1. Reflections on the Bourke St Tragedy
Craig Lapsley @craig_Lapsley
Emergency Management Commissioner

2. Bourke St Tragedy 20 January 2017 Melbourne CBD
6 fatalities, 30 people injured
366 personnel involved in relief and recovery efforts
people have accessed victim support services
Thousands of witnesses and impacted persons
Far-reaching community impacts

3. Communication
SEMT – Sharing information between agencies and departments
International relations – consulate, business, international students, foreign nationals, tourism
CBD businesses
Connecting into businesses, particularly hotels (access in and out, Australian Open)
Spontaneous Memorial (business impacts - florists, coffee shops, retail also acted as the interface to the community)
Lord Mayor and City of Melbourne networks

4. ‘No person will fall between the gaps’
Community Connection
318 on-ground personnel to provide psychological first aid
Multi-agency approach to provide on-going victim support
Helplines widely communicated
Employee Assistance Program
Clinical psychologist, Dr Rob Gordon
Social media videos
Fact sheets

6. Lessons Learned
Use the structures you use everyday (communication, business, emergency)
The context is important
Manage an incident in line with community response and reaction
How can we improve two-way conversation / feedback loop with community, business, industry?
Lots to learn but learning is a challenge when incidents like Bourke St are very infrequent

7. Resilience
What can you do as organisations to increase your resilience before, during and after an incident or emergency?
Before
Emergency planning
What are your security arrangements?
Duty of care to staff before, during and after?
During
Staff welfare? How do you accommodate for everyone?
How do you communicate what is happening / direct your staff?
After
Employee welfare – Employee Assistance Program
Pyscho social support services
Business continuity plans and arrangements
Consequences
Customers

8. Thank you
@craig_lapsley
emv.vic.gov.au