Emergency Management has traditionally been the domain of first responders. The art and science of emergency management has evolved over the past 38 years. What has remained constant is the interdependence of all levels of government and business in providing support and assistance to events . The bringing together of all agencies to effectively respond to emergencies has brought challenges for regulators of Health & Safety, as they often have a dual role in both providing assistance in a support role while having a core function as the regulator. So how do regulators balance and play an effective part in the Emergency Management arrangements?

WorkSafe Victoria is the Health & Safety Regulator for over 270,000 workplaces in Victoria. Victoria remains the safest state in the nation by having the lowest number of people injured at work. WorkSafe’s Emergency Response (ER) Program involves the organisation’s inspection and investigation functions. This includes responding to serious incidents and large-scale, prolonged emergencies. The ER Program exists so that WorkSafe can meet its legislative mandate (Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004) and various policy positions. In addition primary response agencies have their own service delivery standards, policies and procedures and expectations of the roles that agencies play in large scale emergencies including WorkSafe.

WorkSafe has undertaken a comprehensive review of its role in Emergency Response, and the broader Emergency Management (EM) arrangements. The findings require that it transforms its approach with an overhaul of its structure, policy and future role in emergency management so it can be both an effective regulator and contributor to out of scale events.

Implementing these findings will see WorkSafe work collaboratively across EM and use its state of knowledge to improve safety across sector while contributing to improved public safety outcomes during large scale events.