Queensland Disaster Management System

The current Queensland disaster management system was initially based on the 1975 State Counter Disaster Organisation Act (1975) and has now been developed further on the basis of the recent Disaster Management Act (2003). ‘Disaster management’ in this latter act is defined as “…arrangements about managing the potential adverse effects of an event, including, for example, arrangements for mitigating, preventing, preparing for, responding to and recovering from a disaster”. Where disasters are of a significant impact there is a “disaster declaration” that is invoked (with ministerial approval) for an initial period of 7 days. This empowers response or combat agencies and ‘authorised officers’ to undertake combat and rescue operations that secure life and property, as well as enabling them to acquire the necessary resources to adequately deal with the disaster response operations.

The three tiered disaster management system in Queensland has agency responsibilities that cascade down from the State Disaster Management Group through 23 District Disaster Management Groups to Local Disaster Management Groups (based on Local Government boundaries).

In the event of a disaster the system is activated from the Local Authority level up to whatever level of coordination and resources are needed to cope with the event. For some small events the level of disaster management may be contained at the Local Authority level, whilst for most large events it is managed at the District level. This system can be backed up by national-level support when required.