Our role in emergencies

Following an emergency such as a flood, storm or bushfire, we are responsible for:

• Wildlife welfare, including impacts from marine and freshwater pollution
• assessing, restoring, and clearing public buildings and assets such as roads, bridges and public amenities managed by DEECA, with Parks Victoria
• rehabilitating, restoring and reinstating public land and assets with Parks Victoria
• surveying and mitigating risks to protect threatened species
• surveying and protecting threatened ecosystems, native plants and animals
• managing waste pollution strategies with Emergency Recovery Victoria and the Environment Protection Authority
• protect and rehabilitate cultural and heritage sites on public land with Parks Victoria
• erosion control on public land to help manage risk to safety, values and infrastructure with Parks Victoria and Department of Transport and Planning
• assisting farmers to repair and restore fences damaged by bushfire or suppression activities with Country Fire Authority (CFA)
• ensuring the replacement of essential stock and domestic water taken from private landholders during firefighting operations with CFA.

Working with other government agencies and water corporations, we help:

• Recover and rehabilitate reticulated water services
• recover and rehabilitate reticulated sewerage, sanitation systems and wastewater management systems
• lead fish death clean-ups in waterways on public land managed by DEECA, where the fish death event is due to natural causes
• rehabilitate, restore and reinstate public land and assets for managing and supporting Catchment Management Authorities.

Following an emergency, Agriculture Victoria (DEECA) coordinates the safe, effective, efficient, and timely delivery of agricultural response services to communities affected by an emergency through:

• Providing animal welfare support by assessing and addressing animal welfare impacts with livestock, including the humane destruction of livestock
• collecting impact data on losses and damage to agricultural assets, including livestock, to inform recovery needs
• liaising with local government and animal welfare support agencies to support animal welfare activities
• implementing (when available) financial assistance to assist primary producers’ recovery
• delivering tailored recovery support and technical advice to primary producers and rural land managers and refer urgent personal needs to other agencies.

Following an emergency disrupting Victorian energy services, we work with energy partners to:

• Reinstate and return electricity services assets to reliable supply
• reinstate and return gas services assets to reliable supply
• restore liquid fuel supply.