Premier & Cabinet

Type:
Department of Premier and Cabinet Circular
Identifier:
C2010-14
Status:
Archived

C2010-14 Whole-of-Government cooperation in recovery operations to assist communities in the wake of an emergency.

Detailed Outline

Keypoints

  • The State Emergency Recovery Controller is appointed by the Minister for Emergency Services and is responsible for controlling the recovery from the emergency in accordance with section 20B of the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989.
  • Government agencies involved in recovery operations are required to:
    • allocate appropriate staff resources to meet recovery responsibilities while maintaining service delivery
    • assign recovery responsibility to personnel with the appropriate authority to guide the agencies recovery activities at the local/district level

In March 2009 the NSW Government introduced new arrangements to improve and streamline the state’s disaster recovery practices. This included the creation of a statutory position of State Emergency Recovery Controller (SERCON) who is appointed by the Minister for Emergency Services and is responsible for controlling the recovery from the emergency in accordance with section 20B of the State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989.

Further detail in relation to the SERCON’s role and responsibilities is detailed in the NSW State Disaster Plan (DISPLAN) found at the Emergency Management NSW website: www.emergency.nsw.gov.au

A recovery operation aims, as far as possible, to assist the affected community to manage its own recovery, while recognising that there may be a need for external technical, physical and financial assistance.

A successful recovery operation relies on bringing all relevant parties together as soon as practicable after an emergency to identify the affected community’s needs and coordinate the necessary activities to respond to these needs. This is usually done through the establishment of a Local or District Recovery Committee, which includes local representatives of participating agencies (government and non government) who have the ability to provide specific services required in the recovery process.

Recovery Committees are the strategic decision making body for recovery. They provide visible and strong leadership and have a key role in restoring confidence to the community through assessing the consequences of the emergency and coordinating activities to rebuilding, restoring and rehabilitating the social, built, economic and natural environments of the affected community. The committee guides decisions about priorities, resource allocation and management.

While it is acknowledged that allocating personnel can be a strain on agencies, appropriate and committed staffing is essential to the success of any recovery operation. Agencies should ensure that personnel involved in the recovery process have the appropriate delegation to be able to guide the agency’s recovery activities at the Local/District level. It is also desirable to have a consistent presence on recovery committees to ensure the provision of seamless advice and guidance.

Chief Executives and other managers are required to ensure that agencies allocate appropriate staff resources to meet their recovery responsibilities, while maintaining normal service delivery.

The recent establishment of departmental clusters potentially provides managers with more flexibility in allocating staff resources to recovery operations. This may also allow Regional Managers to seek assistance from their superiors to facilitate additional resource support, from outside the region if necessary , to ensure that meeting their recovery responsibilities does not adversely impact on agency core business.

Chris Raper

A/Director General

Which agencies does this Circular apply to?
This Circular applies to all public sector agencies other than State Owned Corporations. This includes all agencies and employees in the Government Service (Public Service Departments, Non-Public Service Divisions and Special Employment Divisions), the Teaching Service, NSW Police and the NSW Health Service.

Who needs to know about this Circular?
For the attention of: All CEOs, Executives and Regional Managers of NSW Government agencies.

Further information
Further information: Alison Francis, Department of Premier and Cabinet, 8374 5134, [email protected]

Issued by
Security and Recovery Coordination Branch, Department of Premier and Cabinet
Contact
Alison Francis – 8374 5134 or [email protected]
Date
21 May 2010
 
This Circular has not superseded any Circular.

Overview

Compliance

Not Mandatory

AR Details

Date Issued
May 21, 2010
Review Date
Jun 13, 2024
Replaces
Replaced By

Contacts

Contact
Contact us
Phone
02 9228 5555
Publishing Entity
Department of Premier and Cabinet
Issuing Entity
Department of Premier and Cabinet