Emergency management

Councils play an important role in Victoria’s emergency management arrangements. They facilitate emergency management planning at the local level and are responsible for coordinating relief and recovery support for affected communities. They also have a long-established role in providing support to response agencies.

The MAV supports councils to undertake their roles and responsibilities through advocacy, guidance and practical assistance. We also represent local government on state-level committees and working groups.

Current priorities

We currently have a particular focus on defining the role of councils in emergency management, and are seeking to resolve long-standing funding issues including the natural disaster funding arrangements.

To support this work, we worked with the sector to develop an updated position paper on the role of councils in emergency management (PDF - 247KB) that was endorsed by the MAV Board in June 2022.

We will also continue to represent councils at the state level as the Victorian Government continues to reform the emergency management arrangements.

Our immediate priorities include working with State agencies and representing councils on the following projects.

The MAV has been working with councils to update the Local Government Emergency Management Handbook. Refreshed sections of the handbook will be progressively uploaded here as they become available.

Submissions, briefs and position papers

We develop and form a collective local government sector view on a range of emergency management topics. Our recent submissions include:

• MAV Submission to the Independent Review of Commonwealth Disaster Funding - Aug 2023 (PDF - 291.9KB)
• MAV Submission to the Parliamentary Inquiry into the 2022 Flood Event in Victoria - Jun 2023 (PDF - 416.5KB)
• MAV Submission to Inquiry into the Implications of Severe Weather Events on National Regional, Rural and Remote Roads - Feb 2023 (PDF - 346KB)
• MAV Submission to the Draft Guidelines for Inland Waterway Safety 2022 - Feb 2022 (PDF - 237KB)
• MAV Submission to the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements - Local Governments and Natural Disasters Issues Paper - Jun 2020 (PDF - 298KB)
• MAV Submission to IGEM Ten Years of Emergency Management Reform - Oct 2019 (Word - 330KB)
• MAV Submission - Vulnerable People and Emergencies Discussion Paper – Jan 2018 (PDF - 486KB)
• MAV Submission - Councils and Emergencies – Final Draft Position Paper – Oct 2017 (PDF - 995KB)
• MAV Submission – CFA Permits to Burn Discussion Paper – Jun 2017 (Word - 315KB)

To access all our emergency management-related submissions, visit the MAV submissions page.

Committees and reference groups

We represent local government on numerous high-level advisory and reference groups, including the:

• State Crisis and Resilience Council – Victoria’s peak crisis and emergency management advisory body
• Emergency Management Joint Public Information Committee
• EMV Planning Reform Interdepartmental Committee
• Municipal Emergency Management Enhancement Group
• State Emergency Management Team
• State Relief and Recovery Team
• State Fire Management Planning Committee
• Bushfire Risk Mitigation Committee.

We also convene committees and working groups as required, to help inform our work and build capacity within the sector, including the MAV Emergency Management Committee.

Resources

• You can access emergency management-related presentations from past events in our Members Only area
• We manage an online library of useful emergency management documents called the MAV Emergency Management e-Library. To subscribe to the e-Library, please email emergencymgt@mav.asn.au
• The protocol for inter-council resource sharing is intended to clarify operational, insurance and reimbursement issues that may arise through municipal resource-sharing arrangements. It has been used as the basis of council-to-council support during many emergencies over the last decade, and forms the basis of several regional or sub-regional support arrangements. More information, including a list of signatories, can be found here.
• We have developed an Emergency management guide for mayors and councillors (PDF - 295KB). It provides some basic information about the role of councils in emergency management and some advice on how mayors and councillors can engage with council officers, the emergency management sector and the community before, during and after emergencies. The MAV is also updating its emergency management guide for council CEOs.
• We have produced the Local government emergency management handbook (Word - 668KB) for council emergency management practitioners. Note: Sections of this handbook are out of date.
• Our gender and emergency management resources are helping to raise awareness and provide councils with practical advice on how gender and emergency management interact.
• The Emergency relief handbook - a planning guide 2013 is a practical resource to assist Victoria’s relief sector to incorporate best practice into local, regional and state emergency relief planning.
• We have developed guidance on registration at relief centres in the event of an emergency in collaboration with ARC, DFFH and ERV. This guidance covers registrations at relief centres, Personal Information Forms and Register.Find.Reunite Forms.

Other reports and guides

• Improving Emergency Management in Local Government (IEMLG) report 2014 (Word - 152KB) – summarises program activities and successes in improving local government's understanding of its emergency management role and increasing capability
• We developed a Financial Management of Emergencies Guide (Word - 139KB) to strengthen the ability of Victorian councils to manage their organisation’s financial sustainability during and following an emergency event within the municipality.

Further information

• Emergency management (Vic Councils)
• Gender and emergency management
• Municipal Emergency Management Enhancement Group (MEMEG)
• Protocol for inter-council resource sharing

Engage with us

Subscribe to our Emergency Management quarterly bulletin to keep informed about local government environment-related news and events.

For more information about our emergency management policy work, contact:

Emma Lake
Manager Climate Futures and Resilience
emergencymgt@mav.asn.au
(03) 9667 5532