What it does
The State Emergency and Rescue Management Act 1989 (the Act) establishes a hierarchical, plan-driven framework for the prevention of, preparation for, response to, and recovery from emergencies throughout New South Wales while separately regulating the accreditation and coordination of rescue services. At its core the legislation defines an “emergency” expansively in s 4(1) as an actual or imminent occurrence (fire, flood, storm, earthquake, explosion, terrorist act, accident, epidemic or warlike action) that endangers or threatens the safety or health of persons or animals, destroys or damages property (including the environment per s 4(2)), or causes failure or significant disruption to essential service or infrastructure, provided it requires a significant and coordinated response. Section 5 then delineates the four stages—prevention (hazard identification and risk reduction), preparation (planning), response (combating and immediate relief), and recovery (returning the community to normal functioning)—that must be addressed in plans and operations.
Part 2 creates the architecture for state-level emergency management. The Minister holds overarching responsibility under s 10(1) for ensuring government agencies take adequate measures across all four stages, coordinating their activities, and approving the State Emergency Management Plan (the Plan). The State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC), constituted under s 14, advises the Minister, reviews the Plan (s 15(d)), endorses sub-plans, promotes continuous improvement, and supports volunteer workforce capability (s 15(c2), added by later amendment). The Plan itself, whose object is coordinated agency response (s 12(2)), must identify combat agencies for each emergency type, specify support roles, assign tasks, and delineate responsibilities of the various Controllers (s 12(3)). Once approved, the Plan’s relevant provisions have legal effect during any emergency whether or not a state of emergency is declared (s 13(1)–(2)), and agencies are authorised (and government agencies may be directed) to perform their Plan functions (s 13(3)).