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CQUniversity Crisis Management and Recovery (CMR) Manual provides a framework within which CQUniversity can manage a crisis, and create clear and defined objectives for recovery.
This Manual has been developed as a reference for the CMR Team to ensure that, in the event of a crisis, all issues are addressed properly. It takes an operational and strategic overview to ensure that a crisis is contained and controlled properly.
The key to a successful CMR program is to be aware of the threats which can confront management, and to be well practised in their resolution.
Management skills in communicating with staff, students, the media and the community, together with the ability of management to determine post-crisis goals and recovery strategies, can determine the short-term profitability of the University and even its long-term survival prospects.
This Crisis Management and Recovery (CMR) Manual is an action document to guide the CMR Team in managing a crisis. It is designed to:
This procedure provides definitions for initial incident assessment and subsequent crisis classification, and delineates responsibilities for the activation of the CMR Team. All incidents must be reported to the management levels indicated below.
A crisis is defined as:
"An adverse incident or series of events that have the potential to severely damage the University's people, operations, environment and its long-term prospects and/or reputation."
5.1 Insignificant Event
An Insignificant Event is a minor incident or problem, or other internal event which can be handled by campus personnel using standard operating procedures. It is not visible off-campus, requires no external emergency services response team, and requires no report to local, State or Federal regulatory authorities.
Reporting Normal line management reporting lines
5.2 Minor Event
A Minor Event is a minor incident or minor injury. It may also be an internal event, which may require a report to outside agencies, but which presents no external threat and is unlikely to require assistance or protective actions by external personnel. The situation is under control. However, response by external personnel may be required.
Reporting Local response only
5.3 Moderate Event
A Moderate Event is an incident or event, which has the potential to escalate to a more serious crisis and/or affect operations, and which involves activation of an emergency response and/or the CMR Team. The incident is not under control but poses no threat to off-campus areas. However, response by external personnel may be required.
Reporting CMR Team Leader notification via Duty Officer
5.4 Major Event
A Major Event is a serious event such as a fatality, serious injury, fire, explosion, material release, natural occurrence, or local incident which involves the activation of the CMR Team, internal emergency response, and/or external emergency response teams. It may also be another event that has occurred or is imminent, which poses a threat to third parties and/or seriously affects operations. The crisis is not under control, and action by off-campus personnel is necessary.
Reporting CMR Team call-out via Duty Officer.
5.5 Critical Event
A Critical Eventis a severe crisis such as a number of fatalities and serious injuries, a natural disaster which seriously affects operations, a large fire, explosion, sabotage, material release, civil/student unrest (which is likely to involve internal or external emergency services), environmental issues, or ethical /reputational damage.
It may also be any business or financial incidents reflecting on the University's reputation, or other local events that have occurred or are imminent which seriously affect third parties and/or operations.
The crisis is not under control, and protective actions by external entities are necessary and ongoing.
Reporting CMR Team call-out via Duty Officer.
It is the responsibility of the CMR Team Leader to authorise call out of the CMR Team if and when appropriate. While not inclusive, the following are major situations which should prompt a decision.
Action by the Duty Officer
As soon as possible, notification of any Moderate, Major, or Critical Event at CQUniversity or involving the University must be given to the appropriate Duty Officer. The Duty Officer will then:
The Duty Officer, and all CMR Team Members, must be contactable 24 hours a day. To ensure this support staff should as far as possible be aware at all time of the whereabouts of Team Members and their alternates.
On instruction by the Team Leader, the Duty Officer will notify all Team Members or alternates of the call-out by landline, mobile phone, or pager. The Duty Officer will also be responsible for ensuring that his/her contact number is given to the Team Leader and delegate, and that the number is distributed to all appropriate personnel.
On notification of an incident, assess the situation and decide what CMR Team action (if any) is necessary. If the CMR Team is required:
For contact names and numbers refer to the CMR Team Contact List.
The purpose of the CMR Team is to control and minimise loss (human, financial, resource, reputational) related to an escalating critical incident or crisis, and to protect the interests of all those with a vested interest in the university.
In a crisis, the role of the CMR Team will be to:
Strategic and tactical support during a major crisis will also be available from internal and external emergency services. CQUniversity CMR Team's principal function is to provide local resolution of the problem and to reduce any impact on campus and on the University's reputation, its staff/students/third parties, assets and earnings, and the environment. The Emergency Planning Committee will also be responsible for anticipating any potential crisis scenarios, and for the planning of strategies to deal with such crises.
The appropriate University Emergency Control Organisation (ECO) team will manage the emergency response to a physical incident in the first instance. When the ECO team is called out to a moderate, major or critical incident it will be reported to the CMR Team Leader who will decide whether or not to call out the CMR Team. In the case of a critical incident it will be the responsibility of the Emergency Services Coordinator (on the CMR Team) to liaise with the ECO front line team to provide the CMR Team with accurate and up-to-date information on the physical response to the incident.
The Manual takes a team approach to crisis management and recovery, with each Team Member given specific roles and responsibilities before, during and after any crisis that are allied to their key management competencies.
Case studies of threats, analyses and responses are included to give Team Members an idea of the type of crisis with which they may become involved, and to give an overview of the routes to containment, control and recovery.
Threats identified by executive management and the responses to those threats are listed and below and summarised in the following sections:
ENVIRONMENTIAL
EMERGENCY SERVICES
INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES
HUMAN RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT
RESEARCH & TREACHING
The strategic responses given are collated into "families" of treats as indicated as above. Emergency, business contingency, and issues management plans are to be drafted for specific incidents to support the tactical response. Although the actual crisis may not correspond exactly to the particular threat response examples given, they will provide broad guidelines for crisis management under most scenarios. These guidelines for response to each threat cover the majority (but not all) action points that should be dealt with, and are to be reviewed by executive management.
The Manual gives clear guidelines for crisis classification and for the call-out procedure, as well as Team members' active roles in bringing an issue to resolution.
Since what is said during a crisis is critical, the Manual emphasises communications: in defining the appropriate communication facilities that are required, in setting and communicating the message strategy across a range of stakeholders, and in handling the public desire for information. A contact directory is given to ensure all parties, internal and external, are contactable when required.
Finally, the Manual also lays down the appropriate audit trail and administrative processes that must be followed towards recovery, and appendices give examples of the various logs and records that should be maintained during crisis resolution.
Responsibility for ensuring that the information contained in this Manual is kept up-to-date rests with the Crisis Team Co-ordinator while the Emergency Planning Committee is responsible for ensuring that the Plan is periodically tested and that simulated crisis exercises are conducted.
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CQUniversity CRICOS Provider Codes: QLD-00219C; NSW-01315F; VIC-01624D
