bernie Scully, QFES

Chris Wells, FENZ

Phil Collins, DBCA-WA, PWS

Brendan Parsey, Airservices

Clare Moxey, DBCA-WA, PWS

Phil Kilsby, SA-MFS

Brendan Mott, FRNSW

Courtney Collins, DPFEM

Rob Walker, QFES

Brian Moon, SA-MFS

Fiona Bridges, QFES

Rodney Evans, Airservices

Chantelle Barker, NTPFES

Helen Redmond, DFES-WA

Sam Sanderson, DEW-SA (NPWS)

Charlotte Hunter, DFES-WA

Janette Pearce, MFB-VIC Jason Elmer, DPFEM

Sheridan Dyne, QFES

Emma-Lee Finch, DBCA-WA, PWS

Leanne Banting, MFB-VIC

Sreten Landolac, CFA-VIC

Heti Cruickshank, NSW-SES

Lisa Chih, NSWRFS

Stephen Boucher, SA-CFS

Irina Tchernitskaia, MFB-VIC

Louise Clarke, FRNSW

Stephen McKay, NSW-NPWS

Jane Abdilla, SAFECOM

Mark Roche, QFES

Terrence Farley, FRNSW

John Kingsbury, FENZ

Peter Mason, SA-MFS

Timothy Moore, DFES-WA

Julian Robinson, NTPFES

Rebecca Hughes, ACT-ESA

Tyron Clark, TFS

Kelly Strange, VIC-SES

Stephen Smith, QFES Steven Nadudvary, Airservices

PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT TECHNICAL GROUP

VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT TECHNICAL GROUP Trina Schmidt, NSWRFS Catriona Freeman, AFAC

Arthur Tindall, AFAC

Andrew McCullough, NSW-SES

Mark Tarbett, CFA-VIC

Annabelle Kirwan, VIC-SES

Russell Shephard, AFAC

Brenton Hastie, SA-CFS

Adrien Thompson, ForestryNSW

Brighid Jamieson, FENZ

Andrew Canderle, NSWRFS

Donald Pescud, FRNSW

Brenton Clarke, SA-SES

Faye Bendrups, NSESVA

Chris Myers, VIC-SES

Janine Taylor, QFES

David Mack, SA-MFS

Jennifer Pidgeon, DFES-WA

David Falla, MFB-VIC

Jon Kneebone, FENZ

Emma-Lee Finch, DBCA-WA, PWS

Kerry Laurie, CFA-VIC

Esitone Pauga, FENZ

Kylie Kapeller, TFS

Evonne Harding, QFES

Leah Hornibrook, QFES

Gerry Thomas, Melbourne Water

Lisa Greig, SAFECOM

Greg Napier, DBCA-WA, PWS Hatti Zhao, FFMV-DELWP Ian Scott, FENZ Jeremy Stubbs, FRNSW John Kagis, DFES-WA Lee Watson, SA-CFS Lucy Sinclair, SA-CFS Lynette Connor, VIC-SES

Kristine Wendtman, NSWRFS

Mark Cunnington, NTES Matthew Thompson, QFES Nicoli Ackland, SA-CFS Paul Cortese, ACT-ESA Paul Wallworth, VIC-SES Sean Quercini, ACT-ESA Simone O’Dea, SAFECOM Sonia St Alban, SA-CFSVA

Matthew Richman, TFS Naomi Engelke, CFA-VIC Nicole O’Reilly, MFB-VIC Paul Scott, NSWRFS Rachel Treeby, VIC-SES Tom Alexander, NSW-SES Traci Carse, FRNSW Troy Morrisby, DPFEM

KNOWLEDGE, INNOVATION AND RESEARCH UTILISATION NETWORK Zoe Mounsey, FENZ Noreen Krusel, AFAC Adair Forbes, EMV Annette Balmer, SEMC-WA Barry Howard, FENZ Cheryl Steer, FRNSW Claire Cooper, EMV Darren Crawford, DEW-SA (NPWS) David Foot, ACT-ESA David Groer, Airservices Deb Sparkes, AFAC Des Hosie, FENZ Diana MacMullin, SA-SES Eric Claussen, NSW-NPWS Geoff Kaandorp, MFB-VIC Greg Christopher, EMV Heather Stuart, NSW-SES Holly Foster, EMV Jackson Bell, VIC-SES Jim Dittmar, Airservices Jim Henry, NSW-NPWS Joanne Dyson, IGEM-QLD John Gilbert, CFA-VIC Julie Wyner, FRNSW Lisa Jackson, EMV Loriana Bethune, BNHCRC Mark Cuthbert, AMSA Mark Thomason, SA-CFS Meg Lowe, QFES Melissa Matthews, AIDR Michael Bourne, CFA-VIC Michael Shapland, IGEM-QLD Michael Carroll, QFES Mike Wouters, DEW-SA (NPWS) Nathalie St. Martin, SEMC-WA Nicole Wakelin, EMV Noreen Krusel, AFAC Peter Murdoch, DFES-WA Robin Marlin, SA-CFS Sarah Rooke, QFES Stephen Glassock, NSWRFS Stuart French, CFA-VIC Tracy Smith, DFES-WA

Troy Davies, QFES

61

Financial highlights

AFAC

64

Annual Report 2019 – 20

Financial Highlights

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS AFAC has reported a total surplus for the financial year ended 30 June 2020 of $298,782 compared to a surplus last year of $499,862. Turnover has increased by approximately 85 per cent from $40.0M in 2018–19 to $76.0M in the reporting period. The increase has been driven by two key factors: additional funding for aerial firefighting activities and the cost and recovery of international deployments from the USA and Canada to support firefighting activities over the summer.

In our opinion, the financial report of Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council Ltd is in accordance with the Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission Act 2012, including: a.

Through the National Resource Sharing Centre (NRSC), AFAC has successfully coordinated the deployment of over 600 personnel from the US and Canada to assist Australian jurisdictions with the bushfires over the fire season. 2019–20 was the first year the NRSC has coordinated the deployment of international personnel to Australia. The income and expenditure related to the deployment have been recognised in the 2019–20 financial year accounts.

giving a true and fair view of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council Ltd financial position as at 30 June 2020 and of its performance for the year ended on that date; and

b.

complying with Australian Accounting Standards (including the Australian Accounting Interpretations) and the Australian Charities and Not for Profits Commission Regulation 2013.

AUDITOR’S OPINION

The National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) received the following additional Commonwealth funding during the reporting period: ˃

$11.0M to assist with the management and distribution of the National Aircraft Fleet.

˃

$20.0M to allow leasing of four VLAT/LAT aircraft to assist with the bushfires that occurred during the fire season.

JOHN S CREFFIELD 28 August, 2020

A successful AFAC19 Conference was conducted at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. AFAC19 was the fourth conference delivered under the AFAC Conference Pty Ltd partnership and attracted over 4,061 attendees, which is the largest AFAC conference in its history.

The Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) successfully carried out its contract deliverables during the 2019–20 financial year. The continuation of the national volunteer scholarship program and the conducting of the first phase of the state-wide Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Operational Leadership and Crisis Management Masterclass contributed an additional $1.0M to AIDR’s turnover for the year.

Over 700 individuals have been recognised as registered/ certified practitioners through the Emergency Management Professionalisation Scheme (EMPS).

65

Annual Report 2019 – 20

AFAC

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE Statement of Financial Performance for the year ended 30 June 2020

2020 ($)

2019 ($)

76,158,557

16,141,586

NAFC aircraft disbursements

- 42,496,821

- 24,382,675

International deployment expenses

- 23,567,312

- 6,928,828

Salaries and related expenses

- 4,958,240

- 4,773,421

IT and communication expenses

- 460,498

- 386,991

Travel and meeting expenses

- 413,806

- 429,720

Occupancy expenses

- 578,452

- 579,929

Consultancy and management fees

- 283,574

- 460,495

Research utilisation expenses

- 273,391

- 323,772

Centre of excellence expenses

- 88,313

- 128,316

Media and promotional expenses

- 79,983

- 59,715

Legal expenses

- 58,940

- 17,418

Predictive services expenses

-40,958

- 85,341

- 2,559,487

- 1,732,872

298,782

499,862

-

-

298,782

499,862

Revenue

Other expenses Surplus for the year

OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME Net fair value loss on investments Total comprehensive income for the year

66

Financial Highlights topic

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION Statement of Financial Position for the year ended 30 June 2020

CURRENT ASSETS

2020 ($)

2019 ($)

59,531,850

44,057,667

3,967,997

1,425,004

63,499,847

45,482,671

1,094,790

1,129,268

280,329

0

1,375,119

1,129,268

64,874,966

46,611,939

43,715,917

26,747,898

Revenue in advance

6,003,476

4,558,873

Special project funding

5,880,944

6,597,130

Operating lease liability

256,926

0

Total current liabilities

55,857,263

37,903,901

Others

753,045

742,162

Total non-current liabilities

753,045

742,162

56,610,308

38,646,063

8,264,658

7,965,876

Cash and debtors Others Total current assets

NON-CURRENT ASSETS IT, office equipment and leasehold improvement Operating lease right-of-use asset Total non-current assets Total assets

CURRENT LIABILITIES Trade creditors

NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES

Total liabilities Net equity

67

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