Emergency Management

Primary Industries and Resources South Australia (PIRSA) is an organisation with a diverse range of responsibilities including agriculture, horticulture, aquaculture, fisheries, forestry policy, minerals, petroleum, research and development, sustainable resources, development planning and State/ Local government relations. Consequently, PIRSA must be prepared to respond to any emergency that impacts on these areas.

Under South Australia's State Emergency Management Plan (external site), PIRSA manages the Agriculture and Animal Services (AAS) Functional Service. This means that PIRSA has a responsibility to lead the response to emergency situations that primarily involve animal health, plant health and aquatic health emergencies.

PIRSA also has a responsibility to develop and maintain Business Continuity Plans to ensure that core business can be continued during and after an emergency event impacting on PIRSA infrastructure, staff and/ or business systems.

The Emergency Management Coordination Unit provides a number of services to assist PIRSA in its emergency preparedness, response and recovery capabilities. This includes the provision of policy advice, the development and management of the PIRSA Emergency Management Document Set and the coordination and running of training sessions and exercises. These activities address biosecurity, natural disaster and business continuity threats and incidents.

While it is hoped that these preparations and plans do not have to be used during a real emergency situation, recent events here in South Australia, nationally and internationally have reinforced the importance of emergency management preparedness.

Current issues which involve PIRSA include:

The PIRSA Emergency Management Arrangements (.PDF 337 KB) explains the roles and responsibilities of PIRSA under the South Australian State Emergency Management Plan.

PIRSA's Agriculture and Animal Services (AAS) Functional Service Plan (.PDF 309 KB) gives guidelines for PIRSA staff when resonding to an emergency and describes the common emergency management phases used in an incident.

PIRSA also plays a role in the prevention of outbreaks of pests and disease through the Animal Health Programs, Plant Health Programs and Aquatic Health Programs and the Biosecurity Strategy for South Australia.

More details about state emergency arrangements and recent events can be found on the Service SA website (external site)

For more information about PIRSA's role in emergency responses contact the Emergency Management Coordinator:

Phone: 08 8204 9299
Fax: 08 8463 3366
Email: em_coordinator@saugov.sa.gov.au