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The National Natural Disaster Royal Commission has released an Issues Paper on Firefighting and Emergency Services Personnel and Equipment and is inviting responses to the ten questions posed in the paper by 10am (AEST), 29 June 2020.

The Issues Paper provides a brief overview of some of the issues that affect firefighters and other emergency service providers, and poses a number of questions for comment. The Issues Paper can be downloaded from the Royal Commission website here.

Responses to the paper will inform the Royal Commission’s consideration of the role of fire and emergency services, including personnel. The responses will also assist with the panels that the Royal Commission intends to hear from in June and July 2020.

Comments on the issues paper should be provided directly to the Royal Commission and can be submitted via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. before 10am, Monday 29 June 2020.

Ten questions posed in the issues paper.

Question 1.

Is there, and should there be a nationally consistent approach to training and certification for firefighters and emergency services personnel that is of a high quality, and allows qualifications and capabilities to be transferable between jurisdictions? How could existing training arrangements be improved nationally?

Question 2.

How do fire authorities ensure equipment is interoperable between agencies and across the country, and appropriate to respond to fires in the face of changing climatic conditions? How could these arrangements be improved?

Question 3.

What barriers impede the establishment of common communication platforms for emergency services agencies across Australia? Will the Public Safety Mobile Broadband address problems with communication between emergency services on-the-ground?

Question 4.

How do fire authorities make decisions about sharing resources (personnel and equipment) within their jurisdiction and across Australia?

Question 5.

What issues exist in seeking and deploying international assistance in Australia?

Question 6.

What arrangements are in place to attract and retain volunteer and paid firefighters and/or emergency services personnel, and how could these arrangements be improved?

Question 7.

What before, during, and after support and/or wellbeing services are available for professional and volunteer emergency services personnel? How could these services be improved?

Question 8.

How are activities on the fireground coordinated between agencies, personnel and organisations (as described above in Incident management)? Do the current practices enable collaborative, timely decision making and information sharing?

Question 9.

What post-event assessment and reporting frameworks are in place to ensure accountability for prevention, preparedness, response and recovery for natural disasters? How could they be improved?

Question 10.

Should the Australian Government play a greater role in any of the arrangements described in this issues paper? If so, how?