A hazard is a source of potential harm. A hazard event is another term for emergency.

Some assurance activities examine system-wide risks that span across multiple hazard types, including reviews into the emergency management functions of sector organisations.

Examples of such assurance activities include the Review of 10 years of reform in Victoria’s emergency management sector and the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.

All links in the table below will open in a new window.
Publish year Assurance activity Summary Organisation
2019 Review of impact assessment and consequence management (External link) A system-wide review exploring the impact assessment and consequence management arrangements in the sector, and identifying opportunities to ensure the arrangements aligned with performance expectations, leading practice, and intended community outcomes based on observations and findings from emergency events in Victoria, including the 2018 South West fires. Inspector-General for Emergency Management
2019 Review of emergency management for high-risk Victorian communities (External link) A system-wide review examining the processes and tools the emergency management sector uses for identifying high-risk communities, the vulnerabilities in those communities and how the sector addresses these issues in their planning and response processes. Inspector-General for Emergency Management
2020 Victoria's Critical Infrastructure All Sectors Resilience Report 2019 (External link) An overview of the eight Victorian critical infrastructure sectors, detailing the most prominent emergency risks likely to disrupt their operation and summarises the resilience improvement initiatives conducted by the eight sectors. Emergency Management Victoria
2020 Community Resilience Strategy Year Three Outcomes Report (External link) A report presenting key highlights, activities and outcomes for VICSES from implementing the Strategy in 2018-2019 and the KPIs to measure achievement against the strategic objectives. The report is intended to support continuous improvement of programs and initiatives during the lifetime of the Strategy. Victoria State Emergency Service
2020 Victorian Emergency Management Strategic Action Plan Update #3 2018–21 - Progress Update 2019 (External link) An assessment of the state's implementation progress of the SAP Update #3 2018–21. The SAP is a rolling plan that outlines statewide strategic priorities, with corresponding actions, to support Victoria in achieving its vision of safer and more resilient communities. Inspector-General for Emergency Management
2020 Review of 10 years of reform in Victoria’s emergency management sector (External link) A review of emergency management reforms and their effectiveness in supporting safer and more resilient Victorians. The report made recommendations relating to the critical areas of risk management, community information, recovery, outcomes frameworks, and capability and capacity. Inspector-General for Emergency Management
2020 Emergency risks in Victoria (External link) A report into the results of Victoria’s State-level emergency risk assessment completed in November 2017 with updated information about Victoria’s significant emergency related risks, including a comparison of their severity, and the institutional arrangements in place to manage these risks. Victorian Government
2020 Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements: interim observations (External link) An outline of interim observations from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements relating to the responsibilities of, and coordination between all levels of government, Australia's arrangements for adapting to climate change, actions to mitigate the impacts of natural disasters and the involvement of Commonwealth in responding to national emergencies. This report covered some of the more pressing issues that were addressed in the the final report. No draft recommendations were made. Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements
2020 Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements: final report (External link) An examination of coordination, preparedness for, response to and recovery from disasters as well as improving resilience and adapting to changing climatic conditions and mitigating the impact of natural disasters. The inquiry also considered the legal framework for Commonwealth involvement in responding to national emergencies. The Commission made recommendations directly targeted to the Australian Government; specific to States and Territories; and others shared between the Commonwealth and States and Territories. Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements
2020 Planning and capability requirements for catastrophic and cascading disasters - final project report (External link) A three-year research project focusing on the nature of catastrophic disasters in the Australian context, frequency of such disasters, most appropriate practices to plan and prepare for them, and how businesses and community organisations can best be incorporated into planning and preparedness arrangements for catastrophic disasters. This research finds that disaster planning and risk reduction are not effectively implemented within Australia and that planning is being inhibited by cultural, knowledge and resource constraints dominated by reactive response-oriented approaches by emergency services. It also identifies the need for a collective national view of future capability requirements to inform investment. The outcomes of this research were presented as evidence to the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements. Bushfire & Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre