WA Emergency & Risk Management

The State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC) and Office of Bushfire Risk Management (OBRM) work at a State level to oversee Western Australia’s emergency management arrangements and bushfire risk management framework respectively.

State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC)

SEMC Vision: A better prepared, safer and more resilient Western Australia.
SEMC Mission: To harness and optimise the knowledge, expertise and resources of the State to reduce the impact of emergencies on our people, economy and environment.

The SEMC is the peak emergency management body in Western Australia. The SEMC provides independent and objective oversight of emergency management in Western Australia. The SEMC’s purpose is to foster a coordinated sector and to drive the continuous improvement of emergency management in the State.

The SEMC manages the Emergency Management Act 2005 and the Emergency Management Regulations 2006. The Committee's functions, listed in the Emergency Management Act 2005, include:

• Advising the Minister or Emergency Services on emergency management and the preparedness of the State to combat emergencies
• Providing a forum for whole of community coordination to ensure the minimisation of the effects of emergencies
• Providing a forum for the development of community-wide information systems to improve communications during emergencies
• Developing and coordinating risk management strategies to assess community vulnerability to emergencies
• Arranging for the preparation of State emergency management policies and plans
• Preparing an annual report on its activities
• Monitoring and reviewing the Emergency Management Act 2005 and its regulations.

SEMC Membership is appointed by the Minister for Emergency Services and includes independent members as well as representatives from organisations essential to the State's emergency management arrangements.

For further information, please visit the SEMC website.

Office of Bushfire Risk Management (OBRM)

OBRM was created in May 2012 as an independent office within DFES to oversee changes to Western Australia’s prescribed burning program across all land tenures.

OBRM aims to ensure that bushfire related risk across the State is managed in accordance with AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 Risk Management Principles and Guidelines.

OBRM’s main functions are:

• To regulate prescribed burning
• To liaise with stakeholders and provide advice in relation to policy, legislative frameworks, resourcing, responsibilities, best practice and standards
• To facilitate communication and consultation between relevant stakeholders to assist the State in the management of bushfire related risk
• To encourage continuous improvement through the identification of lessons learned
• To report on the state of bushfire related risk across Western Australia.

Additional information can be found on the Office of Bushfire Risk Management homepage.