Review of Recovery Arrangements LEARNINGS from the 2013 TASMANIAN BUSHFIRE RECOVERY
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Review of Recovery Arrangements LEARNINGS FROM THE 2013 TASMANIAN BUSHFIRE RECOVERY Bushfire Recovery Unit Department of Premier and Cabinet The Tasmanian bushfires of January 2013, which spanned almost 40,000 hectares, resulted in widespread loss of homes, businesses, public infrastructure and flora and fauna. The disruption and trauma to affected communities was immense, as was the significant task of ensuring appropriate arrangements were in place to meet community recovery needs. Following the fires, the Tasmanian Government established the Bushfire Recovery Taskforce (the Taskforce) to coordinate and oversee recovery efforts, and a temporary unit within Government was created to ensure recovery plans were effectively carried out. Governance structures underpinning recovery activities enabled input at every level from an array of stakeholders including the community. This ensured that the changing needs of affected communities were consistently reflected in the planning and coordination of tasks. Many recovery programs were developed and implemented to support the personal recovery of individuals and families, the clean-up and reconstruction of infrastructure and property, and the revival of businesses and local economy. The Taskforce’s planning document Tasmanian Bushfires January 2013: Programs for Recovery was released in June 2013 and helped guide many of these programs. In order to capture the learnings gained throughout the year the Taskforce conducted a comprehensive review of the recovery process. It consulted widely with the community and recovery partners who were involved with the planning, coordination or delivery of recovery services. The Taskforce’s final publication Transition to Long-Term Recovery, released in April 2014, provides an overview of recovery activities that took place throughout the year and includes a summary of key learnings from the review. These publications can be found at: www.bushfirerecovery.tas.gov.au/people_and_communities/local_communities/bushfire_recovery_taskforce Community resilience, strong leadership and the collective effort of many recovery partners resulted in a relatively swift transition to long-term recovery – a testament to the community’s spirit and the generosity and hard work of all involved. In order to facilitate what has been Tasmania’s largest community-led recovery program in almost 50 years, the flexible approach exercised by State and local governments enabled genuine collaborative working arrangements. This enabled effective planning and coordination of the social, infrastructure, economic and environmental elements of recovery. In acknowledgement of the depth of understanding gained throughout the 2013 recovery experience, the Bushfire Recovery Unit (the Unit) has developed this document as a supplement to the Taskforce’s publications, Programs for Recovery and Transition to Long-Term Recovery. This report is intended for use by government agencies to aid future recovery efforts. It includes practical guidance and a range of planning materials, templates and checklists to assist with the set-up of effective governance and operational arrangements, should similar measures be required in the future. Page | 2 Table of Contents 1. Preparing for Recovery ........................................................................................................................................................................ 4 1.1. Principles of recovery ................................................................................................................................................................ 4 1.1.1. Application in the Tasmanian context ................................................................................................................. 6 1.1.2. Recovery phases and lifecycle .................................................................................................................................. 6 1.2. Leadership ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 9 1.2.1. Leadership qualities for effective recovery ....................................................................................................... 9 1.2.2. Collaborative leadership for collective impact ............................................................................................ 11 1.3. Establishing recovery capability......................................................................................................................................... 12 1.3.1. Governance ...................................................................................................................................................................... 12 1.3.2. Bushfire Recovery Unit .............................................................................................................................................. 16 1.3.3. Operational arrangements ....................................................................................................................................... 18 1.3.4. Community input .......................................................................................................................................................... 19 1.3.5. Working with non-government organisations ............................................................................................. 19 1.3.6. Client management system ..................................................................................................................................... 20 1.3.7. Volunteer opportunities ............................................................................................................................................ 20 1.4. Community engagement...................................................................................................................................................... 23 1.4.1. Spectrum of engagement ......................................................................................................................................... 24 1.4.2. Two way engagement for recovery ................................................................................................................... 25 1.4.3. Building capacity and resilience ............................................................................................................................. 26 1.5. Communication ......................................................................................................................................................................... 28 1.5.1. Investing in communication ..................................................................................................................................... 28 1.5.2. Communicating through the recovery phases ............................................................................................ 29 1.5.3. External communication ........................................................................................................................................... 29 1.5.4. Internal communication ............................................................................................................................................. 33 2. Delivering Services .............................................................................................................................................................................. 35 2.1. Setting up for recovery ......................................................................................................................................................... 35 2.1.1. Central Recovery Unit ............................................................................................................................................... 35 2.1.2. Regional presence ......................................................................................................................................................... 36 2.1.3. From the tents to a hub ............................................................................................................................................ 36 2.2. Immediate relief ......................................................................................................................................................................... 37 2.2.1. Managing expectations ............................................................................................................................................... 37 2.2.2. Personal registration .................................................................................................................................................... 37 2.2.3. Immediate monetary relief ...................................................................................................................................... 38 2.2.4. Clean-up ............................................................................................................................................................................. 38 2.2.5. Restoring key infrastructure .................................................................................................................................... 39 2.3. Longer-term recovery ............................................................................................................................................................ 41 2.3.1. Monetary