News Alert |

The  City of Ballarat’s  Municipal Emergency  Management  Plan 2019-2021 was adopted by Council on Wednesday night.

The Municipal  Emergency  Management Planning Committee reviewed  and  updated the plan, which was open to community feedback earlier this year, and has been produced pursuant to Section 20(1) of the Emergency Management Act 1986. 

The committee includes representatives from the City of Ballarat, Victoria Police, State Emergency Service (SES), Department of Health and Human Services, CFA, DELWP, Ambulance Victoria, Ballarat Health Services, Red Cross, Victorian Council of Churches and Ballarat Community Health.

The plan brings together the many agencies and individuals who can take appropriate and timely action to prevent or mitigate, respond to and assist affected communities when it comes to recovery from emergencies within the municipality.

The revised plan includes: - updates to the Municipal Demographic Profile based on 2016 Census data - a review of the City of Ballarat’s Resource List to better assist the Control Agencies’ requests for City of Ballarat equipment - amendments to the plan’s Internal and External Contact and Plan Distribution Lists - support arrangements that the City of Ballarat receives from agencies, and how the City of Ballarat supports other municipalities - a review of the City of Ballarat’s Emergency Relief Centre locations and facilities - details of the emergency events that have taken place within the municipality over the past three years during, the previous plan’s life cycle.

Key improvements in the plan include: - a new agreed process for formally recording and reporting on incidents - a new charitable donations sub-plan - a new checklist process for key nominated roles during incidents - a strengthened internal audit process for Emergency Relief Centres, and - a new communication channels to disseminate community preparedness and recovery information.

The Municipal  Emergency  Management Plan has a life span of three years  but  will be reviewed annually, or importantly, after an emergency  event. 

City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Samantha McIntosh says emergencies touch people’s lives many different ways.

“We understand that there is not and cannot be a single organisation that is solely and totally responsible for dealing with all aspects of emergencies,” she says.

“The aim of the plan is to establish processes and arrangements to ensure the appropriate and efficient response to, and recovery from emergencies.

“During the 2018-2019 fire season, there were three significant fires within the municipality that prompted the City of Ballarat to activate relief and recovery centres to assist those communities affected by the fires.

“We also supported the controlling agencies with City of Ballarat resources, by providing road closures and assistance with bulk water supplies to combat the fires.

“By having an agreed planning process, these services to assist the emergency services and support the community can be activated in a timely and effective manner.”

The plan will be submitted for audit to the Victorian State Emergency Service scheduled in September. The plan will be available online from Thursday.