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| Australasian Inter-Service Incident Management System (AIIMS) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Australasian Inter-Service Incident Management System |
| Abbreviation | AIIMS |
| Region | Australia and New Zealand |
| Developed by | Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council |
| First adopted | 1990s |
| Purpose | multi-agency incident management |
Australasian Inter-Service Incident Management System (AIIMS) is a standardized framework for managing complex incidents across multiple agencies in Australia and New Zealand. It provides a common structure, terminology, and set of roles to coordinate responses by emergency services, transport authorities, health agencies, and local governments. AIIMS is used for a wide range of events including wildfires, floods, hazardous materials incidents, and mass gatherings.
AIIMS was developed to harmonize incident management across organizations such as the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Victoria State Emergency Service, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, and Fire and Emergency New Zealand, aligning with strategic frameworks employed by bodies like the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council and the New Zealand Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The system emphasizes interoperability among agencies including police services, ambulance networks, defense units such as the Australian Army, and utility corporations involved in events like the Black Saturday bushfires and Canterbury earthquakes. AIIMS aims to reduce duplication, clarify authority during multi-jurisdictional responses involving entities such as the Australian Federal Police, New Zealand Police, and state health departments, and support liaison with international partners including the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
AIIMS is built around scalable principles that mirror incident command doctrines seen in systems used by the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Highway Administration, and the World Health Organization for public health emergencies. Core principles include hierarchical control, span of control, modular organization, and unified command, which facilitate coordination among agencies like the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, and local councils. The framework integrates risk management approaches used by standards bodies such as Standards Australia and international norms exemplified by the International Organization for Standardization and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
AIIMS defines specific roles—Incident Controller, Planning Officer, Operations Officer, Logistics Officer, and Public Information Officer—each interacting with organizations like St John Ambulance Australia, Surf Life Saving Australia, and Lifeline. Incident Controllers coordinate multi-agency responses involving agencies such as the Country Fire Authority, Tasmania Fire Service, New South Wales Police Force, and Queensland Ambulance Service. Liaison occurs with statutory bodies including WorkSafe Victoria, Environment Protection Authority Victoria, and Maritime New Zealand when incidents affect infrastructure managed by entities like Ausgrid, Transgrid, and KiwiRail.
Operational components of AIIMS encompass planning cycles, situational awareness, resource management, and demobilization procedures, drawing on practices used in operations by Parks Australia, the Australian Antarctic Division, and the Bureau of Meteorology. Processes include establishment of Incident Action Plans, coordination with emergency operations centres used by state emergency services, integration of specialist teams from organisations such as the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council’s incident management units, and engagement with volunteer organisations like the Country Women’s Association and Rural Aid during recovery phases. Information exchange protocols mirror communication standards employed by Telstra, NBN Co, and state emergency broadcast systems.
Training pathways for AIIMS roles are delivered by institutions including TAFE NSW, Victoria University, the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and New Zealand’s Civil Defence Emergency Management groups, often in partnership with professional associations like the Australian Emergency Management Institute and Emergency Management Victoria. Certification aligns with competency frameworks from the Australian Qualifications Framework and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority, and draws on curricula used by the Australasian Inter-Service Incident Management System instructors who liaise with university research centres such as Monash University, the University of Melbourne, the University of Sydney, and the University of Canterbury for evaluation and research.
Adoption of AIIMS varies across states and territories—implemented by agencies like the South Australian Country Fire Service, Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Northern Territory Fire and Rescue Service, and ACT Emergency Services Agency—each adapting the system to local legislation including state statutes and statutory authorities such as Emergency Management Victoria and New Zealand’s Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management. Cross-border arrangements involve coordination with national entities like the Australian Department of Home Affairs, New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade when international assistance is required, and non-government partners including the Australian Red Cross and Salvation Army during relief operations.
AIIMS has been applied in major responses including the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season, and floods in Queensland and New South Wales, where multi-agency coordination involved the New Zealand Defence Force, Australian Defence Force, Australian Maritime Safety Authority, and state health services. Other notable uses include responses to hazardous materials incidents coordinated with the Australian Chemical Industry Council and industrial regulators, transport incidents involving Airservices Australia and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, and mass events managed alongside organisers such as Melbourne Cricket Club and Sydney Opera House. Evaluations of AIIMS deployments have been undertaken by commissions and inquiries including the Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission and the Canterbury Earthquake Recovery Authority, informing ongoing revisions and interoperability improvements with international partners like the International Civil Defence Organisation.
Category:Emergency management in Australia Category:Emergency management in New Zealand