Under Sections 21(3) and (4) of the Emergency Management Act each municipal council is required to appoint a Municipal Emergency Management Planning Committee (MEMPC) to formulate a draft Municipal Emergency Management Plan for the council’s consideration.

The committee also serves to:

• identify, analyse and evaluate emergency related risks
• produce risk treatment(s)/mitigation strategies for the identified risks
• prepare response and recovery plans for the municipality and
• participate in exercises.

Role of the MEMPC

It is not the MEMPCs role to manage emergencies. This is the responsibility of the agencies and personnel identified under the response and recovery arrangements in State, Regional and Municipal Plans.

The MEMPC is required to prepare and then maintain the Municipal Emergency Management Plan (MEMP), which documents response and recovery arrangements, and to ensure all the subjects listed in the plan outline are investigated and adequately provided for.

The ongoing role of the committee is to annually review the plan and every 3-years perform a full review of the plan.

Composition of the MEMPC

Section 21(3) recommends that we appoint to the MEMPC representatives of:

• the municipal council (members and employees),
• response agencies,
• recovery agencies,
• volunteer organisations and 
• Community representatives

The members of our MEMPC include:

• Municipal Emergency Manager (MEM) - chairperson 
• Municipal Emergency Management Officer (MEMO) - deputy chairperson
• Municipal Recovery Manager (MRM)
• Municipal Fire Prevention Officer (MFPO)
• Coordinator Environmental Health 
• Municipal Emergency Response Coordinator (MERC) (Victoria Police)
• Country Fire Authority (CFA)
• Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV)
• Victoria State Emergency Service (VicSES)
• Ambulance Victoria (AV)
• Emergency Recovery Victoria (ERV)
• Department of Health (DH)
• Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH)
• Department of Transport and Planning (DTP)
• Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA)
• Industry Reps
• Australian Red Cross
• Corangamite Catchment Management Authority (CCMA)
• Barwon Health
• Barwon Water
• Victorian Council of Churches (Emergency Ministries)

Community Representatives

The Greater Geelong MEMPC seeks to appoint 2 community members every two years for a 2-year term.

Community representatives are committed individuals with demonstrated experience in community engagement and/or experience with community-based committees, that volunteer their time to represent the broader community on the MEMPC.

As a member of the Greater Geelong MEMPC, representatives have input into the preparation of the Municipal Emergency Management Plan (MEMP) and help their community to plan for the mitigation and response to emergencies that may occur in the Greater Geelong area. 

Interested community members are invited to submit an expression of interest online for the 2026-2028 period.

EXPRESS INTEREST ONLINE

Specialist sub-committees

The MEMPC has also established Sub Committees that focus on areas which require more comprehensive planning. These include:

• Greater Geelong Municipal Flood and Storm Management Sub-Committee
• Greater Geelong Municipal Risk and Consequence Sub-Committee
• City of Greater Geelong and Borough of Queenscliffe Joint Municipal Fire Management Sub-Committee
• Greater Geelong Municipal Public Health Emergency Sub-Committee
• Greater Geelong Municipal Relief and Recovery Sub-Committee

Frequency of meetings

The MEMPC, and each of the five sub-committees, meet four times per year, and, if necessary, following a large-scale emergency.