FMA welcomes the appointment of Mike Wassing as Commissioner of the NSW State Emergency Service from 2 December.

Mr Wassing served as Chief Officer for the Queensland State Emergency Service and Rural Fire Service from 2015 to 2022, and played a key role in leading the response to Tropical Cyclone Debbie in 2017, the Northern Queensland Monsoonal event in 2019 and the 2022 East Coast floods.

More recently, he led the Queensland Fire Rescue Service before becoming Deputy Commissioner and Deputy State Recovery Coordinator at the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.

More information about the appointment is available at https://www.ses.nsw.gov.au/news/all-news/2024/new-commissioner-appointed-to-lead-nsw-ses/.

FMA looks forward to continuing the strong and productive partnership with NSW SES under Mr Wassing’s leadership.

The Call for Abstracts for the 2025 FMA National Conference is now open. We are looking for a range of high-quality presentations relating to the Conference theme “Flood knows no boundaries”, from across Australia and overseas, dealing with riverine, overland and flash flooding, and coastal inundation. 

The content can be technical or non-technical to suit our varied audience, so you don’t need to be a “flood expert” to provide a presentation. The practical experiences of Councillors, flood committee members and community representatives can be of real value to fellow Conference attendees. 

Tertiary students studying floodplain management or natural disaster management and Young Floodplain Managers are particularly encouraged to participate and share their experiences.

The closing date for abstract submission is Monday 9 December.

The Conference will be held at Pullman Melbourne on the Park, located at East Melbourne near the city's business, dining, sports and cultural precincts, from Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 May, with optional pre-conference workshops on Tuesday 13 May. 

Conference registrations are now open, and for 2025 we are offering a special Early three-day Registration Rate for FMA Full and Corporate Members of $990!

For the latest Conference information please see: https://floodplainconference.com

FMA is committed to growing the Queensland Chapter and particularly engaging with flood professionals across regional Queensland. We have previously held Quarterly Meetings in Rockhampton and Townsville, and in November it we were delighted to be hosted by Bundaberg Regional Council.

Thank you to all those who attended the Meeting in person, and also to those who contributed online.

In addition to the comprehensive suite of updates from government agencies and the Insurance Council of Australia, the highlight of the day was the afternoon Flood Evacuation Workshop discussing the challenging preparatory work being undertaken for the Bundaberg East Flood Levee, and practical lessons in evacuation planning. 

Special thanks to Bundaberg Council’s Branch Manager Engineering Services, Dwayne Honor, and FMA Queensland Director Jess Carey for coordinating the Meeting and Workshop.

Preparations are now underway for the next regional Queensland Meeting in November 2025.

The Mercure Hotel in Sydney was a popular venue for the NSW/ACT Chapter Meeting io 14 November. 

Around 80 onsite and online attendees heard an informative round of reports from NSW, ACT and Victorian agencies, the Bureau of Meteorology and the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA). At the conclusion of the Meeting President Sue Ribbons commented ”Where else can you get so much agency information in the one place!”.

A very productive afternoon Workshop followed involving the Flood Insurance Working Group, and presentations by the ICA, the National Emergency Management Agency and Resilient Building Council.

Watch out for future updates in development of three separate Flood Insurance Fact Sheets in the New Year.

Emeritus President Ian Dinham represented FMA at the Rivers Group Conference held at Napier, New Zealand from 6 to 8 November. The Rivers Group is a joint technical interest group of Engineering New Zealand and Water NZ.

The conference theme was “Ka Mua, Ka Muri - walking backwards into the future”, reflecting on the past, and considering how we best navigate an increasingly uncertain future.  

Some of the issues discussed were Māori and stories from the past, the 2023 Aukland flood, and moving levees back from the Avon River to allow the aquifer to recharge.

Mr Dinham said a novel feature of the conference was a session of “Lightning Talks”, where speakers were allocated a strict five minutes to discuss their topic, something FMA might consider for future conferences.

FMA has a strong working relationship with New Zealand flood risk management practitioners, and New Zealand is always well represented at FMA Conferences.

The report of NSW Government’s Inquiry 'Planning system and the impacts of climate change on the environment and communities' was released on 19 November.

Land Use Planning Director Paul Grech and then Communications Director Sue Ribbons represented FMA at a hearing of the Inquiry in March, speaking in support of FMA’s 2023 submission to the Inquiry.  They spoke on a range of issues including determining and communicating risk, tolerable and intolerable risk, and strategic planning.

Disappointingly, the Report contains no meaningful flood risk management recommendations.

The report is available on the Inquiry website along with submissions and transcripts.

The Insurance Council of Australia has released a video of CEO Andrew Hall discussing the Report of the Inquiry into insurers’ responses to 2022 major floods claims with David Mulino MP, Chair of the Standing Committee on Economics, and Chair of the Inquiry Committee.

At about 52 minutes, it’s worthwhile watching, and there are interesting discussion points around “flood modelling in managing the outcomes of claim disputes”, as well as “working with banks to limit new mortgages in areas adjudged to be at risk of 1% AEP flood events”.

The video is at: https://youtu.be/f6wEX78S_Ig “Andrew Hall CEO Insurance Council Australia in conversation with David Mulino MP, - Inquiry into insurers’ responses to 2022 major floods claims”.

The Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) and the University of Sydney, in partnership with the National Emergency Management Agency, will launch the new Disability Inclusive Emergency Management Toolkit on 3 December, the International Day of Persons with Disability.

The Toolkit offers practical strategies for governments and emergency services to meet inclusive emergency management requirements under Australia's Disability Strategy 2021-31, emphasising partnership with people with disability and their support services.

Key features of the Toolkit include:

• Clearly defined Disability Inclusive Emergency Management principles and practices
• Practical Action Guides
• Disability inclusive maturity indicators
• List of disability inclusive resources

Information on the livestream event is at: https://www.aidr.org.au/events/

The Joint Select Committee on the NSW Reconstruction Authority has released its report on the statutory review of the NSW Reconstruction Authority Act 2022. The Committee was required to review the Act to determine whether -

(a)          the policy objectives of the Act remain valid, and

(b)          the terms of the Act remain appropriate for securing the objectives.

FMA provided a submission to the Inquiry in May, provided evidence to a Hearing of the Committee in August, and answered Supplementary Questions in September.

The report was tabled on 28 November, and is available at the Committee’s website, together with other documents associated with the inquiry.

The Government must respond to the Committee's recommendations within six months of the report being tabled. 

The NSW Reconstruction Authority recently hosted a workshop, partnering with Collaborating 4 Inclusion, on Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness (P-CEP), supporting service providers and emergency response agencies to empower people with specific needs in the Hawkesbury-Nepean floodplain.

Led by multi-award-winning researcher and facilitator Michelle Villeneuve, the workshop focused on:
• Self-Assessment: Participants learned to assess their individual and organisational preparedness.
• Flood risk awareness: Applying P-CEP principles to support business continuity and personal preparedness.
• Community Collaboration: Building stronger, more resilient communities.

The workshop was attended by 80 people representing support and response organisations from the Hawkesbury, Penrith, Blacktown, The Hills and Hornsby local government areas. Participants undertook emergency scenario testing based on a flood in the Valley which is considered one of the highest risk floodplains in Australia. They also evaluated their preparedness to maintain client support during a flood, and learnt more about how P-CEP improves outcomes for clients with specific care needs.

The event was made possible thanks to prizemoney from the RA’s Hawkesbury-Nepean River Flood Study that won the 2024 FMA-IAG Excellence Award for Flood Risk Management Project of the Year.

For a short video of the event, see https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nswreconauth_nswreconstructionauthority-disasterpreparedness-activity-7267035293931741184-0t7Y?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

The FMA Young Floodplain Managers (YFM) network exists to represent, engage, and inspire young floodplain management professionals across Australia. 

Whilst the YFM's mission is to represent, engage, support and inspire young floodplain management professionals across the nation, anyone who supports this objective is welcome to apply for membership of the YFM and engage in the group's actions, irrespective of their age or level of experience. 

Are you interested in finding out more? You can connect with the YFM by visiting the YFM Linkedin page here or submit a YFM Membership application at floods.asn.au/yfm.

Did you know YFM Webinars and Online Panel recordings can be found in the Members' Section of floods.asn.au? If you haven’t registered for the Members’ Section, contact us to get your login details.