Learn how to run emergency management exercises

Complete the online training course to improve your skills in managing exercises.
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The WA Managing Exercises course is for emergency management agencies in Western Australia. It provides exercise training to help with preparedness to deal with hazards.

You are encouraged to complete the course online at the link below. You can do this using any device, including a mobile phone, anywhere with an internet connection.

If you prefer face-to-face training with a facilitator, contact the SEMC Business Unit to request the training materials.

The course is designed to:

  • provide a simple overview of the exercise management process aligned to the WA Managing Exercises Guideline 
  • introduce the templates and exemples for the guideline
  • support small exercises while also providing information for larger and more complex exercises.

Online course

The online course is intended to be ‘self-paced’ learning. You can take your time working through it, or come back to it if you get interrupted. 

You do not have to complete the activities to complete the course. There is no assessment but you must click and open all the information boxes to progress through the modules.

Start your WA Managing Exercises online training course.

Capability-Based Exercising

The mechanics of the exercise framework revolve around the analysis of capabilities and the development of agency exercise schedules which will be consolidated into the State Exercise Calendar.

Each Emergency Management Agency (EMA) and Local Government Authority will conduct a Capability Analysis to identify which capabilities they need practice in order to respond to and recover from a State-level emergency and/or hazard that poses the greatest risk to their capacity to provide support functions to Hazard Management Agencies and other EMAs​ . 

In the first instance, it is recommended that agencies use existing sources of data to contribute to this process. These can include:

  • Previous Preparedness Report Capability Survey responses,
  • Lessons identified from previous exercises,
  • Knowledge from past incidents and After-Action Reports,
  • Local and district risk assessments,
  • Issues raised at Local Emergency Management Committee, District Emergency Management Committee and SEMC sub-committee meetings,
  • Local Emergency Management Arrangements, and
  • District Emergency Management Advisor input and discussion

Agencies and local governments are requested to submit an exercise schedule in advance of planned exercises to facilitate the sharing of information and opportunities to exercise with other interested parties. This can be done using the State Exercise Calendar or through the annual Preparedness Survey.​