Australian Health Protection Committee Disaster Health Strategic Leadership Program

1. Australian Health Protection CommitteeDisaster Health Strategic Leadership Program Prof. Gerry FitzGerald

2. Session 2: Australian Emergency Management System Strategic structures Legal and legislative structures Financial frameworks External assistance

3. The Context of AHPC in the Broader National Security Community National Security Committee of Cabinet (NSC) Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Standing Council on Health Ministerial Council for Police & Emergency Management - Emergency Management (MCPEM-EM) Secretaries Committee on National Security (SCNS) Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council (AHMAC) National Crisis Committee National Counter Terrorism Committee (NCTC) Council of Australian Governments Senior Officers Meeting (COAGSOM) National Emergency Management Committee (NEMC) National Critical Infrastructure Advisory Committee (NCIRC) Australian Health Protection Committee (AHPC)

4. National Crisis Management Arrangements State/territory cabinets Federal Cabinet National Crisis Committee Australian Government Crisis Committee State/territory emergency management committee First Minister’s Department Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet State/territory emergency operations centre Australian Government Crisis Coordination Centre State/territory emergency management organisation Attorney-General’s Department Australian Health Protection Committee State/territory departments of health Department of Health & Ageing National Incident Room State/territory health coordination centre

5. Australian DisasterManagement Structures

6. SCoH* Standing Council on Health AHMAC Australian Health Ministers' Advisory Council AHPC Australian Health Protection Committee CDNA Communicable Diseases Network Australia PHLN Public Health Laboratory Network enHealth Environmental Health Committee NHEMS National Health Emergency Management Sub-committee ad hoc AHPC working groups (as required) AHPC Structure SCoH: COAG’s Standing Council on Health AHMAC: Australian Health Ministers Advisory Council

7. The role of the AHPC is to: • Provide advice to the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council (AHMAC) on Australia’s preparedness for health emergencies, and approaches to addressing any deficits • Manage health emergencies, including coordinating the national health response to significant incidents • Ensure consistency of communication between jurisdictions and other relevant organisations

8. Membership: AHPC • The Chief Medical Officer • Each state and territory Chief Health Officer • Health disaster officials (up to three) nominated by states and territories or the Commonwealth • The Chairs of each AHPC Sub Committee (CDNA, PHLN and enHealth) • Emergency Management Australia (Director General) • Australian Defence Force (Commander Joint Health) • A representative of the New Zealand Ministry of Health • Representative of the National Mental Health Disaster Response Committee • Clinical experts • The Commonwealth Chief Nurse and Midwifery Officer

9. Planning framework Australia’s plans need to recognise and reflect WHO and other international plans and guidelines. For example: • Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework 2011 • WHO guidelines and recommendations for the management of Avian Influenza

10. Internal planning frameworks to ensure consistency. Core plan Operational plans Special plans Sub-plans • National plans • Hospital plans • District plans • Pandemics • CBR • Burns • Mass Crowd event • Public health • Media and communications • Victim identification and management • Transport

11. International Legislation • Mostly developed for armed conflict and includes: • standards of care for wounded civilians and combatants • protection for healthcare workers in war zones • reciprocal obligations and rights • The international law of humanitarian response is relatively undeveloped. It includes: • occasional treaties and agreements • no unifying set of principles • not even a recognised sub-category of international law

12. International Health Regulations • The broadened purpose and scope of the IHR(2005) are to • prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease … [avoiding] unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade.

13. Domestic legislation • Specific legislation e.g. Disaster Management Acts • Legislation with specific mention e.g. Public Health Acts • Legislation with relevance e.g. Police Act • Common Law

14. Financial arrangements • The National Partnership Agreement (NPA) on Natural Disaster Resilience. The NPA provides approximately $27 million per year to states and territories to enhance the resilience of communities against the impact of natural disasters. • The Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA) provide funding to States and Territories to help pay for natural disaster relief and recovery costs.

15. External assistance • National collaborative arrangements will mostly be called on to render assistance internationally. • The mechanisms will be AUSMAT teams provided by states and Territories under national coordination.

16. External assistance:principles • Appropriate to task and time– modular structures that address the particular need at the particular time • Self-sufficient • Integrates with local services • Transfer capability and empower local communities • Communication: language barriers are addressed. • Address cultural factors

17. Session 2: Australian Emergency Management System Prof. Gerry FitzGerald