Department of Health - Role statement

Provide whole-of-health leadership and direction to plan and prepare for emergencies with major health consequences, including mass casualties

1.3

Promote awareness of safe practices, emergency procedures and implementing safety and warning systems for health services, such as extreme heat and epidemic thunderstorm asthma

2.1, 13.3, 13.5

Implement legislation, programs and monitoring procedures to minimize public health risk from:

• Extreme heat
• communicable and non-communicable diseases (e.g. epidemic thunderstorm asthma)
• contaminated retail food
• food contaminated with the potential to cause harm to human health
• contaminated drinking water supplies
• radiation

13.1, 13.2, 13.3, 13.4, 13.5

Participating agency for the following bushfire mitigation activity: community education, awareness and engagement to prevent and respond to bushfire smoke

Table 8: Participating agencies for mitigation

Participating agency for the incident mitigation activities pertaining to radioactive materials:

• reduction/substitution of HAZMAT use (including inventory minimisation)
• HAZMAT storage design and maintenance (including transport design)
• 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)
• pre-transport consequence modelling and readiness - plume modelling, etc.
• dangerous Goods transporter maintenance, training, licensing, inspection etc. (road/rail/marine, pipeline)
• legislation/regulation and enforcement (e.g. Major Hazard Facilities, Dangerous Goods Code preventative requirements), supported by audits and inspection

Table 8: Participating agencies for mitigation

Participating agency for the following heatwave mitigation activities:

• education and community resilience – Survive the Heat campaign
• planning (state, local and agency preparedness)
• Heat Health Alert System to alert subscribers of forecast extreme heat

Table 8: Participating agencies for mitigation

Participating agency for the following viral pandemic mitigation activities:

• vaccination
• health guidelines and relevant standards and codes
• community education
• health sector pandemic planning, surge capacity planning and exercises
• surveillance and modelling data from outbreaks, research of historic events

Table 8: Participating agencies for mitigation

Participating agency for the water supply disruption mitigation activity: legislative framework and regulations including Water Act 1989, Water Industry Act 1994 and Safe Drinking Water Act 2003 (risk management plans and audits)

Table 8: Participating agencies for mitigation

Control agency for:

• incidents involving biological releases and radioactive materials
• human disease/epidemics (including mass, rapid onset of human disease from any cause), and food (including retail food)/drinking water contamination

3.1, 13.1, 13.2, 13.3, 13.4, 13.5

Table 9: Control agencies for response

Lead Response Support Agency (RSA) for the functional areas of health services, and health protection – public health

Table 10: Support agencies for response

Provide public information to protect the community during health emergencies. Issue warnings for communicable and human disease, radiological and biological leaks and spills, major food and drinking water contamination.

2.3

Provide public health and mental health information and advice and promote services available during and after major emergencies in coordination with other agencies

2.3, 2.5

Provide a State and Regional Health Coordination response during an emergency with major health consequences

3.1, 14.8

Coordinate training, development and deployment of suitably-qualified health professionals to enable Victoria to contribute to national or international deployments of health and medical teams, when requested by an interstate government, or by the Commonwealth Government under Australian Government Overseas Assistance Plan 2018 (AUSASSISTPLAN)

3.2, 14.4

Reduce preventable death, illness and disability in all health emergencies and other emergencies with potential health impacts

13.2, 13.3, 13.4, 13.5

Undertake a technical support role for blue green algae bloom event, providing expert public health advice to DELWP

13.3

Through the SEMP, SHERP and relevant sub-plans, ensure a safe, effective and coordinated health and medical response to emergency incidents that go beyond day-to-day arrangements

3.2, 14.4, 14.6, 14.8

Access additional resources for the provision of appropriate care during an emergency with major health consequences

14.4, 14.6

Relief Lead Agency (RelLA) to provide public health advice

Table 12: Relief Coordination

Relief Support Agency (RelSA) to:

• DELWP to provide relief drinking water to eligible households (advice)
• AV to provide relief health and medical assistance and first aid
• AV to provide pre hospital care to people affected by emergencies
• AV to establish field primary care clinics
• AV to provide other health and medical relief assistance measures

Table 12: Relief coordination

Support EMV to lead whole of government coordination of public information and communication in relation to emergency management for major emergencies

2.1, 2.3, 3.2

Recovery Coordinating Agency (RecCA) responsible for the recovery functional area coordination of health and medical assistance

20.4

Table 15: Recovery coordination: Social environment

Recovery Lead Agency (RecLA) responsible to:

• provide advice on accommodation standards for interim accommodation of displaced people, when requested by councils        

20.2

Table 15: Recovery coordination: Social environment

• provide mental health services and information

20.7

Table 15: Recovery coordination: Social environment

• provide advice on wellbeing in recovery through ‘whole-of-health’ advice, information and assistance to community

20.4

Table 15: Recovery coordination: Social environment

• maintain community access to primary and acute health services through DH funded health care services and other primary and acute health services

13.1, 13.3, 14.6, 14.8

Table 15: Recovery coordination: Social environment

• provide public health (health protection) advice to councils, other agencies and the community on a range of topics including safe drinking water, safe food, safe onsite waste management, adequate washing/toilet facilities and communicable disease outbreaks

4.5, 13.3, 13.4, 13.5

Table 14: Recovery coordination: For services across all environments

Lead agency responsible to assess, restore, clear and rehabilitate DH managed public buildings and assets 

19.2, 19.3, 19.4

Recovery Support Agency (RecSA) for Coroners Court of Victoria to promote mental health information and services available to support bereaved families

20.7

Table 15: Recovery coordination: Social environment

Support the lead recovery agency in its role to coordinate whole of government public information and communication following major emergencies

2.5