Appendix 1: Recommendations of the three reviews
Improving Auckland Council’s emergency preparedness: A follow-up report.
This appendix sets out all 51 recommendations from the three reviews of Auckland Council – the Bush International Consulting review, published in March 2023, our report, published in June 2023, and the Toa Consulting review, published in August 2023.
Bush International Consulting review
| Recommendation | Fully addressed | Work has started | Expected completion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | That a separate review be undertaken to examine Auckland Emergency Management's (AEM) prevention, preparedness and planning, (also referred to as Reduction and Readiness) for an emergency in Tamaki Makaurau and that this review be undertaken with urgency (noting that the subject of this review was Response). | ✔ | ||
| 2 | Finalise with urgency the current review of the Auckland Civil Defence and Emergency Management (ACDEM) Group Plan. | ✔ | ||
| 3 | Include in the ACDEM Group Plan supporting plans for high priority hazards and events and detailed documentation of the Operating Model for emergency response. | ✔ | ||
| 4 | As recommended in the 2018 Smol Review,* the CDEM [Civil Defence Emergency Managment] Committee should agree a common approach for use of the CIMS [Coordinated Incident Management System] system methodology as the basis for planning for response and implement each of the structured elements of the CIMS in any major response. | ✔ | ||
| 5 | In the context of the CIMS, revise and promulgate new Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for emergency response in Auckland, including specific SOPs for high priority hazards such as floods and superstorms. | ✔ | ||
| 6 | Guided by the CIMS, clarify and communicate the Auckland emergency management organisational structure including in particular the operational relationships between and respective accountabilities of the Group Controller, Deputy Controller, Director CDEM, General Manager Emergency Management, Director Governance, Chief Executive and the Mayor and Mayor's Chief of Staff. Reflect these in updated policies and instruments of delegation. | ✔ | ||
| 7 | Ensure that AEM members, including the PIM [public information management] team, have the resource, training and capability to exercise their function relating to internal and external communications. | ✔ | ||
| 8 | Establish a standard cadence for the CDEM Coordinating Executive Group (CEG) to provide reporting and advice to the Council's CDEM committee in regard to progress made on implementing its decisions and overseeing the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the ACDEM Group Plan. | ✔ | ||
| 9 | Deliver a more frequent schedule of emergency management exercises, based on the CIMS and including complex scenarios, with multiple partner agencies, including CCOs [council-controlled organisations] and lifeline utilities. Involve the Office of the Mayor in these training events. | ✔ | ||
| 10 | Ensure all Auckland Council staff with dedicated emergency management accountabilities have expertise in and are qualified in both CIMS and crisis leadership protocols and principles. | ✔ | ||
| 11 | Consider changing organisational arrangements and reporting lines for the GM EM position [General Manager Emergency Management] and its reports, including the establishment of additional, qualified full time emergency response experts, including experts in public information. | ✔ | ||
| 12 | Develop a centralised approach to and system for intelligence capture and analysis, reflecting CIMS protocols, to ensure improved situational awareness in emergency response events. | ✔ | ||
| 13 | Revise SOPs to ensure that, while emergency response can be run remotely if required, the default preference is for a physical Emergency Operations Centre to support coordinated command and response. | ✔ | ||
| 14 | Ensure that the induction/onboarding process for a new Mayor and Mayoral Office staff includes advice and briefing materials on both the AEM system and how to inform, advise, and provide assurance during emergency response. | ✔ | ||
| 15 | Review, update, test and better communicate the database of prequalified CDCs [Civil Defence Centres] and related logistics hubs and welfare arrangements. Ensure key partnering relationships, such as those with local marae and community providers, are explicit and proactively managed. | ✔ | October 2024 | |
| 16 | Acquire or develop a common IT operating system for AEM and partner agencies to utilise during emergency response to facilitate sharing of intelligence and support improved real time communications and decision making. | ✔ | ||
| 17 | Establish and actively manage strong connectivity with critical external stakeholders, as required under the CIMS framework, including mana whenua, Pasifika, community groups, infrastructure providers, and lifeline utilities. | ✔ | ||
* Rimu Road Consulting Limited, Review of the response to the Auckland storm of 10 April 2018. See "Independent review of April storm response to be received by committee" at ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz.
Our report, Auckland Council: Preparedness for responding to an emergency
| Recommendation | Fully addressed | Work has started | Expected completion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | That Auckland Council complete its review and update of the Civil Defence Emergency Management Group Plan and its associated framework for action as soon as possible. | ✔ | ||
| 2 | That Auckland Council prepare a strategy and plan to guide its community resilience work, including how it will work with local boards. | ✔ | ||
| 3 | That Auckland Council strengthen governance oversight of its progress with key emergency preparedness matters, particularly its progress on implementing recommendations from recent reviews. | ✔ | ||
| 4 | That Auckland Council include in its emergency management work programme enough emergency management readiness exercises, including exercises that involve working with other agencies, to properly test its response and recovery capabilities. | ✔ | ||
| 5 | That Auckland Council develop a clear approach and appropriate processes to systematically evaluate responses to emergency events, record lessons, and implement improvements identified from responding to emergency events or from its emergency management readiness exercise programme. | ✔ | ||
| 6 | That Auckland Council keep the public regularly and well informed about its progress with emergency preparedness activities and implementing recommendations from recent reviews. | ✔ | October 2024 | |
Toa Consulting review
| Recommendation | Fully addressed | Work has started | Expected completion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | As per the recommendation in the Bush Review, ensure that the Group Controller is identified as required by legislation and that arrangements for the delivery of the Controller role and deputy Controllers in response are developed and communicated with GECC [Group Emergency Coordination Centre] personnel and CDEM Group partner agencies. | ✔ | ||
| 2 | Foster opportunities in readiness for Controllers to develop and maintain closer working relationships with Governance and CDEM Group partners, in particular welfare and lifeline providers. | ✔ | ||
| 3 | Establish the role of Group Recovery Manager in accordance with Sections 29 and 31 of the CDEM Act 2002 and ensure this role is activated from the initiation of a response. Ensure this function of CDEM is appropriately resourced in both readiness and response to manage the relationships, planning, transition process and any subsequent activities required of an event. | ✔ | ||
| 4 | Support Auckland Governances' understanding of their role in emergencies and the statutory role and powers of the Group Controller through the development of response procedures and protocols and involvement in planning, training and exercising in readiness. | ✔ | November 2024 | |
| 5 | Ensure that the layout of the future GECC facility considers the needs of large-scale events. This should include effective arrangements for accessibility and security and ensure connectivity and inter-dependencies between functions are maintained. This may include, but is not limited to:
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✔ | ||
| 6 | Ensure that any CIMS structure implemented gives effect to the scale and complexity of responses within the region by considering the inter-dependencies of functions and the requirements of specific communities, organisations and CDEM Group partners. The response structure must consider the requirements of both local delivery and regional coordination and be resourced sufficiently across all functions and any identified additional sub-functions that may be needed. | June 2025 | ||
| 7 | Recognise the scale of Auckland responses and staff turnover by developing short, digestible just-in-time training (such as videos) to support the induction process, including [health and safety] information, context about working in an emergency centre, cores [sic] processes within the GECC and the basics of working in each CIMS function. | ✔ | June 2025 | |
| 8 | Adequately resource a safety function that is able to operate across all aspects of the response. Embed safety considerations in all aspects of response planning and operations from the beginning of any event by pre-identify [sic] and developing required safety plans and arrangements. | ✔ | ||
| 9 | Develop a Response Wellbeing Plan that addresses the needs of all response personnel. | December 2025 | ||
| 10 | Work with senior management within Auckland Council to identify personnel to support the operation of the GECC. When undertaking this work consideration should be given to:
|
✔ | June 2025 | |
| 11 | Undertake a Capability analysis for AEM, Auckland Council and agency/organisational partners to identify and prioritise the development of a CDEM Group work programme, training framework and an annual training and exercising plan. | ✔ | ||
| 12 | Investigate options for a central incident response platform that enables the development of a common operating picture and allows the sharing of information between functions and supporting agencies. The system should also enable the management of resources and tracking of operational activities. This must be able to integrate with other systems utilised within the [G]ECC, including the Microsoft Office suite (Word, Excel, Outlook email), and systems utilised for the provision of welfare and Geospatial intelligence. | ✔ | ||
| 13 | Establish a clear set of procedures to enable effective sharing of information between the GECC, CDCs, supporting agencies and communities. This should include the frequency of information sharing, templates for sharing information (status reports), key contacts, systems to be utilised for information sharing and standing information requirements for a range of events. | ✔ | ||
| 14 | Develop a procedure, including templates, that covers the conducting of handovers, [Incident Management Team] meetings and briefings. | ✔ | ||
| 15 | Procure a standalone licence for ESRI/ArcGIS [geographical information systems] within the GECC to enable effective management of response data for the purposes of situational awareness, planning and decision-making. This should be accompanied by a clear set of procedures to ensure that data is available to all those who require it for response while being managed in accordance with any security and privacy requirements. | ✔ | June 2025 | |
| 16 | Ensure the embedding of the planning process within all functions through the use of consistent processes and templates, as outlined in CIMS 3rd Edition, and role-specific training for planning personnel. | ✔ | ||
| 17 | Work with Lifeline Utility providers to develop arrangements for the coordination of lifeline activities within the GECC and between providers. | ✔ | ||
| 18 | Ensure that a plan for the use of volunteers within AEM is developed. In particular, focus should be placed on establishing coordination mechanisms between NZRT [New Zealand Response Teams], AEM and the emergency services. Work should also be conducted to pre-identify volunteer organisations within Auckland that may be able to assist in response. | ✔ | June 2025 | |
| 19 | Work with NEMA [the National Emergency Management Agency] to identify an effective solution for the deployment of resources from outside the region. | ✔ | June 2029 | |
| 20 | Develop a suite of plans and procedures in alignment with the National Plan and Guide and the Director's Guideline for Welfare services in an emergency that support the provision of welfare during response. These should include the conducting of welfare needs assessment, the operation of CDCs and emergency shelters, the provision of services (including household goods and services), and temporary accommodation, the sharing and management of welfare data and supporting community-led initiatives. | ✔ | ||
| 21 | Implement a needs assessment collection and management solution that enables the timely management and delivery of welfare services to those in need. This should also ensure that all information collected, managed and accessed is in strict compliance with the requirements of the Privacy Act 2020. | ✔ | June 2025 | |
| 22 | Pre-identify CDCs and emergency shelters based on hazard exposure and likely community needs, including requirements for faith and culture. This process should include the likely resource requirements, including staffing, Police vetting requirements, physical resources to support setup and alternate means of communication. | ✔ | October 2024 | |
| 23 | Investigate the placement of secondary communications channels in at-risk communities (e.g., VHF radio, Starlink, etc.) to enable redundant communication options during response. | ✔ | ||
| 24 | Consider increasing the number of permanent roles within AEM to support the development of relationships with Māori/Iwi, CALD [culturally and linguistically diverse] and other significant communities within the region. | ✔ | ||
| 25 | Work with Iwi leaders and organisations in readiness to foster close working relationships and explore arrangements or response options which could be integrated quickly into the AEM response. | ✔ | ||
| 26 | Support the investigation of funding arrangements to enable Iwi to deliver response activities in alignment to current legislation and the Guide to the National CDEM Plan through discussions with Auckland Council, NEMA, MSD [the Ministry of Social Development] and Te Puni Kokiri. | ✔ | ||
| 27 | Ensure that arrangements for the inclusion of CALD community and Māori/Iwi networks in response delivery and public information management are pre-identified for use within the response. | ✔ | ||
| 28 | Work with communities and local boards to identify appropriate community response arrangements. This may include community response structures and plans, identification of community-led facilities and any potential support or communication requirements in response. | ✔ | December 2024 | |