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| Victoria State Control Centre | |
|---|---|
| Name | Victoria State Control Centre |
| Location | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Owner | State of Victoria |
| Type | Emergency management centre |
Victoria State Control Centre The Victoria State Control Centre is a primary emergency management coordination facility in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It serves as a central node for disaster response, intelligence sharing, resource allocation and multi-agency liaison during major incidents, supporting agencies such as the Victorian Country Fire Authority, Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, and the Department of Health. The centre interfaces with national bodies including Emergency Management Australia, the Australian Federal Police, the Australian Defence Force and state emergency services to synchronize state and national responses.
The centre operates as a strategic hub linking the Victorian Government, the Premier's office, the Department of Premier and Cabinet, state cabinet committees, the Victorian Legislative Assembly and the Victorian Legislative Council during emergencies. It provides real-time situational awareness to ministers, the Governor of Victoria and municipal councils including the City of Melbourne, City of Greater Geelong and regional shires affected by incidents. The facility supports coordination with Australian state counterparts such as New South Wales State Emergency Service, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services and South Australian Country Fire Service, and interfaces with national centres like the National Emergency Management Agency and the Bureau of Meteorology.
The centre evolved from legacy arrangements used during events such as the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires and major flood events in the Murray-Darling Basin. Its development was influenced by inquiries including the 2009 Victorian Bushfires Royal Commission, reviews by the Inspector-General for Emergency Management and reforms following examinations by the Victorian Auditor-General. Funding and construction involved agencies such as the Department of Treasury and Finance, Infrastructure Victoria and providers from the private sector, with inputs from emergency management peak bodies like the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council and the Council of Australian Governments.
The core functions include strategic planning, incident assessment, resource prioritisation, interagency liaison, public information coordination and recovery planning. It supports command structures such as control agencies designated under the Emergency Management Act and liaises with statutory authorities including WorkSafe Victoria, the Environment Protection Authority Victoria and Ambulance Victoria. During complex incidents it enables multi-jurisdictional operations with partners such as the Australian Red Cross, Salvation Army, Red Cross, Victorian Electoral Commission for continuity planning and national entities including the Australian Signals Directorate for critical communications.
The physical layout comprises operations suites, situation rooms, communications hubs, data centres, briefing rooms and a media coordination facility. The centre is equipped with resilient power systems supported by major utilities such as AusNet Services and Jemena, redundant network connections via NBN Co and secure links to Defence facilities and the Victorian Integrated Justice Information System. IT infrastructure vendors, telecommunications partners and GIS providers deliver mapping, telemetry and analytics; stakeholders include Melbourne Water, the Port of Melbourne Corporation and VicRoads for transport and infrastructure data feeds.
Operations are conducted through a rotating roster of incident controllers, coordination staff from Victoria Police, CFA incident management teams, SES incident controllers and public health incident commanders. It hosts liaison officers from the Australian Defence Force, the Department of Health, the Department of Transport, Fire Rescue Victoria, Parks Victoria and the Victorian Farmers Federation during primary production impacts. Coordination protocols align with national plans such as the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience, COMDISPLAN and arrangements under the Australian Government Crisis Coordination Centre, enabling interoperability with agencies like Services Australia and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
The centre has been central to responses during the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, the 2010–11 Queensland and Victorian floods, the 2020–21 bushfire season, COVID-19 pandemic operations involving the Department of Health and Human Services and public health units, and severe storm events affecting Greater Melbourne and regional centres including Ballarat and Bendigo. It supported logistics and welfare coordination with agencies such as the Victorian Council of Social Service, local ambulance services, hospitals in the Melbourne Health network and aged care sector during high-impact events, and coordinated evacuation operations with Victoria Police and municipal emergency management planning committees.
Governance stems from statutory instruments and policy frameworks including the Emergency Management Act, state emergency management plans, directives from the Premier and state cabinet, and oversight by the Inspector-General for Emergency Management and the Victorian Auditor-General's Office. The centre operates in accordance with national arrangements such as the National Coordination Framework and engages with Parliamentary committees, the Department of Justice and Community Safety, local municipal emergency management planning committees and legal advisers to ensure compliance with laws including public health orders and critical infrastructure protection provisions administered by the Australian Energy Regulator and the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.
Category:Emergency management in Victoria (Australia) Category:Buildings and structures in Melbourne