Get ready for disaster

A free Disaster Ready Business Course is now open for registrations from local businesses.

The Disaster Ready Phillip Island and Bass Coast Business Community Resilience (BCR) toolkit program was developed to help business owners build resilience and prepare for future disasters.

The course will run from June to September 2023.

The Phillip Island/Bass Coast and Great Ocean Road visitor hotspots have been chosen because of the detrimental impacts the closure of businesses in these areas would have.

CFA Head of Community Preparedness Lucy Saaroni said being disaster ready is important for business owners operating in high-risk tourism regions.

“Small businesses are the economic and social heartbeat of Victorian communities,” she said.

“This program aims to reduce these outcomes by building capabilities in business owners to better understand their emergency risks and prepare themselves and their community for future events,” she said.

The program is a collaboration between CFA, VICSES, Department of Jobs, Skills, Industries and Regions and social enterprise Resilient Ready, supported locally by Destination Phillip Island.

“Given the last three years and the consistent nature of incidents occurring it is important business takes the time to consider and plan” said Kim Storey, General Manager of Destination Phillip Island.

“We are very pleased to see this connection with local emergency services and the business community develop during this training.”

The program includes input from members of the Victorian Multicultural Commission’s Regional Advisory Councils to contribute towards content development, lived experience storytelling, workshop participation, and local community engagement.

“Culturally and linguistically diverse business owners and tourism operators, in particular, play an important leadership role in connecting preparedness messaging into non-English speaking local business people and visitors, including international visitors,” Lucy said.

Registrations for the program are open now and the program begins in June with short online modules and some in person catch ups in July and September.

Read more at: www.visitphillipisland.com.au/products/disaster-ready-phillip-island-bass-coast

To book in: toolkit.resilientready.org/signup/585/