Amendment Control

The Local Disaster Management Plan is a controlled document which is not to be altered other than those amendments endorsed by the Local Disaster Management Group (LDMG). The plan is intended to be a live document; all suggested amendments or additions to this plan should be forwarded to:

Service Manager Disaster Management
Redland City Council
P.O. Box 21
Cleveland Qld 4163
or email: disaster@redland.qld.gov.au

Requirements for Review

Pursuant to Section 58 and 59 of the Disaster Management Act 2003 the Local Disaster Management Plan must be consistent with the Queensland Disaster Management Standards and Disaster Management Guidelines. Redland City Council must review the effectiveness of the plan at least once a year. In addition, RCC may review, or renew, the plan when considered appropriate to do so.

Distribution and Availability

The controlled copy of this plan is held by the Disaster Management Unit, Redland City Council. A link to the Disaster Management website will be provided to the Redland City LDMG.

Pursuant to Section 60 of the Act, the plan is available to the public to view on this website or, if you do not have access to Council’s website you can view at Council’s Customer Service Centres or Libraries.

Alternatively, copies can be obtained from Council’s Customer Service Centres/ on payment of the appropriate fee (in accordance with Council’s current Register of Fees).

Authority to Plan

The Redland City Local Disaster Management Plan (the plan) has been prepared and issued under the authority of the Local Disaster Management Group in accordance with the requirements of the Disaster Management Act 2003 (the Act), to provide for effective disaster management in the local government area. Redland City Council (RCC) is committed to ensuring that this plan and its associated documents and procedures comply with the provisions of Section 57(2) of the Act.

In accordance with Section 58 of the Act, the Redland City Local Disaster Management Plan is consistent with the disaster management standards and disaster management guideline and complies with:

1. Queensland, Prevention, Preparedness, Response and Recovery Disaster Management Guidelines (January 2018)
2. The Emergency Management Assurance Framework (2019)
3. Disaster Management Regulation 2014

The plan is approved by the Redland LDMG and endorsed by Redland City Council.

Purpose and Objectives

The purpose of this plan is to detail arrangements that minimise and mitigate, where possible, the impact of a disaster or major emergency affecting the communities of Redland City. The primary focus of this plan is to ensure the safety and welfare of the Redlands community as well as other people who may visit the city.

The objective of the plan is to provide a comprehensive framework for the implementation of effective disaster management strategies and arrangements within Redland City. This is achieved by:

• Outlining operations for effective disaster management across the four phases of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery
• Describing the disaster management structure for the Redland City LDMG, the member organisations and their roles and responsibilities
• Identifying the networks established for the coordination of multi-agency responses
• Acknowledging the likely effects of identified threats to the community, infrastructure and the environment in the area
• Planning for those specific threats, including guidelines and standard operating procedures for the operation of the plan
• Providing information to build community resilience and better assist the community in preparing for, responding to and recovering from disaster events.

Queensland’s Disaster Management Arrangements (QDMA)

QDMA is based on a tiered system of committees at local government, disaster district, and state government levels and recognises that the Commonwealth Government may be requested to provide support to the state. During a disaster, local government provides initial support to the affected community until its resources are fully committed. Additional support from the State, and ultimately the Commonwealth is then requested if needed. Further information is available here.

In accordance with Section 4A(c) of the Disaster Management Act 2003, Local Government underpins the QDMA as the frontline of disaster management and has primary responsibility for managing events in their local government area. RCC is ideally suited to manage disaster events at the community level, based on its understanding of local social, environmental and economic issues; and knowledge of the city’s infrastructure.

RCC adopts the following five approaches of the Queensland State Disaster Management Plan which support and build on the integrated approach adopted by the Australian Emergency Management Arrangements:

• A comprehensive approach
• An all hazards approach
• An all agencies approach
• A local disaster management capability
• A prepared and resilient community

The Redland City Disaster Management Plan takes a flexible and scalable approach to disaster management which provides for the reduction of risk and the enhancement of community resilience whilst ensuring effective response and recovery capabilities.

Principles of Disaster Management

In accordance with Section 4A(a) of the Act, disaster management is planned across the following four phases:

Prevention

(i) The taking of preventative measures to reduce the likelihood of an event occurring or, if an event occurs, to reduce the severity of the event;

1. 1. 1. Identify hazards and assess the risks to the community and Council
      2. Implement measures to eliminate, mitigate or reduce potential loss to life or property and protect economic development.

Preparedness

(ii) The taking of preparatory measures to ensure that, if an event occurs, communities, resources and services are able to cope with the effects of the event;

1. 1. 1. Develop and maintain Local Disaster Management Plan
      2. Prepare disaster management operational plans and procedures
      3. Prepare to take action to minimise loss of life and damage
      4. Prepare to organise and facilitate effective rescue, relief and recovery in a disaster
      5. Educate and train Council staff
      6. Raise resilience in the community through:
         • Community education programs
         • Council’s website and social network sites
      7. Establish organisational structures to manage a disaster
      8. Develop procedures that will ensure the rapid mobilisation and deployment of its resources to prevent/mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from a disaster situation.

Response

(iii) The taking of appropriate measures to respond to an event, including action taken and measures planned in anticipation of, during, and immediately after an event to ensure that its effects are minimised and that persons affected by the event are given immediate relief and support;

1. 1. 1. Activate the Redland City Local Disaster Management Group (LDMG)
      2. Activate the Redland City Local Disaster Coordination Centre (LDCC)
      3. Assist with disaster response activities
      4. Assist with the provision of immediate relief for persons affected by the disaster
      5. Maintain liaison and communications with other agencies
      6. Ensure effective communication and engagement with the community.

Recovery

(iv) The taking of appropriate measures to recover from an event, including action taken to support disaster-affected communities in the reconstruction of infrastructure, the restoration of emotional, social, economic and physical wellbeing, and the restoration of the environment.

1. 1. 1. Maintain liaison and communications with other agencies
      2. Satisfy immediate, essential personal and community needs
      3. Coordinate the recovery of the community
      4. Coordinate the recovery of physical infrastructure (or to contribute to the infrastructure recovery function if that is being coordinated at Disaster District level)
      5. Coordinate activities with relevant Disaster District initiatives and plans
      6. Manage the process of restoring services to a normal level Participate in long-term recovery, reconstruction and rehabilitation
      7. Ensure effective community engagement occurs during the recovery stage.

Inspector-General Emergency Management (IGEM)

The role of Inspector-General Emergency Management (IGEM) was first established in 2013 following a review of police and community safety. The IGEM role was formalised as a statutory position in 2014. The functions of the Inspector-General Emergency Management and the Office of the Inspector-General Emergency Management are prescribed in Part 1A of the Disaster Management Act 2003.

The vision of IGEM is to be a catalyst for excellence in emergency management so as to enable confidence in Queensland’s emergency management arrangements. IGEM is responsible for providing the Premier, Government and people of Queensland an assurance of public safety, through the establishment and implementation of an assurance framework to direct, guide and focus work of all agencies, across all tiers of Government to the desired outcomes of the disaster and emergency management arrangements for Queensland.

Key accountabilities for the Office of the Inspector-General Emergency Management are:

• Reviewing and assessing the effectiveness of disaster management arrangements within Queensland
• Reviewing and assessing cooperation between entities responsible for disaster management in the State, including whether disaster management systems and procedures employed by those entities are compatible and consistent
• Establishing standards for disaster management, reviewing and assessing performance against these standards and regularly reviewing the standards
• Monitoring compliance by Queensland government departments with their disaster management responsibilities
• Identifying and improving disaster and emergency management capabilities, including volunteer capabilities and opportunities for cooperative partnerships
• Reporting to and advising the Minister of Police, Fire and Emergency Services about issues relating to these functions.

Emergency Management Assurance Framework

The Emergency Management Assurance Framework is a commitment by Queensland’s disaster management stakeholders to position Queensland as the most disaster resilient State in Australia.

First developed in 2014, the framework was reviewed and refreshed in 2019 with the participation and cooperation of practitioners, operators and experts from across the disaster management sector.

…The framework empowers front-line disaster management service providers. It has included the Standard for Disaster Management in Queensland (the Standard), which has defined the outcomes that we strive to achieve through policy, doctrine and practice. The past five years have also resulted in lessons about the Framework and Standard themselves. In keeping with the Office’s function to regularly review and assess disaster management standards, the Office has once again turned to the sector to ‘learn’ those lessons. The refreshed Framework provides the context for this continued pursuit of excellence. Iain MacKenzie, Former Inspector-General Emergency Management.