Product Overview

Summary: This SOP sets out a clear, legally defensible framework for how your organisation engages with police, fire, ambulance and other emergency services before, during and after an incident. It strengthens your emergency preparedness, protects workers and visitors, and ensures a coordinated, compliant response when every second counts.

When a critical incident occurs, confusion and poor communication with law enforcement and emergency services can quickly escalate risk to workers, clients, and the public. This Collaboration with Law Enforcement and Emergency Services SOP provides a structured, step‑by‑step approach for how your organisation prepares for, activates, and manages interactions with police, fire, ambulance, State Emergency Service (SES) and other specialist responders. It clearly defines who does what, how information is shared, and how to maintain site control while supporting emergency operations.

Designed for Australian workplaces across sectors such as education, healthcare, local government, construction, manufacturing, retail, and events, this procedure helps you move beyond ad‑hoc responses. It guides you to establish pre‑incident relationships, coordinate joint exercises, and align your internal emergency plans with external response protocols. During an incident—whether it’s a medical emergency, fire, violent or aggressive behaviour, security threat, natural disaster, or major accident—your teams will know exactly how to notify the right service, provide accurate information, assist first responders, preserve evidence, and manage media and stakeholder expectations. Post‑incident, the SOP supports debriefing, reporting, and continuous improvement, helping your business demonstrate due diligence under Australian WHS legislation.

By implementing this SOP, organisations can reduce chaos and duplication of effort, minimise legal and reputational exposure, and provide a safer, more controlled environment for everyone on site. It turns collaboration with emergency services from a vague intention into a practical, repeatable process embedded in your day‑to‑day operations and training.

Key Benefits

• Ensure a coordinated, timely response to critical incidents through clearly defined communication and escalation pathways.
• Reduce confusion and risk during emergencies by assigning specific roles, responsibilities and decision‑making authority.
• Strengthen compliance with WHS duties and emergency planning requirements under Australian legislation.
• Improve relationships and interoperability with local police, fire, ambulance and SES through documented pre‑incident collaboration.
• Streamline post‑incident reporting, debriefing and lessons‑learned activities to continuously improve safety performance.

Who is this for?

• WHS Managers
• Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs)
• Emergency Wardens and Chief Wardens
• Security Managers
• Operations Managers
• Facility and Site Managers
• HR Managers
• Risk and Compliance Managers
• School Principals and Education Leaders
• Aged Care and Healthcare Facility Managers
• Event Managers
• Local Government Safety and Emergency Management Officers

Hazards Addressed

• Delays in emergency response due to unclear notification and communication processes
• Increased harm from medical emergencies and injuries due to poor coordination with ambulance services
• Escalation of violent, aggressive or criminal behaviour due to unstructured interaction with police
• Fire and smoke exposure risks exacerbated by inadequate liaison with fire and rescue services
• Risks to workers and the public during natural disasters or severe weather events due to uncoordinated response with SES and local authorities
• Psychological injury and trauma arising from unmanaged critical incidents and poor information flow
• Secondary incidents caused by uncontrolled site access and crowd movement during emergency operations
• Compromise of evidence and legal processes following notifiable or criminal incidents

Included Sections

• 1.0 Purpose and Scope
• 2.0 Definitions and Acronyms
• 3.0 Roles and Responsibilities
• 4.0 Pre‑Incident Planning and Relationship Building with Emergency Services
• 5.0 Risk Assessment and Scenario Planning
• 6.0 Communication Protocols and Contact Details
• 7.0 Notification and Escalation Procedures
• 8.0 Site Access, Control and Handover to Emergency Services
• 9.0 Coordination During Specific Incident Types (Medical, Fire, Violence, Security Threats, Natural Disasters, Major Accidents)
• 10.0 Information Sharing, Privacy and Evidence Preservation
• 11.0 Media, Stakeholder and Family Communication in Collaboration with Authorities
• 12.0 Post‑Incident Debrief, Reporting and Notifiable Incident Management
• 13.0 Training, Drills and Joint Exercises with Emergency Services
• 14.0 Recordkeeping and Documentation Requirements
• 15.0 Review, Audit and Continuous Improvement
• 16.0 Appendices – Contact Lists, Checklists, Flowcharts and Communication Templates

Legislation & References

• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) and equivalent state and territory WHS Acts
• Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 and equivalent state and territory WHS Regulations
• Safe Work Australia – Model Code of Practice: Managing the Work Environment and Facilities
• Safe Work Australia – Model Code of Practice: How to Manage Work Health and Safety Risks
• Safe Work Australia – Model Code of Practice: Managing the Risk of Workplace Violence and Aggression in the Health and Community Sector (and related guidance for other sectors)
• AS 3745: Planning for emergencies in facilities
• AS 4083: Planning for emergencies – Health care facilities (where applicable)
• State and territory emergency management and critical incident reporting requirements (e.g. police, fire and ambulance liaison protocols)