The Inspector-General for Emergency Management (IGEM) has been announced as a finalist for the IPAA Victoria Leadership in the Public Sector Awards 2018.

IGEM’s nomination titled ‘Innovative regulation for emergency services telecommunications in Victoria’ centres on its regulation model for the Emergency Services Telecommunications Authority (External link) (ESTA).

ESTA provides the critical link between the Victorian community and the state’s emergency services agencies via the triple zero (000) emergency call service and other sources. It provides Victoria’s 24-hour emergency call-taking and dispatch services for ambulance, fire, police, and state emergency service.

On average, ESTA responds to a call every 12-seconds, or more than 7500 calls per day.

Among its legislative functions, IGEM monitors and investigates ESTA’s performance for the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, for the purposes of continuous improvement.

IGEM works with ESTA to identify performance issues and opportunities for improvement that aim to drive interoperability, and optimise ESTA’s call-taking and dispatch performance for multiple emergency services organisations.

Built in consultation with ESTA, IGEM’s risk-based model of regulation ensures that recommendations for improvement align with the SMART principles – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-limited.

As a result, whenever IGEM considers possible solutions to identified problems, it develops – in close cooperation with stakeholders – recommendations that aim to reduce identified systemic risks associated with performance issues, reduce burden on emergency services, and improve outcomes for Victorian communities.

The IPAA Victoria Leadership in the Public Sector Awards - Innovative Regulation Award (External link) is sponsored by the Department of Justice and Regulation.  IPAA Victoria will announce the award-winners at a ceremony on 19 February 2019.