Product Overview

Summary: This Business Continuity Planning Standard Operating Procedure provides a clear, practical framework for preparing your organisation to withstand and recover from disruptive events. It guides Australian businesses through assessing critical functions, developing response strategies, and maintaining continuity plans that protect people, operations, and reputation.

Disruptions such as IT outages, cyber incidents, extreme weather, supply chain failures, or loss of key staff can cripple an organisation that has not planned ahead. This Business Continuity Planning Standard Operating Procedure provides a structured, repeatable method for identifying your critical business functions, assessing the impact of interruptions, and putting in place practical strategies to keep operating during and after an incident. It is tailored for Australian conditions, acknowledging local regulatory expectations, climate risks, and the realities of small-to-medium enterprises as well as larger organisations.

The SOP walks your team step-by-step through establishing a business continuity framework, conducting a Business Impact Analysis (BIA), defining recovery time objectives, and developing workable continuity and recovery strategies for people, premises, technology, suppliers, and communications. It also sets out how to test, review, and update your plans so they remain current as your organisation changes. By implementing this procedure, you create a documented, defensible approach that supports due diligence obligations, reassures clients and stakeholders, and helps your organisation bounce back faster from disruption.

Designed for practical use rather than theory, the SOP includes templates, decision-making criteria, and clearly defined roles and responsibilities for before, during, and after an incident. It aligns with recognised business continuity standards and good practice, making it suitable for tender submissions, audits, and certifications where evidence of robust continuity planning is required.

Key Benefits

• Strengthen organisational resilience by systematically identifying critical functions and dependencies.
• Reduce downtime and financial loss by defining clear recovery priorities and timeframes.
• Demonstrate due diligence and governance to boards, regulators, insurers, and key clients.
• Standardise your approach to disruptions so staff know exactly what to do when incidents occur.
• Support tender, accreditation, and audit requirements with a documented, repeatable continuity process.

Who is this for?

• Business Owners
• Chief Executive Officers (CEOs)
• General Managers
• Operations Managers
• Risk and Compliance Managers
• IT Managers
• WHS Managers
• Business Continuity Coordinators
• Practice Managers (Medical, Allied Health, Legal, Accounting)
• Local Government Managers
• School and Education Administrators
• Not-for-Profit and Community Services Managers

Included Sections

• 1.0 Purpose, Scope and Objectives
• 2.0 Definitions and Key Concepts
• 3.0 Governance, Roles and Responsibilities
• 4.0 Business Continuity Planning Framework
• 5.0 Context and Organisational Overview
• 6.0 Business Impact Analysis (BIA) Methodology
• 7.0 Identification of Critical Functions and Dependencies
• 8.0 Risk and Threat Assessment for Business Disruption
• 9.0 Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs)
• 10.0 Continuity and Recovery Strategies (People, Premises, Technology, Suppliers)
• 11.0 Incident Response and Escalation Procedures
• 12.0 Internal and External Communications During Disruption
• 13.0 IT and Cyber Resilience Considerations
• 14.0 Integration with Emergency Management and WHS Procedures
• 15.0 Plan Documentation, Version Control and Records Management
• 16.0 Training, Awareness and Competency Requirements
• 17.0 Testing, Exercises and Scenario Simulations
• 18.0 Monitoring, Review and Continuous Improvement
• 19.0 Post-Incident Review and Lessons Learned
• 20.0 Appendices – Templates, Checklists and Forms

Legislation & References

• AS ISO 22301:2020 Security and resilience – Business continuity management systems – Requirements
• AS ISO 31000:2018 Risk management – Guidelines
• Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) – Directors’ duties and governance obligations
• Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) – Particularly in relation to continuity of data and systems after incidents
• State and Territory WHS Acts and Regulations – Duty to manage risks to health and safety, including emergency preparedness
• APRA Prudential Standard CPS 232 – Business Continuity Management (for applicable regulated entities)