All 38 recommendations made after Fraser Island fire review

Here are all 38 recommendations made during the review into the fire on Fraser Island

Fraser Island fire photos from ABC Sunshine Coast

The Inspector-General Emergency Management‘s review report and the government’s response to the Fraser Island bushfires have been tabled in state parliament.

The fire started from an illegally lit campfire on October 14.

Over two months, the fire would burn 84,000 hectares of the World Heritage Listed-island.

Here are all 38 recommendations made during the review.

Recommendation 1

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends a set of guiding principles that reflect a unified response to World Heritage listed sites in Queensland be included in the Queensland State Disaster Management Plan and reflected in the Queensland Bushfire Plan.

Recommendation 2

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends that the Queensland Government works with the Commonwealth Government to review the Project Agreement for World Heritage Management to ensure Queensland and Australia continue to meet their obligations under the World Heritage Convention to protect, conserve and present our World Heritage properties.

Recommendation 3

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Queensland State Disaster Management Plan and the Queensland Bushfire Plan be reviewed to enhance appropriate arrangements for the management of bushfire and disaster events where a threat is posed to significant environmental and cultural heritage sites.

Photos of the fire burning on Fraser Island.: PHOTO: Vicki Neville

Recommendation 4

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services regularly review and evaluate the effectiveness of the Queensland Bushfire Plan with land managers and stakeholders, including disaster management groups.

A review should occur in line with any material change to the Queensland State Disaster Management Plan, the Disaster Management Act 2003, the Prevention Preparedness Response and Recovery Guideline, or after major bushfire events, to ensure appropriate alignment and currency.

Recommendation 5

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services facilitate an annual state level exercise of the Queensland Bushfire Plan that includes all relevant stakeholders and land managers.

The exercise should focus on roles, responsibilities, interagency arrangements and handover arrangements between agencies and land managers.

Recommendation 6

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Locality Specific Fire Management Group for K’gari meet at least twice per year, in person or virtually.

Recommendation 7

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends all Area Fire Management Groups in Queensland make their Bushfire Risk Mitigation Plans, bushfire risk mapping and methodology easily understood and available to the community.

All public plans should be dated to ensure currency and incorporate mechanisms for community feedback.

Recommendation 8

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the prescribed burn program for K’gari be developed by the Department of Environment and Science, in collaboration with the Locality Specific Fire Management Group and the Butchulla people, based on the principles of the National Position on Prescribed Burning.

This program should incorporate a process for monitoring and evaluation of outcomes and integration of evolving fire management practices.

Recommendation 9

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends a collaborative review of firelines, tracks and trails on K’gari be undertaken by the Department of Environment and Science, in collaboration with the Locality Specific Area Fire Management Group and the Butchulla people, to ensure an adequate network is agreed by relevant stakeholders, and roles and responsibilities for maintenance are agreed and documented.

Recommendation 10

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Interagency Protocol for Fire Management be reviewed by all relevant entities, including representatives of the Butchulla people, and be updated as a matter of priority.

Entities responsible for the protocol should implement a process for regular review and evaluation of its effectiveness.

This review process should be conducted after a major bushfire event, or to reflect any material change to applicable legislation and policy.

It should also consider prearranged approvals and a range of agreed fiscal protocols between the agencies.

Recommendation 11

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Department of Environment and Science establish predetermined financial delegations and authority for Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Incident Controllers.

Krisstah Gatehouse captured this image of the fire currently burning on Fraser Island Picture Facebook/Krisstah Gatehouse

Recommendation 12

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Department of Environment and Science review its training framework and minimum mandatory training requirements for Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Incident Controllers to ensure they are appropriately trained to manage significant events.

Recommendation 13

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Department of Environment and Science identify opportunities to increase Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service’s capability in incident management and multi-agency fire response, through exercising plans and procedures in collaboration with other stakeholders, including disaster and fire management groups at all levels.

Recommendation 14

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Department of Environment and Science review the format and delivery of Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service annual fire refresher training to include a scenario-based exercise.

Recommendation 15

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services consider expanding specialist Remote Area Firefighting Team capability to assist in responding to significant bushfire events which occur in rugged or inaccessible terrain.

Recommendation 16

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the next review of the Queensland State Disaster Management Plan examines and provides guidance in respect to the application of Queensland’s disaster management arrangements to support hazard specific events such as bushfire.

Recommendation 17

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends entities with responsibilities for land and fire management consider the establishment of roles for Traditional Owner and First Nations representatives in incident management structures for significant bushfire or disaster events including those that may impact on cultural heritage in Queensland’s World Heritage sites.

Recommendation 18

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Department of Environment and Science ensure that all Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service regions develop a Disaster Management Operations Plan based on a standardised format.

The plans should include provision for annual review to ensure they remain contemporary, interoperable with relevant disaster management plans and aligned to the Department of Environment and Science Emergency Management Plan.

Recommendation 19

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Department of Environment and Science develop and implement a Wildfire Response Plan for Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service Coastal and Islands Region, to be included in the region’s Disaster Management Operations Plan.

Recommendation 20

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the arrangements and requirements for situational reporting when an incident is under the control of the Department of Environment and Science be detailed in the Queensland Bushfire Plan.

These arrangements should also be outlined in relevant joint entity agreements and operational doctrine.

Recommendation 21

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Department of Environment and Science review the resourcing model to ensure surge capacity is available to support incident management functions during response operations.

This includes processes to request assistance from other departments and entities with responsibilities for fire and incident management.

Recommendation 22

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Department of Environment and Science review its suite of operational doctrine to ensure arrangements for situational reporting and requests for assistance are aligned to recognised multi-agency practices used in disaster management.

Recommendation 23

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and the Department of Environment and Science review the current description of Level 1, 2, and 3 bushfire incidents and the implied meaning of property in the Queensland Bushfire Plan.

This review should identify and agree on clear criteria and decision points for the transfer of control and develop a standard process and templates.

Recommendation 24

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Maryborough District Disaster Management Group works with the Fraser Coast Local Disaster Management Group to plan for the evacuation of K’gari due to bushfire.

Once developed, the plan should be exercised and regularly reviewed.

Philip Pawsey was camping on Fraser Island when he was advised by Queensland Police to leave the area due to an approaching fire on Friday night (9th November 2020) Picture facebook/Philip Pawsey

Recommendation 25

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services examines the use of predictive service capability to inform prevention and preparedness in addition to response activities.

Recommendation 26

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services engages with land managers and other stakeholders on K’gari to source data to inform Predictive Services products.

Recommendation 27

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services identifies stakeholders that would benefit from predictive service products.

Suitable advice and training should be provided to these stakeholders to assist with using and interpreting the products.

Recommendation 28

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends a public information resource be developed by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services to inform the community and stakeholders about aerial assets utilised in bushfire response.

Recommendation 29

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the membership of the K’gari Locality Specific Fire Management Group be expanded to include representatives of the Butchulla people, community associations from each township and tourism and business operators with interests on the island.

Recommendation 30

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Bushfire Risk Mitigation

Plan for Fraser Coast Area Fire Management Group include a schedule of planned engagement activities, or a community engagement sub-plan outlining these activities, and be publicly available.

Recommendation 31

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Maryborough District Disaster Management Group works with the Fraser Coast Local Disaster Management Group to prepare and exercise a communications sub-plan with all responsible agencies, to clarify the roles, responsibilities and communication channels used for restricting access to K’gari.

Recommendation 32

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Department of Environment and Science examines the utilisation of technology, in consultation with relevant stakeholders, to improve the collection of visitor numbers and movement data.

This could include, for example, expanding the use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology to K’gari and examining the suitability of mobile phone check-in applications.

Recommendation 33

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Department of Environment and Science implements the proposed treatments for fire identified in the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service K’gari Compliance Strategy.

Recommendation 34

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends the Department of Environment and Science undertake a review of campfire locations on K’gari, including all relevant signage on and off the island, maps and visitor permit information, to promote a consistent message about lighting campfires on K’gari.

Recommendation 35

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends Department of Environment and Science implement an awareness and engagement strategy aimed at deterring the lighting of campfires to encourage behavioural change among visitors.

Recommendation 36

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and the Department of Environment and Science monitor the progress of relevant improvement activities resulting from the K’gari (Fraser Island) Bushfire Review, through their respective lessons management programs.

Recommendation 37

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends should a Queensland Government Action Plan be considered, clarity about the intent of the recommendations be sought from the Inspector-General Emergency Management to assist in informing this process.

Recommendation 38

The Inspector-General Emergency Management recommends this report be returned to the IGEM to monitor, evaluate and report on progress and implementation of the recommendations that are accepted in whole or in part by government.