Under provisions of the Emergency Management Act, arrangements for the release of the Inspector-General's Fire Season Inquiry reports are at the discretion of the Minister for Emergency Services.
Phase 1 - Community and sector preparedness and response
On 31 July 2020, Inspector-General Tony Pearce delivered his report to government on Phase 1 of the independent Inquiry.
The report - Inquiry into the 2019–20 Victorian Fire Season: Phase 1 – Community and sector preparedness for and response to the 2019–20 fire season - was tabled by leave in Parliament (External link) on 18 September 2020.
On 14 October 2020, the Victorian Government responded to the Inquiry into the 2019–20 Victorian Fire Season: Phase 1 Report, accepting all 17 recommendations.
In addition, the government also released and responded to the Review of 10 years of reform in Victoria's emergency management sector, accepting all five recommendations.
The Fire Season Inquiry - Phase 1 Report should be read in conjunction with the 'Review of emergency management sector reform' as its recommendations are relevant to the findings of the Inquiry and are referenced throughout the Phase 1 report.
Victorian Government implementation plans
The Victorian Government publishes its plans which provide detail on the implementation of the collective 139 actions (External link). These also reflect the most recent of IGEM’s progress reports as well as additional changes to timelines or scope of actions recently agreed by government.
IGEM's implementation monitoring
IGEM will report annually on departments’ and agencies’ work implementing actions committed to by Victorian Government in response to the Review of 10 years of reform in Victoria’s emergency management sector and Inquiry into the 2019–20 Victorian Fire Season – Phase 1 report.
Phase 2 - Relief and recovery arrangements
On 30 July 2021 Inspector-General Tony Pearce delivered his ‘Inquiry into the 2019-20 Victorian Fire Season - Phase 2’ report to government.
On 14 October 2021 the report - Inquiry into the 2019–20 Victorian Fire Season: Phase 2 – Progress and effectiveness of Victoria’s immediate relief and recovery arrangements - was tabled by leave in Parliament and the Victorian Government responded accepting all 15 recommendations (External link).
Delivery of this second and final report concludes the Inspector-General’s independent Inquiry.
Evidence from Experience: Young people’s experiences of the effectiveness of bushfire relief and recovery
- research report
The 2019–20 Victorian bushfires will have a lasting impact on the local communities and people who were directly affected. Young people are an integral part of these communities and have unique insights into their experiences and perceptions of the bushfires and the recovery period.
During conduct of Phase 2 of the Inquiry, IGEM engaged Youth Affairs Council Victoria (YACVic) to undertake consultation with young people from fire-affected communities.
The resulting report Evidence from Experience aimed to ensure young people’s experiences and perceptions of relief and recovery provided IGEM with data-informed evidence related to the effectiveness of several areas of community-facing relief and recovery.