1 Introduction

The Inspector-General for Emergency Management (IGEM) was established in 2014 to provide assurance to the Victorian Government and the community regarding Victoria’s emergency management arrangements, and to foster their continuous improvement. The Inspector-General is a Governor in Council appointment under the Emergency Management Act 2013 (EM Act 2013).

In April 2021 the then Minister for Police and Emergency Services wrote to IGEM requesting2 that it report by November each year on the work of departments and agencies in implementing the actions it committed to in response to two IGEM reports:

 Review of 10 years of reform in Victoria’s emergency management sector (10 Year Review)

 Inquiry into the 2019–20 Victorian Fire Season – Phase 1 – Community and sector preparedness for and response to the 2019–20 fire season (Phase 1 report)

This is IGEM's second progress report on implementation activity relating to these two reports.

Section 4 of this report provides an assessment of implementation progress for the period to July 2022 and key developments since then in relation to the 81 (of 139) actions remaining in progress following IGEM's 2021 progress report.

In October 2021 IGEM's Inquiry into the 2019–20 Victorian Fire Season – Phase 2 – Progress and effectiveness of Victoria’s immediate relief and recovery arrangements report (Phase 2 report) was publicly released. The government responded to the Phase 2 report in the same month accepting all of its 15 recommendations.

The State Crisis and Resilience Council (SCRC) endorsed an implementation statement in June 2022 outlining the government's approach to implementing all recommendations from the Phase 2 report. As of September 2022, the government had yet to approve the statement for public release. Therefore IGEM is unable to provide an update on implementation progress against the statement in this report.

Section 2.4 of this report does however provide a brief update on the establishment of a dedicated emergency recovery entity for Victoria in response to Recommendation 13. The planned establishment of Emergency Recovery Victoria is a cornerstone of government activity in response to the Phase 2 report.

IGEM provided this progress report to the Minister for Emergency Services (the minister) in October 2022 and requested that the minister approve its public release.