Premier & Cabinet

Type:
Department of Premier and Cabinet Circular
Identifier:
C2011-35
Status:
Active

C2011-35 Whole-of-Government cooperation in recovery operations to assist communities in the wake of an emergency

Description

  • The State Emergency Recovery Controller is appointed by the Minister for Police and Emergency Services and is responsible for controlling the recovery from an 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 normal service delivery
    • assign recovery responsibility to personnel with the appropriate authority to guide the agencies’ recovery activities at the local/district level

Detailed Outline

Keypoints

  • The State Emergency Recovery Controller is appointed by the Minister for Police and Emergency Services and is responsible for controlling the recovery from an 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 normal 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 Police and Emergency Services and is responsible for controlling the recovery from an 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), which can be found at the Ministry for Police and Emergency Services’ website: www.mpes.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 rebuild, restore and rehabilitate the social, built, economic and natural environments of the affected community. The Committees guide 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.

Regional Managers may choose 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.

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.

Chris Eccles
Director General

 

Overview

Who needs to know and/or comply with this?

Departments
Executive agencies related to Departments
Separate agencies
Statutory Authorities/Bodies

Compliance

Not Mandatory

AR Details

Date Issued
Dec 22, 2011
Review Date
Dec 22, 2016
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