Victoria State Emergency Service Act 1987

Version No. 022

Victoria State Emergency Service Act 1987

Act No. 57/1987

Version incorporating amendments as at 5 April 2005

table of provisions

Section Page

ii

Section Page

PART 1—PRELIMINARY 1

1. Purposes 1

2. Commencement 1

3. Definitions 1

PART 2—VICTORIA STATE EMERGENCY SERVICE 5

4. Constitution 5

5. Functions 5

6. Director 7

6A. Acting Director 8

7. Staff 8

8. Delegation 8

9. Powers and duties of Director 8

10. Register 10

11. Probationary members 10

12. Registered members 11

13. Registered units 12

14. Controllers of registered units 13

15. Examination etc. 14

16. DISPLAN roles of the Service 14

17. Immunity of members of the Service 15

18. Insurance policies 15

19. Offence of wilful damage or interference with property 15

20. Offence of obstructing etc. worker 15

20A. Offences relating to impersonation 16

PART 3—COMPENSATION 17

21. Definition 17

22. Injury etc. for which compensation is payable 17

23. Compensation for personal injuries 17

24. Compensation for loss of or damage to property 19

25. Jurisdiction 20

26. Authority to represent Crown 20

27. Payments 21

28. Entitlement where damages otherwise payable 21

29. Repealed 22

30. Fraudulent claims 22

30A. Delegation 22

PART 4—MISCELLANEOUS 23

31. Regulations 23

32, 33. Repealed 25

34. Transitional provisions 25

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ENDNOTES 27

1. General Information 27

2. Table of Amendments 28

3. Explanatory Details 30

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Version No. 022

Victoria State Emergency Service Act 1987

Act No. 57/1987

Version incorporating amendments as at 5 April 2005

4

Part 1—Preliminary

Victoria State Emergency Service Act 1987

Act No. 57/1987

The Parliament of Victoria enacts as follows:

Part 1—Preliminary

1. Purposes

The purposes of this Act are to reconstitute the Victoria State Emergency Service and to provide for the effective performance of its functions and responsibilities of emergency management and emergency operations.

2. Commencement

This Act comes into operation on a day to be proclaimed.

3. Definitions

(1) In this Act—

"agency" means a government agency or a non-government agency;

S. 3(1) def. of "casual emergency worker" repealed by No. 97/1994 s.20(1)(a).

* * * * *

"civil defence" means the performance of humanitarian tasks intended to protect the civil population of Victoria against the dangers of, and to help it recover from, the immediate effects of a war-like act;

"controller", in relation to a registered unit, means the chief officer, however designated, of the registered unit;

S. 3(1) def. of "Co-ordinator in Chief" amended by No. 97/1994 s.20(1)(b).

"Co-ordinator in Chief" means the Co-ordinator in Chief of Emergency Management;

"Director" means the Director of the Service appointed under section 6;

S. 3(1) def. of "DISPLAN" amended by No. 97/1994 s.20(1)(c).

"DISPLAN" means the State emergency response plan referred to in section 10 of the Emergency Management Act 1986;

"emergency" has the same meaning as in the Emergency Management Act 1986;

S. 3(1) def. of "emergency management" repealed by No. 97/1994 s.20(1)(d).

* * * * *

S. 3(1) def. of "emergency operations" amended by No. 97/1994 s.20(1)(e).

s. 3

"emergency operations" means the preparation for and conduct of response roles under DISPLAN and the State emergency recovery plan;

S. 3(1) def. of "Government agency" amended by No. 46/1998 s.7(Sch. 1).

"Government agency" means—

(a) any body corporate or unincorporate constituted by or under any Act for a public purpose; and

(b) any member or officer or employee of such a body; and

(c) any person in the service of the Crown in the right of the State of Victoria upon whom any function, power, duty or responsibility is conferred by or under any Act;

"non-government agency" means a voluntary organisation or any other person or body other than a government agency;

"probationary member" means a volunteer registered as a probationary member under section 11;

"register" means the register kept under section10;

"registered member" means a person registered as a member of the Service under section 12;

"registered unit" means a group of persons registered as a unit under section 13;

"Service" means the Victoria State Emergency Service;

"State Co-ordinator" means the State Co-ordinator of DISPLAN referred to in section11 of the Emergency Management Act 1986;

S. 3(1) def. of "State emergency recovery plan" insertedby No. 97/1994 s.20(1)(f).

s. 3

"State emergency recovery plan" means the State emergency recovery plan referred to in section 17A of the Emergency Management Act 1986;

"Victorian waters" means any inland or coastal waters open to or used by the public;

S. 3(1) def. of "volunteer emergency worker" inserted by No. 97/1994 s.20(1)(g).

"volunteer emergency worker" has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Emergency Management Act 1986.

S. 3(2) substituted by No. 97/1994 s.20(2).

(2) For the purposes of this Act—

(a) "emergency management" has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Emergency Management Act 1986;

(b) "prevention", "response" and "recovery" in relation to an emergency have the same meaning as in section 4A of the Emergency Management Act 1986.

______

s. 3

Part 2—Victoria State Emergency Service

4. Constitution

s. 4

There shall be established a Victoria State Emergency Service which shall consist of—

(a) the Director; and

S. 4(b) amended by No. 46/1998 s.7(Sch. 1).

(b) the persons employed under section 7; and

(c) registered members and probationary members.

5. Functions

(1) The following are the functions of the Service—

(a) to assist municipal councils and, if the Minister so determines, other agencies, in relation to the performance and exercise of their duties and responsibilities under the Emergency Management Act 1986 by—

(i) providing support for planning in relation to the prevention of, response to and recovery from emergencies; and

(ii) providing advice, information, education and training in relation to emergency management; and

(iii) conducting research in relation to emergency management;

(b) to conduct training activities related to emergency management and emergency operations;

(c) to plan response to and to respond to floods, earthquakes and storms and their effects;

(d) to plan for and provide a rescue service for persons involved in road accidents;

(e) to plan and train for civil defence activities;

(f) to support organisations in the performance of their emergency functions and responsibilities under DISPLAN, including—

(i) searching for persons lost on land; and

(ii) rescuing persons involved in emergencies on land; and

(iii) searching for and rescuing persons or vessels lost or involved in emergencies in Victorian waters;

(g) to co-ordinate the provision of relief services to persons affected by emergencies and to support organisations which provide such services;

(h) on the request of the State Co-ordinator—

(i) to establish and administer facilities for the reception of persons evacuated as the result of an emergency; and

(ii) to co-ordinate the provision of supplies and services to such facilities;

(i) to undertake such other roles under DISPLAN as are determined by the State Co-ordinator;

s. 5

S. 5(1)(j) inserted by No. 97/1994 s.21.

(j) to undertake such roles under the state emergency recovery plan as are determined by the State Recovery Co-ordinator with the approval of the Director.

(2) The functions of the Service do not include engaging in or preparing for armed combat.

S. 5(3) inserted by No. 50/1989 s.49(a).

(3) The Service may enter into an agreement with any person to provide other property protection or loss mitigation services for the prevention of or to deal with the effects of any emergency or hazard.

S. 5(4) inserted by No. 48/2000 s.9.

(4) The Service must use its best endeavours to carry out its functions in accordance with the standards prepared by the Emergency Services Commissioner under Part 4A of the Emergency Management Act 1986.

S. 5(5) inserted by No. 48/2000 s.9.

(5) The Service must, at the expiration of each three month period, report on the action it has taken during the preceding three months to comply with the standards prepared by the Emergency Services Commissioner under Part 4A of the Emergency Management Act 1986.

6. Director

s. 6

(1) The Governor in Council shall appoint a person to be the Director of the Service.

(2) The Director holds office for such period, not exceeding five years, as the Governor in Council in the instrument of appointment determines but is eligible for re-appointment.

(3) The Director must be paid such salary and allowances as the Governor in Council determines.

(4) The Director may be removed from office at any time by the Governor in Council.

S. 6(5) amended by No. 50/1988 s.93(2) (Sch.2 Pt2 item65).

(5) A person appointed to be the Director who was, immediately before that appointment, an officer within the meaning of the State Superannuation Act 1988 shall continue, subject to that Act, to be an officer within the meaning of that Act while holding the office of Director.

S. 6A insertedby No. 50/1989 s.45.

6A. Acting Director

s. 6A

(1) If the Director is unable to perform the duties of the office the Minister may appoint a person to act in the place of the Director during the period of the inability.

(2) A person appointed under sub-section (1) while acting in the place of the Director—

(a) has all the powers and may perform all the duties of the Director; and

(b) must be paid such salary and allowances as the Minister determines.

S. 7 substituted by No. 46/1998 s.7(Sch. 1), amendedby No.108/2004 s.117(1) (Sch.3 item217).

7. Staff

Any employees that are necessary to carry this Act into effect may be employed under Part 3 of the Public Administration Act 2004.

S. 8 amendedby Nos 97/1994 s.22, 46/1998 s. 7(Sch. 1).

8. Delegation

The Director may, by instrument, delegate to any employee in the Service any power or function of the Director under this Act or the regulations or any other Act, other than this power of delegation.

9. Powers and duties of Director

(1) Subject to the general direction and control of the Minister, the Director must administer and direct the Service in the performance of its functions.

(2) The Director—

(a) may provide advice to the Minister generally in relation to the administration of this Act and the Service established by or under this Act; and

(b) must, if so required by the Minister, provide advice to the Minister in relation to matters specifically referred to the Director by the Minister.

(3) Without limiting the generality of sub-section (1), the Director must—

(a) provide advice and assistance to municipal councils in relation to the performance and exercise of their duties and responsibilities under the Emergency Management Act 1986; and

s. 9

(b) provide advice and assistance to and promote awareness and understanding among government and non-government agencies in relation to emergency management; and

(c) undertake such exercises as may be necessary to support emergency management arrangements in force from time to time; and

(d) encourage and facilitate the formation of registered units of the Service; and

(e) for the purposes of the Service establish and issue policy statements, procedural guidelines or standing orders governing—

(i) training standards; and

(ii) administrative practices; and

(iii) operational procedures; and

(iv) the duties of probationary members, registered members and controllers of units; and

(v) equipment standards; and

(vi) safety procedures; and

(vii) disciplinary codes; and

S. 9(3)(e)(viii) inserted by No. 50/1989 s.47(a).

(viii) forms and returns for the purposes of this Act; and

(f) design, establish and maintain such courses of instruction as are necessary for the effective and efficient discharge of the functions of the Service; and

(g) inspect and review the equipment, operations, training and administration of registered units.

(4) The Director may—

(a) direct the emergency operations activities of registered units; and

(b) organise and conduct exercises and competitions for registered units.

10. Register

s. 10

(1) For the purposes of this Act, the Director must cause to be established and kept a register of members, probationary members and units.

(2) Subject to this Act and the regulations, the register must be kept in such form and manner as the Director thinks fit.

11. Probationary members

(1) A person may apply to the controller of a registered unit to become a probationary member of the Service.

S. 11(2) repealed by No. 50/1989 s.47(b).

* * * * *

(3) A controller of a registered unit must forward an application under this section to the Director as soon as practicable after receipt.

(4) The Director may approve or refuse an application for probationary membership.

(5) Subject to section 14(5), if the Director approves an application, the Director must register the applicant as a probationary member of the Service.

12. Registered members

s. 12

(1) A probationary member may—

(a) three months after registration as a probationary member; and

(b) after satisfying any condition as may be specified by the Director—

apply to the Director to become a registered member of the Service.

S. 12(2) repealed by No. 50/1989 s.47(b).

* * * * *

(3) The Director may approve or refuse an application for membership.

(4) If the Director approves an application under this section, the Director must register the applicant as a member of the Service.

(5) If the Director is not satisfied that an applicant is suitable for activities of the Service, the Director must refuse the application for membership.

(6) If the Director refuses an application for membership, the Director may make such orders in relation to the applicant's involvement in activities of the Service as the Director, after consultation with the controller of the applicant's registered unit, thinks appropriate.

13. Registered units

s. 13

(1) An application for the registration of a group of persons as a unit of the Service may be made to the Director by—

(a) the council of any municipality; or

S. 13(1)(b) substituted by No. 97/1994 s.23.

(b) if 2 or more municipal councils appoint a principal municipal council under section 19 of the Emergency Management Act 1986, the principal municipal council.

(2) The Director may approve or refuse an application under sub-section (1).