Australian Local Government Association

ALGA has recently completed a major project, funded under the Local Grants Scheme of the Working Together to Manage Emergencies initiative managed by Emergency Management Australia.

The project had several major components, as below.

National local government emergency management survey

This major survey was conducted online through the ALGA website in mid-2006. Over 52% of councils responded, and they provided a wealth of information on the engagement of Australian local government in emergency management. The survey provided an effective stocktake of current and potential local government emergency management operations.

The information that was gained from this stocktake will assist Emergency Management Australia, other Australian Government agencies, ALGA, the state and territory local government associations, and state and territory government agencies, in collaborating effectively with councils on emergency management.

See the report National Local Government Emergency Management Survey: Final Report . Additional results, not reported in the Final Report, are available here.

Land use planning and risk mitigation

Land use planning can be critical in reducing the impacts of natural disasters. ALGA commissioned a detailed report examining the potential contribution of leading edge land use planning practices to all-hazards risk management.

The report, Local Government Land Use Planning & Risk Mitigation ,provides a clear, detailed analysis of:

• the potential contribution of land use planning to risk management
• the constraints faced by local government in risk management
• recommendations to improve the integration of land use planning and risk management by local government.

National counter-terrorism risk management - a toolkit

A national Toolkit was prepared from the Local government counter-terrorism risk management kit published by the Queensland Government and the Local Government Association of Queensland in 2004.

The preparation of the national Toolkit involved extensive consultation with relevant government agencies and with local government throughout Australia. A substantial amount of new material has been developed.

The resultant Local Government Security Risk Management Toolkit is a practical guide to help local government address counter-terrorism considerations, by building from existing emergency/disaster management arrangements. The Toolkit will enable councils to prepare Security Risk Management Action Plans which will augment existing arrangements with strategies to address significant security risks.

Spatial information management - a toolkit

The Local Government Spatial Information Management Toolkit V1.0 was produced in 2004 by the Australian Local Government Association and ANZLIC - the Spatial Information Council. There have been significant advances in spatial information management systems since that time, both in terms of the underlying technology and the availability/affordability of access to such systems. Further, there are now outstanding examples of the effective use of spatial information systems by Australian local government.

Under this project, the Toolkit has been revised and expanded. It provides an up-to-date, accessible and valuable resource to assist local government in the use of spatial information management systems. It includes three case studies from councils that are using spatial information systems in innovative and highly successful ways.

The Local Government Spatial Information Management Toolkit V2.0 will be available for download here soon.

For information regarding ALGA emergency management projects and initiatives please contact: