Productivity / Professional development
Emergency management & recovery | Act in an emergency
In an emergency, the most important thing to do is ensure the safety of yourself and your employees, then protect your business and assets as much as possible.
Emergency management & recovery | Act in an emergency
In an emergency, the most important thing to do is ensure the safety of yourself and your employees, then protect your business and assets as much as possible.
See below for information to help guide you in an emergency situation.
Prepare for emergencies
Ensure you and your staff are aware of all emergency warning systems in your local area. Depending on the emergency, you may have time to switch off electricity, gas and water, board up windows, or sandbag entryways to minimise further damage to your property.
Be guided by local emergency services authorities as they can advise you of the best way to protect your property. In some cases there is no time to prepare, and you’ll simply need to follow your emergency procedures as quickly and calmly as possible.
Follow your emergency procedures
Follow your emergency procedures, take your emergency kit and ensure everyone is accounted for and evacuated to a safe location outside the building or to a designated evacuation centre. Once everyone is evacuated ensure they follow the instructions of police, fire, ambulance, and emergency services personnel.
Communicate
Once you have contacted all relevant emergency services (SES, police, fire, ambulance), check in with the people on your emergency contacts list. These could be family, friends, staff, or anyone else who may need to know your whereabouts and the current situation.
Keep up to date
Keep up to date on what’s happening in your area, including local weather warnings. Check the Bureau of Meteorology, the local radio or television broadcasts. Social media is also becoming a common method for accessing official information during large-scale emergency situations.
What to do…
- Download Emergency Management Australia’s Preparing for the Unexpected
publication for detailed advice on emergency preparation. - See our Emergency management & recovery plan template to complete your own emergency action plan, and use our Take action checklist for a quick reference of all the steps you should consider when experiencing an emergency event.
- Contact your local State Emergency Services (SES) for advice and information about emergency preparation in your local area.
- Find out where you can get updates and alerts on current emergencies in your state and territory.
- Visit the Bureau of Meteorology website.
- Visit the Disaster Assist website for information on any current disasters.
- Download the Attorney-General’s DisasterWatch Phone App to access information about disaster related events and disaster resilience in Australia.
- Search for your local State Emergency Services (SES) or local government organisation on social media networks (such as Twitter or Facebook).
