Application
This unit describes the skills required to plan, mitigate, and review a policing response to an incident. Incidents may include planned and unplanned events and emergencies that arise.
This unit applies to police staff as part of their responsibilities for public safety when commanding, controlling and coordinating an incident management response.
The skills and knowledge described in this unit must be applied within the legislative, regulatory and policy environment in which they are carried out. Organisational and other legislated policies and procedures must be consulted and adhered to, particularly those related to incident and emergency management that outline the role and responsibilities of policing amongst other stakeholders.
Those undertaking this role would demonstrate strong autonomy while performing sophisticated tasks including making strategic decisions and providing leadership to the jurisdiction in a broad range of contexts. They would provide advice and influence executive decision making internally and externally.
No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to unit at the time of publication.
Elements and Performance Criteria
ELEMENTS | PERFORMANCE CRITERIA |
Elements describe the essential outcomes | Performance criteria describe the performance needed to demonstrate achievement of the element. Where bold italicised text is used, further information is detailed in the range of conditions section. |
1. Lead the incident response | 1.1 Identify whether command, control or coordination is required to respond to the incident. 1.2 Communicate commander’s intent to stakeholders. 1.3 Analyse information for communication to stakeholders. 1.4 Identify nature and complexity of the incident through liaison with other agencies. 1.5 Define roles and responsibilities for each participating organisation. |
2. Establish an incident management facility and structure | 2.1 Identify points of access, staging points and holding areas and egress for response purposes. 2.2 Assess impacting factors and incident response facility to determine security risks. 2.3 Assess the details of the facility and the structure for communication to internal and external stakeholders. 2.4 Evaluate changes within the incident environment to expand or contract the incident management structure. 2.5 Identify resources required to inform decision making and logistics. 2.6 Assess functions for delegation purposes in line with current legislation applicable to incident management. 2.7 Establish incident management recording and reporting systems. |
3. Implement communication strategies | 3.1 Assess the nature, extent and potential of the incident for communication and response purposes. 3.2 Establish internal communication channels to facilitate the flow of information for command, control and coordination. 3.3 Establish external communication channels to facilitate the flow of public information. |
4. Manage media requirements | 4.1 Assess incident characteristics, and jurisdictional, legal and media requirements to inform media strategy. 4.2 Define incident access requirements to safeguard operation and prevent contamination of scene. 4.3 Control access to personnel/volunteers/victims/casualties. 4.4 Assess provision of information and operational responsibilities when engaging with media. 4.5 Liaise with media to facilitate the two-way communication process and provision of public information. 4.6 Identify work health and safety considerations for media requirements. 4.7 Provide current and consistent information to media. 4.8 Maintain records of media enquiries and interviews. 4.9 Promote agency, work and achievements of staff/volunteers to support morale and public profile. |
5. Implement an operational incident response plan | 5.1 Conduct an appreciation of the incident to establish response priorities. 5.2 Develop potential course(s) of actions based on sourced information. 5.3 Select a course of action based on the appreciation conducted. 5.4 Evaluate deployed resources to determine effectiveness and identify required adjustments to plan. 5.5 Consider health, safety and wellbeing of deployed responders to inform decision making. 5.6 Monitor incident response plan continually to identify whether adjustments are required. 5.7 Review objectives and priorities continually for information updates, reporting purposes and feedback. |
6. Review incident response | 6.1 Account for physical, human and financial resources at the conclusion of the incident. 6.2 Evaluate the incident response to inform debriefs, future decisions and support continuous improvement practices. 6.3 Develop recommendations on review findings to support continuous improvement practices. |
Evidence of Performance
Evidence required to demonstrate competence must satisfy all of the requirements of the elements and performance criteria. If not otherwise specified the candidate must demonstrate evidence of performance of the following on at least one occasion.
identifying and communicating commander’s intent
analysing information to identify the nature and complexity of the incident
communicating and negotiating with stakeholders
assessing information to identify incident management response structure, resources required and security risks
monitoring information to adjust response as required
delegating roles and responsibilities to personnel
establishing communication lines
recording information
developing and implementing media strategies
controlling and managing access to incident scene
communicating information to the public
developing and implementing response plan
adhering to workplace health and safety requirements
reviewing incident response for continuous improvement purposes
conducting audit of response resources
Evidence of Knowledge
Evidence required to demonstrate competence must satisfy all of the requirements of the elements and performance criteria. If not otherwise specified the depth of knowledge demonstrated must be appropriate to the job context of the candidate.
principles of command, control and coordination
jurisdictional policies and procedures relating to media liaison and public information
jurisdictional and legal requirements relating to confidentiality, libel, accuracy, discrimination, and security of information
appreciation processes
current legislative frameworks and guidelines related to incident management, including planning, preparation, response and recovery
current jurisdictional policies and procedures related to incident management
specific agreements within and between agencies (including memorandums of understanding and other agreements) related to incident management
codes of practice within agencies related to incident management
Assessment Conditions
This unit contains no specific industry-mandated assessment conditions. Guidance on suggested and recommended conditions and methods can be found in the Implementation Guide.
Assessors must satisfy the NVR/AQTF mandatory competency requirements for assessors.
Foundation Skills
The foundation skills demands of this unit have been mapped for alignment with the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF). The following tables outline the performance levels indicated for successful attainment of the unit.
Further information on ACSF and the foundation skills underpinning this unit can be found in the Foundation Skills Guide on the GSA website.
Competency Field
General