Black Summer recommendations add to knowledge

All the recommendations from the reviews into the Black Summer bushfires have now been added to the Inquiries and Reviews Database ensuring an even richer source of data is now available to learn from.

The addition of the five inquiries undertaken this year into the database brings the total number of inquiries accessible to 315, dating back to 1886 across all states and territories. Importantly, all 4,194 recommendations from the 186 natural hazard inquiries conducted since 2003 can now be custom searched, identifying important topics to focus on.

The new inquiries are:

• Federal: Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements 2020
• New South Wales: Final Report of the NSW Bushfire Inquiry 2020
• Victoria: Inquiry into the 2019-20 Victorian Fire Season: Summary Report Phase 1 - Community and sector preparedness for and response to the 2019-20 fire season
• South Australia: Independent review into the 2019/2020 bushfire season
• ACT: Report to the Minister for Police and Emergency Services on ACT Government coordination and response during the 2019-20 Bushfire Season

Launched in October 2019, the Inquiries and Reviews Database gives emergency services the upper hand in learning from the past to create a better future by allowing users to search and compare recommendations through keywords and themes, as all recommendations have been coded into specific categories.

CRC CEO Dr Richard Thornton said that the database has been an accessible and useful resource for agencies since its release.

“The database serves as a platform to help government and emergency management agencies recognise past lessons and identify effective practices both now and into the future,” Dr Thornton said.

“The recent updates in particular are more relevant than ever and ensures that practitioners can access the important information in one location, comparing findings from the Black Summer inquiries with inquiries such as the 2010 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission or the 2003 ACT bushfire inquiry.”

Dr Michael Eburn (Australian National University), who was part of the CRC research team that helped develop the database, believes it will ensure emergency managers continue to learn from past experiences.

“Inquiry recommendations get lost or distorted over time, and so having a place where practitioners can find and search the actual text of inquiry recommendations will help with understanding the past in order to keep learning for the future,” Dr Eburn said.

“Post-event inquiries are only helpful if their recommendations are available and not forgotten. Bringing together the lessons from past events will help practitioners identify trends and recurring themes and ensure the lessons of the past are not forgotten.”

Volunteer National Incident Management Officer for Australian Red Cross Stephen Sennett said that the system is “absolutely fantastic”.

“Such a relatively simple system, but such an incredible amount of knowledge contained within. It really is such a potentially powerful tool, and brilliant that it enables practitioners from across the sector to assess such a wide range of knowledge,” Mr Sennett said.

To give a specific example, a search for bushfire inquiries in the database shows that since 2003, there have been 82 inquiries, resulting in 1,748 recommendations. The ‘doctrine, standards and reform’ classification has the most recommendations (254). ‘Emergency management agency and authority’ and ‘incident management teams’ have also had many related recommendations, with 110 and 88 respectively.

In the flood space since 2003 there have been 19 flood-related inquiries with 478 resulting recommendations; 135 of which relate to ‘land use and building regulations’, 76 to ‘government responsibility’ and 72 to ‘doctrine, standards and reform’.

The Inquiries and Reviews Database is an outcome of the Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC’s Tactical Research Fund project, Major post-event inquiries and reviews: review of recommendations project, completed in 2017 and commissioned by AFAC. Explore the database here.