Welcome

President’s message

Elected by the AFAC National Council, the AFAC Board provides governance and oversight for the effective management of AFAC as a company. Meeting bi-monthly throughout the year, the AFAC Board has continued to ensure that AFAC is sustainable and able to adequately provide the services its members require during what has been another challenging year for the sector.

This year AFAC published the Strategic Directions for Fire and Emergency Services in Australia and New Zealand 2022-26, the third edition developed by AFAC. Expanding to cover six priority areas, the strategic directions provide the fire and emergency services sector with a shared vision and a joint commitment to enhanced community resilience.

Over the 2021-22 period AFAC has continued to maintain capabilities such as the National Resource Sharing Centre and the National Aerial Firefighting Centre on behalf of AFAC members to support and enable their operations.

Key to maintaining this support is collaboration and facilitation, which is at the core of all AFAC business. Building relationships with members and stakeholders across Australia, New Zealand and the world, has been integral to the growth and development of AFAC. Collaborating and sharing knowledge across our networks is why AFAC has cemented itself as a trusted source for our members and stakeholders alike.

This year, due to COVID-19 lockdowns and travel restrictions across Australia and New Zealand the AFAC conference and exhibition was held virtually for the first time in its 26-year history. Attracting over 2,800 registrations, AFAC21 was delivered on an interactive and immersive online platform that provided a much needed opportunity for our sector to collaborate and share knowledge following the recent emergency events (the 2019-20 bushfires, extreme storms and flooding, a pandemic) that produced new challenges for fire and emergency services.

Despite disruptions, the sector has maintained efforts to deliver nationally agreed doctrine, and AFAC has continued to work on key national projects, including the rollout of the Australian Fire Danger Rating System and the Australian Warning System. Well positioned to support further work, the AFAC Research Committee has developed the AFAC Research Strategy 2022-2027 to provide a high-level view of the role research and development play in the path towards the sector’s strategic directions, and to identify opportunities for collaboration.

On behalf of the AFAC Board, I would like to express my gratitude to the membership, the AFAC CEO and staff for their efforts to progress the sector throughout another year under challenging circumstances.

CARLENE YORK, APM

Commissioner, NSW SES AFAC President

CEO’s message

AFAC exists to support our members to create safer, more resilient communities. This purpose drives our program of work and despite continued challenges over the last year from COVID-19 as well as complex and concurrent disasters, our sector has maintained its collaborative spirit and continued to drive forward important work.

The National Resource Sharing Centre continued to coordinate the movement of fire and emergency service personnel between Australian jurisdictions to provide surge capacity for fire, flood and severe weather events, with nearly 1,000 personnel deployed to Queensland and New South Wales to assist with flood operations this season.

The National Aerial Firefighting Centre conducted a record level of procurement activity to arrive at a fleet of 164 aircraft for 2021-22. This fleet was supplemented by a new national large airtanker thanks to welcome additional funding from the Australian Government. This large airtanker is a national capability that can assist all jurisdictions as needed.

While the AFAC21 powered by INTERSCHUTZ Conference and Exhibition was not able to take place in person in Sydney as planned, we were able to deliver a virtual conference on a state-of-the-art digital platform. The conference attracted over 2,800 registrations and had high levels of engagement throughout.

Despite disruptions, AFAC also conducted a total of 91 collaboration group meetings, bringing together over 1,100 individuals across 34 groups representing our member agencies. This is a great achievement and highlights the important role collaboration across our sector plays in benefitting communities.

In what was a challenging year, I offer my thanks and gratitude to the National Council, the AFAC Board and AFAC staff for their efforts, contributions and dedication.

ROB WEBB

Chief Executive Officer, AFAC