Committees

Summary of last meeting, held 8 July 2009

The National Flood Risk Advisory Group (NFRAG) continues to lead the revision of the flood manuals in the Australian Emergency Management manual series (published by Emergency Management Australia). The manuals on 'Flood Warning', 'Flood Preparedness', 'Flood Response' and 'Emergency Management Planning for Floods Affected by Dams' have been completed after a period of extensive review and consultation. The manuals will be made available online following their launch by the Attorney-General later this year. A small number of print copies will also be made available. The launch will be followed by workshops to introduce the manuals.

Work completed to date:

• The development of a national vision and objectives of flood risk management including guidance on the responsibility of government and the community in the effective management of flood risk for local communities (2007-8).  This was the basis of a paper published in the November 2008 edition of the Australian Journal of Emergency Management.
• Guiding the revision and rewrite of a set of national best practice manuals covering Flood Preparedness, Flood Warning, Flood Response and Emergency Management Planning for Floods Affected by Dams. These will be published as part of the Australian Emergency Management series in 2009 and launched by the Attorney General.
• Preparation of a paper for the AEMC setting out the current responsibilities in each jurisdiction for advising property holders of their flood risk and for public education about flood risks and flood warning. The paper was designed to encourage jurisdictions to take simple action to improve their systems (2007-8).
• Review of the National Emergency Risk Assessment Guidelines; specifically from a flood risk perspective (2008-9).
• Conducted a workshop on floodplain management in Australia as part of the joint NSW-Victoria Floodplain Management Conference in February 2009.
• Reviewed the flood chapter of "Natural Hazards in Australia: Identifying Risk Analysis Requirements" (Middelmann (Ed), 2007).
• Provided effective advocacy for the revision of Australian Rainfall and Runoff (Engineers Australia) which is the key technical document providing national guidance to engineers, hydrologists, floodplain managers, etc on flood design practice. This advocacy role led to the provision of several million dollars of funding from the Department of Climate Change to Engineers Australia (2008-9).
• Provided a pool of expertise and guidance to the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) in support of the development of national residential insurance and the National Flood Insurance Database (NFID).
• Provided input into the review of the Australian Flood Studies Database led by Geoscience Australia.

Ongoing and future work programme:

• The preparation of manual/guidelines of national best practice in floodplain risk management. This will effectively be the revision and update of the previous SCARM manual and the previous Emergency Management Australia (EMA) manual "Managing the Floodplain". The new manual will complement the revision of Australian Rainfall and Runoff and state-based manuals.
• Continue working with the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) on refining the National Flood Information Database (NFID) and the effectiveness of national residential flood insurance.

• Continue liaison with Engineers Australia on the revision of Australian Rainfall and Runoff in particular to provide specialist input and review as well as assisting with future funding issues.
• Continue liaison with the Australian Building Codes Board with their work on improving the resilience of buildings in flood prone areas.
• Contribute specialist inputs on flood risk to the work of the Community Engagement Working Group, especially on public education and warning.
• Provide support for the ongoing formation of a broad based national organization of floodplain management authorities and practitioners.
• Support the initiatives underway with improving the availability of professional education in floodplain management, especially through the recent establishment of a post graduate subject in floodplain management.
• Work with the Australian Government as sponsored through Geoscience Australia on the update and enhancement of the Australian Flood Studies Database.
• Ongoing development of guidelines for properly costing flood damages to develop an evidence base to support future investment by government in flood mitigation and resilience projects and associated input into broader all hazards work.
• Continue to provide the only national forum that facilitates collaboration among jurisdictions and other key stakeholders engaged in implementing and further advancing best practice flood risk management in Australia.

Next meeting, February 2010.

National Spatial and Information Management Working Group

Formed in 2007, the National Spatial and Information Management Working Group resulted from the amalgamation of the National Information Management Advisory Group and the National Spatial Information for National Security Working Group. It was set up to enhance decision support capabilities through access to, and use of, relevant information, including spatial information. Its activities will support critical infrastructure protection, counter-terrorism and emergency management within and between the Australian, State and Territory governments and local governments by addressing prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. The group will carry out its functions under the strategic direction of the Australian Emergency Management Committee, the National Committee on Critical Infrastructure Protection and the National Counter-Terrorism Committee.

The working group aims to:

• Identify, propose and promote solutions to administrative, financial, legal, policy, security and technical barriers to collaborative sharing of spatial and other relevant information used to support critical infrastructure protection, counter-terrorism and emergency management activities;
• evaluate and provide strategic advice on spatial and other information requirements for critical infrastructure protection, counter-terrorism and emergency management agencies;
• maintain an inventory of existing and developing spatial information infrastructure and interoperability status;
• examine and make recommendations on:
  • data capture and access, including issues such as licensing, privacy, classification and the release of data;
  • standards, including symbology, technical infrastructure and appropriate models and tools; and
  • capacity building, including awareness raising, education and skills development;
• facilitate the development and maintenance of a spatial information capability as an integral component of all operational management and decision-making which can be used across all jurisdictions and agencies;
• integrate the use and assess the utility of existing critical infrastructure protection, counter-terrorism and emergency management information systems within current capability development activities and operational processes (e.g. exercises); and
• identify existing and emerging relevant information sources for the purpose of data integration and availability to the critical infrastructure protection, counter-terrorism and emergency management community.