Departmental chief executives of the Western Australia Police, Department of Environment and Conservation and the Fire and Emergency Services Authority should be made personally responsible for the psychological health (as a result of critical incident trauma) of their staff and volunteers.

Housing should further develop its Head Contractor key performance indicators to include quality, cost and tenant satisfaction. Currently performance reporting is focused entirely on timeliness indicators.

Housing should use risk based analysis of its tenant and property information, job order data and quality assurance results to better inform target setting for KPIs, job order controls, and the sampling used for completed work inspections before and after payment.

Housing should ensure it has sound systems, processes and controls in place that minimise the opportunity for fraud and gives it the best chance of detecting it by:

The funding model for works on levees and their ongoing maintenance be revised, to be primarily based on the beneficiary pays principle. The state government should give consideration to wholly funding, or contributing to, the initial upgrade of high priority levees to an agreed standard.

The Victorian Government to implement the recommendations of the Victorian Floods Review in relation to the development and implementation of appropriate flood mitigation and protection strategies for essential services.

The revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy should clearly identify authorities and assign responsibilities for stream blockage and debris removal in waterways posing a high risk to public infrastructure both during and after a flood:

The state government give consideration to enacting legislation to provide protection from legal liability for public authorities conducting works on priority levees in good faith, acting reasonably and responsibly in the public interest, and in accordance with standards agreed to under approved

The state government review the current funding approach used for the operation, maintenance and upgrade of river gauges, with a view to improving the river gauge network.

The role of flood risk management planning rests with CMAs and Melbourne Water (under the Water Act 1989), and is a shared responsibility with local government. Shared responsibilities for flood risk management planning and implementation will be consistently reflected in government policy.

That statements of obligations, issued under the Water Industry Act 1994 for water authorities, be amended to include a provision whereby managing authorities must:

The state government should provide core, ongoing funding to the responsible authority for the FloodSafe community education program.

Within the jurisdiction of Melbourne Water, it shares with local councils the responsibility to manage local drainage systems as outlined under the Water Act 1989 and the Local Government Act 1989 respectively:

The state government accept recommendations 25 to 28, inclusive, of the Victorian Floods Review.

The state government implement the Victorian Floods Review recommendation 10 in relation to the datums used to describe river and stream heights.

A revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy is needed and should clearly articulate the principles, roles and responsibilities for the ownership, management and ongoing maintenance of Victoria’s levees.

Local knowledge on the management and ongoing maintenance of waterways, including vegetation clearing and debris removal, needs to be incorporated in the development of regional flood mitigation strategies and local flood plans. Specifically:

Flood studies will be undertaken to determine the flood extent on the basis of a greater than 1 in 100 ARI, where appropriate:
• The Water Act 1989 to be amended.

The state government should implement the recommendations of the Victorian Floods Review in relation to the creation of resilience committees and resilience plans, with responsible authorities.

A revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy should identify and assign roles and responsibilities for the management and ongoing maintenance of Victoria’s waterways, for the purposes of flood protection and flood mitigation:

The revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy should provide a strategic framework for the management and ongoing maintenance of Victoria’s levees.

The state government establish a well coordinated and formalised system for the reading of river gauges by local people, including flood wardens.

All priority public levees not currently the subject of approved schemes, will become subject to approved schemes under Division 5, Part 10 of the Water Act 1989. Such schemes will articulate an agreed set of terms, including:

Public authorities such as councils and CMAs should continue to seek local knowledge in relation to flood management issues. In particular, councils will collaborate with VICSES and other key stakeholders in reviewing the system of flood wardens.

The state government implement the Victorian Floods Review recommendation 8, to review the flood gauging network.

Where a levee has been identified as low priority, and beneficiaries are not willing to contribute to its maintenance, public authorities will inform levee beneficiaries that they will not fund the repair of their levee following a flood event.

Responsible authorities will identify low priority levees for potential removal, and have them removed when funding becomes available.

Streamlined processes to enable access to levees for the purposes of conducting works, including maintenance, must be implemented.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment will develop guidelines for streamlining the permitting system for conducting works on levees for incorporation in the revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy, in order for maintenance on all levees to occur more quickly.

A regular inspection and maintenance regime will be undertaken for all high priority levees managed by a public authority. All such levees will be inspected by the relevant public authority on an annual basis, and after a flood event. All levees will have a regular maintenance schedule.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment will develop guidelines for the management of levees in emergencies, during and after a flood event, which can be incorporated into local flood response plans.

The current technical guidelines for the construction of levee systems will be reviewed.

The revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy should clearly articulate the policy guidelines for the management of vegetation and debris in Victorian waterways, for the purposes of flood protection and mitigation, taking into account the localised potential flooding effects of in‐stream vegetat

That the Department of Sustainability and Environment continue to invest in the auditing of Victoria’s levee systems, both public and private, so that the Victoria Flood Database contains reliable and up to date data, including information on levees’ location, height, condition and ongoing viabil

The Department of Sustainability and Environment to review ownership of Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water’s Yarriambiack Creek levee, with a view to the appointment of a more suitable public managing authority/authorities.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment should develop guidelines for streamlining the permitting system for works on waterways for incorporation in the revised Victoria Flood Management Strategy.

In consultation with local communities, local councils will develop flood response plans as subplans to their current Municipal Emergency Management Plans.

The state government will work with Grampians Wimmera Mallee Water and stakeholders to determine ongoing ownership and associated responsibilities for redundant channel infrastructure in the Wimmera and the Mallee.

Where flood investigations show positive and cost effective outcomes, infrastructure providers, such as VicRoads, will consider enhancing their infrastructure to act as levees.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment will develop a code of practice on the removal of vegetation around critical public assets, in consultation with councils, CMAs and asset managers.

When developing flood mitigation options in lowland areas, local governments should give consideration to the use of temporary levees as an alternative or addition to permanent structures.

The Victorian Government should work with the New South Wales Government and the Murray Darling Basin Authority to establish an appropriate floodplain management committee and to develop a floodplain management strategy for the Murray River.

Significant modification of waterways in urban or rural areas will only be considered after the completion of a flood risk management process, undertaken in consultation with members of the community.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment will develop clear policy for the coordinated management of rural drainage, clarifying the legal framework, and identifying authorities with responsibility for the management and ongoing maintenance of formal schemes, and their development:

Efficient and effective supporting tools and processes: developing tools and workflows to quickly and reliably transform technical data into intelligence that can be used to construct messages for community information that are timely, relevant, tailored and effective.

Efficient and effective supporting tools and processes: streamlining the authorisation processes for urgent warnings.

Management of community expectations: better understanding of what different groups within a community expect.

Agency incident management preparedness: provide clarity and certainty in specific roles and responsibilities for each agency.

Management of community expectations: continued community education.

Agency incident management preparedness: refining IT tools to process the intelligence.

Management of community expectations: further development of tools that would allow the community to more easily
access accurate and time-critical information.

Agency incident management preparedness: a more comprehensive approach to planning, including the number of personnel, their training and better use of on-the-ground intelligence in the affected areas that enables immediate and strategic decision-making to be concurrent processes.

Efficient and effective supporting tools and processes: high-quality local/municipal planning.

Landfill operators must be encouraged to achieve greater compliance with the required outcomes relating to fire that are set out in the BPEM guidelines, particularly with regard to water supplies

Fire services can improve outcomes by seeking input to decisions about siting, design and fire water systems as part of the planning and licensing processes

Fire services can improve outcomes by implementing standard procedures that ensure the welfare and safety of crews and the public are not compromised

Regulators can help to achieve improved outcomes by acknowledging that changes to legislation and the BPEM guidelines may be required to help address the identified issues

Fire services can improve outcomes by working with EPA as the regulator and licensing authority to achieve improved compliance with the required outcomes specified in the BPEM guidelines

Fire services can improve outcomes by using a pre-planned response to provide appropriate resources

Regulators can help to achieve improved outcomes by involving fire services in the planning and licensing processes

Fire services can improve outcomes by initiating discussions with landfill operators about fire management planning and emphasising the critical importance of water supplies and early intervention

Regulators can help to achieve improved outcomes by considering the issues identified by this review

Fire services can improve outcomes by developing a checklist for use by incident controllers

Fire services can improve outcomes by implementing standard procedures that ensure the welfare and safety of crews and the public are not compromised

Regulators can help to achieve improved outcomes by auditing compliance with the BPEM guidelines on a regular basis

Councils should make their flood and overland flow maps and models available to applicants for development approvals, and to consultants engaged by applicants.

Brisbane City Council, Ipswich City Council and Somerset Regional Council and the Queensland Government should ensure that, as soon as practicable, a flood study of the Brisbane River catchment is completed in accordance with the process determined by them under recommendation 2.5 and 2.6.

If the Queensland Government does not include such a code in the model flood planning controls, councils should include in their planning schemes a flood overlay code that consolidates assessment criteria relating to flood.

Councils should consider implementing a property buy-back program in areas that are particularly vulnerable to regular flooding, as part of a broader floodplain management strategy, where possible obtaining funding from the Natural Disaster Resilience Program for this purpose.

The Queensland Government should make public the procedural guide used by Department of Environment and Resource Management officers to decide whether to grant an emergency direction.

The Queensland Government should work collaboratively with the Commonwealth Government and mine operators to ensure co-ordinated and effective monitoring of salts, metals and other contaminants in marine environments that may be affected by mine discharges.

The Department of Community Safety should put in place administrative arrangements which ensure it can readily ascertain whether its comments are being reflected in council planning schemes.

The Queensland Government should draft assessment criteria to be included in the model flood planning controls that require the impact of flood on commercial property to be minimised.

The proposed new part of the Queensland Development Code, Mandatory Part 3.5 ‘Construction of buildings in flood hazard areas’, should be amended so that the performance requirement relating to building design and construction (Performance Requirement P1) for building on a lot will only be trigge

SunWater and the Central Highlands Regional Council should determine the issues of ownership and responsibility for maintenance of the LN1 drain system in Emerald.

The fire service should ensure that station officers are familiar with the procedure for contacting management when requesting the calling in of additional staff; and, in particular, that they have available to them the names and current telephone numbers of the officers to be contacted in the fi

The Queensland Government should amend the Environmental Protection Act 1994 so as to permit an emergency direction to be given orally where it is not practicable to provide the direction in writing, with provision for its subsequent confirmation in writing

All councils should, resources allowing, map the overland flow paths of their urban areas.

Ipswich City Council should determine whether the results, models and maps produced by the Brisbane River flood study are sufficient for its floodplain management.

If the Queensland Government does not include such assessment criteria in model flood planning controls, councils should include assessment criteria in their planning schemes that require community infrastructure (including the types of community infrastructure which are identified in the Sustain

Toowoomba Regional Council should engage external consultants to carry out failure impact assessments on the detention basins along East Creek.

The Queensland Government should determine which of its agencies should take responsibility for the management of all existing and new abandoned mine sites in Queensland.

Seqwater should ensure that the Somerset Dam gallery is not susceptible to flooding during overtopping events.

The Queensland Government should ensure that the circumstances in which the Department of Community Safety is to consult the Department of Environment and Resource Management about a planning scheme’s flood modelling and flood mapping are clear.

The Queensland Government should ensure that the criteria under the Environmental Protection Act 1994 that apply to the assessment of development applications for material change of use for environmentally relevant activities include consideration of the risk of flooding at the site on which the

The proposed new part of the Queensland Development Code, Mandatory Part 3.5 ‘Construction of buildings in flood hazard areas’, should be amended so that the performance requirements about utilities and sanitary drains (Performance Requirement P2 and P3) for building on a lot will only be trigger

When a policy-holder makes a claim, the insurer should ascertain the policy-holder’s preferred method of contact and ensure that it is used (with other modes of communication if necessary) to keep the policyholder informed about the progress of the claim.

Emergency Management Queensland, in consultation with councils, should develop a directive that makes clear the authority of an officer of that agency to command a major SES operation.

Emergency Management Queensland should pursue the execution of the ‘Local Arrangements’ with councils where a Memorandum of Agreement is in place. The contents of the arrangements should be reviewed and updated regularly

Seqwater should consider engaging a technical writer to develop completely new manuals after the operational strategies for Wivenhoe, Somerset and North Pine dams are set by the Queensland Government.

A recent flood study should be available for use in floodplain management for every urban area in Queensland. Where no recent study exists, one should be initiated.

If the Queensland Government does not include such assessment criteria in the model flood planning controls, councils should include assessment criteria in their planning schemes that require the impact of flood on commercial property to be minimised.

Toowoomba Regional Council and the Department of Environment and Resource Management should continue to co-operate to assess the referable dam status of existing detention basins and any future detention basins constructed in the West Creek and East Creek catchment areas.

The Queensland Government should ensure that, when it considers options for the operational strategies to
be employed at Wivenhoe and Somerset dams, and North Pine Dam, it is presented with a wide range of

The Queensland Government should change Temporary State Planning Policy 2/11: Planning for stronger more resilient floodplains to remove the possibility of councils’ using the interim floodplain assessment overlay mapping and Model Code as part of a permanent amendment to their existing planning

The Department of Environment and Resource Management should amend its information sheet about applications for a material change of use for environmentally relevant activities so that applicants are prompted to include information (if any) about the risk of flooding at the site where the activit

The Queensland Government should consider amending the ‘Limitation’ section of the proposed new part of the Queensland Development Code, Mandatory Part 3.5 ‘Construction of buildings in flood hazard areas’, to allow for the possible application of ‘acceptable solution A1’ to a building located on

CS Energy and Seqwater should agree upon and adhere to a formal communication protocol that requires CS Energy personnel to advise Seqwater, through the Flood Operations Centre, of water movements between Splityard Creek Dam and Wivenhoe Dam or Pryde Creek once a flood event is declared under the

Insurers should review their existing systems and processes and implement any improvements necessary to ensure that accurate and complete records of conversations with policy-holders are made.

Emergency Management Queensland should ensure its staff, SES members and disaster managers are familiar with the directive when it is developed.