Emergency preparation for tourism and hospitality businesses

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  Make a plan

  Create a business continuity plan to identify your risks and plan what you will do

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  Check policies

  Check workplace policies and procedures to reduce the risk of biosecurity threats, workplace accidents and other emergencies

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  Train staff

  Ensure staff know and understand business policies and procedures

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  Review insurances

  Check your insurance and finances are adequate to cover risks

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  Conduct emergency drills

  Do regular emergency drills with staff, customers and guests and document in your plan

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  Report incidents

  Know how to report legally notifiable incidents

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  Wellbeing and safety

  Offer support to any impacted staff

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  Communicate

  Communicate the steps you've taken to resolve the emergency and prevent it reoccurring

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  Promote your business

  Develop marketing strategies to promote positive news

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  Recovery planning

  Record lessons learned and update policies, plans and staff training

Complete a business continuity plan (includes an emergency plan) to help you prepare, respond and recover from a workplace accident, serious injury, incident or crisis.

Prepare or update your emergency plan – you have a legal responsibility as a PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking) to ensure there is an emergency plan prepared for your workplace.

Steps to include in your plan:

• identify the key emergencies most likely to occur and that would have the most negative impact on your business
• prepare a risk management plan (part of your business continuity plan) to prevent or reduce key risks
  • create or review business policies, procedures and standards
  • check you are meeting your workplace health and safety obligations including laws, regulations and codes of practice
  • train staff to ensure they know and understand business policies and procedures
  • review your insurance cover
  • review ordering, booking and cancellation policies – consider goodwill measures such as refunds
  • check your financial reserves and emergency financial measures
  • back up your data on external or cloud storage
  • learn how to protect your business's information technology (IT) systems and customer data
• plan how to respond if emergencies do occur
• identify staff emergency roles and responsibilities
• share team contact details
• record customer, supplier, insurer and emergency contacts
• identify and record local emergency alerts and contact channels
• prepare an emergency kit
• create a business emergency evacuation plan and procedures (e.g. identify assembly points, assign roles, shutting down operations process)
  • use the emergency plan fact sheet from Safe Work Australia to prepare your plan
  • appoint first aid officers and provide training
  • conduct regular emergency drills with staff, visitors, customers and/or guests and document in your plan
• create an event log to record information, decisions, actions and 'before and after' damage photos for insurance purposes
• plan how to recover from an incident
  • identify alternate off-site locations and introduce ways for staff to work remotely
  • explore alternative stock or equipment suppliers if supplies are disrupted.

Use the tourism business health check to identify support and resources that will help improve your business planning and resilience.

• Read visitor safety advice for tourism operators.
• Learn how to create a safe workplace.

• Plan options for power failures (e.g. using a generator, relocating premises or alternative storage of goods requiring electricity).
• Consider alternate suppliers or delivery routes if major infrastructure or transport routes are disrupted.
• Check your ABC local radio, local council website and council's disaster dashboard, or QLDTraffic for any transport-related closures (e.g. closed roads, alternate routes, airport closures, port closures) so you can advise visitors.

• Learn how to protect your business from biosecurity threats.

• Learn how to manage hazardous chemicals in the workplace.
• Check your local council's disaster dashboard for information during and after emergency events.

Read about premises security and crime prevention.

• Read the Building a resilient tourism industry - Queensland tourism climate change response plan (PDF, 3MB).
• Learn about responsible reef practices if you operate on or near the Great Barrier Reef.
• Research topics that customers may have concerns about, such as:
  • how tourism affects the Great Barrier Reef
  • coral bleaching (PDF, 1.2MB).
• Learn how to manage environmental risks and other climate risks to your business.

If a visitor or staff accident or death occurs (including wildlife attacks):

• phone Triple Zero (000) immediately
• give first aid if it's safe to do so
• don't touch or move anything unless it's to give first aid or stop further injury or property damage
• notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland
• notify WorkCover Queensland or your workers' compensation insurer
• contact your regional tourism organisation to seek advice and support handling the incident.

Immediately report biosecurity incidents.

• Suspect pests, diseases and weeds that may be new to Australia must be reported by law.
• Phone the Emergency Animal Disease Hotline on 1800 675 888 to report pests and diseases in animals (including livestock, birds and aquatic animals).
• Phone the Emergency Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881 to report plant pests, pests of bees, diseased plants or new weeds.
• Find out what to do during an outbreak of a pest or disease.

In an emergency, phone Triple Zero (000) and follow emergency services' advice to evacuate if required.

• Keep staff and customers safe.
• Collect your emergency kit.
• Secure business premises, stock and equipment, information, records and data if there's time.

Report any suspicious behaviour or extremist activities to the National Security Hotline on 1800 123 400.

Suspicious behaviour can include:

• unusual purchases of large quantities of fertiliser, chemicals or explosives
• unusual filming of official buildings or critical infrastructure.

Learn more about responding to negative social media or media coverage relating to the incident.

Continue to monitor the situation and follow emergency services or authorities' advice.

• Communicate regular updates to staff:
  • prepare key messages for staff to pass on to customers
  • monitor staff wellbeing and mental health.
• Communicate with customers and suppliers:
  • advise customers, suppliers and distributors of any changes to your business operations
  • update your website and social media about the situation and any changes to your business operations.

• Find out what help is available when someone dies at work, including free grief and trauma counselling sessions at Work Safe Queensland.
• Offer support to staff if they have been affected – use the wellbeing and mental health resources available.
• Keep staff informed about the next steps.
• Consider ways to boost staff morale.

• Use your business continuity plan to assess your business operations.
• Consider what your back-up or alternative re-opening options might be, including:
  • using alternative premises (e.g. home, library, suppliers)
  • buying or hiring equipment
  • contracting out work
  • reduce hours
  • providing limited services or products
  • selling online only
  • compare your prices to competitors.

• Assess how the emergency has affected your earnings and/or profit.
• Forecast cashflow over the coming months and year.
• Contact your bank, creditors and debtors to discuss options.
• Contact the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to fast-track your refund, delay lodgement obligations or request more time to pay debts.
• Contact your insurance company before you start cleaning up. Some policies fund clean-ups and require authorisation before repairs begin.
• Access small business support services to get back on track, including the Mentoring for Growth program.
• Check funding and support for tourism.
• Get free financial counselling support from small business financial counsellors and rural financial counsellors.

• Communicate with your key stakeholders.
• Provide affected staff with information and contact details for support services.
• Keep customers and suppliers updated about your business operations and how or when to fill orders or bookings.
• Answer emails promptly, thank people for their support and log customer calls.
• Celebrate and let people know about your business's recovery steps, milestones or successes.

• Update your business continuity plan and business policies and procedures.
• Record lessons learned from your business recovery (e.g. adequacy of insurance policies, emergency planning, IT, accounting and record-keeping systems).
• Review and update your emergency plan and procedures.
• Schedule regular emergency evacuation drills and provide appropriate training for staff.

• We are saddened to confirm that a (staff member/visitor/client/guest) was (injured/killed) in an incident today.
• We are devastated by this accident and our thoughts are with them, their families and those who witnessed the incident.
• We take the safety of our staff/guests/customers very seriously and we are working closely with authorities.
• We are working closely with authorities and Workplace Health and Safety Queensland to assist in any way we can.
• We have suspended our operations/tours and will work with authorities to determine when we will re-open.
• We would like to thank emergency services for their immediate response.

• Our thoughts are with the individuals affected and their families.
• Our priority is allowing emergency services to do their job.
• We are working closely with the relevant authorities to ensure the safety of our (staff, customers and/or guests).
• Authorities are well prepared to handle events like this, so please follow any directions they make.

Contact your bank

• Ask your bank about financial hardship options, for example:
  • changing loan terms
  • temporarily pausing or reducing repayments
  • deferring repayments and interest payments (all missed payments and interest will need to be repaid)
  • waiving fees and charges
  • consolidating your debt
  • finance to help cover cash flow shortages
  • deferring upcoming credit card payments
  • increasing emergency credit card limits
  • waiving early termination fees to access term deposits.
• Provide loan details (account name and number, payment amounts) and an overview of your financial situation.
• Request a hardship variation by using the sample letter generator from the Financial Rights Legal Centre to send to your bank.
• Your bank must advise you within 21 days about your hardship request. If you can't negotiate a variation, you can:
  • contact the bank's internal dispute resolution team
  • visit the Australian Financial Complaints Authority or phone 1800 931 678 to make a complaint, and get free advice and independent dispute resolution.

Contact utility providers

• Contact your utility providers' hardship team about electricity, gas, phone or water bill payment options.

• Contact your insurer – if you are not covered for the emergency situation, find out if you can make a claim under your business interruption or income protection insurance.
• Contact the Insurance Council of Australia (phone 1800 734 621) if you have questions about your policy or don't know who your insurer is.
• Check if your insurance policy:
  • funds clean-ups
  • requires authorisation before repairs begin
  • provides emergency or advance funds for wages or recovery activities
• Gather all information about the claim:
  • complete an event log
  • items to claim and when purchased
  • equipment, furniture you've had to throw away
  • photo and/or video evidence.
• Make a claim and resolving issues:
  • lodge claim as soon as possible – don't wait for a full damage assessment before making a claim
    • insurers must fast track a claim if you can demonstrate 'financial need' (read item 64 of the General Insurance Code of Practice) – if the insurer agrees, an advance payment must be made within 5 days
    • your insurer must inform you of their decision within 10 business days of receiving your claim
  • contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority on 1800 931 678 if you can't reach agreement with your insurer
  • phone Legal Aid Queensland on 1300 651 188 if you need information and advice on how to get a claim paid.