afac annual report 2011-2012
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Annual Report 2011-2012
AFAC Vision
“Fire and emergency services strengthened through sharing, collaboration and innovation.”
Themes and Priorities for 2012 - 2014In 2009 the AFAC Council endorsed the current Strategic Plan. In February this year the AFAC Board, other senior member agency personnel and senior AFAC staff met to plan the work priorities for the next two years. A review of our current operating environment was undertaken and risks and opportunities for the fire and emergency management industry were examined.
To assist and broaden the perspective, three people aligned with our industry but independent of member agencies of AFAC, were invited to address the group to bring their own perspective and insights.
The planning group recognised while the description of our operating environment contained in the AFAC Strategic Plan is still largely relevant, some issues have crystallised requiring more urgent focus. The group noted particularly the impacts of new technologies, specifically social media, has been even greater than predicted three years ago, driving increasing expectations from communities and media.
The five themes endorsed by the Council in April 2012 and which will guide AFAC for the next two years are:
• Leadership and Advocacy
• Standards and Performance
• Interoperability and Consistency
• Data, Information and Knowledge
• Capability and Capacity
ContentsPresident’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
CEO’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
AFAC Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
AFAC Board Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
AFAC Council . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
AFAC Directors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
AFAC Staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Statement of Financial Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Statement of Financial Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
AFAC 2011 Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Executive Command Forum 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
AFAC Workshops, Groups, Networks and Professional Development Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Award 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Laurie Lavelle Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Motorola Knowledge Innovation Award . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
AFAC Group Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
AFAC Members and Affiliates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
SponsorsAFAC sincerely acknowledges and thanks our corporate supporters:
From the President
Lee A Johnson AFSM MIFireE, Commissioner Queensland Fire and Rescue Service AFAC President
Significant flooding in the eastern States and major fire activity in central and the ‘top end’ of Australia were the major events this year. Add in a cyclone or two in the West and summer storm activity in large metro areas with ensuing hail-stone damage and you have to agree, we are indeed a diverse country with substantial challenges in emergency management, no matter what the season.
The year also saw the conclusion of important and long running inquiries into floods, fire and other events. Our sector continues to respond to the challenges of implementing the recommendations of these inquiries.
In February, AFAC staff and a number of Council Members met to review the AFAC strategy and determine the key themes and priorities for the next few years. Key areas of focus are our need to determine the drivers shaping emergency management in our increasingly global and networked world, and understanding how success or good performance is measured and shapes community and stakeholder expectations.
We are making good progress in having our voice and experience heard in the areas of standards development, building and planning, but there is still much work to do. Our reliance on and ability to utilise research to inform good policy development and shape our practice areas continues. I am pleased to advise that the Bushfire CRC will continue to 2014, while work continues to transition into an all hazards Research Institute.
While our themes and areas of priority may have moved a little in response to our environment, our vision of building capability and capacity across the sector have not. AFAC and the Bushfire CRC staged a very successful annual conference in Sydney in August/September 2011, setting a new benchmark in terms of attendance and quality of program for future years. A number of other highly successful knowledge sharing and professional development events and programs were also held throughout the year.
AIIMs 3rd edition (revised) which acknowledges the elevation of the public information role was released and the AIIMS Steering Committee is well progressed in its comprehensive review and recommendations for the overall AIIMS doctrine. I thank the steering committee for guiding this critical work.
The new AFAC collaboration model was implemented earlier this year and I am pleased to see a number of workgroups have now transitioned into networks and all are using a variety of technologies to minimise the need for face to face meetings. The current economic environment will significantly challenge our ability to work collaboratively to achieve better industry outcomes. It is beholden on us all to find innovative and cost effective ways to continue our communication and information sharing.
As many of you know, Naomi Brown will be leaving AFAC at the end of 2012. I would like to sincerely thank Naomi on behalf of the Council for the vision, foresight and professional way she has steered the ship of AFAC over the past six years. Naomi has been well supported by a highly skilled and experienced team and I also acknowledge and thank them for their commitment.
From the CEO
Naomi Brown, CEO AFAC
AFAC holds an important place in the emergency services sector as the national body representing fire, emergency service and land management agencies throughout Australia and New Zealand. A real strength for us is that every eligible agency is a member of AFAC allowing us to represent approximately 250,000 paid and volunteer practitioners.
It has been interesting to cast back over the last few years to contemplate changes to the environment in which member agencies are operating and, by extension, AFAC.
The work of the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre is inextricably linked with the work of AFAC and has been successful on a number of levels. Most obvious and expected is the emergence of a large body of new knowledge that has been used to inform policy and practice at jurisdictional and agency level. Less obvious has been the subtle change in the culture of many of the partner agencies which has seen the search for evidence as a first response to a problem. Added to this has been the relationship that has developed between the practitioners and the researchers which has greatly enhanced the usefulness of the research being undertaken and has helped build a strong cohort of researchers for fire and emergency services for the future.
The number of inquiries after events is having a noticeable effect on AFAC members. There is always a large body of work in preparing for them as well as the implementation of multiple recommendations afterwards. Such inquiries always have a significant effect on the individuals involved and often the agency as well.
It is noticeable that expectations of fire and emergency services from the community and media continue to escalate, driven in no small part by the advent of recent technology that is owned not by agencies but by the public. This continues to test agencies’ ability to give information in rapidly changing circumstances and has completely changed previous notions of being in charge of events. Such expectations and thinking were behind the first of a number of changes to AIIMS, this being the elevation of public information to a function in its own right.
Severe financial constraints are being felt by the majority of AFAC members resulting in significant changes to agency structures and loss of jobs. This situation will challenge our ability to work collaboratively, at least face to face. In anticipation of this, AFAC last year reviewed its model of collaboration and this is taking more of the Groups into using web based technology to communicate. This trend will be enhanced by the use of video and other tools.
Despite these difficulties, the AFAC and Bushfire CRC Conference continues to go from strength to strength. We continue to be impressed and grateful for the support from our members and the exhibitors and the sponsors of this event.
As I will finish as CEO in December this year, I would like to thank all of the Council members and particularly those who have served on the Board for their support of AFAC and me personally over the last six years. Huge thanks and compliments also to the AFAC staff who are a dedicated, professional and very enjoyable team to work with.
Best wishes to you all.
Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council - Annual Report 2012 | 1
President
Lee A JohnsonCommissioner Queensland Fire and Rescue Service Assoc Dip App Sc (Fire Technology), AFSM, MIFireE, FAIM
Lee began his fire service career in 1975 and held successive leadership positions in regional and urban locations, culminating in his appointment as Commissioner of the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service in 2001.
In 2004, Lee was awarded the Australian Fire Service Medal – the highest individual honour awarded to Australian firefighters and is also the recipient of a number of awards and commendations.
In addition to his role as President of AFAC, Lee also represents Queensland as a Director on the Board of the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC).
Elected October 2005
Deputy President
Greg Mullins, Commissioner Fire and Rescue NSW AFSM, M. Management, FIFireE, FAIM
Greg was appointed Commissioner of Fire and Rescue New South Wales (formerly NSW Fire Brigade) in July 2003. He is the first person to be appointed as both Chief Fire Officer and CEO. He commenced his career in firefighting joining the agency in 1978 after serving for six years as a volunteer firefighter with the NSW Bushfire Service (now Rural Fire Service).
In addition to his roles as Deputy President of AFAC, Greg is also Deputy Chair of the NSW State Emergency Management Committee and is the Australian Director of the International Association of Asian Fire Chiefs.
In 1995 he was awarded a Churchill Fellowship and has been the recipient of numerous awards and commendations including the Australian Fire Service Medal.
Elected September 2007
Treasurer
Bob ConroyExecutive Director – Conservation Projects Division – NPWS Office of Environment & Heritage, NSW
Bob Conroy is Executive Director of the Conservation Projects Division, NPWS, within the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage. He has been a member of the AFAC Board for three years and was appointed Treasurer last financial year.
Bob holds a BA majoring in Geography and Botany, a Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science, a Master of Management and is a 1998 Churchill Fellow. He has also been awarded the National Fire Medal.
Bob is a member of the NSW Bush Fire Coordinating Committee and the National Biosecurity Committee.
Elected September 2009
AFAC GovernanceAFAC is governed by a Board of seven directors who are elected by the AFAC Council for a two year term.
While most directors are elected from Council, the AFAC constitution allows for the election of an independent director.
AFAC Council is represented by the Head of each Member Agency. Affiliate Members do not have representation at Council and have no voting rights.
AFAC Board
Lee Johnson, QFRS, President
Greg Mullins, FR NSW, Deputy President
Bob Conroy, OEH NSW, Treasurer
Mary Barry, VIC SES
Greg Nettleton, SA CFS
Mark Crosweller, ACT ESA
Grant Lupton, SA MFS
Wayne Gregson, FESA
Ross Dickson, Forests NSW
Neil Cooper, ACT PCS
Murray Dudfield, NRFA NZ
Paul Baxter, NZFS
Tony Blanks, Forestry Tasmania
Shane Fitzsimmons, NSW RFS
Murray Kear, NSW SES
Mike Brown, TFS
Rebecca Williams, DERM QLD
Steve Rothwell, NT FRS
Chris Beattie, SA SES
David Nugent, Parks Victoria
Adrian Pyrke, Parks & Wildlife Service Tasmania
Greg Saunder, ForestrySA
Andrew Lea, TAS SES
Andrew Werner, Airservices Australia
Murray Carter, DEC WA
Lloyd Bailey, FESA SES
Bruce Grady, EMQ
Stephen Sutton, Bushfires NT
Peter Davies, NT ES
Ewan Waller, DSE VIC
Grant Pelton, DENR SA
Nick Easy, MFB
Mick Bourke, CFA VIC
Tony Graham, ACT SES
Peter Channels, Attorney-General’s Department
AFAC Council
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AFAC Directors
Mary BarryChief Executive Officer, Victoria State Emergency Service
Mary was appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer in January 2006 following the re-establishment of the Victoria State Emergency Service as a Statutory Authority.
Previously Mary held the position of Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Association of Health and Extended Care (VAHEC) and has held executive roles at the Shire of Melton and MECWA Community Care. She has extensive experience working with community based organisations where service delivery is dependent on the efforts and commitment of both volunteers and paid employees.
Elected October 2008
Mark CroswellerCommissioner ACT Emergency Services Agency AFSM FAIM
Mark was appointed Assistant Commissioner of the Rural Fire Service NSW in 1998, commencing with the agency in the mid-eighties. In 2010 he was appointed Commissioner for the ACT Emergency Services Agency, responsible for the ACT - Fire Brigade, Ambulance Service, Rural Fire Service and State Emergency Service.
Mark is also a Director on the Board of the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) and the ACT & South East NSW Aeromedical Service Ltd. He is a foundation Chair of the Coffee4Kids Foundation and is the recipient of numerous commendations and awards, including the Australian Fire Service Medal in 2003. He has a Masters of Management from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Elected August 2011
Greg NettletonChief Officer, South Australian Country Fire Service
Greg was appointed Chief Officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service in 2011 and is the Public Officer for the CFS Foundation.
Prior to joining SACFS, he was the Director and Chief Fire Officer for the Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service. During 1998, as an inaugural Regional Director, he helped with the formation of the Fire & Emergency Services Authority, WA.
Greg holds a Degree in Engineering (Civil), a Masters’ Degree in Engineering Science and a Masters’ Degree in Business.
Elected August 2011
Grant LuptonChief Officer & CEO South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service AFSM, B.GS, MIFireE, CPMgr, FAIM
Grant Lupton was appointed Chief Officer and CEO of the South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service (MFS) in March 2002 and was recently reappointed for a third five-year term.
Prior to this appointment, Grant held a number of senior command roles with the Fire Services in Canada and is the recipient of a number of service citations and medals including the Canadian Fire Services’ Exemplary Service Medal. Both the South Australian Emergency Services Medal and Australian Fire Service Medal (AFSM) were awarded in 2007.
Grant has served and continues to serve on the Board of a number of Associations. He is the 2013 IFE International President Elect.
Elected October 2011
AFAC Staff
CEO
Naomi Brown
Naomi Brown joined AFAC as Chief Executive Officer in 2006, from the CFA where she was Director of Community Safety.
Claire Brentnall Project Officer, Strategy
Paul Considine Manager Operations, Urban Fire & SES
Jill Edwards Manager, Strategy
Trevor Essex Manager, Finance
Gary Featherston Manager, Rural & Land Management
Judy Gouldbourn Manager, Human Resources
Amanda Leck Manager, Knowledge Innovation
Rob Llewellyn Manager, Community Safety
Sandra Lunardi Manager, Learning and Development
Kent MacCarter Coordinator, Online Services
Sue Pigdon Manager, Marketing & Sponsorship
Shesiedo Ringdahl Coordinator, Communication & Events
Russell Shephard Manager, Standards
Ben Smith Project Officer, Learning & Development
Margaret Staples Reception / Accounts Assistant
Corinne Taton Project Officer, Administration
Kate Twentyman Officer, Finance
Lynette White Executive Assistant to CEO
Paul Whiting Manager, Info & Comms Technology
Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council - Annual Report 2012 | 3
Statement of Financial Performance For the Year Ended 30 June 2012
2012 $
2011 $
REVENUEMembers Subscriptions 1,645,332 1,642,832
Gross Margin From Trading Activities 728,769 562,723
Other Revenue 1,154,686 815,384
Total Revenue 3,528,787 3,020,939
EXPENSESSalaries & Related Expenses 2,407,245 1,898,209
Travel & Meeting Expenses 164,659 199,506
Office Expenses 567,567 544,034
Other Expenses 362,520 362,367
Total Expenses 3,501,991 3,004,116
Surplus/(Deficit) 26,796 16,823
Statement of Financial Position As at 30 June 2012
CURRENT ASSETSCash & Debtors 7,199,963 6,466,957
Others 314,520 221,825
Total Current Assets 7,514,483 6,688,782
NON CURRENT ASSETSIT & Office Equipment 243,014 278,280
TOTAL ASSETS 7,757,497 6,967,062
CURRENT LIABILITIESTrade Creditors 1,740,295 1,974,604
Revenue in Advance 2,269,424 1,737,629
Special Project Funding 1,799,794 1,368,138
Total Current Liabilities 5,809,513 5,080,371
NON CURRENT LIABILITIESDeferred Revenue - 19,388
Others 175,862 121,977
TOTAL NON CURRENT LIABILITIES 175,862 141,365
NET EQUITY 1,772,122 1,745,326
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Highlights StandardsAFAC has representation on 51 standards committees either through AFAC staff or Member representation. AFAC views are frequently upheld in the development of standards from building codes through to public safety guidelines and personal protective equipment. This year AFAC was successful in ensuring our members’ views were incorporated into the following published standards:
• AS 3959 Construction of Homes in Bushfire Prone Areas
• AS 5414-2012 Bushfire Water Spray Systems
• ASNZS 4067 Helmets for Structural Firefighting
RepresentationAFAC has representation on 28 external committees across diverse areas including: Mobile Broadband, Radio Communications, Government Skills Australia, Attorney-General’s Department Deployment Working Group and The Productivity Commission.
SubmissionsDuring the year AFAC completed 13 submissions on behalf of the industry including:
• Submission - COAG Review of Protocols for Australian Defence Force (ADF) Assistance following a Disaster
• Review of the Bureau of Meteorology (the Review) by Senator the Hon Don Farrell, Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and Urban Water
• Impact of Model Work Health & Safety Act Regulations and Codes of Practice
Positions and GuidelinesThis financial year the Council endorsed AFAC Positions on:
• Endorsement of Level 3 Incident Controllers
• Public Safety Mobile Broadband
Guidelines were also signed off on:
• Responding to Incidents Involving Landfill Gas Leaching
• A Guide to Resource Sharing (Mutual Aid) 2011
• Safety Considerations for Damaged Photovoltaic Arrays
• Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Specifications
Collaborative Procurement During the year the NSW National 292 contract was awarded. This body of work was the culmination of 18 months of collaboration by the AFAC Collaborative Procurement Group and covers some 100 line items of commonly used firefighting equipment; these include such items as hose, couplings, thermal imaging cameras and personal protective equipment.
Through the Collaborative Procurement Contracts area of the Knowledge Web, members will be able to access the outcomes of these significant tenders, deriving major benefits from the standard terms and conditions across price, quality and service delivery.
National Burning ProjectThe National Burning Project is a joint venture between AFAC and the Forest Fire Management Group (FFMG) and is a 10 year undertaking which commenced in 2010. The project consists of 10 sub-projects that are linked to form a framework of coordinated actions to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of prescribed burning in meeting public policy objectives.
This body of work aims to use a national approach to reduce bushfire risk by the comprehensive management of prescribed burning, seeking a balance between the operational, ecological and community health risks.
Four sub-projects received funding from the Australian Government through the National Emergency Management Program (NEMP). These funds were used to compile the science review and a review of current practices to inform the preparation of a best practice guide.
A glossary and fuel assessment guide was added to The Bushfire Fuel Classification System. This work, undertaken by the CSIRO, involved a national workshop to get practitioners and experts together to inform the consultants of their needs from the system. The funds also paid for the preparation of a risk management framework for two of the four major risks, Fuel and Smoke. The remaining risks that are proposed for analysis are Operational and Ecological.
AFAC Strategic Command ProgramThe need for a high-level strategic command program was identified by senior incident managers and evolved through discussion at the 2010 and 2011 AFAC Executive Command Forum.
This program is designed for senior leaders responsible for managing operations at Zone, Region and State level. With a focus on strategic operational command, participants are given the opportunity to examine and challenge fundamental assumptions around their own leadership and control of operations, providing opportunities for further personal development.
Senior operational staff who can oversee multiple incidents concurrently, assess the competence of Incident Controllers while they are ‘on the job’ and gauge the effectiveness of incident response and information operations are vital to our agencies. These leaders need to anticipate and manage the critical interplay of political and strategic concerns at key times during incident response, and maintain a credible and vital personal leadership approach that ensures their teams are working to the best of their ability.
Representatives from 14 AFAC member agencies attended the inaugural AFAC Strategic Command Program ‘Leading into the Unknown’ held at the Australian Institute of Police Management (AIPM) at the end of July 2012.
Executive Leadership Program, Australasian Institute of Police Management (AIPM)Since the inception of the first AFAC Executive Leadership Program in 2003, a suite of additional courses has been developed, covering leadership, developing leadership, volunteer leadership and executive command and strategic command.
A total of 1,200 AFAC members and personnel through affiliate or aligned organisations and agencies have been though these courses in the past decade. 79 participants registered and attended the programs this year.
Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council - Annual Report 2012 | 5
Fire Aviation Training and Assessment FrameworkThe AFAC Council endorsed the Fire Aviation Training Framework in August 2011 resulting in a national approach to the training, assessment and certification of personnel performing an AIIMS or other fire aviation role. This endorsement supports a consistent approach to the development of personnel operating within aviation, and supports the sharing of resources and expertise.
An agreed approach to training and assessment will inform recognition arrangements for current and future personnel performing these roles. In the future, deployment of personnel inter- and intra-state will be based on confirmation that they have the requisite certification to perform one or more of the defined aviation roles.
Consistent with an all hazards approach, future versions of this document are intended to encompass the use of aviation beyond fire. The Framework builds on the Aviation Training and Certification Program, originally developed by the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria (DSE).
AIIMSA revised edition of ‘The Australasian Inter-service Incident Management System’ (AIIMS) was released during the year. This revision includes the elevation of the role of the Public Information function.
The AIIMS doctrine is widely recognised across the emergency management sector and is the standard for Incident Management in Australia, being widely adopted in the mining, energy and chemical/hazardous materials industries.
In recognition of the revisions to AIIMS, AFAC has reaccredited through the Victorian Recognition Qualifications Authority the 22202VIC Course in The Australasian Inter-service Incident Management System. The AIIMS Training Resources Kit has been revised to reflect the changes to AIIMS. Additionally, the new material within the TRK encompasses findings from the Bushfire CRC research, specifically human factors, situational awareness and decision making and leadership, how these have the potential to impact emergency management efforts, and how to mitigate their effects, where these are deleterious.
AFAC Capability Development Strategy 2011 - 2016In April 2011 the Council endorsed the AFAC Learning and Development Capability Development Strategy for 2011 - 2016. In September 2011 the AFAC Learning and Development Group prepared and endorsed an Annual Work Plan to progress the projects and actions specified in the Strategy. The 2011/2013 Annual Work Plan forms the basis of activity for the AFAC LDG during the specified period.
The AFAC Learning and Development Capability Development Strategy for 2011 - 2016 and LDG Annual Work Plan are based on extensive research undertaken in 2011. The research was designed to gauge the current state of learning and development within the fire and emergency services, and to identify emerging trends, challenges and opportunities.
Public Safety Training Package2012 marked the culmination of an intensive and comprehensive five-year project to review and update the seven firefighting qualifications within the Public Safety Training Package (PSTP) and to develop two new qualifications for emergency communications operators and supervisors, and one for specialist fire investigators.
Encompassed within this body of work has been the development and endorsement of national competencies for command and control, for the role of safety advisors and officers, and additional competencies have been completed to reflect the work of Urban Search and Rescue Category 1, 2 and 3 and swiftwater rescue personnel.
AFAC/VectorCommand Tactical Command Trainer Exercise Delivery SurveyThe pilot survey, designed to gather information on the quality of command and control exercise delivery using the VectorCommand Tactical Command Training (TCT) Simulation system by AFAC’s members, was conducted from June – November 2011. 444 participants across five agencies were surveyed.
The final report was tabled in May 2012, however the preliminary report tabled at the March Strategic Management Reference Group (SMRG) meeting proved sufficient indication of the usefulness of the information gathered, for the group to endorse the preparation of the survey tools on an annual basis. This will provide agencies with opportunity to participate on an as needs basis, whenever they have training initiatives which they wished to gauge against performance on the TCT simulation package.
Practitioner ToolsAFAC has assembled a Moderation Kit to support compliance of training and assessment across the Fire and Emergency Services sector. The Kit has been prepared to support trainers in the design, moderation and validation of assessment activities. It is currently being piloted by a number of AFAC member agencies.
Knowledge Web The AFAC Knowledge Web provides new and existing members the opportunity to share their expertise, research and operations. It also provides an online collaboration space for AFAC’s Groups, Technical Groups & Project Teams. All personnel of our member and affiliate agencies are eligible to join the Knowledge Web.
Overall site traffic on the Knowledge Web has increased by 15% on last year and the number of unique visitors has increased by 9%. Over 400 new members have registered in the past year bringing the total number of registered users to just over 2,800. There are now 37,500 unique visitors with 55,000 site visits, culminating in 170,000 page views throughout the past year. Significant growth in site user interaction is projected for the next year as we move to a new web and member platform which will deliver tailored content for members.
AFAC Communications The monthly e-newsletter AFAC-news was re-launched in October 2011 and is distributed to over 2,500 subscribers with an impressive open rate averaging approximately 36%. This newsletter is distributed to all registered users of the Knowledge Web, past AFAC and Bushfire CRC conference delegates and trade exhibitors and other subscribers.
The following information products have been developed and launched to keep members informed of the work and projects being undertaken within AFAC and are distributed to Council and representatives on the AFAC Groups and Networks:
• Council Communique: provides a summary of the outcomes of the AFAC Council meeting including decisions made by Council and Positions and Guidelines endorsed.
• AFAC Activity Updates: provides an overview of the work being undertaken by AFAC Groups and Networks that have recently met.
• Standards Watch: provides a snapshot of some of the activities that have occurred over the past six months with respect to Standards in which AFAC plays a significant role.
Highlights continued...
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AFAC National Database – Incident Activity Reporting, Australian Fire and Rescue ServicesIn September 2011, the AFAC office assumed responsibility for the management of the AFAC National Database and has been building capability to provide data management, analysis and statistical reporting on industry trends, and emerging issues. Supported by Fire and Rescue NSW who previously managed the database, the AFAC office has been able to investigate and pursue greater alignment with the AIRS Standard and investigate areas where quality of the data could be improved. Additionally, we have been able to assist organisations with requests for access to the data.
AFAC will be providing a suite of standard industry statistical reports as well as ad hoc reporting services. The AFAC Data Management Group continues to work on re-establishing national consistency of the AIRS Standard, progressively reviewing each of the 10 data dictionary blocks. Three have been reviewed during 2011/12.
Firefighter Health StudyTwo years ago, AFAC commissioned Monash University to assess the feasibility of conducting a cohort study of cancer, mortality and other possible health outcomes in Australian firefighters. The feasibility phase has concluded and this study is now being undertaken by Monash under contract with AFAC.
A group of current and former firefighters has been identified by extracting data from existing computerised records held by the nine participating firefighting agencies. This representative group of approximately 215,000 firefighters will include men and women, career, part-time and volunteer firefighters.
Cancer and mortality outcomes will be measured through data linkage with the Australian Cancer Database and the National Death Index. Existing historical occupational and incident data will be used to investigate links between occupational firefighting and later cancer and death outcomes.
The duration of active firefighting in years will be used as an exposure metric for most employees and volunteer firefighters. Career and volunteer firefighters will be analysed separately. For many firefighters, it will be possible to compare risk by grouping firefighters by the number and types of emergency incidents attended after 1997, and perhaps the frequency of exposure to some hazardous materials.
No previously published study has undertaken analyses based on contemporary incident data, so the use of such data is likely to result in more refined exposure assessment methods than previously used. The study will give insight into differences of the overall cancer and death rates in Australian firefighters compared to those of the general population, and it will allow comparison of cancer incidence and death rates for subgroups within the cohort. Such findings can then be used to inform preventive strategies to better protect the health of future firefighters.
The study is expected to take three years. An Advisory Committee of participating agencies and other key stakeholders including the United Firefighters Union, Fire Brigade Employees Union, United Voice and Fire Volunteer Associations has been formed. This group met twice during 2011/2012 and regular status updates are distributed to participating agencies. The final report will be publicly available. A website has also been established which posts regular updates http://www.coeh.monash.org/ausfireftr.html
Occupational Health and Safety Regulation
Model Work Health and Safety Legislation
Model Work Health and Safety Legislation was developed over 2008 – 2011 by Safe Work Australia. New South Wales, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, the Commonwealth and the Northern Territory implemented new laws to reflect the model legislation on 1 January 2012, with other jurisdictions to follow. The new legislation poses some challenges for emergency services, particularly in relation to responding to emergencies and the often unknown hazards that workers encounter. AFAC has developed an ongoing relationship with Safe Work Australia to address the concerns of emergency services organisations.
In December 2011, AFAC worked with Safe Work Australia to develop a set of questions and answers to address some of the key issues. This was published on the Safe Work Australia website in January 2012. Development of guidance materials for emergency services is continuing.
Research UtilisationAFAC has a strong strategic alliance and working relationship with the Bushfire CRC. This has facilitated alignment between the needs of our AFAC members with the Bushfire CRC research projects, allowing our Groups and Networks to efficiently and effectively use and integrate this research resulting in clear industry and community benefits.
There have been many active and ongoing exchanges of information and engagement with Bushfire CRC research. Some key AFAC involvement and examples of this research transfer are:
AIIMS Steering Committee – Effective Incident Management Organising, a project led by Dr Christine Owen, which is seeking to better understand how multi-agency co-ordination above the IMT can be improved.
Community Engagement Technical Group – a forum on developing consistent messages for national curriculum incorporated the insights of recent Bushfire CRC graduate, Dr Briony Towers, who explored children’s understanding of bushfire safety.
Community Safety Group – is revising the national position on Bushfires and Community Safety based on agency experience and Bushfire CRC research, including that by Dr Jim McLennan of Latrobe University, who has conducted extensive research on human behaviour and decision making under stress.
Learning and Development Group – has included into the AIIMS Training Resource Kit (TRK) human factors information developed in fire circumstances by the Bushfire CRC on:
• self, team and situational awareness
• improving communication skills
• effective incident planning
• the conduct of briefings and debriefings
• leadership and teamwork skills
Occupational Health and Safety Group – is strongly engaged in the research on the operational readiness of rural firefighters in relation to air toxins and also on the combined effects of fatigue, smoke and heat.
Rural and Land Management Group – is actively supportive of research into the effect of fire in the landscape in relation to smoke and greenhouse gas emissions, and also the impact of fires on water quality and hydrology.
There has also been a strong partnership in Knowledge Management, with many co-hosted events between AFAC and the Bushfire CRC. The use of guidelines to support effective use of events is being widely advocated as a capacity building initiative for industry and researchers, to improve the way that we run events to support research utilisation.
Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council - Annual Report 2012 | 7
With more than 1400 registrations and 117 trade exhibitors,
the AFAC & Bushfire CRC annual conference held in Sydney
was a resounding success.
The conference theme, “New World, New Thinking” explored the impacts of innovation and development for the fire and emergency management sector with the plethora of new technologies including social media, spatial technology and the information revolution.
A total of 81 sessions running across four streams made up the conference program involving more then 100 speakers. The program included eight keynote presentations and eight panel sessions. A Q&A panel was the final session of the main two day conference program. In addition, eight professional development events were held on the day preceding the conference and a Fire Weather Workshop followed the Science Day.
The Dräger Knowledge Lounge made a return with 90% of delegates rating it highly.
The trade exhibition was the largest in the history of the conference and this component of the event has now become the largest trade exhibition of its kind in the southern hemisphere. The Trade Expo was well attended by delegates with 98.5% rating the exhibition as good, very good or excellent.
In keeping with the ‘new technology’ theme, the use and impact of social media was a popular topic of conversation. The twitter hashtag #afac2011 was used for the first time to add to the ‘buzz’ of the conference and SMS was used for instant feedback and poster voting.
A conference mobile phone app for smartphones and tablets was introduced with around one third of conference delegates downloading the app.
Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration
“Good themes and excellent speakers, to the extent that it was often difficult to choose between presentations being held at the same time.”
Delegate
Survey Snapshot Delegates provided the following feedback:
• 96% rated the overall conference as good, very good or excellent
• 94.5% said the conference met or exceeded their expectations
• 98.5% rated the Trade Expo as good, very good or excellent
• 96.5% rated the networking opportunities as good, very good or excellent
• 90% said it represented value for money
• 87% said they would recommend the conference to others
• 82% agreed or strongly agreed that within their area of interest, there was enough to maintain their engagement across the conference program
8 | Annual Report 2012 - Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council
Executive Command Forum 2011The third Executive Command Forum was held in Melbourne in August 2011, attended by 35 of the most senior Commanders of our member agencies, who came together to work collaboratively in addressing the unique challenges faced by our industry.
The Forum provides the most senior fire, emergency service and land management leaders the opportunity to discuss contemporary command and control doctrine and systems of high level coordination at jurisdictional and national levels, and share and discuss lessons learned and ways to develop or adapt strategic operational doctrine.
The key issues identified from the 2010 Forum are all now developed and implemented:
1. To develop a Strategic Command Program as quickly as possible.
2. To re-form the Group of senior AFAC and other external bodies to oversee the maintenance and new developments with AIIMS
3. To put forward the first step of an AFAC agreed approach to accreditation of Level 3 Incident Controllers
AFAC Workshops, Groups, Networks and Professional Development Events Through its 33 member Groups and Networks, AFAC continues to provide opportunities for our members to work collaboratively to achieve the industry aim of improved public safety. A total of 56 meetings and workshops were held involving around 430 representatives from member agencies.
AFAC’s Professional Development Events program continues to grow with a total of 57 events conducted involving 1826 participants from across AFAC member agencies, and some events also open to non AFAC members from aligned organisations.
These workshops saw senior and subject matter experts from our member agencies, and where appropriate external specialists, join to discuss significant issues and national projects.
During the year significant workshops were held in the following practitioner areas:
• Community Education – Developing consistent safety messages for national adoption
• Rural and Land Management – National Burning Project
• Chief Information Officers – Emergency Communications: Challenges, lessons learned, emerging technologies and effectiveness following large scale emergencies.
Highlights included:
• The Doctrine and Organisational Learning Master Class series
• The third Executive Command Forum
• Firefighting in Urban Highrise Buildings Series, sponsored by Motorola
AFAC has a strategic partnership with the Bushfire CRC to work collaboratively to deliver high quality events for the purpose of research utilisation. Events held included Human Factors Workshops, Seasonal Outlook Workshops, Fire in the Landscape Clinics and a workshop on Sharing Responsibility for Disaster Resilience.
Knowledge Sharing and Collaboration
“Good themes and excellent speakers, to the extent that it was often difficult to choose between presentations being held at the same time.”
Delegate
Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council - Annual Report 2012 | 9
Awards 2011
Pictured L-R Laurie Lavelle with the 2011 joint recipients Quinlan Webster and Leon Smith
Laurie Lavelle AwardThe Laurie Lavelle Achiever of the Year Award was introduced in 1997 to recognise individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to emergency services. The award was named after Laurie Lavelle, OAM, a long-standing former Chief Fire Officer of the Melbourne and Metropolitan Fire Brigades Board and inaugural CEO of AFAC, in recognition of his lifelong commitment to emergency services in Australasia.
Quinlan Webster, Senior Station Officer for the New Zealand Fire Service and Leon Smith, Manager Engineering Services at the Tasmania Fire Service were joint winners of this prestigious award which was presented at the joint AFAC and Bushfire CRC Conference.
Quinlan was presented the award in recognition of his outstanding achievements in advocating and improving fire safety and awareness for the deaf and hearing impaired through programs and projects in these communities. Of significance has been Quinlan’s development of the Emergency ‘111’ Deaf Text Service, providing the deaf and hearing impaired community access to the emergency services.
The New Zealand Fire Service has been publicly acknowledged for Quinlan’s work with two major awards; the ‘Public Service Award’ from the Deaf Aotearoa and the ‘Excellence in Working Together Award’ at the 2011 Institute of Public Administration Excellence Awards.
Leon, was recognised for his pivotal role in the development of the Tasmania Fire Service’s (TFS) rolling and sustainable quality fire truck replacement program, resulting in other member agencies seeking Leon and TFS’ assistance in the design and building of fire trucks.
The TFS is the only Australian fire service to build its own tanker and tanker/pumper trucks. By developing the rolling and sustainable replacement program, Leon has been able to make significant savings for TFS through the development of the program and demonstrate to other AFAC member agencies that this program is sustainable.
Alan McDougall, State Emergency Management Training Officer with the SA State Emergency Service, was also honoured the Highly Commended Award, 2011 for his central role in the training of hundreds of South Australians in the key principles of emergency management, including emergency risk management.
Pictured (Right) Liam Fogarty accepted the award from Dr Michael N’Guyen from Motorola Solutions on behalf of DSE Victoria at AFAC 2011.
Motorola Knowledge Innovation AwardIn 2010, AFAC designed and implemented an annual awards program in relation to knowledge management. The objective of the awards is to recognise the efforts of an individual and agency that has contributed significantly to developing and implementing knowledge management initiatives either within their own agency or across the broader AFAC membership.
AFAC are pleased to collaborate with Motorola Australia on this initiative and build this program into a unique industry program that is now in its third year.
Individual
The Motorola Knowledge Innovation Award (Individual) was made to Andrew Hinton, Fire & Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia (FESA), for his preparation of the principle capstone document outlining the fundamental functions and philosophies of the Operations portfolio. This project included the development of FESA’s Knowledge Management Framework, ensuring it aligns with FESA’s higher goals for knowledge management. Andrew is the Manager of Operations Doctrine at FESA.
Agency
The agency award winner was The Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria (DSE) for their development of the Future Fire Management Project and The Otway Bushfire Management Planning Pilot.
The Future Fire Management Project involved using the cutting-edge bushfire modelling tool, PHOENIX-Rapidfire, to simulate bushfires and model their potential impacts on communities. Similarly, the Otway Bushfire Management Planning Pilot involved addressing the challenges faced in bushfire management.
Both awards were presented at the Sydney AFAC and Bushfire CRC Conference by Dr Michael N’Guyen from Motorola Solutions.
10 | Annual Report 2012 - Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council
AFAC Group MembersThe work of AFAC is effected through a number of Groups
which meet once or twice a year to collaborate on a wide
range of issues and topics. As outlined in last year’s annual
report and elsewhere, AFAC is transitioning to a new
Collaboration Model to give greater flexibility, accountability
and efficiency to the work of our Members. Where Groups
have transitioned to a Network prior to 30 June 2012, this has
been highlighted.
In appreciation of the current economic climate and the budgetary pressure all our Members face, AFAC has and will continue to explore more efficient ways of working, embracing technological solutions as they present and are found to be effective. A number of AFAC Groups and Networks are trialling “virtual” or video-conferencing options and AFAC will continue to seek innovative options for collaboration, to minimise the cost of face-to-face meetings.
AIIMS Steering CommitteeChair: Lee Johnson, AFSM QFRS
Chris Arnol, FESA
Mark Brown, FRNSW
Murray Carter, DEC WA
John Cawcutt, QFRS
Tony Graham, ACT SES
Damien Killalea, TFS
Andrew Lawson, SA CFS
Cameron Leary, OEH NSW
Paul McGill, NZFS
Stuart Midgely, NSW RFS
Greg Mullins, AFSM FRNSW
David Nugent, Parks Victoria
Steve Warrington, CFA
Trevor White, VIC SES
Built Environment Technical Group (formerly Built Environment Sub Group)
Chair: Mark Whybro, FRNSW
AFAC Manager: Rob Llewellyn
Andrew Andreou, CFA
Rod Bahr, SA MFS
Greg Buckley, FRNSW
Adam Dalrymple, MFB
Simon Davis, NZFS
Steve Edwards, ACT ESA
Tony Flaherty, ACT ESA
Terry Jackson, FESA
Paul McBride, Airservices Australia
Phil Oakley, TFS
Allan Oates, NTFRS
Colin Paton, SA CFS
Neil Reid, QFRS
Paul Ryan, FESA
Lew Short, NSW RFS
Bushfire Standards Technical GroupChair: Lew Short, NSW RFS
AFAC Manager: Rob Llewellyn
Andrew Andreou, CFA
Mark Chladil, TFS
Leigh Miller, SA CFS
Mark Potter, CFA
Ralph Smith, FESA
Andrew Stark, ACT ESA
Business Management GroupChair: Michael Gallagher, TFS
AFAC Manager: Jill Edwards
Stephen Glassock, NSW RFS
John Gregor, NSW RFS
Audrey Ko, NTFRS
Russell Neuendorf, QFRS
William Norfolk, QFRS
Kevin Pallier, NSW SES
Frank Pasquale, FESA
Kevin Stacey, NZFS
Neville Stephenson, SAFECOM
Adam Summons, FRNSW
Glenda Warren, NSW RFS
Harry Wiedemann, MFB
Michael Wootten, CFA
Chief Information Officers Network (formerly Chief Information Officers Group)
Former Chair: Mike Hall, NZFS
AFAC Manager: Jill Edwards
Paul Bunker, VIC SES
Andrew Edwards, NSW SES
Andrew Ferrarese, VIC SES
Michael Foreshew, CFA
Alma Hong, NZFS
Richard Host, FRNSW
Iain Larner, TFS
Robbie Lefroy, FESA
Gary McKinnon, FRNSW
Femina Metcalfe, DEC WA
Matthew, Smith, NSW RFS
Glenn Walker, QFRS
John Weippert, NTFRS
Neil Wheeler, MFB
Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council - Annual Report 2012 | 11
Collaborative Procurement Group (formerly Collaborative Purchasing Sub Group)
Chair: Mike Gallagher, TFS
Former Chair: Mike Pearce, SAFECOM
AFAC Manager: Russell Shephard
Robert Allen, OEH NSW
Mick Ayre, NTFRS
Ian Barnes, MFB
Stephen Caust, ACT ESA
Rowland Goldsbrough, Forests NSW
John Grech, CFA
John Hacking, NSW RFS
Matthew Kay, Airservices Australia
Peter Kiernan, NZFS
Audrey Ko, NTFRS
Russell Neuendorf, QFRS
Frank Pasquale, FESA
Tim Rhodes, ACT PCS
Michael Somers, DSE VIC
Paul Springett, NSW RFS
Owen Swanton, DSE VIC
Guy Tesoriero, FRNSW
Arthur Tindall, SA CFS
Community Engagement Technical Group (formerly Community Education Sub Group)
Chair: Andrew Stark, ACT ESA
AFAC Manager: Rob Llewellyn
Sandra Barber, TFS
Gwynne Brennan, CFA
Sally Chesterfield, NZ NRFA
Fiona Dunstan, SA CFS
Allan Foster, SA MFS
Gary Gilby, QFRS
Neil Head, AGD
Christine Jenkinson, AGD
Maryanne Martin, DSE VIC
Glenda Ramage, NTFRS
Andrew Richards, NSW SES
Edward Salinas, FRNSW
Scott Sargentina, NZFS
Suellen Shea, FESA
Rob Taylor, MFB
Tanyia Tuckey, NSW RFS
Community Safety GroupChair: Paula Beever, NZFS
AFAC Manager: Rob Llewellyn
Greg Bawden, MFB
Glenn Benham, SA MFS
David Caporn, FESA
Grant Hamon, NTFRS
Terry Hayes, CFA
Neil Head, AGD
Damien Killalea, TFS
Leigh Miller, SA CFS
Jennifer OBeirne, DSE VIC
Steve Opper, NSW SES
Alan Rhodes, OFSC
Mark Roche, QFRS
Rob Rogers, NSW RFS
Andrew Stark, ACT ESA
Mark Whybro, FRNSW
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Sub Group (Disbanded)
Chair: Con Patralis, MFB
Chair: David Weir, FRNSW
AFAC Manager: Rob Llewellyn
Sandra Barber, TFS
Fiona Dunstan, SA CFS
Christine Elliott, CFA
Allan Foster, SA MFS
Gary Gilby, QFRS
Judy Gouldbourn, AFAC
Peter Middleton, TFS
Catherine Moyle, NSW SES
Julien Nicolas, AGD
Glenda Ramage, NTFRS
Andrew Richards, NSW SES
Scott Sargentina, NZFS
Suellen Shea, FESA
David Sutch, QFRS
Rob Taylor, MFB
Tanyia Tuckey, NSW RFS
David Webber, NSW SES
Data Management Group (formerly Data Management Sub Group)
Chair: Nick Nicolopoulos, FRNSW
AFAC Manager: Jill Edwards
Helen Bow, NSW SES
Gloria Caruso, MFB
Chris Cowley, CFA
Ann De Piaz, SA CFS
Anthony Griffiths, DSE VIC
Grant Hamon, NTFRS
James Lonergan, OEH NSW
Jose Montemayor, NSW RFS
Roxene Murphy, FESA
Selena Stanley, QFRS
David Van Geytenbeek, TFS
Employee Management Forum (Employee Management Sub Group)
Chair: Iain Mackenzie, QFRS
AFAC Manager: Judy Gouldbourn
Conrad Barr, ACT ESA
Danielle Byrnes, MFB
Larry Cocker, NZFS
Peter Cordova, CFA
Dave Ellis, NTFRS
Lorna Grange, NSW SES
Janine Hearn, NZFS
Sean Hogan, MFB
Darren Husdell, FRNSW
Mary Kinsella, FESA
Derrick Oliver, NSW RFS
Robyn Pearce, TFS
Karen Roberts, FESA
Jason Skiba, CFA
Chris Wells, NZFS
AFAC Group Members continued...
12 | Annual Report 2012 - Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council
Fire and Emergency Aviation Technical Group (formerly Wildfire Aviation Technical Sub Group)
Chair: David Cant, South Australia
AFAC Manager: Gary Featherston
Richard Alder, NAFC
Paul Baker, NZ
Wayne Bates, QLD
Hayden Biggs, VIC
Maryanne Carmichael, NSW
Glen Crombie, NSW
David Crust, NSW
Anthony Ferguson, NSW
Peter Higgins, VIC
Janet Inman, SA
Raymond Jasper, VIC SES
Terry Maher, WA
Ian Millman, NZ
David Pearce, SA
Matt Plucinski, CSIRO
Peter Saint, WA
Barry Scott, VIC
Paul Simakoff-Ellims, ACT
Jeremy Smith, TAS
Andrew Stark, ACT
Andrew Turner, NT
Doug Whitfield, WA
Fire Engineering Network (formerly Fire Engineering Work Group)
Chair: Greg Buckley, FRNSW
AFAC Manager: Rob Llewellyn
David Boverman, NSW RFS
Jeffrey Dau, ACT ESA
Stephen Doran, CFA
Stephen Keel, FESA
Jeff Knight, TFS
Paul McBride, Airservices Australia,
Steven McKee, QFRS
Bill McTernan, ACT ESA
John Oliver, NTFRS
Amy Seppelt, SA MFS
Cihan Soylemez, MFB
Jamie Vistnes, FRNSW
Fire Investigation Network (formerly Fire Investigation and Analysis Work Group)
Chair: Adam Dalrymple, MFB
AFAC Manager: Rob Llewellyn
Bob Alexander, FRNSW
Nicole Harvey, CFA
Ian Hunter, MFB
Mark Klop, TFS
Bob Mathieson, NSW RFS
Bernard Nunn, QFRS
Shaun Ruxton, SA MFS
Peter Van Boxtel, NTFRS
Les Vearing, DSE VIC
Craig Waters, FESA
Peter Wilding, NZFS
Richard Woods, ACT ESA
Fire Weather Technical GroupChair: Robin Hicks, BOM
AFAC Manager: Gary Featherston
Fergus Adrian, QFRS
John Bally, BOM
Paul Brockhoff, DSE VIC
Mark Chladil, TFS
Malcolm Cronstedt, FESA SES
Luke Heagerty, CFA
Simon Heemstra, NSW RFS
Rick McRae, ACT ESA
Rob Sandford, SA CFS
Fleet Technical Group (formerly Fleet Sub Group)
Chair: Garry Kravainis, FESA
AFAC Manager: Russell Shephard
John Allardyne, NZFS
Andrew Canderle, NSW RFS
Tia Christenson, OEH NSW
Stuart Collis, MFB
Hanut Dodd, DSE VIC
Peter Fanning, FRNSW
Rowland Goldsbrough, Forests NSW
Carl Hollis, OEH NSW
Van Pham Hue, FRNSW
Richard Kowalewski, QFRS
David Lloyd, QFRS
Peter Mason, SA MFS
Bruce McDonald, NSW RFS
Natalie McLean, NSW SES
John (Jock) McLeod, NTFRS
Mike Moran, NZFS
Sandy Paterson, SA CFS
Andrew Purvis, QFRS
Joel Read, DSE VIC
Nigel Robertson, DSE VIC
John Ryan, Airservices Australia
Tim Smith, CFA
Leon Smith, TFS
Peter Turner, MFB
Rob Walker, QFRS
John Welke, QFRS
Geoff Williams, SA MFS
Hazardous Materials Technical Group (formerly Hazardous Materials Sub Group)
Chair: Gavin Freeman, TFS
AFAC Manager: Paul Considine
Andrew Andreou, CFA
Wayne Atkins, SA CFS
Paul Bailey, FRNSW
Craig Brownlie, CFA
Barry Byrne, MFB
Jamie Cranage, SA MFS
Bob Crockford, SA MFS
Stephen Gibbs, ACT ESA
Warren Glover, CFA
Barry Gray, MFB
Jeff Harper, QFRS
Stephen Johnston, FESA
Tom Konieczny, NTFRS
Michael Logan, QFRS
Stuart Males, TFS
Dick Thornton-Grimes, NZFS
Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council - Annual Report 2012 | 13
Knowledge Management GroupChair: Mick Ayre, NTFRS
AFAC Manager: Amanda Leck
Fatima Abbas, FRNSW
Lorne Butt, NSW RFS
Gloria Caruso, MFB
Andrew Comer, TFS
John Davis, NSW RFS
Mark Dawson, SAFECOM
Ann De Piaz, SA CFS
Andrew Edwards, NSW SES
Kym Fowlie, NZFS
Stephen Glassock, NSW RFS
Elizabeth Hides, FESA
Chris Jenkinson, AGD
Dylan Kendall, ACT PCS
John Schauble, OFSC
Heather Stuart, NSW SES
Liz Tasker, OEH NSW
Cameron Wade, Forests NSW
Tim Watkins, QFRS
Glenda Warren, NSW RFS
Andrew Wilson, DSE VIC
Learning and Development GroupChair: David Guard, NZFS
AFAC Manager: Sandra Lunardi
Brendan Angwin, MFB
Suzanne Bacon, TFS
Andrew Buckley, DSE VIC
Greg Butters, TFS
Peter Button, SA MFS
Sophie Chaney, OEH NSW
Stephen Clayton, DENR SA
Steven Crouch, QFRS
Cassandra Curtis, SA MFS
Michael Cuthbertson, FRNSW
Brad Delavale, FESA
Tony Duckmanton, CFA
Alison Edwards, NTFRS
Naomi Gilders, Airservices Australia
Stephen Glassock, NSW RFS
Liz Hamilton, EMQUAL
Daniel Hooley, EMQ
Tracey Kick, FRNSW
Cameron Leary, OEH NSW
Greg Mennie, SA SES
Julie Nolan, ACT ESA
Loretta Orsini, VIC SES
Dave Owen, NSW SES
Deborah Parsons, SA MFS
David Rawet, DEC WA
Tim Rhodes, ACT PCS
Andrew Short, QFRS
Mark Spain, NTFRS
Cameron Wade, Forests NSW
Lee Watson, SA CFS
Occupational Health & Safety Technical Group (formerly Occupational Health & Safety Sub Group)
Chair: Robyn Pearce, TFS
AFAC Manager: Judy Gouldbourn
Julie Atkinson, Melbourne Water
Alison Barnes, NZFS
John Bartholomew, QFRS
Alison Donohoe, FRNSW
Jeff Green, CFA
David Heslop, NSW RFS
Terese Howlett, VIC SES
Julian Hughes, NZFS
Kym Kaptein, FESA
David Kemp, SAFECOM
Gerald Kutzer, TFS
Peter Langridge, CFA
Ian Leaves, MFB
David Letheby, NTFRS
Phil McInerney, MFB
Andrew McKay, MFB
Niicole Middleton, DSE VIC
Jeff Murrell, Airservices Australia
Leah Parlour, FESA
Steve Pavlich, SAFECOM
Mike Pryjma, Forests NSW
Karen Roberts, FESA
Janine Webb, DSE VIC
Richard Woods, ACT ESA
Gary Zuiderwyk, NSW SES
AFAC Group Members continued...
14 | Annual Report 2012 - Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council
Pacific Islands Liaison Officers Network (formerly Pacific Islands Liaison Officers Group)
Chair: Grant Lupton, SA MFS
AFAC Manager: Jill Edwards
Glenn Benham, SA MFS
Darren Conlin, MFB
Tony Davidson, TFS
Adam Dewberry, FRNSW
Richard Griffiths, FRNSW
David Guard, NZFS
Joff Manders, MFB
Mark Roche, QFRS
Jeremy Smith, TFS
Steve Warrington, CFA
Personal Protective Equipment Technical Group (formerly Personal Protective Equipment Sub Group)
Chair: Arthur Tindall, SA CFS
AFAC Manager: Russell Shephard
Andre Belterman, Melbourne Water
Paul Brockhoff, DSE VIC
Mike Brown, TFS
Keith Harrap, NSW RFS
Carl Hollis, OEH NSW
Bruce Jones, FESA
Hugh Jones, TFS
Phil Klein, MFB
David Mack, MFB
Greg Mason, ACT ESA
Paul McBride, Airservices Australia
Bruce McDonald, NSW RFS
Albert McLean, QFRS
Niicole Middleton, DSE VIC
Gary Picken, FRNSW
Mike Pryjma, Forests NSW
Ian Ridge, NSW RFS
Michael Somers, DSE VIC
Mark Tarbett, CFA
Robert Trewartha, NTFRS
Harry Vertsonis, NSW RFS
Bill Weir, MFB
Keith Whale, NZFS
Rural and Land Management GroupChair: Murray Dudfield, NZ NRFA
AFAC Manager: Gary Featherston
Chris Arnol, FESA
Tony Blanks, Forestry Tasmania
Craige Brown, Melbourne Water
Murray Carter, DEC WA
Mark Chladil, TFS
Justin Cook, ForestrySA
Neil Cooper, ACT PCS
Luigi Cucchiaro, NTFRS
Darryl John Dunbar, FRNSW
Neil Gallant QFRS
Andrew Graystone, Parks Victoria
John Haynes, CFA
Robin Hicks, BOM
Leigh Kleinschmidt, Forestry Plantations QLD
Peter Leeson, DERM QLD
Tim McGuffog, Forests NSW
Darrin McKenzie, DSE VIC
Gary Morgan, Bushfire CRC
David Nugent, Parks Victoria
Adrian Pyrke, PWS TAS
Islay Robertson, ForestrySA
Rob Rogers, NSW RFS
Rob Sandford, SA CFS
Chris Smith, SA MFS
Andrew Stark, ACT ESA
Naomi Stephens, OEH NSW
Andrew Sullivan, CSIRO
Stephen Warren, VIC SES
Shane Wiseman, DENR SA
SES Community Safety GroupChair: Steve Opper, NSW SES
AFAC Manager: Paul Considine
Clare Barker, NTES
Paul Cortese, ACT SES
Andrew Gissing, VIC SES
Jeremy Logan, ACT SES
Colleen Ridge, TAS SES
Suellen Shea, FESA
Bob Stevenson, SA SES
SES Operations GroupChair: Bruce Grady, EMQ
Former Chair: Tony Graham, ACT SES
AFAC Manager: Paul Considine
Clare Barker, NTES
Iain Burns, TAS SES
Mark Dole, EMQ
Gary Gifford, FESA
Jeremy Logan, ACT SES
Mark Morrow, NSW SES
Trevor White, VIC SES
Graeme Wynwood, SA SES
Standards Network (formerly Standards Committee)
AFAC Manager: Russell Shephard
Paul Beylerian, FRNSW
Scott Bilsborough, FRNSW
Jonathon Black, FRNSW
Raymond Bott, QFRS
Mark Castelli, FRNSW
Mark Chladil, TFS
Adam Dalrymple, MFB
Rob East, MFB
Martin Eelman, FRNSW
Tim Fox, FRNSW
Bernard Fradd, CFA
Michael Gleeson, FRNSW
Jeff Harper, QFRS
Stuart Harvey, FRNSW
Mark Klop, TFS
Jeff Knight, TFS
Michael Logan, QFRS
Stuart Males, TFS
Steven McKee, QFRS
Rob McNeil, FRNSW
Stephen Moore, MFB
Nick Nicolopoulos, FRNSW
Peter Nugent, FRNSW
John Parrot, CFA
Mark Porter, FRNSW
Mark Potter, CFA
Michael Ridgway, QFRS
Andrew Sharrad, SA MFS
Ian Shepherd, QFRS
Ralph Smith, FESA
Cihan Soylemez, MFB
Richard Spiteri, FRNSW
Mark Tarbett, CFA
Keith Whale, NZFS
Shaohua Xia, FRNSW
Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council - Annual Report 2012 | 15
Unwanted False Alarm Technical Group (formerly Unwanted False Alarm Sub Group)
Chair: Neil Reid, QFRS
AFAC Manager: Paul Considine
Rod Bahr, SA MFS
Carolyn Blake, CFA
Peter Curran, FESA
Russell Dickson, NZFS
Ron Haines, MFB
Grant Hamon, NTFRS
Christine Herridge, FRNSW
Stephen Lowe, TFS
Phillip McDonough, SA CFS
Peter McMahon, Airservices Australia
Alan Merry, NZFS
Mark Phillips, ACT ESA
Jo Rosenhain, MFB
John Streets, TFS
Trevor Wigg, FESA
Urban Operations GroupChair: Paul Swain, ACT ESA
AFAC Manager: Paul Considine
Trevor Arnold, SA SES
Lloyd Bailey, FESA
Mark Brown, FRNSW
Dave Ellis, NTFRS
Gavin Freeman, TFS
Jim Hamilton, FRNSW
Paul McGill, NZFS
Dan Meijer, NSW RFS
Ian Mitchell, QFRS
Michael Morgan, SA MFS
Brad Stringer, FESA
Steve Warrington, CFA
Malim Watts, SA CFS
David Youssef, MFB
Urban Search & Rescue and Technical Rescue Technical Group (formerly Urban Search & Rescue and
Technical Rescue Sub Group)
Chair: John Denny, FRNSW
AFAC Manager: Paul Considine
Trevor Arnold, SA SES
Craig Brownlie, CFA
Greg Crossman, SA MFS
Mark Dobson, TFS
Bill Drysdale, MFB
Tony Flaherty, ACT ESA
Scott Hanckel, NSW SES
Stephen Johnston, FESA
Tom Konieczny, NTFRS
Colin Lindsay, SA MFS
Stephen Smith, QFRS
Peter Willett, AGD
VectorCommand Strategic Management Group (formerly VectorCommand Strategic Management Reference Group)
Chair: David Guard, NZFS
AFAC Manager: Sandra Lunardi
David Brooks, Airservices Australia
Peter Button, SA MFS
Brad Delavale, FESA
Dave Key, NZFS
Rick Parkes, FRNSW
Andrew Short, QFRS
Mark Swiney, MFB
Stephen Walls, CFA
VectorCommand Technical Group (formerly VectorCommand User Reference Group)
Chair: Dave Key, NZFS
AFAC Manager: Sandra Lunardi
David Brooks, Airservices Australia
Noel Dodd, SA MFS
John Manocchio, FESA
Wayne Miller, FRNSW
Paul Rowe, MFB
Leon Shepley, SA MFS
Aaron Stockton, CFA
Kevin White, QFRS
Volunteer Management Technical Group (formerly Volunteer Management Sub Group)
AFAC Manager: Judy Gouldbourn
Madonna Day, QFRS
Mark Groote, SAFECOM
Kate Harrap, CFA
Janine Hearn, NZFS
Narelle Koteff , NSW RFS
David Pettit, NTFRS
Toni Richardson, SAFECOM
Karen Roberts, FESA
Alex Rofe, AGD
Lucas Van Rijswijk, TFS
Workforce Management Network (formerly Workforce Management Group)
Chair: Iain MacKenzie, QFRS
AFAC Manager: Judy Gouldbourn
Conrad Barr, ACT ESA
Danielle Byrnes, MFB
Peter Cordova, CFA
Dave Ellis, NTFRS
Mark Groote, SAFECOM
Janine Hearn, NZFS
Darren Husdell, FRNSW
Lyn Lambert, SAFECOM
Derrick Oliver, NSW RFS
Frank Pasquale, FESA
Robyn Pearce, TFS
David Rae, NSW SES
David Rawet, DEC WA
Karen Roberts, FESA
AFAC Group Members continued...
16 | Annual Report 2012 - Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council
Members• ACT Emergency Services Agency
• ACT Parks and Conservation Service
• ACT State Emergency Service
• Airservices Australia
• Australian Government Attorney-General’s Department
• Bushfires NT
• CFA
• Department of Environment and Conservation, WA
• Department of Environment and Natural Resources, SA
• Department of Environment and Resource Management, QLD
• Department of Sustainability and Environment, VIC
• Emergency Management Queensland
• FESA State Emergency Service
• Fire & Emergency Services Authority of Western Australia
• Fire & Rescue NSW
• Forestry Tasmania
• ForestrySA
• Forests NSW
• Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board, Melbourne
• National Rural Fire Authority - New Zealand
• New Zealand Fire Service
• Northern Territory Emergency Service
• Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service
• NSW Rural Fire Service
• NSW State Emergency Service
• Office of Environment & Heritage, NSW
• Parks & Wildlife Service Tasmania
• Parks Victoria
• Queensland Fire and Rescue Service
• South Australian Country Fire Service
• South Australian Metropolitan Fire Service
• South Australian State Emergency Service
• State Emergency Service Tasmania
• Tasmania Fire Service
• Victoria State Emergency Service
Affiliate Members• Australasian Road Rescue Organisation (ARRO)
• Bureau of Meteorology
• CSIRO Forestry & Forest Products
• Department of Conservation New Zealand
• EMQUAL
• Forestry Plantations Queensland
• Hong Kong Fire Services Department
• Melbourne Water
• Office of the Fire Services Commissioner Victoria
• Pacific Islands Fire Services Association (PIFSA)
• Papua New Guinea Fire Service
• South Australian Fire and Emergency Services Commission (SAFECOM)
AFAC Members and Affiliates
Level 5, 340 Albert Street, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3002
T +61 3 9419 2388 F +61 3 9419 2389 E [email protected]
www.afac.com.au
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