The purpose of the Local Emergency Management Arrangements (LEMA) Guideline is to provide a resource to assist local government and local emergency management committees to meet their obligations under the Emergency Management Act 2005 (EM Act) and develop compliant, effective, and contemporary emergency management arrangements based on best practice principles.
To support this guideline, a model Local Emergency Management Arrangements template (Microsoft Word document) is provided to assist when the development of the document.
While the guideline and template provide best practice principles, you will need to tailor the final document to the needs of your local government. You may include any additional information that will enable your local government to support the community in times of emergency.
Updates
On 22 January 2025, an updated LEMA Guideline and model LEMA template were published to reflect an accessibility review and redesign of all of the State EM documents carried out by the DFES State EM Policy Branch.
- Amendments were issued to correct errors, provide consistency with other State EM documents and to provide clarity through the simplification of language and document structure. Substantive information and prescriptive directions were not reviewed or amended.
- Local governments do not need to amend current LEMAs to match the revised LEMA Guideline and Model template.
- A detailed list of amendments to the documents can be found on the review schedule and document amendments page of the State Emergency Management Committee website.
The publication of the revised LEMA Guideline and model in an accessible format aims to assist with the future review and consultation of the Local Emergency Management Arrangements. The comprehensive review of the document remains on hold to align with the ongoing LEMA Improvement Program Management Plan and LEMA Pilot Program.
