12 Conclusion

ESTA's staff, working on the frontline, like many across the emergency management sector, have endured a heavy burden during the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to do so at the time of this report. As part of this review, IGEM has made 42 findings and eight recommendations that present opportunities for improvement. IGEM has made nine observations, with most acknowledging recommendations contained within the ESTA Capability and Service Review, aimed at adding value where relevant. The possibility remains of a new variant of COVID-19 or some other future disease that will challenge the health and emergency management sectors in similar ways. The improvements proposed here will not only strengthen ESTA’s ability to better respond to future pandemics, but other emergencies and surge events of any type, some of which climate scientists predicted will increase in both severity and frequency. IGEM considers the most critical reform must be a revision of ESTA’s funding arrangements. This is to ensure that ESTA and any successor organisation has the capacity and means to fulfil its role and Victorians’ expectation that their calls for emergency assistance are answered quickly. Another priority is improving community understanding of the emergency call service, including when to call 000. Demand management of 000 calls should be high on the agenda of all stakeholders, not just the call-taking agency. The recommendations made through this review aim to provide a foundation for restoring public confidence in Victoria’s emergency call-taking and dispatch system.

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