Background to the Scheme

The origins of EMPS stem from a perceived need in fire and emergency services to be seen not just as ‘professional’ in what we do, but as a ‘profession’. A starting point for this was to have an entity that could examine individuals’ education and experience and promote standards of ethics in the sector. The result was the creation of the Emergency Management Professionalisation Scheme, EMPS, within AFAC.

EMPS commenced operations in 2015, publishing a professional standard for incident controllers, and accepting applications for the credential of Certified Incident Controller from emergency management practitioners from across Australia and New Zealand.

Following this successful proof of concept, in 2017 the AFAC Board and Council resolved to pursue scheme expansion, with the aim of providing credentials across all incident management team (IMT) functions as described in the Australasian Inter-service Incident Management System (AIIMS) and other roles requiring specialist and technical expertise.

By the end of 2018, it will be possible to apply for registration in all IMT roles (with the exception of Investigation Officer, to which separate considerations apply) and a selection of other specialist roles. We will also offer certification in some additional high-risk, high-consequence IMT roles, starting with Certified Public Information Officer.