Disaster Management Act 2003 (Qld)

Disaster Management Act 2003

An Act to provide for matters relating to disaster management in the State, and for other purposes

Part 1 Preliminary

Division 1 Introduction

1 Short title This Act may be cited as the Disaster Management Act 2003.

2 Commencement This Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation.

Division 2 Objects

3 Main objects of Act The main objects of this Act are as follows— (a) to help communities— (i) mitigate the potential adverse effects of an event; and (ii) prepare for managing the effects of an event; and (iii) effectively respond to, and recover from, a disaster or an emergency situation; (b) to provide for effective disaster management for the State.

4 How the objects are to be primarily achieved The objects are to be achieved primarily by making provision about the following— (a) establishing disaster management groups for the State, disaster districts and local government areas; (b) preparing disaster management plans and guidelines; (c) ensuring communities receive appropriate information about preparing for, responding to and recovering from a disaster; (d) declaring a disaster situation; (e) establishing the Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management.

4A Guiding principles This Act is to be administered according to the following principles— (a) disaster management should be planned across the following four phases— (i) prevention, involving the taking of preventative measures to reduce the likelihood of an event occurring or, if an event occurs, to reduce the severity of the event; (ii) preparation, involving the taking of preparatory measures to ensure that, if an event occurs, communities, resources and services are able to cope with the effects of the event; (iii) response, involving the taking of appropriate measures to respond to an event, including action taken and measures planned in anticipation of, during, and immediately after an event to ensure that its effects are minimised and that persons affected by the event are given immediate relief and support; (iv) recovery, involving the taking of appropriate measures to recover from an event, including action taken to support disaster-affected communities in the reconstruction of infrastructure, the restoration of emotional, social, economic and physical wellbeing, and the restoration of the environment; (b) consideration should be given to the improvement of the resilience of a community to a disaster in all 4 phases of disaster management planning under paragraph (a); (c) all events, whether natural or caused by human acts or omissions, should be managed in accordance with the following— (i) a strategic policy framework developed by the QDMC; (ii) the State disaster management plan; (iii) any disaster management guidelines; (d) local governments should primarily be responsible for managing events in their local government area; (e) district groups and the QDMC should provide local governments with appropriate resources and support to help the local governments carry out disaster operations.