Emergency Management Act 2006 (Tas)

Emergency Management Act 2006

An Act to provide for the protection of life, property and the environment in the event of an emergency, to establish emergency management arrangements, to provide for certain rescue and retrieval operations, to repeal the Emergency Services Act 1976 , to consequentially rescind certain statutory rules, to consequentially amend certain Acts and for related purposes [Royal Assent 20 September 2006]

Be it enacted by His Excellency the Governor of Tasmania, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and House of Assembly, in Parliament assembled, as follows:

PART 1 - Preliminary

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Emergency Management Act 2006 .

2. Commencement This Act commences on a day to be proclaimed.

3. Interpretation In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears – affiliated organisation means an organisation, other than a statutory service, that is registered as an affiliated organisation under section 28(2)(c) ; arrangements document means a document prepared by the State Committee under section 32(1) ; authorised officer has the meaning given by section 31 ; civil defence measures means the humanitarian measures necessary – (a) to protect the civilian population of the State against the dangers of, and to help it recover from the immediate effects of, enemy attack or hostilities; and (b) to provide the conditions needed for the survival of the civilian population of the State during and following enemy attack or hostilities; combined area means 2 or more municipal areas determined by the Minister to be a combined area under section 19 ; community risk means the likelihood of harmful consequences to the community that may result from the interaction of hazards, the community and the environment; COVID-19 state of emergency means the state of emergency in relation to the disease known as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); Deputy Municipal Coordinator means the Deputy Municipal Emergency Management Coordinator appointed under section 23 ; Deputy Regional Controller means the Deputy Regional Emergency Management Controller appointed under section 17 ; Deputy State Controller means the Deputy State Emergency Management Controller appointed under section 10 ; Director SES means the Director of the State Emergency Service appointed under section 27 ; emergency means – (a) an event that – (i) endangers, destroys or threatens to endanger or destroy human life, property or the environment, or causes or threatens to cause injury or distress to persons; and (ii) requires a significant response from one or more of the statutory services; or (b) a significant threat of the occurrence of an event of a kind referred to in paragraph (a) in respect of which it is appropriate to take measures – (i) to prevent that possible resulting event; or (ii) to mitigate the risks associated with that threat and that possible resulting event; emergency management means – (a) the planning, organisation, coordination and implementation of measures that are necessary or desirable to prevent, mitigate, respond to, resist, adapt to, overcome and recover from an emergency; or (b) the planning, organisation, coordination and implementation of civil defence measures; or (c) the conduct of, or participation in, research and training for any measures specified in paragraph (a) or (b) ; or (d) the development of policy and procedures relating to any measures or actions specified in paragraph (a) , (b) or (c) ; emergency management plan means the TEMA, a Regional Emergency Management Plan, a Municipal Emergency Management Plan or a Special Emergency Management Plan; emergency management worker means – (a) a member of a statutory service, whether for payment or other consideration or as a volunteer; or (b) an authorised officer; or (c) a person who does or omits to do any act in the assistance of, or under the direction or control of, an authorised officer; or (d) a person prescribed by the regulations to be an emergency management worker; or (e) any other person who, in good faith – (i) participates in emergency management or rescue and retrieval operations; or (ii) performs or exercises, or purportedly performs or exercises, functions or powers under this Act; or (iii) is involved in the administration or execution, or the purported administration or execution, of this Act; emergency power means a power specified in Schedule 1 ; environment includes the following components: (a) land, air and water; (b) organic matter and inorganic matter; (c) living organisms; (d) human-made or modified structures and areas; (e) interacting natural ecosystems that include components referred to in paragraphs (a) , (b) and (c) ; (f) all other components of the earth; evacuation centre means a place, or facility, where people affected by an emergency may be provided, under this Act, with information in relation to hazards associated with the emergency or with temporary shelter from those hazards; executive officer means a person who is responsible for providing administrative and secretariat services; Government agency means – (a) an Agency, within the meaning of the State Service Act 2000 ; or (b) a statutory authority; hazard means a place, structure, source or situation, that may potentially endanger, destroy or threaten to endanger or destroy human life, property or the environment; Head of Agency has the same meaning as in the State Service Act 2000 ; Ministerial Committee means the Ministerial Committee for Emergency Management established under section 6A ; Municipal Chairperson means the person determined under section 21(2) by a council to be the Municipal Chairperson; Municipal Committee means a Municipal Emergency Management Committee established under section 20 ; Municipal Coordinator means a person appointed as a Municipal Emergency Management Coordinator under section 23 ; Municipal Emergency Management Plan means a plan approved by the State Controller for a Municipal Committee area under section 34 , as amended or substituted from time to time with the approval of the State Controller under that section; Municipal Recovery Coordinator means a person appointed as a Municipal Recovery Coordinator under section 24G ; municipal volunteer SES unit means a volunteer unit established under sections 47 and 48 ; occupier, in relation to premises or a vehicle, means the person who is apparently in charge of the premises or vehicle at the relevant time; officer, in relation to a council, means – (a) an elected member of the council; or (b) an employee of the council who complies with any description or conditions, or holds a position or a position of a class, determined by the Minister; owner includes a lessee; premises includes land, any structure and a part of premises; property includes – (a) an animal and any part of an animal, whether alive or dead; and (b) a plant and any part of a plant, whether alive or dead; and (c) any egg, sperm, seed, flower, fruit or other material obtained from an animal or plant, whether alive or dead; recovery, in relation to an area or community affected by an emergency, includes any process undertaken in that area or community that does either or both of the following: (a) returns all, or part of, the social, economic or environmental features or the infrastructure of that area or community to a functional standard; (b) assists the area or community, during and after the emergency, to deal with the impacts of the emergency; recovery centre means a place or facility where people affected by an emergency may be provided with information about, or support to recover from, that emergency; Recovery Taskforce means a Recovery Taskforce established under section 24C ; region means the northern region, the north-western region or the southern region; Regional Committee means a Regional Emergency Management Committee established under section 14 ; Regional Controller means the Regional Emergency Management Controller appointed under section 17 ; Regional Emergency Management Plan means a plan approved by the State Controller for a region under section 33 , as amended or substituted from time to time with the approval of the State Controller under that section; regional SES volunteer unit means a volunteer unit of the State Emergency Service established by the Director SES for the purposes of a region under section 28(2)(a) ; rescue and retrieval operation means – (a) the planning, organisation, coordination and implementation of measures that are necessary or desirable to rescue or retrieve any person, animal, property, human remains or carcass during or after the occurrence of an incident, or other event, that is not an emergency; or (b) the conduct of, or participation in, research and training for the measures specified in paragraph (a) ; resources includes any plant, vehicle, animal, apparatus, implement, earthmoving equipment, construction equipment, other equipment of any kind, persons, agency, authority, organisation or other requirement necessary for emergency management; risk means the likelihood of harmful consequences arising from the interaction of hazards, communities and the environment; Secretary responsible to the Premier means the Secretary of the department responsible for the administration of the State Service Act 2000 ; Special Emergency Management Plan means a plan approved by the approving authority under section 35 , as amended or substituted from time to time; special emergency power means a power specified in Schedule 2 ; State Committee means the State Emergency Management Committee established under section 7 ; State Controller means the State Emergency Management Controller appointed under section 10 ; State Emergency Service means the body continued by section 25 ; state of emergency means a state of emergency declared under section 42 ; State Recovery Advisor means the person holding the office of State Recovery Advisor under section 24A ; State Recovery Coordinator means a State Recovery Coordinator appointed under section 24D ; statutory authority means a body or authority, whether incorporated or not, which is established or constituted by or under an Act or under the royal prerogative, being a body or authority which, or of which the governing authority, wholly or partly comprises a person or persons appointed by the Governor, a Minister or another statutory authority, but does not include a Government department; statutory service means – (a) the SES; or (b) Ambulance Tasmania established under the Ambulance Service Act 1982 ; or (c) the Tasmania Fire Service established under the Fire Service Act 1979 ; or (d) the Police Service established under the Police Service Act 2003 ; or (e) a council; or (f) another body constituted under an Act or a Commonwealth Act, a Government agency or a part of a Government agency – (i) whose role usually includes emergency management; or (ii) which is, or may be, in a particular emergency, required to participate in emergency management; or (g) a prescribed body; TEMA, also known as the Tasmanian Emergency Management Arrangements, means the arrangements document approved by the Minister under section 32(3)(a) , as amended or substituted from time to time with the approval of the Minister under that section; vehicle means – (a) a car, truck, bus or other motor vehicle; or (b) a ship, boat or other vessel; or (c) an aeroplane or other aircraft; or (d) a bicycle; or (e) a trailer or wagon; or (f) any other means of transport, however propelled, other than an animal; wildlife means – (a) any animal or plant living or growing in the wild, including a feral animal; or (b) any carcass, dead remains or part of any wildlife referred to in paragraph (a) ; or (c) any egg, sperm, seed, flower, fruit or material obtained from any wildlife referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) ; or (d) any prescribed thing.