The Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC) has announced a number of changes have been made to the State Emergency Management Plan (SEMP) which outlines the strategies and systems in place for the DPC dealing with emergencies.
In its statement, the Department said it plays a leading role in a whole-of-Government approach for managing major incidents, which include emergencies and disasters such as floods, bushfires, terrorism and other unexpected events.
It said SEMP was also used for supporting “businesses, communities and people to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from an emergency”.
“Additions to the SEMP include a clear set of principles defining the responsibilities of Government Agencies and participating organisations in emergency management activities,” DPC said.
“Among the principles are an increased focus on environmental protection, risk reduction, climate change awareness, and safeguarding people,” it said.
“With specific consideration given to the needs of First Nations peoples, people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, older people, people living with disability, and people who are experiencing family or domestic violence.”
The DPC said Cyber Crisis was recently included as a hazard with the Department to be the Hazard Risk Reduction Leader.
“Improving agencies’ preparedness has also been boosted, by providing direction around consequence thinking – the process of predicting, identifying, managing and minimising the social, economic and environmental impacts of an event – and guidance on how to reflect on lessons learned from an emergency event,” the DPC said.
The Department congratulated its Security, Emergency and Recovery Management team for their commitment and coordination of the work improving South Australia’s resilience, describing the team’s contribution as “significant and important”.
It said SEMP was updated last month with a clear set of principles being adopted defining the responsibilities of Government Agencies and participating organisations in emergency management activities.
The Department encouraged PS staff members to learn more about SEMP, the State Emergency Management Plan.
The Plan can be accessed at this PS News link.
