Emergency recovery
This page contains guidelines, plans and resources about emergency relief and recovery for people working in the health and community services sector.
State Emergency Relief and Recovery Plan
The State Emergency Relief and Recovery Plan is established under the Emergency Management Act 1986. The Act requires the Coordinator-in-Chief of Emergency Management (the Minister for Police and Emergency Services) to nominate a recovery coordination agency. The Department of Human Services is nominated as that agency.
The experiences from the February 2009 bushfires and the learnings from the Bushfire Royal Commission Final Report have contributed to a considerable amount of change in the field of emergency management.
That change is reflected in the revised State Emergency Relief and Recovery Plan which is published as Part 4 of the Emergency Management Manual Victoria (EMMV).
The revised plan represents the first phase in a three year program of reform in the way Victoria manages the relief and recovery from emergencies.
Major changes in the revised plan are:
- Recognising the transfer of responsibility for emergency relief from Victoria Police and Victoria SES to the Department of Human Services, supported by the Red Cross
- Aligning the management of relief and recovery with the National Principles of Recovery
- Describing relief and recovery concepts and a tiered approach to emergency relief and recovery
- Introducing the competency based role of Recovery Command. This role is appointed during an incident as a functional commander for recovery.
The resources listed in the EMMV Part 4 are available for download from our EMMV Part 4 Resource Kit page.
Emergency Relief Handbook
To support this State Emergency Relief and Recovery Plan we have published the Emergency Relief Handbook to inform a standard approach to emergency relief in Victoria.
- Rapid Impact Assessment
Our Rapid Impact Assessment page describes the lifecycle and activation arrangements for this process.
- Managing emotions in emergencies - working with affected people
Emergencies pose threats to people, their property and environment. They are associated with uncertainty about the threat and what will keep them safe. In dangerous situations, uncertainty becomes a threat in itself and results in affected people becoming highly emotional.
