Disaster Management Functional Support Plan

Disaster Coordination Unit
Disaster Management Plan
2015 - 2016
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Authorisation
The Disaster Management Act 2003 forms the legislative basis for disaster management
arrangements within all levels of government in Queensland. Queensland’s whole-of-government
disaster management arrangements are based upon partnerships between federal and state
government agencies, local governments, government owned corporations, non-government
organisations and commercial providers. These partnerships recognise the need for a collaborative
approach to ensure effective coordination of planning, transfer of information and provision of
resources necessary for comprehensive all-hazards disaster management.
The state disaster management arrangements are described in the State Disaster Management Plan.
The Director-General, Department of Housing and Public Works, approves this departmental plan as
a sub-plan under the State Disaster Management Plan for the provision of departmental support in
the preparation for, response to and recovery from natural disasters and other incidents.
Recommended
Bruce Campbell
Manager Disaster Coordination Unit, Department of Housing and Public Works
Date: 3 November 2015
Endorsed
Fiona Wright
A/Assistant Director-General, Strategic Asset Management, Department of Housing and Public Works
Date: 9 November 2015
Approved
Dr Liza Carroll
Director-General, Department of Housing and Public Works
Date: 10 November 2015
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Table of contents
Authorisation ................................................................................................................................ 2
Table of contents .......................................................................................................................... 3
Foreword ....................................................................................................................................... 4
Corporate policy statement ......................................................................................................... 4
Distribution of the Plan ................................................................................................................ 5
Plan review .................................................................................................................................... 5
Principles of departmental support in a disaster ....................................................................... 6
1.0
Disaster management arrangements............................................................................... 7
2.0
Functional lead roles ......................................................................................................... 8
3.0
Appointment to disaster management positions ........................................................... 10
4.0
DHPW disaster management committees and planning responsibilities .................... 11
5.0
Activation of the department’s Disaster Management Plan .......................................... 16
6.0
Departmental disaster coordination capability .............................................................. 17
7.0
Delegations and reimbursement of costs ...................................................................... 17
8.0
Disaster management education and training ............................................................... 20
Annexure A- Business area operational responsibility matrix ................................................ 22
Annexure B - Financial arrangements....................................................................................... 23
Annexure C - Disaster Management Definitions....................................................................... 24
Annexure D – HPW representation on Disaster Recovery Groups ......................................... 26
Annexure D – HPW representation on Disaster Response Groups ........................................ 27
DHPW Disaster Management Plan – Final October 2015
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Foreword
The purpose of Queensland’s disaster management arrangements are to provide for a more resilient
and sustainable, safer community and a better quality of life in Queensland through world class
emergency response and disaster recovery services. The Department of Housing and Public Works
(the department) is an integral part of Queensland’s disaster management arrangements as the
provider of functional and resource support to other agencies in the key role of building and
engineering services.
The department, through Housing Services and in collaboration with other agencies, also facilitates
short and long term temporary housing assistance for disaster affected individuals, including both
affected social housing tenants and those who would otherwise be ineligible for social housing
assistance.
The department’s Disaster Management Plan (the Plan) describes the department’s disaster
management roles, responsibilities and arrangements and provides the authority and direction for the
development of subsequent plans and activities for a range of planning groups and committees.
The Disaster Coordination Unit has been established in recognition of the department’s key role in
disaster management and is responsible for preparedness planning, training, exercising and
coordination of the department’s response to disasters and other incidents. It is responsible for the
development and maintenance of the Plan.
The Disaster Coordination Unit provides the operational interface between the State Disaster
Coordination Centre, other state government departments and the department’s business areas. The
department maintains a regionally based operational arm for the delivery of building services and
associated works on behalf of its client agencies, Building and Asset Services, which is also
responsible for coordination of the department’s disaster management responsibilities in a Disaster
District.
Corporate policy statement
When responding to a disaster, incident or other request for functional assistance, all departmental
service areas are required to adhere to relevant legislation as well as all current departmental and
whole-of-government policies. Applicable policies may cover a broad range of matters including, but
not limited to: financial practices and delegations; procurement practices; human resource
management and workplace health and safety procedures; building codes; business continuity
management planning; and environmental initiatives.
The department recognises that it may be necessary to assist in the emergency management and/or
longer term recovery of a single facility or an entire community following a disaster or incident. The
department also recognises that any such response may require immediate actions to ensure the
protection of life and/or property.
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Distribution of the Plan
The Plan is available to all departmental service areas and their respective personnel who perform
roles in disaster management and business continuity management through the departmental intranet
site. The Plan is also available to other departments and agencies that form part of Queensland’s
disaster response and recovery arrangements to increase their knowledge of the department’s
disaster management roles and functions.
Plan review
The Plan is reviewed annually and a current version is maintained on the department’s intranet and
internet sites.
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Principles of departmental support in a disaster
1.
Disaster management is a responsibility of all levels of government. The capacity of the
department to respond to requests for assistance is not limitless and relies where practicable on all
levels of government to establish and maintain a level of self-reliance in respect to meeting their own
resource requirements.
2.
Provision of functional support shall utilise pre-existing supplier arrangements. Where
practicable the department shall utilise pre-existing supplier and, or, service arrangements to support
disaster response or recovery operations.
3.
Provision of functional support can require a prioritisation of the available resources across
government. During all stages of a disaster or other incident, agencies can compete for access to
the same resources. The department shall use the disaster management system for clarification on
any prioritisation of resource support.
4.
Disasters can adversely impact on the normal delivery of departmental services. Departmental
service areas’ business continuity planning must encompass strategies for support of a disaster or
incident response while maintaining critical outputs as best as possible.
5.
Disaster management arrangements shall recognise the value of non-government
organisations. Significant skills and resources exist within non-government organisations and the
commercial sector. The department shall where practicable, identify opportunities to develop
arrangements which can access the knowledge and expertise of these organisations in operational
support of disasters or other incidents.
6.
Disaster management planning shall recognise a comprehensive and scalable all hazards
approach. Departmental planning is premised upon a single set of scalable all hazard disaster
management response arrangements that shall cater for natural disasters, technological incidents,
terrorism related incidents, human pandemics and plant or animal diseases.
7.
Disaster events involve special funding arrangements. The department actively promotes the
ongoing development of cost effective arrangements for the emergency acquisition of resources and
services in response to a disaster or other incident, taking into account the variety of funding
arrangements applicable during both the response and recovery phases of the event.
8.
Impacts on departmental staff. Departmental planning shall incorporate measures to compensate
for the unavailability of local departmental staff that may be personally impacted by the same disaster
or other incident that it is attempting to provide a response to.
9.
Training is an important and intrinsic component of disaster preparedness. The department
shall provide the necessary support and resources to maintain a prepared workforce through the
disaster training framework.
10.
Provision of housing advise or assistance for affected members of a community. The
department recognises the priority for the immediate provision of accommodation for individuals or
families who have been displaced as a result of the disaster or other incident. Support and assistance
will be provided in ways which maximize self-reliance with an initial focus on helping people unable to
return to their homes or to find alternate accommodation. Priority is given to assisting the most
vulnerable members of a community.
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1.0
Disaster management arrangements
1.1
Queensland disaster management arrangements
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The Disaster Management Act 2003, incorporating amendments under the Disaster Management
Amendment Bill 2014, provides the legislative basis for disaster management arrangements in
Queensland.
The Queensland disaster management arrangements are based on a four-tiered system,
incorporating the three levels of government (federal, state and local), with an additional state
government tier, disaster districts.
This structure recognises that when resources are inadequate or not available at local government
level to effectively respond to a disaster or other incident, the Local Disaster Management Group can
request assistance from the District Disaster Management Group. If the District Disaster
Management Group is unable to meet the needs of the request, the request can then be forwarded to
the State Disaster Coordination Centre for action.
The State Disaster Coordination Group (SDCG) is established to support the Queensland Disaster
Management Committee (QDMC) through the State Disaster Coordinator (SDC) in response and
recovery for disaster events. The SDCG is the operational arm of Queensland’s peak disaster
management body, the QDMC
The SDCG coordinates the operational delivery of the QDMC’s legislative responsibilities for the
purpose of facilitating disaster operations and disaster management for Queensland communities.
The SDCG carries out the QDMC’s strategic direction, concentrating the delivery of State, and
where applicable, Australian Government support to disaster affected communities during response
and recovery phases of disaster events.
The SDCG reports to, and is accountable to the Queensland Disaster Management Committee.
The State Disaster Coordination Group membership is comprised of senior departmental
representatives from across government, including the Department of Housing and Public Works
(DHPW).
1.2
Departmental disaster management arrangements
At a local government level, the department can be requested to provide functional assistance during
both the response and recovery phases of an event. When working directly on behalf of local
government, commercialised departmental service areas may use normal fee for service provider
arrangements where appropriate.
At a disaster district level, Building and Asset Services, the department’s regionally based
maintenance and construction arm, will coordinate disaster response operations on behalf of the
department. During the recovery of a community, the local Housing Service Centre in conjunction with
the impacted local government and the District Disaster Human Social Recovery Group, will
determine the need for temporary housing or other accommodation. Building and Asset Services, in
conjunction with other stakeholders including the department’s Housing Services and Government
Employee Housing business areas, will be actively involved in the development of temporary
accommodation solutions requested by the Local Disaster Management Group (LDMG).
The department’s Functional Coordinator is nominated by the Director-General as the departmental
representative on the State Disaster Coordination Group (SDCG). During an activation of the State
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Disaster Coordination Centre (SDCC) the Functional Coordinator is the expert advisor to the DirectorGeneral regarding disaster management. The Functional Coordinator is responsible for the
coordination of disaster management information for briefings to the Director-General during any
response to and recovery from a disaster event.
The Department of Housing and Public Works Disaster Management Planning Group, chaired by the
Assistant Director-General, Strategic Asset Management , is established to ensure the department’s
planning and preparedness activities are effectively managed and implemented. The Functional
Coordinator shall be kept informed on the progress of work undertaken by the Disaster Management
Planning Group.
Annexure D outlines the department’s representation at the four levels of disaster management, both
during response and recovery, within Queensland.
2.0 Functional lead roles
The Queensland disaster management arrangements have adopted an approach whereby functional
support agencies are identified on the basis of their core functions and their legislative and
jurisdictional responsibilities. These agencies are assigned functional status within the State Disaster
Management Plan (State Plan). Under the State Plan, Housing and Public Works has been assigned
the primary and pivotal functional support role of Building and Engineering Services. Once a State
Recovery Coordinator is appointed following an event, the department also has the responsibility of
Building Recovery during the recovery phase.
2.1 Disaster management functional support activities
The building and engineering services function provides support to local governments in responding
to their disaster impacted communities through the District Disaster Management Groups and the
State Disaster Coordination Group. The level of support required will reduce as the impacted local
governments re-establish services and return to normal business operations. In a declared disaster
event, this support is classified as counter disaster operations.
Counter disaster operations are defined under the Queensland Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery
Arrangements (NDRRA) guidelines as: activities undertaken by Local and State government agencies
to provide direct assistance to, and in the protection of, the general public immediately before, during
and in the immediate aftermath of a disaster event. The department uses its everyday knowledge and
experience to deliver activities which are considered counter disaster operations.
The provision of support provided by the Department of Housing and Public Works will be guided by
the departmental Plan and the Principles of departmental support in a disaster . A responsibility
matrix for the counter disaster operational activities outlined below is provided in Annexure A.
In delivering its functional lead role the department will coordinate the acquisition and/or provision of
building and engineering services in support of counter disaster operations including:
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maintenance of contact registers for:
- professional service providers e.g. engineers (geotechnical, structural, civil etc.), heritage
architects, other professional officers and consultants
- specialist building contractors; service providers; and suppliers
- building services and trade personnel to support regional based disaster response or recovery
operations
coordination of structural assistance grant (SAG) assessments (excluding caravans and vessels)
on behalf of the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services
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coordination of the assessment of temporary housing needs post impact
provision of temporary accommodation advice and services for impacted members of a
community – including departmental tenants, private owner occupiers, private rental tenants
and/or response/recovery teams.
maintenance of caches of departmentally owned temporary accommodation units in two separate
holding locations (North Queensland and South West Queensland) which are available for
immediate transport into an impacted region
coordination of temporary office type accommodation for use by state government agencies and
departments as forward command posts, recovery centres, local disease control centres, storage
facilities and ablution facilities, including connection of building services
coordination of temporary leased accommodation for state government agencies and
departments
coordination of technical advice on the structural suitability of buildings for use as community
evacuation centres, places of refuge or cyclone shelters
other building and engineering services tasks requested by a District Disaster Coordinator or the
State Disaster Coordination Centre within the scope of the building and engineering services
function
coordination of vehicles to support response and recovery activities, if available
The department is also responsible for the provision of temporary transportable accommodation.
Subsequent to a need being justified by Housing Services and the impacted Local Government
Authority the department’s Building and Asset Services Division in conjunction with Housing Services
Capital and Assets area will provide expert guidance on alternative or temporary accommodation
solutions for an impacted community to the Director-General (DHPW). The information provided will
assist in informing the Queensland Disaster Management Committee of the possible actions that may
be taken to provide a range of temporary accommodation for displaced residents or to support
disaster response and/or recovery workforces.
Usual departmental activities which contribute to operational activities may include:
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the coordination of maintenance of public cyclone shelters owned by DHPW and the Department
of Education and Training to ensure the buildings are maintained in order for them to remain fully
functional and fit for purpose during the cyclone season as public cyclone shelters
coordination of damage assessment of government buildings and assets, including social housing
assets
coordination of technical advice on natural hazard mitigation measures as may apply to buildings
coordination of alternative public servant accommodation solutions utilising government
owned/operated built assets and/or access to private sector assets.
2.2
Building Recovery
The Queensland Recovery Guidelines (the Guidelines) have been prepared to provide information
and guidance to stakeholders on the governance and operational issues relating to recovery following
a disaster.
Under the auspices of the Guidelines the five pillars of recovery have been allocated functional lead
agencies. The department has been assigned the responsibility for Building Recovery.
The Director-General (DHPW) chairs the Building Recovery Group which coordinates the efficient
and effective information exchange, issues identification and resolution between government
agencies, local government, building industry and insurance providers to ensure the efficient and
prioritised use of available resources.
Member agencies of the Building Recovery Group from across government and the building and
insurance industries provide support to one or more of the following recovery functions through their
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services;
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assess damage to buildings across the impacted areas to obtain information describing the extent
and severity of damage and insurance losses to assist recovery efforts and monitor recovery
progress
facilitate immediate, short-term and longer term temporary accommodation solutions for displaced
community members and incoming relief/recovery workforce
assess damage and coordinate the demolition, securing, cleanup, repair and restoration of state
owned buildings and facilities (public schools, government buildings, government employee
housing, public housing etc)
provide information and advice to impacted homeowners and community members regarding how
to clean-up, move back-in and organise the assessment, repair or rebuilding of their homes /
properties
provide advice and support regarding timely safety inspections and reconnection of utilities by
providers as required
coordinate the clean-up and disposal of hazardous building material and debris from public areas
as required
provide information and assistance to local and district recovery groups and councils regarding
building reconstruction and recovery steps, activities and funding arrangements
facilitate longer-term temporary accommodation solutions for community members who have
been permanently displaced from their usual accommodation and do not have the means to
re-establish their own housing needs without significant assistance
provide information and advice to the building industry supply-chain (contractors, subcontractors
and suppliers) regarding rebuilding materials, skills and trades, codes required for
repair/rectification and rebuilding work
monitor building / residence repair and reconstruction progress and standard of work to identify
and remove emerging issues and obstacles to recovery
provide information regarding how to improve the resilience of a building to future impacts from
natural hazards.
3.0 Appointment to disaster management positions
The department’s disaster management arrangements include key positions that operate at state and
regional levels enabling the department to undertake its assigned functional support role.
3.1 DHPW Disaster Management Functional Coordinator
The Director-General is responsible for the appointment of an appropriate senior departmental officer
whom has the delegated authority to be able to commit the resources of the department at the State
Disaster Coordination Group (SDCG). The nominee to the SDCG is the Department of Housing and
Public Works’ Disaster Management Functional Coordinator. The Deputy Director-General, Building
and Asset Services (BAS) currently holds this position.
3.2 SDCC Agency Representatives
To assist the Functional Coordinator at the SDCG, Agency Representatives are appointed to the
State Disaster Coordination Centre SDCC to provide detailed advice on DHPW’s capacity and
capability with relation to the preparation for, or response to, a disaster event. They must be able to
access all areas of the department quickly, including out of hours, to provide the required information
.
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Staff from the Disaster Coordination Unit provide the operational interface supporting the State-wide
response at the State Disaster Coordination Centre as the nominated Agency Representatives.
3.3 DHPW Regional Disaster Coordinator
The DHPW regional coordination network is based on the six Building and Asset Services regions.
The DHPW Regional Disaster Coordinator shall manage regional operations as well as the
coordination of any functional support to disaster response or recovery operations arising from their
respective District Disaster Management Groups.
The DHPW Regional Disaster Coordinator is authorised to appoint officers within the region to
undertake specific disaster management roles as outlined in Section 4.3 of this plan (Regional
Disaster Management Planning Committee).
In large scale events the roles undertaken by a Regional Disaster Management Planning Committee
are to be considered interim full-time positions for the duration of operations. To ensure delivery of
normal core business services BAS and Housing Services shall make arrangements to backfill key
positions vacated by any staff involved in disaster operations using suitably qualified personnel either
from within or outside the impacted region.
3.4 District Disaster Liaison Officers (DDLOs)
District Disaster Liaison Officers are appointed from the Building and Asset Services regional
network.
DHPW maintains a regionally based operational network for the delivery of building services and
associated works on behalf of its clients. This network also coordinates the department’s disaster
management responsibilities at a disaster district level.
The department’s regional network comprises separate operational areas including the six Building
and Asset Services Regional Offices and twenty-three Housing Service Centres.
In accordance with the Disaster Management Act 2003 and Qld District Disaster Management
Guidelines 4.4.5, the Director-General DHPW shall formally appoint suitable senior officers from
within the department’s regional network as Liaison Officers on each of Queensland’s 23 District
Disaster Management Groups.
4.0 DHPW disaster management committees and
planning responsibilities
The department recognises and acknowledges that planning is a key mechanism in fulfilling its roles
and responsibilities as assigned under the State Disaster Management Plan. The department has
well developed expertise to contribute in both the disaster response and recovery stages of a disaster
or other incident.
The department, through its operational service areas, is responsible for ensuring functional support
arrangements and plans are in place to support disaster response and recovery operations; provide
assistance in determining temporary accommodation solutions; and that those arrangements are
regularly reviewed, tested and revised.
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The department recognises that an effective means of all agency planning may involve representation
on specialist whole-of-Government committees and through standing departmental committees.
4.1
State level groups and committees
Effective disaster management planning cannot be achieved in isolation. The department, as an
integral part of Queensland’s disaster management system, provides representation on a number of
key cross agency state level planning committees including:
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the Queensland Disaster Management Committee
the State Disaster Coordination Group
the CEO Leadership Team Sub Committee – Community Recovery and Resilience (CLT-CRR)
the chair of the Building Recovery Group
the State Human Social Recovery Group
the Queensland Counter Terrorism Committee
the Queensland Counter Terrorism Committee working groups.
The department also provides representation on any ad-hoc state level committees or working groups
established to address emergent disaster management matters, as required.
4.2
Departmental Disaster Management Planning Group
The department maintains a Disaster Management Planning Group (the Planning Group) comprising
a core membership of senior executive officers from departmental service areas that support disaster
management. The Planning Group is chaired by the Assistant Director-General, Strategic Asset
Management with other membership provided from:
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Disaster Coordination Unit (Executive Officer/Secretariat)
Accommodation Office
Building and Asset Services
Building Industry and Policy
Corporate Services-Finance
Corporate Services-Communication and Engagement Unit
Corporate Services-Information Services
Government Employee Housing
Human Resources
Housing Services
Procurement Transformation Office.
QFleet
The Planning Group shall be further supported by other departmental service area expertise, such as
Legal Services as required.
The Planning Group has responsibility:
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to provide reports and make recommendations to the Functional Coordinator and DirectorGeneral about matters relating to the preparedness of disaster management and disaster
operations
to identify resources that may be used for disaster operations, both those held in the department
and those sourced through outside contacts
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to ensure service areas of the department maintain a level of preparedness to provide functional
support: in preparation for; or response to, and recovery from an event
to coordinate post event reviews of DHPW service areas’ disaster operations, identify lessons
learnt and ensure changes are made to improve actions in future situations
make recommendations to the Functional Coordinator and Director-General where required to
improve actions in future situations
to establish disaster management task groups for specific actions / events as required and to
develop plans and procedures
to provide planning or other operational support to the Functional Coordinator and DirectorGeneral during any activation of the departments disaster management plan or other
arrangements.
The Planning Group shall also be responsible for the coordination of any disaster management plans
or procedures as deemed necessary by their respective departmental service area.
Other non-operational departmental service areas shall also maintain a level of preparedness to
provide support to disaster operations. The range of services, advice or technical support to be
provided by non-operational departmental service areas will generally be limited to their normal core
business and accordingly no specialist plans will be required.
4.3
Regional disaster management planning committees
In order to fulfil the department’s roles and responsibilities at a district level, DHPW Regional Disaster
Coordinators shall establish and maintain a Regional Disaster Management Planning Committee.
The Regional Disaster Management Planning Committees shall consist of:
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HPW Regional Disaster Coordinator (Chair)
Regional Disaster Management Reporting Officer
District Disaster Liaison Officers and deputies
Building and Engineering Services Liaison Officer
Housing Services representative/s
Regional Disaster Management Financial Coordinator
Regional Procurement Officer.
The Regional Disaster Management Planning Committee shall be responsible for:
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developing, ongoing maintenance, review and testing of a Regional Disaster Management Plan
meeting at least once per year prior to the summer storm and tropical cyclone season to discuss
disaster management issues
meeting as required during disaster events or incidents to coordinate departmental regional
support of disaster operations
meeting, as required, after the activation of the Regional Disaster Management Plan to undertake
an operational debrief.
Plans shall be prepared to ensure local/individual regional requirements are met, and to provide an all
hazards approach to disaster events and other incidents which require a whole-of-Government
response. DHPW’s existing Building and Asset Services and Housing Services regional networks
provide a degree of additional robustness of planning and resources to support the response and
recovery to any disaster.
It is acknowledged that both BAS and Housing Services will also need to establish internal protocols
and procedures to ensure they are able to effectively able to respond to a disaster event whilst
maintaining their core business services.
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Critical staff contact registers
The department’s Disaster Coordination Unit shall maintain contact registers of key departmental
disaster management personnel including DHPW Regional Disaster Coordinators and District
Disaster Liaison Officers.
The DHPW Regional Disaster Coordinator’s shall advise the Disaster Coordination Unit of any
changes to regional based critical staff and/or their contact details.
Critical staff contact registers are to be:
 be updated prior to the start of the tropical cyclone season
 be confirmed prior to any normal time of high risk or when placed on alert
 conform to the department’s Privacy Policy regarding security of access and staff consent if
private contact and address details are recorded for disaster management purposes.
The Disaster Coordination Unit shall consolidate the critical staff contact registers and distribute to
key agency stakeholders by the first day of November each year.
4.5
Contractor/supplier contact registers
The department recognises that the commercial sector can provide significant resources to support
an acceleration of its core services as a response to a disaster and the ongoing delivery of the
departments functional support role and in particular, the provision of temporary accommodation.
All departmental service areas shall maintain a register of any contractor, service provider or supplier
required to support the department’s functional role.
Specific attention shall be provided to the ongoing development of relationships with major
construction and building service providers which maintain a scalable capacity to offer solutions to a
range of building related tasks during a response to or recovery from a disaster. The range of
outsourced work might include but not be limited to: damage assessment; temporary accommodation;
community reconstruction; or, environmental remediation, including asbestos clean-ups.
Registers shall incorporate contact names of persons in commercial organisations including business
telephone and email contact details, mobile phone numbers, after hours’ telephone numbers, fax
numbers and any other relevant information including the types of services offered and/or the range
of materials available. The registers are to be reviewed and updated as deemed necessary but prior
to the first day of November each year.
4.6
Review of Disaster Management plans
All departmental disaster management plans and arrangements must be reviewed for currency prior
to the commencement of the tropical cyclone season on 1 November each year.
A review of the departmental plan shall be undertaken following an actual activation or training
exercise to identify problems and remedy any key omissions in the plan and/or include any lessons
and associated improvements. This approach is consistent with the requirements of the Disaster
Management Act 2003. Any review must include input from all appropriate stakeholders and can
normally be best achieved through an extraordinary meeting of the relevant committee. Any plan
review meeting shall include an invitation to officers at an operational level who might be in a position
to offer insights to arrangements at that level.
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Notification of any outcomes from reviews of plans shall be forwarded to the Disaster Coordination
Unit.
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5.0 Activation of the department’s Disaster Management
Plan
The department’s Disaster Management Plan will be activated to support disaster operations at state
and/or district disaster levels.
5.1
Authority and requests to activate plan
The authority to activate the department’s Disaster Management Plan or regional disaster
management plans in response to a disaster event is vested in the following officers:
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the Director-General, DHPW
other DHPW Executive Leadership Team (ELT) members (in absence of Director-General DHPW
departmental Functional Coordinator
any DHPW Regional Disaster Coordinator, in consultation with the Director-General.
External requests to activate the department’s Disaster Management Plan may be received from:
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the Executive Officer of the Queensland Disaster Management Committee
a District Disaster Coordinator
any other functional lead agency in conjunction with one of the officers listed above.
5.2
Levels of activation
Activation of Queensland’s disaster management arrangements involves the following stages:
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Alert - Declared when it is known that a disaster event may occur. Monitor situation: no action
required.
Lean Forward - Declared when it is known a disaster event is imminent. Prepared but not
activated. Information may be requested from service areas relating to departmental resources
located in the potential impact area.
Stand Up - Declared when a disaster event is highly likely, is occurring or has occurred. Service
areas shall have a clear understanding and be able to report what the most likely impacts to the
department will be.
Stand-down - The winding back of services either because the risk of a disaster event occurring
has passed or the event has occurred and the response and/or recovery phase is completed and
local resources are sufficient to resolve any outstanding issues.
Unpredicted events such as a sudden storm, earthquake, flash flooding or a terrorist attack will result
in the first stage proceeding directly to ‘Stand up’.
5.3 Activation of the Disaster Management Planning Group
For events that have a lead time, such as cyclones or floods, the Disaster Coordination Unit will
advise the Chair of the Disaster Management Planning Group as soon as practicable that the State
Disaster Coordination Centre has moved to the ‘lean forward’ level of activation. The Chair will
request all sitting members provide the status of assets and staff within the potential impact zone
(pre-event reporting).
5.4
Reporting requirements during activation
The flow of fast, accurate information, particularly during an event, is critical to ensure decisions are
made with the lowest possible risk to the department. The Disaster Coordination Unit is responsible
DHPW Disaster Management Plan – Final October 2015
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for the coordination of the verified, relevant and timely dissemination of event related information
across the department. The Disaster Coordination Unit will be the primary and single point of truth for
all disaster or incident related situational reporting, however, they are reliant on Disaster Management
Planning Group members to act as conduits to the operational arms of respective service areas.
Upon activation of the Plan, Planning Group members will nominate an appropriate person to be the
point of truth for information from their service area relating to the impacts of the event. These
nominated officers will prioritise the provision of information to the Disaster Coordination Unit as, and
when, required.
The Director-General will receive daily situational reports which will combine all reporting streams into
a concise, high level brief outlining current departmental operations and predicted future needs.
These situational reports, and additional hot issues briefs, will provide the basis for updates to the
Queensland Disaster Management Committee and State Disaster Coordination Centre from the
department.
5.5
Debriefing
Debriefings are the mechanism by which the effectiveness and appropriateness of processes and
procedures employed during a disaster response or other incident can be critically and objectively
assessed to identify areas requiring attention. Debriefing will be undertaken by a single service area
or, in the case of wide scale events, by representatives of multiple departmental service areas. The
Disaster Coordination Unit is available to assist in the facilitation of debriefing activities.
6.0 Departmental disaster coordination capability
The department shall, as required, establish disaster coordination centres at state and/or district
levels. The disaster coordination centres shall function as the focal point for the coordination of
requests, information and support in response to disaster operations at state or disaster district level.
The department’s Disaster Coordination Unit maintains a highly mobile capability for the
establishment of an appropriate incident coordination centre premised on the specific needs of the
incident being addressed and any anticipated agency needs or special requirements. The mobile
nature of the department’s arrangements at the state level ensures the department’s flexibility to
respond to the broad spectrum of disaster events across Queensland.
6.1
Regional disaster coordination centres
A Regional Disaster Coordination Centre established to support District Disaster Management Group
operations shall, where practicable, utilise existing DHPW facilities and resources. Procedures shall
be developed for the activation and operation of the disaster coordination centres and shall be
incorporated into DHPW Regional Disaster Management Plans.
Should primary locations of regional disaster coordination centres be impacted by the event,
alternative accommodation arrangements as outlined in the DHPW Regional Disaster Management
Plans shall be activated and advice provided to stakeholders at both state and regional levels.
7.0 Delegations and reimbursement of costs
DHPW Disaster Management Plan – Final October 2015
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The department’s disaster operations support the response and recovery activities through existing
defined organisational, functional, authorisation and delegation structures and processes.
The allocation of resources and the need to commit funds can vary greatly depending on the scale of
an event. Prior to any significant departmental resources being committed to the response
and recovery effort, the Disaster Coordination Unit shall be contacted to ensure the financial
risk to the department is minimised.
In the event of a disaster impact at local government level only, e.g. event does not result in activation
of disaster district arrangements, DHPW regional offices may act as a contractor or as a convener of
contract services to local governments and in such cases normal business communications,
recording and cost recovery will apply.
7.1
Delegated authority
The departmental Functional Coordinator, SDCC agency representatives, DHPW Regional Disaster
Coordinators and District Disaster Liaison Officers are authorised to commit the department’s
resources through existing arrangements in order to support disaster operations during response and
recovery.
The financial and purchasing delegations shall comply with all existing departmental and service
areas’ policies.
7.2
Financial management and arrangements
The State Disaster Management Plan section (9.1.16) states:
All agencies involved in providing disaster management services across Queensland are required to
safe guard public funds from fraud, waste or abuse. Queensland government agencies are required
to discharge financial management responsibilities in accordance with the Financial Accountability
Act 2009 and relevant departmental financial management standards.
Expenditure of funds by agencies is to be met in the first instance by the agency requesting /
requiring the resources from their normal operating budgets. It is important to note that not all
expenditure incurred by agencies to provide effective disaster management services may be
recoverable under existing disaster relief and recovery financial arrangements.
In accordance with the above, the department shall not be responsible for incurring the costs of
another agencies or local governments unless there are exceptional circumstances which prevent
them from meeting their financial obligations.
The department will recover eligible costs for the provision of response and or recovery activities
associated with a disaster or other incident (event) for which it is responsible. The mechanisms to
recover these costs are governed by the requirements of the particular funding arrangement activated
for the event. Annexure B provides a general summary of the various funding arrangements
associated with events for which the department has had a previous involvement.
7.2.1
Chief Finance Officer
The department’s Chief Finance Officer (Corporate Services) provides high level advice on the
department’s financial policies and interacts with financial officers from other departments on financial
arrangements associated with an event.
DHPW Disaster Management Plan – Final October 2015
7.2.2
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Disaster Coordination Unit
The department’s Disaster Coordination Unit is the central point of contact for all operational advice
on the various funding arrangements activated in response to a disaster event. Before any
extraordinary costs are incurred by service areas as a result of a disaster event, advice must
be sought from the Disaster Coordination Unit. At the completion of the event the Disaster
Coordination unit can support service areas in the development of their claims against the appropriate
funding arrangements.
7.2.3
Financial Services
The Corporate Services Directorate (Finance) is responsible for coordinating the reimbursement of
costs on behalf of its service areas/business units with support provided by the Disaster Coordination
Unit as required. Each service area/business unit shall nominate suitably qualified officers to act as
Financial Coordinators who shall in turn liaise with Corporate Services (Finance) and the Disaster
Coordination Unit as required.
7.2.4
Departmental service areas
Individual departmental service areas are responsible for ensuring all response and recovery costs
comply with and are captured in accordance with the requirements of the funding arrangements
activated for an event. Service areas are also responsible for the development of claims against the
appropriate funding arrangements with support and assistance from the Disaster Coordination Unit as
required.
7.3
Critical incident directives
The Critical Incident Entitlements and Conditions Directive prescribes a range of entitlements and
conditions for specified public service employees under defined circumstances including the
declaration of a disaster. Application of the Critical Incident Entitlements and Conditions Directive
ensures that departmental employees receive appropriate entitlements and conditions for performing
work tasks and work loads which are critical for effective and efficient response, recovery and
rehabilitation. The following directives have relevant information regarding the application of the
Critical Incident Entitlements and Conditions Directive:








Critical incident response and recovery directive
Hours, overtime and excess travel directive
Overtime meal allowances directive
Special leave directive
Domestic travelling and relieving expenses directive
Motor vehicle allowances directive
Higher duties directive
Field staff directive
All eligible personnel involved in a response to an event where the Critical Incident Entitlements and
Conditions Directive has been invoked shall be remunerated in complete accordance with the
directive and reimbursement of costs sought through the appropriate process.
7.3.1 Ready Reserve Staff – Response and Recovery
In accordance with the Commission Chief Executive Directive No. 09/12: Critical incident response
and recovery, the department supports the government’s commitment to response and recovery by
DHPW Disaster Management Plan – Final October 2015
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redirecting the collective energies of the department’s workforce from less critical priorities to the
critical priorities of the protection of life and property and longer-term human -social recovery.
Pre-approved staff are deployed to support Queensland Fire and Emergency Service at the SDCC or
to support the Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services in the impacted
region. Departmental service areas are required to permit staff to undertake induction, training,
released for deployment and attend debriefs as determined by the relevant lead agency. The
Disaster Coordination Unit ensures this capability is managed and maintained within the department.
8.0 Disaster management education and training
The Disaster Coordination Unit, in partnership with all departmental service areas, is responsible for
the oversight, development, delivery and maintenance of specialist training for departmental staff
involved in disaster management activities at state and regional levels. The intent of the training is to
provide staff with the skills and knowledge to fulfil the department’s roles and responsibilities in
support of Queensland’s disaster management arrangements. The Disaster Coordination Unit can
also provide training for external agencies on the department’s roles and responsibilities as allocated
under the State Disaster Management Plan.
8.1
Internal training
The Disaster Coordination Unit shall maintain a training framework for departmental staff which takes
a progressive approach beginning with basic introductory level courses and building upon these with
internal training and exercises specific to the department’s disaster management functional support
role.
The Disaster Coordination Unit in conjunction with departmental service areas shall ensure training is
developed and conducted annually or as required for staff that have roles in supporting disaster
operations.
8.2
External training
External training is available through:



Queensland Fire and Emergency Service
Australian Emergency Management Institute
other emergency response or functional support agencies.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Service conducts short courses, generally one day, on a variety of
subjects. The Introduction to Queensland’s Disaster Management Arrangements (QDMA) has been
developed as a resource for use by officers actively involved in disaster management as well as for
those who may have a limited exposure or responsibility within this field.
All new staff assigned a role in disaster management at either state or regional level are to undertake
this introductory course as soon as is practicable. The Disaster Coordination Unit, in conjunction with
departmental service areas shall actively promote the undertaking of the introductory course and
other appropriate courses by all departmental disaster management staff.
Successful completion of the Introduction to Queensland’s Disaster Management Arrangements
meets the minimum pre-requisite requirement for nominating to attend an Australian Emergency
Management Institute training course. Details of Emergency Management Australia Institute courses
and nomination procedures are available on its internet site
http://www.em.gov.au/Education/Pages/default.aspx.
DHPW Disaster Management Plan – Final October 2015
8.3
Training register
A central register of all departmental personnel that have undertaken departmental disaster
management training shall be maintained by the Disaster Coordination Unit.
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DHPW Disaster Management Plan – Final October 2015
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Annexure A- Business area operational responsibility matrix
BAS - State-wide
Housing Services
Procurement
Transformation
Accommodation
Office
A
C
I
I
I
C
I
R
C
Provision of building services and trade personnel
A
C
I
I
I
C
I
R
C
Coordination of inspections of private dwellings and other
approved buildings as part of the Structural Assistance Grant
scheme
A
R
I
I
I
I
I
C
I
Provision of emergency fleet vehicles, where possible
A
C
R
I
I
I
I
I
I
Provision of temporary accommodation solutions for impacted
community members
A
C
I
C
I
I
R
C
I
Provision of temporary transportable accommodation for
impacted community members and response workers
A
C
I
I
I
I
R
C
I
Provision of temporary leased accommodation for use by state
government agencies
A
C
I
I
R
C
I
I
I
Coordination of technical advice on the structural suitability of
buildings for use as community evacuation centres or places of
refuge
A
C
I
I
I
C
I
R
I
Coordination of temporary transportable accommodation
forward command posts, recovery centres, local disease control
centres, coordination centres
A
C
I
I
I
I
C
R
C
Definition
BIP
GEH
Maintenance of contact registers for professional service
providers and contractors
DCU
QFleet
Director General
HPW responsibility matrix
Term
Code
Persons whose efforts result in a tangible deliverable or completed task. It is the work "in the trenches" with a
broad knowledge base of the task at hand.
Responsible
R
Individuals whose approval of the work is required before the task or activity is considered completed
Accountable
A
Consulted
C
Informed
I
Persons who have an interest are consulted to provide a direct support or advisory role and whose
contributions are in the form of special knowledge or expertise. Their input is essential to moving the task
forward to successful completion.
Persons kept in the loop even though they have no direct or indirect role in the activity.
DHPW Disaster Management Plan – Final October 2015
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Annexure B - Financial arrangements
Natural disaster relief and recovery arrangements (NDRRA)
The NDRRA are a cost sharing arrangement between the Queensland and Australian Governments
providing a range of relief measures available to communities, small businesses, primary producers,
non-government organisations and local and state governments.
The intent of the NDRRA is to assist the recovery of communities whose social, financial and
economic well-being has been severely affected by a natural disaster event. Costs arising from a
terrorist incident are also included as an eligible interim measure. The NDRRA Guideline is available
at: http://qldreconstruction.org.au/u/lib/cms2/Queensland-Disaster-Relief-and-RecoveryArrangements-Guidelines-v2.pdf
Note: A request from a District Disaster Coordinator, the State Disaster Coordination Centre or other
authority is not indicative as to eligibility for reimbursement under NDRRA.
Queensland Government Insurance Fund
The Queensland Government has a reinsurance policy for all State owned property insured by the
Queensland Government Insurance Fund (QGIF) which provides broad coverage for all events such
as fires, terrorism and natural disasters. All damage and the associated remedial costs for damage
sustained by State owned property from natural disasters shall be directed to QGIF for assessment
using their own reinsurance and NDRRA guidelines.
Emergency animal or plant disease outbreaks
Bio-security Queensland a division of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) is
the threat specific agency for animal or plant disease events. Reimbursement of functional support
costs may be claimed directly from DAFF who in turn can submit a claim for reimbursement through
the respective designated national funding process managed by either Animal Health Australia
(animal diseases) or Plant Health Australia (plant diseases).
Oil spill response operations
Maritime Safety Queensland (MSQ) a division of the Department of Transport and Main Roads is the
lead agency for oil spill response operations in Queensland. Claims for the reimbursement of
functional support costs arising from oil spill response operations are submitted through MSQ.
Financial arrangements for oil spill operations are governed by the National Plan to combat pollution
of the sea by oil and other noxious and hazardous substances and are detailed in the MSQ Guideline
– Cost recovery guidelines for agencies involved in a response to ship sourced marine pollution
incidents.
Pandemics
The threat specific agency for pandemic events is Queensland Health. In a pandemic event,
Queensland Health will be provided with functional support via Queensland’s disaster management
system. No formal financial arrangements are currently in place to deal with a response to a
pandemic and consequently advice will be sought regarding cost recovery.
DHPW Disaster Management Plan – Final October 2015
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Annexure C - Disaster Management Definitions
Building and
engineering
services
Resources and services pertaining to all building or engineering disciplines
which may be required to assist in disaster response or recovery operations.
Contact Directory
Contact details for key personnel to allow urgent contact to be made at any time
via telephone, email or facsimile.
Control
Overall direction of disaster response activities, involved agencies or
individuals.
Coordination
The bringing together of agencies and individuals to ensure effective
emergency management but does not include the control of agencies or
individuals by direction.
Disaster
A serious disruption in a community, caused by the impact of an event, that
requires a significant coordinated response by the state and or other entities to
assist the community recover from the disruption.
Serious disruption means:
(a)
loss of human life, or illness or injury to humans
(b)
widespread or severe property loss or damage
(c)
widespread or severe damage to the environment.
District Disaster
Coordinator (DDC)
Officers appointed under the Disaster Management Act 2003 as DDC for each
of Queensland’s 23 disaster districts.
District Disaster
Liaison Officer
(DDLO)
Experienced departmental officers appointed by the Chief Executive to
represent the department on District Disaster Management Groups.
District Disaster
Management Plan
(DDMP)
A disaster management plan developed for a particular disaster district.
Disaster
management
Arrangements about managing the potential adverse effects of an event,
including, for example, arrangements for mitigating, preventing, preparing for,
responding to and recovering from a disaster.
Disaster operations
Activities undertaken before, during or after an event happens to help reduce
loss of human life, illness or injury to humans, property loss or damage, or
damage to the environment, including, for example, activities to mitigate the
adverse effects of the event.
Evacuation centre
A building or facility which is located beyond the area of a natural hazard which
provides people with basic human needs including temporary accommodation
and sustenance before, during and after the event
Event
(1)
An event means any of the following:
(a)
a cyclone, earthquake, flood, storm, storm tide, tornado, tsunami,
volcanic eruption or other natural happenings
(b)
an explosion or fire, a chemical, fuel or oil spill, or a gas leak
(c)
an infestation, plague or epidemic
DHPW Disaster Management Plan – Final October 2015
(d)
(e)
(2)
25 of 27
a failure of, or disruption to, an essential service or infrastructure
an attack against the State.
An event may be natural or caused by human acts or omissions.
Functional Liaison
Officer (FLO)
A representative from an organisation who has the responsibility to ensure
proper coordination and timely flow of information between agencies at the
State Disaster Coordination Group. Functional Liaison Officers shall be capable
of providing immediate advice on the capabilities and current status of
resources and must have the authority to commit resources.
Liaison Officer (LO)
A person who acts as a single point of contact between their own organisation
including HPW and any other agency or a District Disaster Management Group
through which information, advice and requests may flow.
Local arrangements
Arrangements put in place by a Local Government to deal with a disaster event
at regional or local level.
Other participating
organisations
Any other government departments, statutory bodies, volunteers or other
agencies that have either given formal notice, or acknowledgment of their
willingness to participate in emergency management operations with levels of
resources or support as appropriate to the emergency.
Place of refuge
Places of refuge are not purpose built cyclone shelters. They are normal
buildings, selected as being amongst the best existing buildings available within
the community in which people may shelter during a tropical cyclone.
Preventive
measures
Any regulatory and physical measures developed or undertaken to ensure that
the effects of disasters are reduced through mitigation strategies.
Preparedness
Arrangements that are in place to ensure that all resources and services that
may be needed can be rapidly mobilised and deployed.
Public Cyclone
Shelter
A building or part of a building that is designed as an emergency shelter and
constructed in accordance with the Queensland Cyclone Shelter Design
Guidelines to protect a group of people from high winds and windborne debris
during a severe tropical cyclone or severe storms.
Response
Actions that are taken during and immediately after a disaster event to ensure
that its effects are minimised.
Recovery
The recovery of the community from a disaster event including the restoration of
communications, public and private buildings and services to normal operation.
Regional
The location where regional coordination of the department’s resources and
Coordination Centre requests occurs and the location where the respective Regional Disaster
(RCC)
Management Functional Committees reside during operations.
HPW Regional
Disaster
Coordinator (RDC)
An officer who has responsibility for, and, who represents the department on all
matters pertaining to disaster management at a regional level. Typically a BAS
Regional Services Manager may be appointed as the Regional Disaster
Coordinator.
DHPW Disaster Management Plan – Final October 2015
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Annexure D – HPW representation on Disaster Recovery
Groups
Queensland Recovery Arrangements
Department of Housing and Public Works representation
CLT Sub Committee
– Community
Recovery and
Resilience
State Building Recovery
Group
State Disaster
Management
Group
State Human Social
Recovery Committee
District
Disaster
Management
Group
State Human Social
Recovery Group
Local Disaster
Management
Group
District Human Social
Recovery Groups
Local Recovery Groups
V
The Director-General (HPW), or delegate,
Represents the Building Recovery Group
The CLT-CRR leads the strategic
direction for the recovery from the disaster
event.
The BRG and SHSRC are the primary
mechanisms through which coordinated
whole of government state level support
is provided
The Director-General (HPW)
chairs the BRG
The SHSRG is the internal planning and
operational group of DCCSDS which
establishes the service offerings of NGOs
and Govt agencies available during
recovery
DHSRGs coordinate support and provide resource
gap assistance to disaster affected communities,
when requested by LDMGs.
They are chaired by the Department of Communities,
Child Safety and Disability Services
LDMGs are responsible for the local
community s preparation for, response to
and recovery from a disaster event
The Deputy DirectorGeneral, Housing Services,
or their delegate, represents
HPW at the SHSRC
Director, Housing Delivery Support & Practice
and a member of the Disaster Coordination
Unit represent HPW at the SHSRG
A Senior Officer from the respective Housing
Services region represent HPW at the
DHSRGs.
No formal departmental representation but
Housing Services and BAS may be consulted
during the recovery period.
DHPW Disaster Management Plan – Final October 2015
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Annexure D – HPW representation on Disaster Response
Groups
Queensland Disaster Management Arrangements
District
Local Disaster
Disaster
Management
Management
Group
Group
State Disaster
Coordination
Group
Queensland
Disaster
Management
Committee
Department of Housing and Public Works representation
The QDMC sets the strategic direction for
the response to the disaster event.
Department represented
by the Minister and the
Director-General
The SDCG is the primary mechanism
through which coordinated whole of
government state level support is provided
Department represented
by the Deputy DirectorGeneral, Building and
Asset Services
DDMGs coordinate support and provide
resource gap assistance to disaster affected
communities, when requested by LDMGs.
Department represented
by a Senior Officer from
the respective BAS
region
LDMGs are responsible for the local
community’s preparation for, response to
and recovery from a disaster event
No departmental
representation