News

STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS ACHIEVEMENT REPORT CAPTURES INNOVATION AND EXCELLENCE

AFAC has published the Strategic Directions Achievement Report 2022, which provides examples of industry and jurisdictional activities in support of the Strategic Directions for Fire and Emergency Services in Australia and New Zealand 2022–2026.

This is the first achievement report published under the new Strategic Directions, which include six priority areas that reflect a shared vision and joint commitment to safe and secure communities.

Each year, AFAC members and affiliate members contribute their projects and initiatives for inclusion in the Strategic Directions Achievement Report. These contributions ensure the final result is wide-ranging and reflective of the work undertaken by the fire and emergency services sector.

AFAC CEO Rob Webb said: “Together, these initiatives support a more disaster-resilient Australia and New Zealand by demonstrating a level of national capability, based on operational readiness and underpinned by the most current qualifications and standards available, lessons management, and research utilisation.”

The Strategic Directions Achievement Report 2022 demonstrates through case studies the work that has been completed in the past 12 months by all jurisdictions in conjunction with AFAC members and partner agencies. It is a sample of initiatives undertaken, rather than an exhaustive list of all work relating to the strategic directions.

The six Strategic Directions are:

„ Supporting resilient communities „ Providing trusted response „ Using credible and timely information and data „ Safe, capable and diverse workforce „ Informed by knowledge, innovation and research „ Effective and transparent governance The Strategic Directions for Fire and Emergency Services in Australia and New Zealand 2022–2026 was endorsed by the Australia-New Zealand Emergency Management Committee and the National Emergency Management Ministers’ Meeting.

AFAC reports to these bodies annually on accomplishment and is proud to present the Strategic Directions Achievement Report 2022 to ministers with responsibility for emergency services. This report provides examples of industry and jurisdictional activities in support of the Strategic Directions.

Read the Strategic Directions Achievement Report 2022 online: www.afac.com.au/auxiliary/about/ strategy.

PHOTO: AFAC

AUSTRALASIAN WOMEN IN EMERGENCIES DAY

Monday 10 October marked Australasian Women in Emergencies (AWE) Day, which recognises and celebrates women in emergencies and disaster resilience.

Women bring unique skills and strengths to all areas of disaster resilience and emergency management, and their insights and expertise help to build resilience across Australasia.

AWE celebrated the anniversary with a forum event, which featured keynote speakers Australian Institute Disaster Resilience Executive Director Dr Margaret Moreton, Fire and Rescue NSW Youth Coordinator and Girls on Fire Founder Bronnie Mackintosh, and Women and Firefighting Australasia President Anne Pickles PSM.

AWE Day is for all women who work, volunteer, or study in emergency services, community or not-for-profit organisations, governments or agencies, universities or schools, and private businesses and organisations.

Find out more about AWE by visiting www.awenetwork.org.au.

WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP SCHOLARSHIPS

Scholarships are now available for women at all levels of business, across all sectors and industries, for professional development.

Women & Leadership Australia (WLA) is currently offering these scholarships for four leadership development courses that bring together a focus on applied learning with the latest in leadership theory and practice.

Scholarships of $1,000 to $5,000 per person are available, but candidates must apply by 2 December 2022.

For more information, visit www.wla.edu.au/funding.html.

PHOTO: UNSPLASH ONLINE NCC 2022 NOW AVAILABLE

The Australian Building Codes Board has released the online version of National Construction Code 2022. This version represents the largest set of changes since the inception of the Code in the 1990s.

These changes include: „ liveable housing features „ increased residential energy standards „ lead-free requirements for plumbing products „ a new structure and clause referencing system to improve accessibility and functionality „ new provisions for early childhood centres to help evacuate young children from the upper levels of multistorey buildings „ quantification of a range of requirements and performance solutions „ a suite of improvements to fire safety, weatherproofing, waterproofing, and bushfire provisions.

The commencement of the Code has been postponed until 1 May 2023, but has been made available earlier for pratictioners’ use.

For more information, visit https://ncc.abcb.gov.au.

VBA RESTRICTED REGISTRATION TRAINING NOW AVAILABLE

FPA Australia has been in discussion with the Victorian Building Authority (VBA) about releasing a refreshed course and exam for water supply proving tests.

The course—accepted by the VBA one of the critical requirements for practitioners involved in the routine servicing of unpumped hydrants and valves—has been accepting expressions of interest and will soon commence.

Other training requirements for this registration, such as the Certificate II, are already available and can be found on FPA Australia’s website.

For more information contact the team at training@fpaa.com.au.

PHOTO: FPA AUSTRALIA

SENIOR LEADERS COHORT AND EXECUTIVE FORUM RETURNS

For the first time since 2019, the Senior Leaders Cohort and Executive Forum returned to an in-person event in Melbourne on 13–14 September 2022.

This year’s line-up at the Senior Leaders Cohort on 13 September covered a range of issues facing current and future leaders of the emergency management and service sector.

The event opened with Hayden Fricke, Chair Elect from the Australian College of Organisational Psychologists, discussing ‘What does the future of work look like and how can you adjust your leadership to adapt to the changing workplace landscape?’. Mr Fricke spoke of positive mental health techniques that improve the wellbeing of leaders and those they lead.

Stan Karanasios, Associate Professor in Information Systems at the University of Queensland Business School, presented on ‘Managing misinformation in the digital age’. Mr Karanasios’s insightful commentary covered different types of misinformation, and how leaders can get their information to the right people in both a timely and authoritative manner without fuelling misinformation.

Senior Psychologist Anne Goyne and Brigadier John Fenwick from the Centre for Defence Leadership discussed ‘Leadership, moral courage and the evolution of the Australian Defence Force’. Their presentation generated an in-depth conversation on gender and abuse within the Australian Defence Force, and how both the defence force and emergency services sector can improve gender diversity and remove stigma around men’s mental health.

Andrew Stark, Executive Director Emergency Management and COVID-19 Response for Victorian Department of Health, presented on ‘Leading during COVID-19. Observations from this event and reflections on how these learnings can be integrated into agencies’ lessons management’.

Mr Stark’s whirlwind career in the last three years has seen him go from Deputy Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service during the 2019–20 bushfires to the private sector, and then into role of the Executive Director Emergency Management and COVID-19 Response in Victoria in 2022. His reflections looked at stepping into the unknown, the new reality around pandemics, and what is in store for the future.

The Executive Forum on 14 September featured conversations with AFAC President and NSW SES Commissioner Carlene York and AFAC Deputy Chair and DFES Commissioner Darren Klemm. Their conversations explored current issues that our leaders face and insights into how different agencies combat them.

FPA AUSTRALIA RTO PASSES ASQA AUDIT

The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA), which oversees vocational training, recently signed off its audit into FPA Australia’s registered training organisation (RTO).

The performance assessment was carried out to assess our compliance with the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011, including the requirements of the Standards for Registered Training Organisations 2015.

It allowed ASQA to determine the viability of the RTO, to consider the recently submitted RTO registration renewal application by FPA Australia, and to decide whether recently requested additional training courses could be added to our scope.

In late September we were formally advised by ASQA that the RTO will be re-registered until 22 June 2029, and that we can now advertise, enrol students, and deliver training for new products, without any additional conditions.

This includes units of competency required for qualified accreditation under the Fire Protection Accreditation Scheme’s Fire Safety Assessment category, providing more opportunities for practitioners to obtain their qualified status.

The RTO is also accepting enrolments for the Certificate II in Fire Protection Inspection and Testing, for those who wish to gain accreditation for routine service work.

The re-registration is a significant achievement, and a testament to the hard work and dedication of our RTO Manager, Tim Palma, and his team—Jenny Asplin, Beth Spencer, and Johna Parma—over the past 12 months.

ASQA audits are challenging, and require significant effort, particularly given the last two years of uncertainty. The FPA Australia Board and Executive congratulate the team for its achievement.

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

NATURAL HAZARDS RESEARCH AUSTRALIA LAUNCHED

PHOTO: NHRA

The vital role of research in emergency management was central to discussions at the Natural Hazards Research Forum. The inaugural Natural Hazards Research Forum was hosted at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre over 12–14 October by Natural Hazards Research Australia.

Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA) was officially launched at the event by Senator the Hon. Murray Watt, Federal Minister for Emergency Management, a year after the research program commenced. NHRA CEO Andrew Gissing said it was important to discuss the research that Australia needs to confront disasters.

“Research is critical to continuing to improve Australia’s disaster readiness. We have learnt much through science in recent decades but there is still more to do, especially mitigation pre-disaster, which will not only lessen the heartache experienced by communities at the forefront of natural hazards, but also can also save money in the long term,” Mr Gissing said.

“Over the past year, Natural Hazards Research Australia has worked with our key partners around the country to develop the research priorities the country needs to focus on now, to make us safer and to reduce the economic impact of natural hazards.”

The forum featured an impressive line-up of keynote speakers including: „ the Hon. Mark Ryan MP, Queensland

Minister for Fire and Emergency

Services „ Professor Mary O’Kane AC, Chair,

NSW Independent Planning

Commission „ Dr Robert Glasser, Head of Climate and Security Policy Centre, Australian

Strategic Policy Institute „ Brendan Moon, Coordinator-General for Emergency Management,

National Emergency Management

Agency.

A highlight of the forum was the Disaster Challenge Final on 13 October, which brought together three teams of early career researchers and postgraduate students to pitch their innovative ideas to help solve a wicked problem in disaster management: How can disaster preparation engage with the unengaged, the moving or the hard to reach?

Find out more about Natural Hazards Research Australia and the forum event online: www.naturalhazards.com.au.

PHOTO: NHRA

WI-FI FOR GOOD TAKES OUT INAUGURAL DISASTER CHALLENGE

An innovative idea to use wi-fi to provide tourists with localised disaster preparedness information while on holiday has taken out the inaugural Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA) Disaster Challenge Final.

The idea focuses on positive and practical information people can use while on holiday to stay safe from natural hazards and would include a short video with tips about how to access emergency information if a disaster struck, customised to the local area.

NHRA will now work over the next 12 months with Dr Kamarah Pooley and Mark Owens, who came up with the idea, to explore it further.

Governments continue with moves to restrict the use of environmentally damaging firefighting foams.

FURTHER PHASING OUT OF PFAS FOAMS

The use of specific long-chain PFAS foams for firefighting is prohibited in certain states and territories, except where used by designated regulatory authorities in the event of a catastrophic or potentially catastrophic fire.

Following the lead of Queensland in 2016 and South Australia in 2018, the NSW Government’s ban on the use of firefighting foams containing per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in certain instances came into effect on 26 September 2022.

Already prohibited for use for training or demonstration purposes, it is now an offence in NSW to discharge prescribed long-chain PFAS firefighting foam from a portable extinguisher unless the foam is discharged by: „ a relevant authority to prevent or extinguish a catastrophic fire „ a person to prevent or extinguish a fire on watercraft in relevant waters.

A catastrophic fire is defined in the Protection of the Environment Operations (General) Amendment (PFAS Firefighting Foam) Regulation 2021 as being one involving combustible accelerants such as petrol, kerosene, oil, tar, paint, or similar.

It is also an offence to sell portable fire extinguishers containing “the precursor to PFAS firefighting foam”— except to relevant authorities, the owner or master of a watercraft, or anyone who has been granted an exemption by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA).

There is some uncertainty about what is meant by “the precursor to PFAS firefighting foam”, and further clarity is being sort from the NSW EPA.

The Regulation also does not provide details as to what circumstances might warrant an exemption, as the exemption application process is still in development.

The change is in response to the National PFAS Position Statement, which articulates the shared view of Australian governments that the use of these substances in Australia should be reduced where practicable, to minimise damage to the environment, while still enabling emergency services to fight catastrophic fires.

FPA Australia is working through the relevant Technical Advisory Committees to develop a measured and considered position on the use of PFAS and foams, scientific research, and comparative testing.

For more information and to view the new Regulation, see the NSW EPA website: www.epa.nsw.gov.au/ your-environment/contaminated-land/ regulation-of-pfas-firefighting-foams.

EMISSIONS TARGET ON TRACK

The Australian Government is working towards meeting its goal of a 30% reduction in harmful emissions from ozone depleting substances (ODS) and synthetic greenhouse gases (SGG) by 2030.

The Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water continues to work closely with the Fire Protection Industry Board as part of its co-regulatory partnership to monitor and minimise harmful emissions from ODS and SGG, currently used under strict regulations in the fire protection, air conditioning, and refrigeration industries.

The partnership, through the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Program, focuses on educating sectors on best practices to minimise the risk of emissions, and to encourage transition to safer alternatives.

The recent release of the 2021 State of Environment report highlighted the importance of regulating these substances to meet climate targets.

On 28 September, the Australian Government introduced amendments

PHOTO: STORYBLOCKS

to the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse legislation to modernise and streamline Australia’s laws to manage ODS and SGG.

The management of these gases, in advance of the Montreal Protocol agreed phase-down levels, has been due to the collaboration with industry, including requirements for technicians to be fully trained and to safely recover hydrofluorocarbons from old equipment through a world-leading, industry-funded and operated product stewardship scheme.

As part of this collaboration and to support the co-regulatory function, the Fire Protection Industry Board meets regularly with government officials and welcomes industry sector feedback. Share your thoughts at ozone@fpib.com.au.

The government has committed to continuing the control of ODS and SGG.

TECHNOLOGY CUTS THE RISK OF COMPOST FIRES

Geelong Mayor Peter Murrihy demonstrates the new temperature sensors introduced to reduce compost fire risk. With him are Geelong Manufacturing Council CEO Jennifer Conley and Co-Directors of Sequence Digital Raj Pandita and Patrick Blampied.

The City of Greater Geelong has introduced a fleet of 4G, weather-proof, solar-powered temperature sensors in its Garden Organics Processing Facility in Anakie. The purpose of this technology is to monitor the temperature in the depot of green waste collected from households, which can often get hot and ignite.

It introduces round-the-clock monitoring, which will improve safety on-site by allowing action to cool the material and stop ignition.

Created by Sequence Digital, the system can work in remote areas, where internet signals are weak, during extreme weather conditions.

The project is jointly funded by the City of Greater Geelong, the Victorian Government, and the Geelong Manufacturing Council.

For more information visit Cleantech Innovations Geelong at www.geelongaustralia.com. au/fpg/industry/article/ item/8d39b5882c0980d.aspx.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS AND PAPERS

The dust has settled on the AFAC and FPA Australia conferences for 2022, and we are turning our minds to next year’s events. Programs are currently being developed for both, as we put together interesting and informative topics for attendees. You can share your ideas, share your passions, and educate the firefighting and fire protection communities by submitting a paper for consideration to either organisation.

FIRE AUSTRALIA 2023 CALL FOR PAPERS

Following this year’s successful visit to the Garden State, Fire Australia is heading north once again.

Three days of presentations, tours, and festivities are being planned for the International Convention and Exhibition Centre in Sydney.

Thirty-five plenaries, workshops, and panel sessions will give attendees good insights into the perceptive, the political, and the practical—the future of fire protection, updates on ongoing reforms, and the latest in technical know-how.

But we want to hear the views of our sector and to invite experienced practitioners to share the breadth of their knowledge and experience with their peers.

If you have an interesting fire protection presentation that you would like to share with the Fire Australia audience, get in touch with us.

Submit an abstract for your insightful presentation and you could be chosen to speak at Fire Australia 2023.

Papers should be sent by 13 January 2023 to www.fireaustralia.com.au/papers.

AFAC23 CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

The AFAC23 Conference and Exhibition returns in Brisbane from 22 to 25 August 2023 to explore the theme, ‘Creating a sustainable future: the challenges and opportunities’.

Increasing disasters are creating new challenges for governments and communities across Australia. As we transition our approach to emergency management, the world transitions to a net-zero future. New technologies present uncharted challenges and opportunities for the fire and emergency services sector. How do we champion a safe and sustainable future for our people and the communities they serve?

People are at the centre of our work, and changes in demographics and behaviour influence our risk landscape. How do we better understand our workforces and our communities to truly create a sustainable future for all?

AFAC23 will explore how Australia and the Pacific is prepared to meet the challenge.

Submit your abstract before 6 February 2023 to be considered for the program: www.afacconference.com.au.

PHOTO: AFAC The call for abstracts is now open for the AFAC23 Conference and Exhibition in Brisbane.