JOY Burch has announced a review of the Emergencies Act.

“I am committed to ensuring that residents of the ACT are protected by well-resourced, high quality and responsive emergency services. Ensuring the legislative framework best supports our emergency services is an integral part of that commitment,” Joy said.

“This Government has been proactive in ensuring that the Act continues to provide the best legislative framework for managing the Territory’s emergency prevention and response capabilities.”

ACT Emergency Services Agency Commissioner Dominic Lane welcomed the review.

“A number of amendments to the Act have been made over the years as part of the Government’s commitment to continuous improvement of our emergency management systems and processes,” Dominic said.

“It is appropriate to review the operation of the Act to ensure that the legislative framework continues to best suit the needs of the ACT community.

“The ACT Government is interested in hearing the views of the community on the operation of the Act. The views of stakeholders such as the ACT Bushfire Council will also be sought,” Mr Lane concluded.

As part of the Emergencies Act 2004, this legislation must be reviewed every 5 years.

In support of the review, the Minister has also released a Discussion Paper to facilitate more detailed discussion on certain issues relevant to the Emergencies Act 2004.

The Discussion Paper raises a number of topics about the operation of the Act that have been identified as requiring review. The Discussion Paper can be found on the ACT Emergency Services Agency (ESA) website esa.act.gov.au