The Victorian Government has requested the Inspector-General for Emergency Management (IGEM) to review the emergency response to the Melbourne thunderstorm asthma event of 21-22 November 2016.

In conducting the review IGEM will consider:

  • the appropriateness and adequacy of the response under the Public Health Response Plan during events of 21 and 22 November, including the speed of escalation
  • the role of, and coordination between, Emergency Management Commissioner, the Department of Health and Human Services, and other relevant agencies in respect of this public health event, and the adequacy of support provided to emergency and public health services
  • the triggers for, and provision of, public warnings and information and health advice, taking account of predictability, preventive steps and methods of distribution available for this type of emergency
  • the identification of any other relevant matters or opportunities for improvement.

The primary goal of this review is to identify opportunities to learn from this event in order to improve future preparedness and response arrangements and performance. This includes the provision of recommendations, where required, about potential improvements to future public health emergency planning and response arrangements.

IGEM will provide a preliminary report to government by 30 January 2017 and the final report by 21 April 2017. 

Final report

IGEM's Final Report was delivered to government on 21 April 2017. Government responded and released the report on 27 April  2017, accepting in-principle all IGEM's recommendations.

Read the Final Report and government's response Review of response to the thunderstorm asthma event of 21–22 November 2016 – Final Report

Preliminary report

IGEM's Preliminary Report was released on 1 February 2017.

Read the Review of response to the thunderstorm asthma event of 21–22 November 2016 – Preliminary Report

Public submissions

The Inspector-General invited public comments and submissions in response to this review, its scope and lines of enquiry to inform their final report to government.

For further information on this review and how submissions were used visit Engage Victoria (External link)