Overview
Mitigation encompasses activities needed to eliminate or reduce the incidents or severity of emergencies, and the minimisation of their effects.
The participating agencies for mitigation table (Table 8) lists the 15 emergency risks, identified in the Emergency Risks in Victoria Report, assessed as significant for the State. Under each emergency risk type, relevant mitigation activities are listed along with the agencies that could be involved in any aspect of each activity as a participating agency.
When viewing the participating agencies for mitigation table, two mitigation sections of the interactive and functional SEMP should also be considered:
- the Mitigation section under Emergency Management Phases
- the Mitigation section under Emergency Management Arrangements.
When reviewing Table 8, it should be noted that preparedness and mitigation are closely interrelated as they both seek to reduce the severity of an emergency, and that mitigation activities for emergencies not identified in the Emergency Risks in Victoria report are detailed in the Agency roles and responsibilities alignment to the Victorian Preparedness Framework section.
Table 8: Mitigation activities and agencies for managing Victoria’s significant emergency risks, by emergency
Activities and participating agencies for managing Victoria’s significant emergency risks, by emergency risk.
Emergency Risk: Bushfire
| Activity | Participating agencies |
|---|---|
|
Land use planning |
|
|
Building regulations, standards and codes |
|
|
Landscape fuel management including legislative requirements |
|
|
Fire ignition controls including total fire ban days, arson programs |
|
|
Community education, awareness and engagement to prevent and respond to bushfire and bushfire smoke |
DH (bushfire smoke) |
|
Seasonal arrangements to ensure capability |
|
|
Restricted access to public land |
Emergency Risk: Earthquake
| Activity | Participating agencies |
|---|---|
|
Building standards/regulations and enforcement (post 1989, 1993, 2007 standards) |
Australian Building Code Board Australian Building and Construction Commission Housing Industry Association |
|
Critical infrastructure (engineering) vulnerability assessments and maintenance regimes (essential services, dams/levees, buildings, roads, bridges, tunnels) |
Critical infrastructure owners/operators Public and private infrastructure owners/operators |
|
List of vulnerable (e.g. pre- 1989) buildings in CBD to inform response planning |
Melbourne City Council |
|
Community engagement, education and awareness |
Emergency Risk: Electricity supply disruption
| Activity | Participating |
|---|---|
|
Legislative framework, e.g. Electricity Industry Act, Electricity Safety Act, national electricity laws and rules |
|
|
System redundancy (N-1) |
Electricity companies |
|
Urban development and planning |
|
|
Tower barriers, signage and fencing |
Electricity companies |
|
Security controls and surveillance |
Electricity companies |
|
Public awareness |
Electricity companies |
|
Maintenance inspections |
Electricity companies |
|
Supervisory control and data acquisition and automated protection scheme |
Electricity companies |
|
System modelling |
|
|
Market mechanisms |
|
|
Load management strategies including segmented customers to minimise community impacts |
Electricity companies |
|
Public communication and engagement |
|
|
Industry forums, including regular emergency exercises |
Electricity companies |
Emergency Risk: Emergency animal disease
|
Activity |
Participating agencies |
|---|---|
|
Customs and quarantine infrastructure and services |
Australian Border Force |
|
International standards and conventions |
World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) |
|
Australian border controls policy and operations |
Australian Border Force |
|
Regulated control of certain risk activities associated with animal feeding |
|
|
Regulated control of farm biosecurity practices |
DJPR |
|
Disease surveillance activities - epidemiological information (data and analysis) to meet trading partner needs |
|
|
International surveillance/intelligence |
|
|
Regulated control of native wildlife rehabilitation and licensing |
|
|
Farming industry supply chain best practice and accreditation |
Victorian Farmers Federation |
|
Specialist training of staff and industry |
|
|
Awareness raising, education, information dissemination |
Emergency Risk: Emergency pest plant
| Activity | Participating agencies |
|---|---|
|
Preparedness and contingency plans |
|
|
Surveillance programs |
|
|
Diagnostic testing |
|
|
National border control |
Australian Border Force |
|
State border control |
|
|
Education and stakeholder engagement |
|
|
Conditions on movement (e.g. insecticide requirements for red imported fire ant host materials) |
|
|
Pest and disease alerts |
|
|
Farm biosecurity / awareness |
|
|
Public awareness campaigns |
|
|
Plant health certification and auditing |
|
|
Chemical control |
Emergency Risk: Flood
| Activity | Participating agencies |
|---|---|
|
Legislative policy framework including floodplain management strategy, reform (lessons learnt) |
|
|
Land use planning (Strategic and statutory) and building regulations |
|
|
Flood mitigation infrastructure e.g. levees, retarding basins |
|
|
Vegetation/waterway management |
|
|
Property modifications |
Property owners |
|
Community engagement, education and awareness |
|
|
Flood emergency planning including readiness |
|
|
Flood data / intelligence and mapping |
|
|
Total Flood Warning System |
Emergency Risk: Gas supply disruption
| Activity | Participating agencies |
|---|---|
|
Legislative and regulatory framework, including Gas Industry Act 2001, Gas Safety Act 1997 and associated Gas Safety Cases, National Gas Law and National Gas Regulations, critical infrastructure resilience requirements under the EM Act 2013 |
Gas companies |
|
Buried pipelines, signage and fencing |
Gas companies |
|
Security controls and surveillance including patrol and inspection |
Gas companies |
|
Public awareness |
Gas companies |
|
Maintenance inspections |
Gas companies |
|
System modelling |
Gas companies |
|
AEMO maintenance coordination and direction powers, including 24x7 control room and gas duty system |
|
|
Industry forums, including regular emergency exercises |
Gas companies |
|
Annual Victorian Gas Planning Report |
Emergency Risk: Hazardous materials (including industrial waste) incident
| Activity | Participating agencies |
|---|---|
|
Reduction/substitution of HAZMAT use (including inventory minimisation) |
DH (radioactive materials) |
|
Land use planning and regulation, and process facility/residential/commercial development designs |
|
|
HAZMAT storage design and maintenance (including transport design) |
DH (radioactive materials) National Heavy Vehicle Regulator |
|
HAZMAT transport requirements (e.g. prohibitions, material volume and selection, route and timing selection, transport mode, stakeholder engagement (e.g. Worksafe Victoria, FRV, DoT, transporter, receiver) |
DH (radioactive materials) Transport companies |
|
Pre-transport consequence modelling and readiness - plume modelling, etc. |
DH (radioactive materials) DoT (oil spills only) |
|
Dangerous Goods transporter maintenance, training, licensing, inspection etc. (road/rail/marine, pipeline) |
DH (radioactive materials) EPA (licence for transport of hazardous waste) National Heavy Vehicle Regulator Worksafe Victoria (management of dangerous goods in transport, storage and handling) |
|
Legislation/regulation and enforcement (e.g. Major Hazard Facilities, Dangerous Goods Code preventative requirements), supported by audits and inspection |
DH (radioactive materials) |
Emergency Risk: Heatwave
| Activity | Participating agencies |
|---|---|
|
Education and community resilience – Survive the Heat campaign |
|
|
Weather forecasting |
|
|
Planning (state, local and agency preparedness) |
Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee (local) |
|
Heat Health Alert System to alert subscribers of forecast extreme heat |
|
|
Urban planning (water fountains, cool places – parks, air-conditioned facilities) |
|
|
Rescheduling public events |
Event organisers |
|
Well designed and maintained (resilient) infrastructure. |
Infrastructure asset owners |
Emergency Risk: Liquid fuel disruption
| Activity | Participating agencies |
|---|---|
|
Legislative and regulatory framework, including Fuel Emergency Act 1977, critical infrastructure resilience requirements under the EM Act 2013 |
Fuel companies |
|
Security controls and surveillance including patrol and inspection |
Fuel companies Pipeline operators |
|
Public awareness |
Fuel companies Pipeline operators |
|
Maintenance inspections |
Fuel companies Pipeline operators |
|
System modelling |
Fuel companies |
|
Industry forums, including regular emergency exercises |
Fuel companies Pipeline operators |
Emergency Risk: Maritime emergency (non SAR)
| Activity | Participating agencies |
|---|---|
|
Condition surveys for vessel class, commercial charter, and insurance requirements |
|
|
International Maritime Organisation licensing requirements and audits for vessel crews |
|
|
Implementation of International Safety Management code requirements (e.g. safety management system) |
|
|
Legislation and enforcement (e.g. compulsory marine pilotage/exempt masters, Harbour master directions, safety duty (So Far As Is Reasonably Practicable) obligations of port manager, port operator, vessel operators, offshore facility operators etc.) |
Port owners / operators |
|
State and national audits and inspection of commercial vessels, port infrastructure, offshore facilities (note vessel condition monitoring done by Commonwealth) |
|
|
Licensed, current and competent pilots |
Pilotage service providers |
|
Navigational systems including charts, Vessel Tracking Service, Dynamic Under Keel Clearance system, marks, aids to navigation (wave, wind, tide, swell etc.), personal pilotage units etc. |
Pilotage service providers Port owners/operators |
|
Melbourne and Geelong harbour tug fleet capacity and redundancy for normal operations (limited capacity for coastal operations) |
Port owners/operators |
Emergency Risk: Mine emergency
| Activity | Participating agencies |
|---|---|
|
Legislation/regulation and enforcement of Mineral Resources Sustainable Development Act 1990 and regulations (licensing and approvals process for operators of declared mines), Occupational Health & Safety Act 2004, EM Act 2013, EM (Critical Infrastructure Resilience) Regulations 2015, Country Fire Authority Act 1958 and Regulations 2014, Energy Safe Victoria Act 2005 |
|
|
Operator implementation of Triggered Action Response Plan (including consultation with government agencies) and monitoring/maintenance |
Mine owners/operators |
|
Implementation of risk-based mine work plans and Risk Management Plans (formerly Risk Assessment and Management Plans), addressing specific mine stability, fire, explosion, flooding etc. controls |
Mine owners/operators |
|
Audits and inspection |
|
|
Planning consent and work plan approvals (initial and on-going) |
|
|
Implementing licensee and work plan conditions for mine operators to manage identified risks |
|
|
Technical review board (provides independent advice to DJPR and the Minister on mine stability). |
Relevant Minister |
Emergency Risk: Viral pandemic
| Activity | Participating agencies |
|---|---|
|
Vaccination |
Health services |
|
Health guidelines and relevant standards and codes |
|
|
Community education |
|
|
Health sector pandemic planning, surge capacity planning and exercises |
Health services |
|
Surveillance and modelling data from outbreaks, research of historic events |
Emergency Risk: Storm
| Activity | Participating agencies |
|---|---|
|
Drainage systems (drainage standards and strategy) |
|
|
Buildings compliant to engineering standards (building standards/regulations) |
Australian Building Code Board Australian Building and Construction Commission Housing Industry Association |
|
BoM weather and warning network and systems |
|
|
Equipped, trained and prepared essential services including power, water, gas and transport |
Electricity companies Gas companies |
|
Community engagement, education and awareness |
Emergency Risk: Water supply disruption
| Activity | Participating agencies |
|---|---|
|
System resilience e.g. desal plant and grid connectivity |
|
|
Critical infrastructure resilience |
Critical infrastructure operators |
|
Legislative framework and regulations including Water Act 1989, Water Industry Act 1994 and Safe Drinking Water Act 2003 (risk management plans and audits) |
DELWP (Water Act 1989) DH (Safe Drinking Water Act 2003) |
The department acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and acknowledges and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.