AFAC - Annual Report 2012-2013
“promoting opportunities for interaction, thinking and the adoption of new knowledge across the emergency services sector.” AIPM Programs AFAC, in partnership with the Australian Institute of Police Management (AIPM), also holds a number of professional development courses: Volunteer Leaders Program targeted at current and emerging leaders of Volunteer Emergency Services and Associations, and consists of a 5 day residential program. Developing Future Leaders Program targeted at operational and non-operational personnel and volunteers recently appointed (or about to be appointed) to their first leadership position, and consists of a 5 day residential program. Executive Development Program targeted at senior personnel who will be responsible for providing future leadership and management for public safety organisations, and consists of a 7 month residential/distance education program. Executive Leadership Program targeted at public safety executives identified as having the potential to achieve the most senior positions within their organisations, and consists of a 12 month residential/distance education program.
Young Leaders in Emergency Management
Lessons Learned from the London Bombings of July 2005 The terrorist attacks on London’s public transport system on 7 July 2005 posed a number of unique problems for the emergency service agencies who responded on the day. In the years that followed, internal and external reviews, most notably the coronial inquest, considered the issues that had arisen and reached conclusions and recommendations about many aspects of the emergency response. AFAC, in partnership with Motorola Solutions, brought Gary Reason, Director of Operational Resilience and Training at the London Fire Brigade, UK, to Australia and New Zealand to present to members and representatives from other sectors, on the lessons learned from the London Bombings of July, 2005. Events were held across Australia and New Zealand, and were attended by more than 250 industry personnel. The London Fire Brigade played a pivotal role in the emergency response on 7 July 2005, and its performance operationally was subsequently a key focus of the many inquiries that followed. The last of these, the coronial inquest, reached its findings in May 2011. Gary Reason was the lead officer for the inquest, and presented on the lessons learned from the events themselves and the inquiries that followed. Proceedings from the event series, including video, are available on the AFAC website.
The Attorney-General’s Department, a secretariat of the Australian Emergency Management Volunteer Forum (AEMVF), with the support of AFAC, invited more than 50 young volunteers from across the country to participate in the Young Leaders in Emergency Management Forum from August 11 and 12, 2012 in Sydney. The aim of the forum was to specifically discuss the issue of recruitment and retention of volunteers in the emergency management sector, and to develop an action plan to support the engagement of young volunteers. The forum was in response to a summit hosted by the Attorney-General’s Department in 2011 in which it was identified that there is an on-going need to engage young people in emergency management volunteering in order to ensure success and sustainability into the future. Over the two days, a number of senior personnel from the sector, including representatives from the Australian Red Cross, AFAC, Surf Life Saving, NSW Rural Fire Service and various State Emergency Services, spoke with young members at the forum. Gary Reason, Director - Operational Resilience and Training, London Fire Brigade, UK.
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