Principles of best practice strategic crisis management arrangements for catastrophic disasters

Managing the preparation for, response to and recovery from most disasters is said to lie with the states and territories. The Commonwealth of Australia (the Commonwealth) provides support to those efforts through funding and the use of non-financial resources, often the Australian Defence Force, during the response phase. Disasters are not, however, limited to the states or to expected events of floods, fires and storms. The Commonwealth can expect to take a leadership role in disasters that impact areas of commonwealth responsibility e.g. disasters in the Australian exclusive economic zone (extending up to 200 nautical miles from the coast) (Parliament of Australia, 2012), Australia’s 53 million square kilometre search and rescue region (AMSA, 2022), disasters on Commonwealth managed land e.g. the Kakadu National Park (Parliament of Australia, 1999) or disasters that uniquely impact areas of Commonwealth responsibility e.g. cyber-attacks that affect ‘postal, telegraphic, telephonic, and other like services’ (Australian Constitution s 51(v)). Economic disasters, such as the global financial crisis are also matters particularly within the Commonwealth’s ability to manage (High Court of Australia, 2009). Australia has emergency plans where the states and territories manage the response to and recovery from most disasters and certainly familiar (even if extreme) bushfires, floods and storms. Equally the Commonwealth, its agencies and departments have, or should have, emergency management plans to apply to emergencies within their areas of portfolio responsibility (Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, 2023). These plans involve industry and state and territory governments, but they are led by the Commonwealth. This report is not about management arrangements in these areas of either state or commonwealth responsibility where arrangements are reasonably well practised and understood for routine emergencies.