Disaster & Emergency Medicine Project

The Australian National Association of First Responders and Volunteers (ANAFRAV)

Introduction

Following the establishment of the Tasmanian, Victorian, and ACT, Chapters of this association on 1st October 1997, and the confirmation of the Victorian Chapter on 27th October, ANAFRAV (name yet to be confirmed) is now a definite entity.

It was decided at the Victorian Chapter Meeting that it would be appropriate to prepare a major presentation at the EMS Australia Conference to be held in Melbourne in March 1998.

The meeting in Hobart on 1st October decided that a circular should be prepared based on the "Volunteers in Emergency Management Workshop" paper of January 1996. Our document would provide the starting point for discussions on the Format/Structure, Aims, Membership etc. of the Association.

It fell to me to start the ball rolling.

This document is a starting point, and almost anything in it is negotiable.

I believe that the following facts are not negotiable:

1.A National Association of First Responders and Volunteers now exists in Australia.

2.There are active Chapters in Tasmania, Victoria, and ACT. There are Chapters being set up in QLD, NSW and SA.

3.The National Association will meet at the EMS Australia Conference in March 1998 at Melbourne.

Name: The Australian National Association of First Responders and Volunteers

I have restructured the name mooted at the EMS Australia Conference Gold Coast, 1997, so that there are enough vowels for an acronym. This name is liable to change.

Background: There are two major documents relating to Volunteers which require synopses:

1. Report of the Senate Standing Committee on Disaster Management - June 1994. Chapter 6. Volunteers.

Importance of Volunteers.

"…voluntary organisations perform an indispensable role in disaster management through each phase of preparedness, response, and recovery. They can either provide support to full time emergency personnel, or as is often the case, fulfil a primary response role."

"…provision of sufficient professional emergency workers [is] an economic impossibility…volunteer groups will usually form the bulk of response and recovery personnel."

"In Victoria for example, it is estimated that to replace the bushfire volunteers with salaried personnel would require the expenditure of an extra $300m per annum."

"Australia clearly relies heavily on voluntary organisations. However, their effectiveness is dependent on how well individual volunteers are trained, the efficiency of the group's command structure, and the standard of equipment available, and there are limits to what volunteer organisations can do and should be expected to do."

Recruitment.

"Volunteers are often limited by employment commitments…"

"…rural areas where there has been a general aging of the population, and a reduction in the number of people…"

"…rural urban fringe…because of work commitments."

"…a lack of support by government agencies, particularly at a local government level."

"…decreased community self reliance by [governments] developing highly structured, formalised disaster management plans…"

Training.

"…appropriate training is required to ensure their effectiveness, personal safety, and the safety of those they endeavour to assist."

"…considerable variation between states and between agencies."

"…roles…have become increasingly complex and onerous."

"The lack of training and, more importantly, adequate debriefing may also have serious effects on the well-being of the volunteers…"

"…the provision of compensation for time lost during training is an obvious strategy which needs to be more widely considered at a state and local government level."

"It would be prudent for state government authorities to provide funding to send key training personnel from voluntary organisations to the [AEMI} centre.

Legal Liability.

"…unclear in some states"

"…NSW where all volunteers are covered by liability insurance."

"The threat of litigation… has the capacity to markedly diminish the provision of volunteer services."

Volunteers and Employment.

"The ability of volunteers…to attend emergencies depends on the generosity of their employer…"

"…self employed persons can suffer considerable financial disadvantage…"

"In some states…provision [exists] for a volunteer's services to be commandeered…"

Payments to Volunteers.

"The Committee recommends that the DSS review guidelines for payments to volunteers…"

Relationship between Volunteers and Professionals.

"The range of functions [Volunteer]…generally complement [Professionals]"

"…friction does occur…"

"…the level of cooperation extended to volunteer agencies by professionals is [sometimes] inadequate."

"Achieving the right balance between salaried professionals and volunteer services can be achieved if the role of volunteer groups is recognised and clearly defined in the formulation of disaster plans, if they are adequately trained, and if they are included in all disaster simulation exercises carried out by the government."

Support for Volunteers.

"The Committee believes that in many areas of Australia adequate recognition of the work of voluntary agencies is lacking. In particular, many voluntary organisations receive minimal support and cooperation from government agencies, are under resourced, insufficiently trained and not adequately compensated for the very real contribution they make to disaster and emergency preparedness, response and recovery."

"While voluntary organisations often suffer limitations, their role in emergency management throughout Australia is ubiquitous and essential, and it is vital that this role is recognised by state governments, and professional emergency workers, as well s the wider community. It is important that all levels of government take positive steps to ensure voluntary organisations remain viable. Organisations responsible for disaster relief planning must ensure that volunteer groups are encouraged by including them in pre-disaster planning, and consulting with them during the development and review of disaster plans. They must be included in emergency exercises and in consultative committees wherever possible. Failure to take thes measures into account may save costs in the short term, but runs the risk of incurring greater long term costs to the community, both in economic and human terms, through the loss of essential volunteer services."

2. Recommendations of the Volunteers in Emergency Management Workshop, Emergency Management Australia, Mount Macedon, 21-23 January, 1996.

The Volunteers.

Training:

"…nationally recognised competencies."

" 'core' [AEMI courses]"

" 'specific to agency'"

Multi-skilling:

"…insufficient training time for broadly-based multi-skill training."

"…multi-skilled unit rather than multi-skilled individuals."

Recognition:

"…state counter disaster committees…work with local authorities…to raise the profile of volunteer agencies within communities."

Resourcing:

"…reference body…within each state…to determine the specific training and equipment requirements…"

"…also be responsible for…budget submissions to enable the development of the required skills and the purchase of essential equipment."

Management:

"…management training for personnel with management responsibilities for volunteers be developed and introduced."

Volunteer Emergency Management Organisations.

Uniform Legislation:

"…defines the specific roles and tasks of each volunteer agency…"

Organisational Responsibilities:

'…workplace obligations that currently exist for paid staff be applied as equally to volunteers."

Responsibilities:

"…voluntary organisations only accept roles and responsibilities for which they have appropriate skills and resources, and for which they can maintain this capability for the anticipated duration…"

Training:

"…that voluntary unit training reflect anticipated circumstances or specific events."

National/State Committee.

"…a structure to oversee development and implementation of national guidelines…consist of state volunteer council, and a national forum on voluntarism."

Conclusion.

"volunteers make up the vast bulk of Australia's emergency management capabilities…"

"…attraction…is being steadily eroded"

"If this erosion continues, the volunteer ethic may be seriously undermined with dire consequences for Australian emergency management."

The Tasmanian Experience:

At the EMS Australia '96 Conference in Hobart, AMC (Advanced Medical Concepts) Consulting, in conjunction with the state volunteer and professional agencies, organised a special evening for volunteers. The result was historic and overwhelming.

For the first time in the history of Tasmania, over 120 volunteers representing all the different agencies met together for the first time at one venue.

The evening highlighted two main issues:

The need for volunteer agencies to communicate more with each other and develop inter-agency relationships

The need for volunteers to be integrated within the professional EMS system.

As a result of this evening and subsequent initiatives of the Tasmanian Ambulance Service, Tasmanian EMS volunteers are enjoying greater recognition, resource allocation and integration within the professional system.

Subsequent Developments:

The EMS Australia '97 Conference saw the first national meeting of Volunteers and First Responders. A workshop was held on the issues surrounding the structure of a proposed National Association of EMS Volunteers and First Responders, with participants from all over Australia, including Ambulance Officers, CFA, General Practitioners, First Aiders, and SES.

This workshop resolved to set up a working party to further investigate the needs of Volunteers and First Responders, and to report back to the EMS Australia '98 Conference in Melbourne. Members of the working party were:

Eb Friedrich (Workshop convenor), Dianne Coon (Ambulance), George Somers (GP), Paul Smith (subsequently replaced by Sam Reinholtd)(CFA) and Buck Reed (First Aider).

A meeting attended by Ambulance, SES, CFA and General Practitioners at the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Annual Scientific Convention in Hobart, October 1997, agreed to the formation of the national association with Chapters in each state/territory. Dianne Coon from Tasmania, George Somers from Victoria and Glynn Kelly from ACT agreed to work toward the formation of such Chapters in their areas. Others would be asked to set up branches in the other states.

Discussion Paper:- ANAFRAV

At the Hobart meeting, the following working skeleton was developed. It was to be circulated for comment and expansion, and for this reason I do so, with the background as supplied above:

What?

A national cross-organisational networking association.

Why?

A response to:

.Our perceived needs as active volunteers and first responders.

.The documents abbreviated above.

How?

.All interested parties are asked to respond to this document with support (or otherwise) and constructive/creative comments, to enable the formulation of a comprehensive position paper prior to the EMS '98 Conference. A suggestion is to identify the features of the two background papers which you feel most apply to you.

.All working party members (and others) could "piggy-back" any conferences attended with meetings to spread the ideas of the Association.

.Lobbying MPs and influential people for support.

.A national "face-to- face" meeting, as described, at the EMS '98 Conference.

.Prior to this date, the formation of at least several Chapters would need to be confirmed. Several contacts need to be made.

Please forward any correspondence to me for the moment, as we don't have a secretariat at present. Here are my contact numbers:

Dr. George T. Somers, Emerald Medical Centre, Murphys Way, Emerald 3782.

Ph. (03) 5968 4622

Fax (03) 5968 5750

Email : g.someres@r150.aone.net.au

Send mail to john_drinkwater@onaustralia.com.au with questions or comments about this web site.
Copyright © 1997 Disaster & Emergency Medicine Project
Last modified: December 08, 1997