Municipal Emergency Management Plan
City of Stonnington
Part A3 - Response
A3. Response
A3.1 Context
Response management brings together the resources of many agencies and individuals who can take
appropriate and timely action. Response management is based on three key management tasks – command,
control and coordination.
A3.2 Command, Control and Coordination
Command
Command of operational personnel of the various authorities and organisations involved is vested in the
command structure of that particular authority or organisation and will remain exclusively with that body.
The term ‘chain of command’ refers to the organisational hierarchy of an agency and identifies people or
positions with accountability.
Control
Control of emergency operations will at all times remain the responsibility of the Municipal Emergency
Management Plan Agency, or Organisation, directly responsible for controlling the particular type of emergency.
The Controlling Agency is to appoint an Incident Controller who will control the operation. A comprehensive list
of Control and Support Agencies and their roles can be found in Part C2 - Control and Support Agencies.
Coordination
The main function of the Emergency Response Coordinator is to coordinate the provision of resources as
requested by the Control and Support Agencies. The Emergency Management Act identifies that
Emergency Response Coordinators at State, Regional, Municipal and Field level will always be Police
Members. Their role wherever possible should be separate from operational Police activities.
A3.3 Response Arrangements
A3.3.1 Roles
The roles of the key emergency management personnel listed below are defined in Part B2 of this plan:

Municipal Emergency Response Coordinator (MERC)
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Municipal Emergency Resource Officer (MERO)
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Municipal Recovery Manager (MRM)

Municipal Fire Prevention Officer (MFPO)
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MEMPC Executive Officer
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Field Emergency Response Coordinator (FERC)
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Regional Emergency Response Coordinator (RERC)
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Regional Emergency Management Inspector (REMI)

Regional Recovery Coordinator

Municipal Communications Manager (MCM)
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Municipal Public Health Officer (MPHO)
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Municipal Medical Health Officer
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Emergency Relief Centre Manager

Animal Welfare Officer

MECC Manager
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Municipal Emergency Management Plan
City of Stonnington
Part A3 - Response
A3.3.2 Evacuation
Evacuation is the planned relocation of persons from dangerous or potentially dangerous areas to safer areas
and eventual return.
Evacuation may be undertaken by individuals, families and households on their own volition and independent of
advice, or it may be after an assessment of information provided by a Control Agency. The Metropolitan Fire
Brigade Act 1958 gives fire fighters and police power to request the evacuation of people from buildings on fire.
Evacuations may be pre-warned or immediate depending on the circumstances.
The decision to recommend evacuation is made by the Incident Controller. Victoria Police is responsible for the
coordination of evacuation in consultation with the Control Agency Consideration must be given to the area
which is to be evacuated, the route to be followed, the means of transport and the location to which evacuees
will be asked to attend.
The Incident Controller/Control Agency delivers the warning or recommendation to those affected of impending
evacuation.
The Victoria Police Evacuation Manager is responsible for managing the withdrawal from the affected area and
for coordinating shelter of evacuated people. Depending on the circumstances evacuated people may be
directed to an emergency relief centre. Council is responsible for managing the relief centre. (EMMV 2012, 836)
The Victoria Police Evacuation Manager is responsible for coordinating the return of evacuated people upon
advice of the Control Agency that it is safe to return.
Once the decision to evacuate has been made, the City of Stonnington MERO should be contacted to assist in
the implementation of the evacuation. The City of Stonnington will provide advice regarding the most suitable
Emergency Relief Centre, potential staging areas or assembly points and other resources that may be required
(eg. public health, emergency relief considerations or requirements and special needs groups).
Assistance in an evacuation may also be provided by private transport operators in the supply of buses and
where required ambulance buses.
Evacuation plans for specialised services in the municipality such as hospitals, schools, rooming houses, high
rise sites and shopping centres are the responsibility of the site managers. Due to the large number of these
facilities within Stonnington the plans are not held by Council. These sites however have been identified on
Council’s vulnerable persons and agencies database, known as VULCAN. This database is a Geographic
Information System (GIS) data set that represents the locations of vulnerable people and facilities in the
municipality. VULCAN is maintained in the Council’s GIS. VULCAN has restricted access, limited to GIS staff,
and the MEROs and MRMs.
A3.4 Municipal Emergency Coordination Centre (MECC)
The MECC will coordinate the provision of human and material resources within the municipality, during
emergencies. It will also maintain an overall view of the operational activities within this Plan's area of
responsibility, for record, planning and debrief purposes. The MECC may also become operational during
support operations to a neighbouring municipality. Administrative staff for the MECC will be drawn from
municipal employees.
Provision of MECC functions may in the first instance be conducted from an appropriate Police Station. The
MERC may request activation of an identified MECC if required.
An agreed set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for use in the MECC is detailed in Part C3 – MECC
Standard Operating Procedures of this plan. These SOPs detail the location of the primary and alternate
MECCs.
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Municipal Emergency Management Plan
City of Stonnington
Part A3 - Response
A3.5 Operations Centre
The centre established by an agency for the command / control functions within their own agency. The City
of Stonnington may establish an operations centre, if necessary, to control its own resources in an
emergency.
A3.6 Resources
A3.6.1 Management of Resources
Resources owned or directly controlled by Council will be used to supplement those of the control and support
agencies. As the needs and effects of the emergency escalate, or outstrip the resources available locally
resources may be requested from the region, state, interstate, Commonwealth or internationally.
The Fleet Maintenance Coordinator of the City of Stonnington has responsibility for transport and engineering
matters and a Technical Resources Sub Plan has been developed. The purpose of these arrangements is to
identify available transport and engineering resources within the municipality. This will include specialist and
technical advice and deployment of those resources. Refer to the Technical Resources Sub Plan in Part C5 –
Special Plans and Arrangements, and Part A1 Contact Directory.
Requesting Procedure
All requests for transport and engineering resources should be directed to the Municipal Emergency Response
Coordinator, who will request them through the MERO.
Municipal resources should be used in the first instance, prior to engaging private contractors.
Supplementary resources will be requested via the MERC where the resource cannot be obtained locally.
Responsibility for the management of resources shall rest with the MERO.
All such requests should be logged in MECC Central, regardless of whether the MECC has been opened or not.
The MERO is responsible for maintaining a resource database and contact details.
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Municipal Emergency Management Plan
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Part A3 - Response
Flow Chart for Resource Supplementation (EMMV 2012, Page 3-34)
A3.6.2 Financial Considerations
Financial accounting for Municipal resources utilised in emergencies must be authorised by the MERO or the
MRM and shall be in accordance with the normal financial arrangements of the City of Stonnington.
Control agencies are responsible for all costs involved in that agency responding to an emergency.
Government agencies supporting the Control Agency are expected to defray all costs from their normal
budgets.
Depending on the magnitude of the emergency some government financial assistance may be available for
prevention, response and recovery activities.
The City of Stonnington is accountable for any monies donated to an emergency event where Council has
established the appeal and will implement systems to receive and account for all such donations. Other appeals
may be commenced and managed at a State or Commonwealth level.
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Municipal Emergency Management Plan
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Part A3 - Response
A3.6.3 Compensation of Volunteers
Compensation for all Volunteer Emergency Workers will be as laid down in Part 6 of the Emergency
Management Act, 1986. It is the responsibility of the organisation utilising the Volunteer Emergency Workers to
ensure that all of the Volunteer Emergency Workers are registered.
A3.6.4 Cross Boundary Events
Emergency events may cross municipal boundaries, requiring response and recovery activities from two or
more local governments. Victoria Police is the emergency response coordinator and will request the MERO
to contact neighbouring MEROs when resources are required from outside the municipality. DHS is the
coordinating agency for emergency recovery at a regional or state level and will work in collaboration with
the Councils who have local responsibility.
A3.6.5 Resource Sharing Protocols
Most incidents are of local concern and can be coordinated from local Municipal resources. However, when
local resources are exhausted, the Emergency Management Act 1986 provides for further resources to be
made available, firstly, from neighbouring Municipalities (on a Regional basis) and then, secondly, on a State
wide basis.
The City of Stonnington is a signatory to the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) Protocol for Inter-Council
Emergency Management Resource Sharing.
A3.7 Response – Recovery Transition
A3.7.1 Response to Recovery Hand Over
Emergency Relief and Recovery functions are detailed in Part A4 of this plan.
It is essential to ensure a smooth transition from the response phase to the recovery process, in any emergency
at municipal level. While it is recognised that recovery activities will have commenced shortly after impact, there
will be a cessation of response activities and a hand over to recovery agencies. This will occur when the MERC
in conjunction with the Control Agency declares ‘Stand Down’ of response. The early notification of recovery
agencies involved in the emergency will ensure a smooth transition of on-going activities from response to
recovery.
Accounts and financial commitments made during the response phase are the responsibility of the MERO
through the MEMP arrangements.
Termination of Response Activities and Hand-Over of Goods/Facilities
When response activities are nearing completion the MERC in conjunction with the Control Agency will call
together relevant relief and recovery agencies including the MERO and the MRM, to consult and agree on the
timing and process of the response stand down.
In some circumstances, it may be appropriate for certain facilities and goods obtained under MEMP
arrangements during response to be utilised in recovery activities. In these situations there will be a hand over of
facilities and goods to the MRM. The hand over will occur after agreement has been reached between response
and recovery managers and following the handover of Rapid Impact Assessment data and clean-up project
status reports. For further information refer to the Annex A - Transition Agreement below.
Payment for goods and services used in the Recovery process is the responsibility of the MRM, in consultation
with the MERO, through the MEMP arrangements.
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Municipal Emergency Management Plan
City of Stonnington
Part A3 - Response
Annex A – An agreement for transition of coordination
arrangements from response to recovery
Effective Date for Transition Agreement – xx – xx - xxxx
For the impacted municipality/s as follows:
[INSERT LIST OF IMPACTED MUNICIPALITY/S]
Control and coordination for the [INSERT NAME OF EMERGENCY] have been handed over from
the Control Agency and the Emergency Response Coordinator to:
[INSERT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THREE OPTIONS]
[Impacted municipality/s] OR
[Regional Recovery Coordinator, and impacted municipality/s] OR
[State Recovery Coordinator, Regional Recovery Coordinator, and impacted municipality/s]
Endorsed by:
Local (if applicable)
Control Agency
Incident Controller
Regional/Divisional
Control Agency
State
Control Agency
Victoria Police
Victoria Police
Victoria Police
Municipal
Emergency Divisional
Emergency State Emergency
Response Coordinator
Response Coordinator
Officer
Local Government
Municipal Recovery Manager
1.
Department
Services
Regional
Coordinator
of
Response
Human Department
of
Human
Services
Recovery State Recovery Coordinator
Introduction
The purpose of this document is to assist emergency management agencies involved in response
and recovery to achieve a seamless transition of information, resources, management and
coordination of activities.
The scope of the transition agreement arrangements includes:
 Authorisation arrangements;
 Coordination and management arrangements;
 Transition activities and tasks to ensure continuity of essential community support;
 Information and communication arrangements.
A schedule of transition actions required is at Attachment 1.
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Municipal Emergency Management Plan
City of Stonnington
Part A3 - Response
1. Description of the event
A description of the event is at Attachment 2.
2. Authority
This transition agreement is endorsed by the following agencies in consultation with the local
government areas affected, and reflects the state, regional and local levels of interest in
emergency response and recovery:




Victoria Police delegated Emergency Response Coordinator;
Control Agency;
Department of Human Services State/Regional Recovery Coordinator;
Impacted Municipalities
This is pursuant to the roles and responsibilities detailed in the Emergency Management Act
(1986) and the Emergency Management Manual Victoria.
3. Coordination and management arrangements for transition from response to recovery
The decisions relating to the timing of the transition of response to recovery coordination, and
whether recovery coordination will be transitioned to local and/or state government), will be
impacted by a number of key considerations, including:
 The nature of the hazard/threat and whether there is a risk of a recurring threat.
 The extent of impact on communities, as this may determine if a prolonged transition
period needs to be implemented.
 The extent of and known level of loss and damage associated with the incident.
 The considerations for the extent of emergency relief required by affected communities.
 The considerations for the resources required to be stood up for effective recovery
arrangements.
The Incident Controller, the Emergency Response Coordinator and Emergency Recovery
Coordinator (State and/or Regional/Local Government – Municipal Emergency Resource
Officer/Municipal Recovery Manager) will determine the transition structure and handover
requirement to fully establish the Recovery Coordination arrangements. In a prolonged campaign
incident, a transition period will be established to allow sufficient time for briefing, resource
planning and implementation of immediate recovery services.
ICC, MECC
established
ICC, MECC
close
Response
RC
Transition
RC
activated
coordinate
recovery
process
Recovery
DHS E OC
activated
Transition
Community
Briefings
Community Briefings (Preparation) led
by the Control Agency/LGA
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Community Briefings (response) led by
the Control Agency
Community Briefings (Recovery) led
by the LGA / DHS
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Municipal Emergency Management Plan
City of Stonnington
Part A3 - Response
4. The Transition Agreement involves specific activities of a short-term nature as recovery
coordination requirements evolve and become fully established.
The key tasks under this agreement include:




Continuity of emergency relief requirements, if required.
Identifying resources required to support immediate community recovery requirements
including public health and safety.
Coordination of essential cleanup operations.
Initial Impact Assessments1 in the affected communities.
Conclusion of response implies the cessation of the responsibilities of Victoria Police as response
co-ordinators. However, during the initial phase of recovery coordination, and on request of the
Recovery Coordinator, the Victoria Police and other response agencies will continue to support
recovery activities to affected communities.
Response and recovery agencies will work cooperatively during the period of transition and
provide each other with appropriate support. Co-ordination responsibility is passed to the
Department of Human Services as the recovery co-ordination agency at the State and Regional
level, while Local Government has management responsibility at the municipal level.
5. Transition Activities and Tasks
The following activities and tasks should be undertaken during transition:
 Notification of the Transition Agreement to response and recovery agencies;
 A briefing report for the Recovery Coordinator from the Incident Controller;
 Handover of the immediate media coordination arrangements from the Control Agency
to the Recovery Coordination Agency
 Identification of resources for transfer from response to recovery for continuity or
services, including logistics and supply contracts;
 Provision of initial impact assessment data/information and the status of clean-up
projects by the control agency;
 Implementation/development of a model for ongoing recovery coordination operations,
including identification of additional agencies required for service delivery
 Identification/notification of the hazard/threat and OH&S issues for recovery interests;
 Development of a communication strategy, notifying key stakeholders of the coordination
changes for the ongoing management of the incident, including community interests –
authorised by Incident Controller, Response Coordinator and Recovery Coordinator;
 Ongoing management of relief centres and establishment of recovery centres with key
contact information by Local Government
 Consideration to implement of initial outreach programs to enable more accurate
assessments of impacts and determination of appropriate recovery activities
6. Information Management/Communication
Information is the primary tool to assist individuals to make informed choices about their safety and
to take responsibility for their own recovery.
A communications strategy is required to maintain timely, accurate and relevant information for the
community, agencies and government. The following communication methods apply during
emergency response and should be continued during recovery to meet community needs:
 Community information meetings to be scheduled as needed and also include key
recovery representatives.
 Regular incident status updating, and linkages of agency and department public Internet
pages. Note that www.recovery.vic.gov.au is the State’s single recovery website and will
be updated for public recovery information.
 Provision of a Victorian Emergency Recovery Information Line 1300 799 232
1
As obtained by reference to Initial Impact Assessment Guidelines December 2012
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Municipal Emergency Management Plan
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City of Stonnington
Part A3 - Response
ABC radio metropolitan and regional radio reports.
Media releases on services available via media outlets, electronic and paper.
Community newsletters.
Coordinated community and business sector outreach programs.
During an emergency, community information sessions are convened by the Control Agency.
They provide information about the risk and consequences of the hazard to the community.
Local government attends these meetings to provide information about recovery services
that may be required.
On request of the Recovery Coordinator, the Control Agency will continue to attend meetings
post the impact/response phase. This will be jointly convened with the relevant local
government representative. DHS will provide support and assistance as required, including
specialist information on family, public and community health.
Emergency management agencies have an important role to play in community engagement.
This includes providing the opportunity within information sessions for the affected
community to share their experiences and to have these acknowledged. Community
information sessions also provide an opportunity to start identifying issues that may require
additional advice or clarification as part of the recovery process.
Attachments:
1.
2.
Schedule of Transition Arrangements
Description of Event
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Municipal Emergency Management Plan
City of Stonnington
Part A3 - Response
Attachment 1
Schedule of Transition Arrangements
The following schedule of transition activities is to be utilised as applicable for the
following impacted municipalities:
Key considerations for Transition:
 Potential impacts
 The integration of recovery activities
 The provision of initial impact information via the Incident Control Agency and Incident
Management Teams
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
12
13
14
Key Actions – Incident Control Agency
Note: The following actions may occur concurrently:
Incident Control Agency to identify the timing of transition
relative to the continuing threat and the role of the Incident
Management Team. This may occur as a phased transition
program across the impacted districts/LGAs dependent on
timing of impacts and continued threat.
Recognition of the continuing role of the Incident Control
Agency in the management of the control of threats and
mitigation works.
A briefing report for the Municipal Recovery Manager and the
Regional Recovery Coordinator from the Incident Control
Agency.
Establish a transition for community information arrangements
from the Incident Control Agency, with community support and
recovery input from the affected LGAs and DHS for community
interests.
Identification of resources required from response to recovery
for continuity or services, including logistics and supply
contracts.
Provision of rapid loss and damage impact data/information
report, and the status of clean-up projects by control agency,
including the coordination of information from DPI, DSE and
LGA.
Hazard/threat identification/notification and recovery OH&S
issues.
Development of a communication strategy notifying key
stakeholders of the coordination changes for the ongoing
management of the incident, including community interests, in
conjunction with the Response Coordinator, Recovery
Coordinator and other affected Municipalities.
Key Actions – Response Coordination Agency
Briefing from the MERC to DHS Regional Recovery
Coordinator and the MRM (joint briefing see item 3). Briefing to
include ongoing MECC requirements.
Key Actions – Recovery Coordination Agency
Implementation/development of a model for ongoing recovery
coordination operations, including identification of additional
agencies required for service delivery; including DPI, DSE, and
LGA.
Integration of recovery issues into existing STATE
arrangements, where applicable.
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Lead
Agency
Confirmation
process
Handover
report
Briefing
Verbal Briefing
Report
VICPOL
Verbal Briefing
DHS
Via Recovery
Planning
Arrangements
DHS
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Municipal Emergency Management Plan
15
16
15
17
18
19
20
Consolidation of Rapid Impact Assessment Form to a single
Detailed Rapid Impact Assessment Summary for the Region
Needs assessment and distribution of Personal Hardship
Assistance Payments
Key Actions – Municipalities
Identification of transition issues for MECC, ICCs, Incident
Control Agency, Municipal Emergency Response Coordinator,
Municipal Recovery Manager and Regional Recovery
Coordinator.
Analysis of rapid impact loss & damage information, validation
with municipal records/data base and provision of a
consolidated report
Ongoing management of relief centres and establishment of
recovery coordination centres with key contact information by
Local Government
Establishment of community based recovery processes as per
Municipal Emergency Management Plan
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City of Stonnington
Part A3 - Response
DHS
DHS
City
of Verbal Briefing
Stonning
ton
City
of
Stonning
ton
City
of
Stonning
ton
City
of
Stonning
ton
Report to DHS
Region
Via recovery
planning
arrangements
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