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Last Updated: Tuesday, 06 February 2024 10:21

In the event of a disaster impacting you and your community, it is important to have plans in place to protect your business, your assets, your employees and help your business continue to operate and recover quickly. Business continuity planning involves developing a practical plan for how your business can prepare for and continue to operate after an incident or crisis. A business continuity plan will help you to:

  • identify and prevent risks where possible
  • prepare for risks that you can't control
  • respond and recover if an incident or crisis occurs.
+ - Understand your risks Click to collapse

If you own a business in Queensland, you should understand the potential risks to be able to reduce the impact of disasters. The best way to get your business ready is to understand the location's potential disaster risks so you can make a plan before they occur. If you’re not sure what you should be planning for, check out our website and the Get Ready Queensland website for information on the hazards to your area.

+ - How to prepare your business for a disaster Click to collapse

It is important to have your plans in place and practised before a disaster is imminent or unfolding.

Steps to reduce your business' risk

Complete the following steps using the Department of Small Business’ and Get Ready Queensland’s resources to reduce the impact of natural disasters on your business.

  1. Download and complete the Queensland Government’s business continuity planning template or use this case study as an example.
  2. Develop a business evacuation plan.
  3. Pack your business emergency kit.
  4. Make sure staff are trained in first aid and evacuation procedures.

Helpful hints

Keep documents safe (use a waterproof bag and have copies held at another location)

The documents should include:

  • a list of employees, visitors and their contact details
  • a list of emergency services, infrastructure providers, suppliers, customer details
  • backed-up data, files, records on an external drive/USB
  • product, stock and equipment inventory
  • details of how you can be contacted
  • details of commercial waste disposal providers (to facilitate clean-up of bulk damaged materials, equipment, etc.)
  • insurance policies
  • equipment and plant manuals, purchase and maintenance records
  • hazardous material safety data sheets (MSDS)
  • financial and banking records
  • photographic and video records (for insurance purposes).

Purchase equipment

  • First aid kit, manual
  • Battery or solar-operated radio, torch, spare batteries
  • Phones, chargers, power packs
  • Masking tape
  • Plastic sheeting
  • Hessian bags and sand for sandbagging
  • Personal protective equipment: sturdy gloves, masks, disinfectant, garbage bags, safety glasses, mops, brooms.

Secure your business

  • Backup data, files, records to the cloud or an external drive/USB
  • Spare keys and security codes
  • Secure stock, equipment, signage that may become loose in high winds
  • Reschedule deliveries, suppliers, contractors and clients.

Ensure your staff are prepared at home

It is also important for your staff to be adequately prepared at home as they may be responsible for critical tasks in your business’ response plan. Visit our Preparing for emergencies article for guidance on preparing for emergencies at home.

Understand how to deal with NBN outages

It's important to know what to expect in an emergency should the NBN network be affected. Read about dealing with NBN outages here.

+ - Evacuation preparation Click to collapse

If a disaster is imminent, you may decide, or be directed by Emergency Services to evacuate your business. Ensure you, your staff, visitors, sister-sites and other relevant stakeholders are aware of:

  • the triggers for evacuation
  • your evacuation procedure chain of command
  • your procedures for dealing with hazardous materials and shutting down critical operations
  • the different evacuation routes and assembly points at or near your premises.

You should practise for evacuation as a regular part of your business operations. This includes regularly reviewing the effectiveness of practice drills, discussing lessons learned and implementing changes for improvement.

+ - Ways to stay informed during a disaster Click to collapse

During a disaster, you need to stay informed from reliable and accurate sources.

You can tune in, log on and listen using the below resources:

Assume all warnings are urgent and act immediately on the information provided. This is the time to activate your business’ emergency response plan.

+ - Preparing a recovery plan Click to collapse

When it is safe to do so, the reopening of businesses is a vital step to help the local community recover. Having a well-thought-out business continuity plan and recovery strategies in place will assist you in returning to business as usual and supporting your employees and customers. The Queensland Government website offers a range of resources, support and guidance services to assist and help quicken recovery.

Ensure all staff, visitors, sister-sites and other relevant stakeholders are involved in the planning, training, execution and debrief of your emergency and disaster arrangements. Consider these questions to help your business recover after an emergency situation:

  • Do you have a recovery plan for your business?
  • Does it consider the welfare and wellbeing of your employees, supply chain and client relationships?
  • How quickly can you re-establish your business-as-usual operations?
+ - Helpful links Click to collapse

These information guides and checklists will help your readiness and response activities: