Would your organisation respond effectively to a significant disruption?
The ‘Business Continuity Management in Local Government’ Report, released in September by the Victorian Auditor-General,
has highlighted concerns around this issue.
It found that in 2009 only 78 per cent of councils across Victoria had developed a Business Continuity Plan, and of those councils, only 37 per cent had tested their plans.
Business continuity management provides for the availability of processes and resources to ensure the continued achievement of critical objectives (HB292 – 2006).
It assists organisations’ resilience with the capability for an effective response that safeguards the interests of its key stakeholders, reputation, brand and key operations.
With recent fires at Manningham City Council (Vic) and Liverpool City Council (NSW), there is increased pressure from the community, to ensure that local councils strengthen their resilience and continuously service community needs.
Local councils should take a systematic approach to Business Continuity Management by:
- developing effective frameworks that draw on
best practice from national
and international standards - developing and integrating
plans that incorporate
training to ensure effective
implementation - better understanding their
current risk environment - auditing, testing and
continuously improving
existing business continuity
plans on a periodic basis
or as part of your change
management process.
“As an organisation evolves, so do associated risks,” said Tim Mason, Principal of Business Continuity Management at Aon.
“It’s not enough to develop a risk management strategy and then file it away; the most resilient companies stay that way by testing and refreshing their policies and business continuity procedures on a regular basis.”
If you would like more information on how Aon can assist with your Business Continuity Management needs, please contact Tim Mason on (03) 9211 3130 or tim.mason@aon.com.au
*Copy supplied by Aon
