Public Skills Australia adopted a mixed-methods approach to address the objectives of the project, including:

Consultations

Consulting with Local Government peak bodies and emergency management representatives from local councils.

National Training Register

Identifying emergency management related Units of Competency within the National Training Register.

Skills Mapping

Aligning legislated requirements, stakeholder-identified skill gaps and workforce needs against existing emergency management related Units of Competency.

Result

34 Units of Competency across the DEF Defence Training Package, HLT Health Training Package and PUA Public Safety Training Package were mapped to skills identified through consultation with stakeholders and the skills associated with Local government roles and responsibilities outlined in emergency management plans.

The Project identifies two findings:

FINDING 1 – Local Government is required to participate in delivering a range of emergency management services and therefore requires emergency management-related training for local council staff.

FINDING 2 – There are existing training products that may address the training need required by Local Government, negating the need to develop new units of competencies or skills sets.

Consultations were undertaken with state and territory Local Government associations, selected local councils, and other key stakeholders to inform the project, as outlined below:

• Australian Local Government Association (ALGA)
• Local Government New South Wales (LGNSW)
• Local Government Association of the Northern Territory (LGANT)
• Local Government Association of Queensland (LGAQ)
• Local Government Association of South Australia (LGA SA)
• Local Government Association Tasmania (LGAT)
• Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV)
• WA Local Government Association (WALGA)
• Australian and New Zealand Council for fire and emergency services (AFAC)
• United Services Union (USU)
• Blackall-Tambo Regional Council, Queensland
• City of Ipswich, Queensland
• Inspector General for Emergency Management (IGEM) – Victoria
• Singleton Council, New South Wales
• Port Stephens Council, New South Wales
• Blue Mountains City Council, New South Wales
• Shire of Boddington, Western Australia
• City of Vincent, Western Australia
• City of Greater Dandenong, Victoria
• City of Greater Bendigo, Victoria
• Lismore City Council, New South Wales

The consultations focused on identifying the skills required to support effective emergency management within Local Government across all phases of the emergency management lifecycle.

Based on the findings of the Project, Public Skills Australia recognises that:

Existing emergency management-related Public Safety Skill Sets can support upskilling and address emergency management skill needs identified by Local Government.

Increased awareness of existing emergency management related Skill Sets is required among Local Government.

Therefore, Public Skills Australia proposes that the existing emergency management-related Skill Sets (Table 5) on the National Training Register be promoted to Local Government.

Public Skills Australia has identified the following approach as the most feasible in response:

Promote the use of existing emergency management-related units of competencies and skills sets, contained in the PSP Public Safety Training Package to Local Government and relevant Technical and Further Education (TAFE) and Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to enhance their uptake.