National Response Team Policy

For activation of the National Response Team see: National Response Team Activation Procedure.

Purpose

To outline the policy for the management of the National Response Team and the National Response Support Team.

Scope

This policy relates only to the National Response Team and the National Response Support Team maintained by AMSA in accordance with paragraphs 12(iii) and 12 (iv) of Schedule 1 to the Inter-Governmental Agreement on the National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil and Other Noxious and Hazardous Substances.

Definitions and Acronyms

The following definitions relate to terms used specifically in this document.

AMSA: Australian Maritime Safety Authority
AMOSC: Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre
IGA: Inter-Governmental Agreement on the National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil and Other Noxious and Hazardous Substances
National Plan: National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil and Other Noxious and Hazardous Substances.
NPOG: National Plan Operations Group
NRST: National Response Support Team
NRT: National Response Team
NT: Northern Territory

Associated documents

Inter-Governmental Agreement
National Plan
National Marine Oil Spill Contingency Plan
Deployment of Personnel between Agencies
Seventeenth Meeting of the National Plan Operations Group [ PDF: 56Kb]

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Background

The National Response Team (NRT) provides support to the Australian and States/Northern Territory (NT) Governments in the event of a major oil pollution incident.

The seventeenth meeting of NPOG (November 2008) agreed new arrangements formalising the National Response Team in accordance with the policy set out is this document. The arrangements take effect 1 July 2009.

NRT Roles and Composition

The NRT will be restricted to the role of response managers, aerial observers and response team leaders. The roles are described at Annex A.

Table 1 details the number of personnel to be nominated by each State/NT. To ensure complete coverage, a different person shall be nominated for each role; that is, one person cannot be nominated for more than one role. However, it is possible for personnel to have the competencies required for more than one position.

Table 1: NRT Roles and Composition

It is the responsibility of the State/NT to nominate personnel for each role to AMSA.

Appropriately trained officers employed by AMSA and the Australian Marine Oil Spill Centre (AMOSC) can also fulfil these roles.

Skill Sets

Skill sets have been identified for each of the roles at Annex B. Personnel identified for each role are required to have all skill sets. In some cases existing courses, rather than competencies have been identified. Prior learning will be recognised. To ensure skills are maintained, some courses are recurrent. Exercises or training will be undertaken annually for every role.

Costs

Consistent with National Plan training policy AMSA will meet the air travel and course costs nominated NRT personnel. States/NT will be responsible for meeting accommodation, transport (excluding flights) and meal costs.

If courses run specifically for the NRT have vacant positions, these will be offered to the States/NT and Industry. However, States/NT and Industry will be required to pay all costs for personnel not part of the NRT.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Support Equipment

States/NT and AMOSC are responsible for meeting the costs for the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and the support equipment required for personnel to carry out these roles. A list of PPE and support equipment for each role can be found at Annex C.

Vacant Positions

If States/NT are unable to fill positions within the NRT these positions may be filled by other States/NT. This will ensure the NRT remains at capacity, and provides the opportunity for other States/NT to have additional trained personnel. AMSA will allocate these positions based on an assessment of national response requirements.

Release Period

NRT members and their organisations shall commit to a release period of ten (10) days (including travel) for deployment to incidents.

Record and Document Management

As per the IGA, (Schedule 1, Paragraph 12(iii)) AMSA will maintain the NRT list and advise personnel when training is due.

States/NT are responsible for advising AMSA when NRT personnel are no longer available to serve on the NRT and nominate a suitable replacement.

National Response Support Team (NRST)

The National Response Support Team (NRST) is required to support an incident. The following roles have been identified for a national capacity:

• Environmental Advisers
• Finance & Administration Officer
• Wildlife Officer
• Equipment Operator
  • Marco Operator
  • Offshore Containment/Recovery
  • Inshore Containment/Recovery
  • Marine Qualifications
  • Dispersant Helicopter Spray Buckets
  • Vessel-based dispersant spraying
  • Shoreline Assessment
  • Shoreline Cleanup

The Equipment Operator role has been broken down into areas of specific expertise. Equipment Operators may be competent in more than one area. Training of NRST is the responsibility of the States/NT. Every six months the States/NT will provide NRST information to AMSA in the form of a spreadsheet that includes each persons full name and contact details and area of expertise. This information will be used by AMSA as a guide if sourcing further personnel is required.

Nominations for the NRST are optional; however, each State/NT is encouraged to identify personnel to fulfil these roles, as these personnel may be required when responding to incidents within their own jurisdictions, and will become part of the NRT when succession planning.

AMOSC Core Group

The participating oil companies of AMOSC provide forty-five personnel to AMOSC for training and response. Access to these personnel for assistance in the event of an incident may be requested through AMSA.

Activation

Activation of the NRT is undertaken by AMSA following a request from the State/NT State Committee Chair or State Marine Pollution Controller requiring assistance. The requesting State/NT should request which skills are required for the incident response. (See also National Response Team Activation Procedure).

Memoranda of Understandings

The Australian Government has entered into Memoranda of Understandings (MOUs) with Indonesia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand to provide mutual assistance in the event of a major oil spill incident which exceeds the response capability of either national government. In order for Australia to meet these obligations, personnel should be identified in preparation to provide such assistance. It is recognised that attending an overseas incident is a good development opportunity for personnel.

It is optional for States/NT to nominate personnel for overseas deployment. In order for personnel to be considered, each States/NT will be responsible for arrangements related to passports and vaccinations. Advice will be given to AMSA by the States/NT as to who has passports, and the relevant vaccinations. The release period for an overseas deployment will be a maximum of two weeks. The location, working and living conditions, and the rest days will be determined on a case-by case basis.

Contractors

Contractors will not form part of the NRT. Contractors called may be engaged directly by the combat or statutory agency in the jurisdiction requiring assistance.

AMSA will manage a register of Contractors that identifies personnel for each of these roles (See Oil Spill Response Contractor Register). Contractors will be required to identify how their personnel meet each of the criteria. The contractors register will be provided to the State/NT State Committee Chair or State Marine Pollution Controller requiring assistance.

Chemical Spill Responses

The NRT has not been developed to provide assistance in responding to spills of hazardous and noxious substances, as the skills required are normally different. However, it is expected that a NRT and/or NRST member would be made available if relevant skills were required for such incidents.

Annexes

Annex A: Description of Roles
Annex B: Skill sets
Annex C: Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and support equipment required for each role

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