National emergency risk assessment guidelines

This document has been prepared to improve the consistency and rigour of emergency risk assessments, increase the quality and comparability of information on risk and improve the national evidence-base on emergency risks in Australia. Although the National Risk Assessment Framework focus on sudden onset natural hazards, such as bushfire, earthquake, flood, storm, cyclone, storm surge, debris flow, tsunami, and tornado, not all emergency events are initiated through natural means. Indeed, consequences from emergency events may be similar, regardless of the trigger for a particular event. Therefore, the National emergency risk assessment guidelines (NERAG) takes an all hazards approach and provides a method that is suitable for considering other sources of risk, these could include disease (human, animal and plant), insect/vermin plague, as well as those arising from technological and other anthropogenic sources. These guidelines recognise that specific risk assessment techniques have been developed for detailed analysis of specific hazards.

Sections 1 to 3 provide background information. The Introduction in Section 1 is followed by a description of the principles, framework and fundamentals of the risk management process and the role of risk assessment in Section 2. Section 3 outlines the risk assessment methodology for emergency events and the overall process to implement this methodology.

These guidelines have been designed to generate an integrated, comprehensive and objective understanding of emergency risks. The outputs from risk assessments undertaken using the NERAG will improve decision making when allocating scarce resources for risk treatment including emergency preparedness measures. The users of the guidelines are likely to be risk study sponsors, team leaders, subject matter experts (e.g. hazard leaders) and facilitators for emergency risk studies. However, the NERAG will meet the needs of a range of stakeholders, including those responsible for developing emergency risk management policy, those accountable for ensuring risk is effectively managed in a community or organisation, specialist risk practitioners who must apply the methodology, and those who evaluate the effectiveness of emergency risk management practices.

The NERAG provide a methodology to assess risks associated with emergency situations and are principally concerned with risk assessment. They do not focus on risk management, nor do they address business continuity processes and practices.