In this first report to the AAG in 2012 I am happy to advise that the Institute continues to deliver its quality education products to practitioners, policy and decision makers from around Australia. One of AEMI’s core objectives is to enable consistency of practice and building of strong organisational and personal networks and to this end, our activity report (see below) shows just how diverse our alumni is, coming from all jurisdictions, across agencies and more and more from areas of critical infrastructure and private enterprise.
The Institute continues to be responsible for key initiatives supporting the COAG
National Strategy for Disaster Resilience (NSDR). In particular, we have supported and developed the NSDR Communication Strategy, coordinated the development of the new Emergency Management Volunteer Action Plan, and coordinated the development of a proposal to address the COAG tasking to propose a National
Centre of Excellence for Disaster Resilience
The last six months has flown by, with a significant increase in requests for us to deliver customised education, both at the Institute and in various parts of the country. In seeking to meet this increasing demand for our expertise and products we remain conscious of the need to ensure our core education offerings are maintained. Additionally, our support to volunteers and local government participants continues to be a high priority.
A particularly significant event was the Emergency Management Reflections and
Vision workshop in April 2012. Held to honour and say an official farewell to one of our most respected members of staff, Michael Tarrant, this workshop brought together many significant players in the Emergency management sector. This workshop provided an exceptional opportunity to reflect and look to the future with input from trusted colleagues, under Chatham House rules. Given the success of this forum, I am proposing that we schedule this type of event at least every two years.
It has been a busy six months and I want to thank all the team at the Institute, for their hard work, commitment and good will.
Below is a summary of: activities, revenue generation, progress against the business plan and key bodies of work; upcoming events as well as significant and key projects in which AEMI has been involved over the last seven months. The report concludes with key challenges ahead.
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Student and Course Activity Report
From 1 November to 31 May, 1618 participants have attended 70 activities conducted by AEMI. Activities include Units of Study from version 8 of the
Advanced Diploma in Emergency Management, professional development (such as: Organisational Resilience) workshop and forums (such as: Emergency
Management 2012: Reflections and Revisions) and other emergency management related activities (such as: Australian Safer Community Awards and Health &
Human Services Seminar).
The two charts below represent a break-down of participants across the Sectors and Jurisdictions respectively.
‘Local Government’ and ‘Volunteers’ represent 30 percent of AEMI’s client base.
Importantly both sectors are currently subsidised and do not pay fees to attend professional education at AEMI. Additionally, AEMI further supports the
Volunteer sector by absorbing air-travel expenditure.
The table below provides a comparative analysis between reporting periods and it is pleasing to see that the level of activity is on parity since I last reported.
Period
1 July – 31 Oct
No.
Months
4
Participants Avg per month
917 229.25
Activities Avg per month
46 11.5
1 Nov – 31 May
1 July – 31 May
7
11
1618
2535
231.14
230.45
75
121
10.7
11.0
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A recommendation from the ‘AEMI Way Forward’ strategy was the implementation of a user-pay system. Fees were introduced in January 2010 for all clients with the exception of Local Government and Volunteers.
Volunteers subscribing to AEMI’s courses have been on the increase since the introduction of the fees. To ensure fee paying participants are guaranteed a place on AEMI’s courses, in future, volunteer attendance will take the shape of a fully subsidised scholarship program and AEMI proposes to make available a percentage of places on courses for the emergency management segment of this sector.
At the meeting in June 2011, the Board decided to continue the current moratorium on the introduction of fees for Local Government to attend AEMI courses until a review could be conducted.
AEMI has developed a scalable reinvestment program that allows revenue to be reinvested in AEMI curriculum development, community awareness and education programs or infrastructure and the rollout of other subsidised scholarship programs such as the proposed Volunteers Scholarship Program.
Reinvestment Program
 Marketing and Branding: An ongoing key initiative of the investment plan is the marketing and branding for the Institute and its products and services. Activities include: o Allocation of a full resource focussed on messaging and keeping key sectors and networks informed, undertaking lead management and providing support to business development opportunities o Consistent branding of AEMI publications and marketing material o Development of an AEMI prospectus.
 Refurbishment: The Institute has undergone a minor face-lift giving it a fresh and more contemporary look. Works include internal and external painting, replacement of furniture and fittings in the dining and lounge area and also in the Knox Knight Hall.
 Volunteer Leadership Program and Volunteers: This program was previously supported by NEMP funding but is now and will continue to be fully offset against revenue generation. In the past 11 months two courses have been conducted at AEMI with 46 participants attending.
Additionally, 34 volunteers have attended Units of Studies as part of the
Advanced Diploma in Emergency Management (Version 8).
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 Subsidised programs: Education programs that support our shared strategy of building Disaster Resilience have been provided at considerably subsidised rates. This has included both jurisdictional and residential delivery.
 Local Government: Local Government continue to attend AEMI’s courses at no charge. In the past 11 months, 680 (circa) participants, from this sector, have attended an activity coordinated through AEMI.
Knowledge Hub
The proposed Australian Emergency Management Knowledge Hub is a key concept to implement the knowledge aspects of the NSDR 2011. AEMI has a NEMP
2010/11 funded project to implement phase one, which will see a new national on-line resource. AEMI is a logical base for the Hub as it builds on the Australian
Emergency Management Library service and it is closely aligned to national Centre of Excellence objectives for the Institute.
This AAG Agenda has a separate item on this topic for further information.
Community of Practice, Contemporary Research and Collaboration
AEMI continues to both provide and participate in key workshops and forums, as outlined in the later sections: (1) Significant Events; and (2) Presentations and
Publications. Some elements of this work, as highlighted in the previous paper, A
Comprehensive Approach to an Engaged Emergency Management Community, are progressing more slowly than desired. The combination of an increase in requests for bespoke program design, jurisdictional delivery and capacity constraints have largely been the contributing factors. The above activities have, nonetheless, provided stronger interaction and collaboration in some states and territories. It is envisaged that the adjunct researcher program, as well as university engagement and collaboration will both see increased activity in the near future, as illustrated in the Upcoming Events section.
AEMI intends to launch an Occasional Series, formalising the existing report structure for workshops and forums where appropriate. Key among this series will be the publication of recent forums, namely:
 Engaged and Resilient Communities
 Connect EM
 Emergency Management 2102: Reflections and Visions
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Nationally Recognised Training and Professional Education Programs
Version 8 of the Advanced Diploma in Public Safety (Emergency Management) commenced in October 2011 and the last stage of this new curriculum is to be completed and delivered by 12 June 2012. The curriculum has seen extensive revision in line with the new package and the key role played by AEMI education in promulgating the NSDR, including re-alignment of teaching/ learning content and materials.
School Education Programs
School Education Programs are a vital element in the national response to the
NSDR. AEMI develops programs and resources on behalf of the Department, including, recently, the new DisasterMapper online product, launched by the former Attorney-General and a new Before the Storm app game, launched by the current Attorney-General and Minister for Emergency Management, Hon Nicola
Roxon MP.
This AAG Agenda has a separate item on this topic for further information.
Publications
Publishing is a very important element of the AEMI Centre of Excellence work.
Key publication achievements since the last AAG meeting include:
Publishing two new doctrinal Handbooks (see separate AAG Agenda item on Handbooks)
Daily e-publishing, including Minister and SCPECM outputs, on the national emergency management website www.em.gov.au
Publishing the Australian Journal of Emergency Management (AJEM) o November 2011 edition of introduced by NEMC CESc Chair, Scott
Tilyard, o February 2012 edition with a special Social Media theme and a
Foreword by AGD Secretary (and Co-Chair of NEMC) Roger Wilkins
AO o April 2012 edition with a special legal theme and a Foreword by incoming Editor-in-Chief, Warwick Finn
Initiatives that support community disaster resilience building
Resilient Australia Awards
The Australian Safer Communities Awards have been transitioned to the Resilient
Australia Awards commencing this year, 2012. The Awards recognise innovative practices and achievements across the nation that are making our communities more resilient and better prepared to manage any emergency situation. The new branding and judging criteria reflect the changes to further align the awards to the
NSDR.
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Entries close 6 July 2012 for state and territory judging (WA closes 8 June 2012).
Finalists and entries from federal agencies, or projects of national significance are then judged at the national level culminating in a national ceremony to be held at the Australian
War Memorial on 6 December 2012. The Minister for
Emergency Management will present the awards.
Learning Management System (LMS)
A procurement process to acquire a LMS for AEMI and the Protective Security
Training Centre (PSTC) is close to finalised. The LMS is an important business improvement that will allow for the development of new education products and flexible delivery options to clients. It is consistent with AEMI’s charter as a Centre of Excellence for knowledge and skills development in the emergency management sector. Enhanced education through technology aligns with the
Department’s strategic priority for an all hazards approach to national security and the strategic goal for continuous business improvement.
A preferred vendor has been identified and contractual arrangements are in the final stages. The LMS is Moodle-based and importantly integrates with VETtrak – the training management system used at both sites. The LMS will be functioning in early July 2012.
Initially, the LMS will provide a centralised portal for students to access precourse reading, assessment activities and other resources. The next phase will see work on a revised learning strategy and the development of e-learning content to augment and complement the current directly facilitated education and training at both AEMI and PSTC. In addition to facilitating the move toward blended learning, the LMS will provide administrative efficiencies around enrolment and assessment processes.
National Centre of Excellence for Disaster Resilience
A Centre of Excellence Working Group was established and discussion papers considering role, function, model, partnerships, establishment, funding and governance for a National Disaster Resilience Centre of Excellence have been developed. The working group last met on 4 May 2012 to consider a number of models.
No jurisdiction has indicated any funding is available for any of the possible Centre of Excellence models. Pragmatically, the working group considered the current work of AEMI fulfils a numbers of components of the COAG tasking, with the exception of the in depth research elements:
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o conduct research on specific priority risks across Australia o research longer term consequences of catastrophic disasters and benchmark Australia’s capacity and capability to address recovery needs; and o Undertake research into behavioural change and empowering people to act differently to determine what works and how government can better support this.
The Working Group suggests that AEMI is well placed to address the other elements of the COAG tasking in alignment with the NSDR and its already articulated Centre of Excellence aims. If a dedicated research entity is established,
AEMI is in a good position to partner and work together with such an entity to provide a strategically aligned, continuous loop of research, policy development, implementation through doctrine and education, review and new research topic identification.
National Strategy for Disaster Resilience (NSDR) Implementation Priorities
As AEMI has secretariat responsibility for NEMC’s Community Engagement Sub-
Committee (CESC), it has considerable involvement in supporting the delivery of the following key tasks:
 Communications Strategy for the NSDR 2011–2012: At the SCPEM meeting in November 2011, the Communications Strategy and associated
Communications Plan were endorsed and the Ministers resolved to refer back to NEMC for the development of an Implementation Plan, including consideration of resource implications. This task is being undertaken through the NEMC Community Engagement Sub-Committee (CESC).
The draft Implementation Plan was presented to NEMC at the 25 May, 2012 meeting (copies of this document will be tabled at the AAG meeting if possible, following NEMC consideration on 25 May 2012). It describes a scalable, phased approach; with four categories of projects which give effect to the communication of the NSDR. These categories are: o Category 1: Work already underway o Category 2: Small-scale activities o Category 3: Medium scale, medium-term activities, and o Category 4: Large-scale, long-term activities.
A visual identity concept to support the communication of the NSDR was endorsed by NEMC at the 21 February, 2012 meeting. An application for standard Trade Mark has been lodged with IP Australia and brand guidelines have been developed to support the consistent application of the
Disaster Resilient Australia logo brand (copies of this document will be
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tabled at the AAG meeting if possible, following NEMC consideration on 25
May 2012).
 Community Engagement Framework: The COAG endorsed
Implementation Plan for the NSDR includes as a priority item, the development of a Community Engagement Framework, to assist people to understand risks and use the information in making decisions. This task is also being undertaken through the CESC.
A working group has been established to continue the development of this framework, comprising: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South
Australia and the CESC Secretariat. CESC has asked the working group to take particular account of the Australian Emergency Management Manual
45, Guidelines for the Development of Community Education, Awareness &
Engagement Programs which provides some guidance in the area. It is anticipated that the working group will provide strategic direction to the updating of this manual as a vehicle for distribution of an agreed, nationally consistent community engagement framework.
The Community Engagement Framework will initially be presented to
NEMC in September ahead of the Ministers’ meeting in November 2012.
 National Emergency Management Volunteer Action Plan (NEMVAP)
The CESC was tasked to review the National Action Plan for the Attraction,
Support and Retention of Emergency Management Volunteers (NEMVAP,
2009) to ensure its consistency with the NSDR and consider ways to ensure its implementation.
This review comprised two strategies:
1.
A stock take of actions completed or proposed by jurisdictions to implement priority actions identified in the NEMVAP (2009), and
2.
The drafting of a revised NEMVAP (2012) for consultation.
The stock take document: Summary of Achievements – stock take against
priority actions identified in the NEMVAP (2009) and the revised NEMVAP
(2012) will be presented at the NEMC meeting in May with the proposal that they are released by the Ministers at the SCPEM meeting in November
2012.
Copies of the proposed NEMVAP (2012) will be tabled at the AAG meeting if possible, following NEMC consideration on 25 May, 2012.
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National security knowledge and lessons management * denotes international collaboration
On 14–17 November 2011, AEMI co-hosted and facilitated, with the Counter
Terrorism Capability Development Branch, a major workshop to both collate lessons learned from recent events and to build a common approach to the management of lessons across all hazards.
The Workshop was conducted in two parts: Program A: Identified Lessons
Learned to identify emerging issues, and Program: Knowledge and Lessons
Management to develop a common approach in sharing lessons identified.
This workshop was attended by all jurisdictions and included representatives from New Zealand. The US (FEMA) joined via a Skype hook-up. The workshop was very successful with a report detailing the findings distributed via the NCTC and
NEMC.
Deliberative democracy in disaster recovery: improving participation for sustainable outcomes
On 18 November 2011, AEMI co-hosted a workshop with the Centre for
Citizenship and Public Policy, University of Western Sydney and Green Cross
Australia on Deliberative Democracy in Disaster Recovery.
This workshop explored the potential for deliberative democracy to create better and more sustainable communities post-disaster events. Deliberative planning involves disaster-impacted communities deliberating about their future options for reconstruction, rather than simply rebuilding in accordance with existing processes and planning structures. It explored the ‘betterment’ concept and how it might build 21st Century resilience to climate change.
The workshop used deliberative processes, including pre-workshop online discussions to model how this technique can improve decision-making and participation. Participants came from a range of government departments and non-government organisations.
Multi-national community resilience working group * denotes International collaboration
In October 2009, Australia was part of a six country working group that convened in London, England around issues relating to resilience. The core focus of that group revolved around coordinating countries’ respective research efforts in the area of resilience. An outcome of the meeting was an expression of interest from the countries to also look at and exchange information pertaining to developing
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resilience policy. This group has since convened meetings in the United States and
Sweden.
While in Sweden in November, Ayesha Perry (Attorney-General’s Department) and Mark Duckworth (Department of Premier and Cabinet, Victoria) both expressed interest in having Australia host a similar event. This event also gives us the opportunity to broaden the scope of our international policy dialogue to include other Pacific Rim nations.
On 15 December 2011, AEMI, in partnership with the Department of Premier and
Cabinet, Victoria, co-ordinated the Multi-National Community Resilience Working-
Group. This workshop brought together around 50 participants from 15 countries to discuss issues and opportunities for collaboration in building community resilience. The workshop began in Melbourne on the 12th December and finished with a discussion relating to Australia’s National Strategy for Disaster Resilience, in Canberra on the 15th December.
Evacuation workshop
This workshop was held on 13–14 December 2011 at AEMI, Mt Macedon. The purpose was to start a national discussion around the issues of evacuation and associated areas of concern. This was an initial workshop to develop a consensus on issues in evacuation to be taken forward for a larger workshop in 2012.
The workshop objectives were to identify contemporary issues around the five stages of the evacuation process (decision to evacuate; warning; withdrawal; shelter and return); identify current research in the field; identify awareness, education and capability development requirements to address identified issues and consider possible publications; professional development and public awareness materials to address those needs.
The workshop was attended by 12 people with representation from each jurisdiction.
Visit by Royal Thai Air Force Delegation * denotes International collaboration
On 31 January 2012, a delegation from the Royal Thai Air Force including Air Vice
Marshal Anirut Kittirat, Chief of Civil Affairs Directorate and six officers who have experience in dealing with disasters in Thailand, attended AEMI to gather further knowledge about AEMI and emergency management in Australia generally, with a view to the possibility of an education exchange program with AEMI.
In particular, they were interested in disaster risk management, the operation of disaster relief centres and the PPRR model, in the hope that they could improve their capacity to deal with disasters.
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During their visit, the delegation met staff at morning tea, sat in on a session of the
Facilitate Emergency Planning program, toured the Institute and met with AEMI’s
Executive Staff.
Majors PTI training
Majors PTI is a short, accurate measurement tool for assessing personality type. It is a way of accessing a person’s four-letter type code by guiding their selfexamination into how they direct their energy, take in information, make decisions, and orient themselves to their environment.
As a part of AEMI’s Volunteer Leaders Program (VLP) and Volunteer Leadership
Development Program (VLDP), facilitators for the VLDP were offered the opportunity to participate in a three-day Masters PTI training program to provide them with accreditation as a Masters PTI facilitator.
The intent of the VLDP is to allow jurisdictions to develop their own expertise and resources to deliver the VLP, and the Majors PTI training offered jurisdictions an opportunity to build capacity.
The three-day program took place during 8–10 February 2012 with six jurisdictional participants and two AEMI staff undergoing the training.
Civil-Military Interaction Workshop 2012: Advancing Civil–Military
Effectiveness * denotes International collaboration
From 4 to 9 March 2012, AEMI hosted the Asia Pacific Civil Military Centre of
Excellence 2012 conference. Fifty-two delegates from 18 countries (Sri Lanka,
Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Tonga,
East Timor, African Union, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Malaysia, China, Brunei, UAE), as well as representatives from the Australian Government and Australian Defence
Forces, came together for three days at Mt Macedon.
The three-day program featured a range of Australian and international speakers.
The aim of the workshop was to build more effective civil–military–police engagement to help prevent, prepare for and respond more effectively to international crises through mutual knowledge and understanding.
Women and Emergencies Forum: International Women’s Day 2012
On 8 March 2012, Raelene Thompson was on a Panel of presenters at the Women and Emergencies Forum organised by the Victorian Department of Health and
Human Services, Emergency Management Branch, Women’s Health Goulburn
North East, Victorian Government’s Office of Women’s Policy and Red Cross.
The aim of this forum was to learn about, discuss and elevate planning for how we can better understand and address the unique impacts of emergencies on women.
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Participants included policy makers, planners and academics from local, state, national and international agencies.
Identifying the Hidden Disaster: The First Australian Conference on Natural
Disasters and Family Violence
On 9 March, Louise Mitchell and Heather Crawley represented AEMI at the conference in the workshop session “Emergency Management: Planning ahead to reduce gender violence in disasters”. The workshop session enabled collaborative understanding and a bridging of sectors – the Health sector and the emergency management sector. Introductions and relationships were formed with Elaine
Enarson from the University of Denver, USA and founding member of the Gender and Disaster Network and the US-based Gender and Disaster Resilience Alliance, who was a keynote speaker at the conference and facilitator of this workshop session.
Regional and Remote Volunteer Leadership Development Program, Albury
This four-day professional development program was offered on 15–19 March
2012, for the first time, in a regional area. The course was facilitated by trained
AEMVF-affiliated volunteer leaders who were able to provide the requisite knowledge for participants to lead within their own organisations.
At no cost to participants, the program covered aspects of effective leadership including: exploring the differences between leadership and management; the use of appropriate leadership strategies in an organisational setting; personality type indicators; effective people management; effective self management; emotional intelligence; crisis communication; leading change in the volunteer sector and contemporary issues facing the EM sector.
Twenty volunteer leaders from a wide range of agencies and jurisdictions attended the program.
Supporting School Children after Disaster
On 21 March 2012, AEMI hosted a special presentation by Michelle Williams, a
2010 Churchill Fellow and recipient of the Nancy Fairfax scholarship. In 2011,
Michelle travelled to Israel and the USA to observe strategies developed for use with children who have been exposed to potentially traumatic events and to speak with experts in the field.
Michelle Williams presented to a small but appreciative audience of local government and school educators on strategies which schools and teachers can use to support children who have experienced emergencies and disasters.
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Evacuation Management Working Group Meeting
AEMI is currently revising the Australian Handbook on Evacuation Management.
On March 22–23 2012, 12 industry experts plus AEMI staff participated in a twoday writing workshop to scope the revision for the Handbook.
This writing workshop was a follow-on from the Evacuation Planning Workshop held in 2011, and brought together some of the same participants to utilise the findings from that workshop to inform the revision of the Handbook.
Jurisdictional and agency representatives worked in small groups to work through each chapter of the Evacuation Management Handbook and produced drafts of the new chapters. Currently the draft chapters are being released for comment and the new Handbook will be available by the end of 2012.
AGD Strategic Plan 2012–15: Cross-Department Focus Group Facilitation,
Canberra 2012. Michele Kane, Assistant Secretary, Corporate Planning
Project
An AEMI education facilitator ran six focus group sessions over three days from 27 to 29 March in Canberra to work through the AGD Strategic Plan 2012–2015. The intention was to work with a range of invited and volunteer staff from the AGD to understand whether the draft strategic plan and its eight strategic priorities provided a consistent and meaningful view of the department’s work and priorities for the coming three years. Significant areas of work were classified within the strategic priorities and gaps in the plan were identified.
The sessions were designed to ensure active involvement of all participants regardless of employment level, the collection of meaningful input to the process, and to ensure that staff views were canvassed and included.
ALIES Workshop, 3–5 April 2012 * denotes International collaboration
The year 2012 is recognised as the national ‘Year of Reading’, so the theme for the
ALIES workshop was ‘Reading between the lines’. The ALIES network enhances whole-of-government coordination therefore a broad range of organisations participated.
Among other exemplary presentations, a feature of this event was Tim Costello whose session entitled Life, Death and Libraries highlighted the role of technology in empowering people, especially through humanitarian efforts to encourage advocacy and disaster relief.
The ALIES awards dinner was held on 3 April 2012. Chris Jenkinson was presented with the Outstanding Service Award. This award recognises an individual within the ALIES network who has made a significant contribution to
ALIES or an outstanding professional contribution to the information needs of the
Emergency Management Sector. In her previous role as library manager, Chris
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played an instrumental role in re-establishing ALIES Workshops at the Institute.
Exam Board
On 20 April 2012, AEMI Education staff participated in an Institute Exam Board.
The purpose of the Exam Board is to provide a more coordinated and effective approach to supporting student progression and retention within qualifications, and as a quality assurance mechanism.
The Exam Board meets three times a year to validate student results and allows staff to track students who may be experiencing difficulties. It also allows staff to moderate and expedite the process of assessment and feedback to students.
Emergency Management 2012: Reflections and Visions * denotes
International collaboration
The Emergency Management 2012: Reflections and Visions workshop brought together seasoned practitioners and researchers in the EM space to reflect on the current issues which face the emergency management industry in Australia, with a particular emphasis on the changing role of the Institute in nurturing and developing emergency management theory and practice in Australia.
From 23 to 24 April, participants from all jurisdictions and industry sectors came to Mt Macedon to spend a day and half sharing knowledge and insight.
Issues covered by speakers included such aspects of emergency management as policy, education and training, resilience, disaster health, organisational resilience, risk and leadership.
At a formal dinner on the evening of the 23 rd , Roger Jones, former Director of the
Institute, shared his reflections on the historical role of the Institute.
Planning Institute of Australia (PIA) National Congress 2012: Planning for a
Sunburnt Country
AEMI has a nine-year relationship with the PIA. In 2012, AEMI was a principal partner for the Congress, as well as sponsoring the ‘Young Planner of the Year
Award’. At the 2012 Congress on 29 April–2 May. Raelene Thompson, Executive
Director, AEMI, presented the 2012 Award at the Gala Dinner.
Raelene Thompson gave a keynote address to the Congress on 1 May, as well as presenting a session called ‘Planning for a Disaster Resilient Australia’. Neil Head,
Director, Community Awareness and Education, presented on the NSDR.
Both presentations were very well received. A focus of the presentations was the work AEMI is doing in the area of planning, particularly the nationally-accredited course in Risk Based Land Use Planning.
As well as presentations, AEMI maintained a presence through a booth which was well attended over the four days of the Congress.
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Indonesian Disaster Management Agency * denotes International collaboration
The Australian Co-Director of the Australia–Indonesia Facility for Disaster
Reduction (AIFDR), Dr Matt Hayne, is hosted a visit of the Indonesia Disaster
Management Agency (BNPB) to Canberra on 15–16 May. The two dignitaries travelling with him were Bapak Fatchul Hadi, BNPB Secretary-General, and Bapak
Wisnu Wijaya, Head of BNPB Training and Education Unit and AIFDR Indonesian
Co-Director.
The BNPB is now undertaking scoping for the design of a national disaster management centre near Jakarta. The new centre will be made up of an emergency management training centre as well as emergency operations centre.
On 17 May 2012, AEMI was delighted to host the delegation for the morning, giving the BNPB an opportunity to learn more about Australia’s emergency management structure and help inform the development of the Indonesian emergency management training centre.
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AEMI staff have presented at a number of key conferences, in addition to some conference attendance. A presence at these conferences is a key strategy from our marketing plan and reiterates ‘AEMI as a Centre of Excellence’ messaging.
Additionally, it provides ongoing professional development for our staff and is a key element of Excellence in Collaboration (see AAG Agenda item). Below is a list of key activities:
 Thompson, Carolyn, 6 February 2012, Presentation at La Trobe University to the Board of the Australian Universities Community Engagement
Alliance (AUCEA), now known as Engagement Australia, on possible collaboration.
 Thompson, Carolyn, 12–14 March 2012, APCO Conference: The Future of
Public Safety Communications: What does it look like? Carolyn conducted a half day workshop entitled: Building resilience for the next crisis on the
horizon... This half-day professional development workshop explored the nature of new leadership in an individual’s context to allow a deeper understanding of the psychological and physiological environment in which crisis leader’s work. In addition, AEMI hosted a booth which was well attended throughout the conference.
 Howard, Greg, attended Exercise Primus on 13 March 2012, that was conducted at Cleveland in Queensland by the Department of Transport
Main Roads. Greg’s role included observations of the assessors conducting the exercise as well as providing comment on the engagement of the participants and exercise management team. The exercise assessed the risk management plans of multiple ferry companies. This was part of a planned approach of engagement with private businesses and government agencies to enhance interoperability within an all-hazards approach to possible acts of terrorism. The organisations involved in these exercises are classed as
Security Identified Surface Transport Operations (SISTO’s) that are declared under the Transport Security (Counter Terrorism) Act 2008.
 Beard, Katrina, 4 April 2012, presented ‘Re-reading Emergency
Management’ at the ALIES Workshop 2012 held at AEMI. The workshop challenged participants to consider the idea that emergency management is a post-modernist endeavour because of its frequently ambiguous and fragmented nature.
Participants were then asked to deconstruct three ‘hidden’ aspects of emergency management: the role of narrative in transmitting knowledge; the role of organisational culture in resisting change and the role of sense-
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making in creating crisis decisions and consider ways in which libraries might be able to step outside their usual paradigms to build capacity to support or improve these aspects of emergency management.
 Males, Jason, 24 April 2012, attended the first meeting of the Macedon
Ranges Municipal Emergency Planning Committee, assisting them as a nonparticipant advisor, in putting together a multi-agency exercise, planned to be conducted in October. Meetings are on a monthly basis and the initial exercise will centre on major flooding.
 Thompson, Raelene, 1 May 2012, presented a keynote speech on the
National Strategy for Disaster Resilience, Planning Institute of Australia
National Congress 2012, (see Significant Events in this document).
 Scott, Cameron, 1 May 2012, presented ‘Emergency Management and
Terrorism’ at Exercise Cerberus, an NCTCfunded discussion exercise focused on crisis communications and hosted by the Victorian Department of Transport .
No articles were published in the time period December 2011–May 2012.
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The Education, Research and Training section key staff changes include:
 As previously indicated, Mr Mike Tarrant formally retired from AEMI after
25 years employment. Mike continues to provide service to both AEMI and the EM community through consultancy arrangements.
New appointments:
 Ms Deanna Davy was appointed in an APS6 position. Deanna recently submitted her PhD to examiners. The PhD is from the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Sydney. The title is: A study of the effectiveness of transnational advocacy networks in campaigning: The
campaign against child sex trafficking in the Mekong Subregion. This work will provide useful frames for our recovery programs.
 Mr Cameron Scott successfully attained a promotion from APS6 to EL1
 Ms Sophie Dixon has joined AEMI from our sister branch based in Canberra.
Secondment Program:
 Mr Greg Howard will complete a very successful secondment program at the end of June. Greg joined AEMI in July 2011 from the South Australian
Metropolitan Fire Service. AEMI would like to acknowledge the proactivity of South Australia in encouraging and supporting this secondment and through this, contributing to the NSDR. Acknowledgment must also go to the Minister for Emergency Services in South Australia for supporting the
Australian Government through this action.
We hope to be able to announce the next stage of the secondment program shortly, as negotiations are well underway.
The Community Awareness and Education section key staff changes include:
 The very significant retirement of Assistant Director Community
Awareness, Chris Jenkinson, after many years of service to AEMI and the
APS. Claire Green is currently acting in this capacity.
 The multi-faceted role as National Awards Convenor/AJEM Contract
Manager/Handbooks Coordinator changed from Cate Moore, after a number of years of service, to Mark Hilgert, who was previously acting as the Divisional Executive Officer.
 Ellen Vernon, with an AGD Strategic Communications background, has recently joined us to provide temporary support for our NEMC Community
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Engagement Subcommittee work on the National Community Engagement
Framework.
Risk Based Land Use Planning
This unit of study was recently re-accredited as a national unit, following broad consultation with land use planning and emergency management experts.
Particular thanks go to Dr Alan March of the University of Melbourne, a regular presenter on this course.
Engagement Australia (Formerly known as Australian Universities
Community Engagement Alliance (AUCEA)) Conference - Next Steps:
Community Engaged Learning 9–11 July 2012
The Attorney-General’s Department will present the Keynote address on July 10, focussing on key messages within the NSDR. Carolyn Thompson will participate in a panel discussion on: International and National Perspectives on Community
Engaged Learning: Challenges and Benefits .
Work-in-progress
There are several significant items of work-in-progress, with more specific details to be finalised. This work includes:
 Managing Corporate Crises, September 2012: This activity sits within
AEMI’s Risk and Governance discipline and dovetails into the organisational resilience work undertaken to date. It builds upon the relationship we have with the respected international expert in crisis management and leadership, Peter Power. Peter is a member of the UK’s national crisis response team, Cobra. Cobra was convened and advised the
UK government on management of the London Riots when they became a national crisis. Critical infrastructure, the food sector, government agencies, health providers and emergency services are ideal target groups.
 David Beirmann from University Technology, Sydney and the Attorney-
General’s Department through Carolyn Thompson, hope to convene the next iteration of a program partially sponsored by the United Nations
World Tourism Organisation on the Integration of EM and Tourism. The proposed timeframe is September 2012. This follows the jointly convened
(UNWTO, UTS, AEMI, University of Bournemouth and, Department of
Resources, Energy and Tourism), Review meeting on the Integration of
Tourism and Emergency Management, previously held at AEMI, 22–23
September 2011.
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 Working with Communities in Conflict: Master Class, November 2012.
Following on from the successful master-class conducted by Stephanie Roy
McCallum (Dialogue Partners Inc, Canada) at AEMI on the 27–28 October
2011, AEMI are proposing to develop a master class in this area for mid to senior level managers within agencies who play an active role in response.
It is envisaged that this masterclass will be held in November 2012 and is currently in the modelling stage.
 AEMI is proud to be working in collaboration with the Government of
Western Australia, Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA) and the
Attorney-General’s Department Social Inclusion Division on the design, development and delivery of a WA Remote and Indigenous Communities
Volunteer Leadership Program. This program is still in the early stages of design and development, with no launch date at this time.
 Defence Program: In January 2011, the Department of Defence entered into an agreement with AEMI to provide an education product for international students, referred to as panel members by Defence. The chief business objective for Defence International Policy Division (IPD) is humanitarian assistance and disaster relief participation in South East Asia and IPD’s recruitment prioritises this objective. The synergy with AEMI’s remit is strong.
The initial proposal, agreed between Defence and AEMI, was a Graduate
Certificate in Emergency Management, with the intention being that the
Australian Command and Staff College (ACSC) accredit the qualification. At the time of this agreement, this approach seemed feasible. Following some changes within the Australian education environment, mainly due to changes introduced following the formation in July 2011 of the Tertiary
Education and Quality Standards Agency (TEQSA), the conditions for registration at ACSC, through seeking TEQSA registration have altered. This has meant that the proposed qualification is no longer suitable, and an alternative program is currently being negotiated.
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Economic and Financial Climate
It is still uncertain to what extent the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) will impact upon enrolment and participation in AEMI activities. Key to the NSDR is the implementation of initiatives that reduce risk and prevent the impacts of disasters.
AEMI continues to develop and deliver cutting edge and contemporary education and research that contributes to this initiative.
What will be challenging for us all in the new financial year is the reduction in budgets at all levels of Government and how we ensure that the professional development of our sector is not compromised as a result of these cuts. The current strategy to broaden the market base for AEMI activities will ideally limit any possible impacts.
My team at AEMI has been much focussed on providing education products to the sector that present real value for money, build capability and provide national consistency and will continue to do so in the tough financial year ahead.
Longer term, I think we need to collectively work together to identify and propose an ongoing funding source for jurisdictions, that ensures all sectors have access to
AEMI’s education and research programs.
Centre of Excellence
In summary, AEMI continues towards its Centre of Excellence modelling as indicated by the broad range of awareness, engagement and collaboration activities.
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