Between 2020 and 2023, the Australian Government Crisis Management Framework  (AGCMF) has been used to respond to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters such as floods and cyclones, cyber security incidents, and Australian Government humanitarian assistance to overseas disasters disasters.

This performance audit of the AGCMF is undertaken to provide assurance to Parliament over processes to identify and disseminate lessons learnt, and on the readiness of government systems and processes to respond to future crises.

Findings

• The department of Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) has developed a largely appropriate framework for responding to crises.
• A structured assessment of the readiness of systems and processes was not undertaken prior to the 2023 AGCMF Review which commenced in March 2023.
• The revised AGCMF released in September 2024 incorporates an increased emphasis on continuous improvement and improved oversight

Recommendations

• There were five recommendations aimed at processes to support annual updates of the AGCMF, additional guidance in the AGCMF, and the inputs into the development of the annual national exercise program.
• PM&C agreed to all four recommendations. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) agreed to one recommendation.