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Preparing an incident response plan

An incident response plan is a general plan for dealing with any number of crises that could
negatively impact your business. Your incident response plan should describe the types of
incidents or crisis situations in which it will need to be used. It should outline the actions that
need to be taken to limit the loss of life and property in the time immediately before a crisis, if
possible, as well as during and immediately after.

An incident response plan should include:

 plan activation details, including a clear statement of the circumstances when the plan will
be activated and who is authorised to do so
 incident response team details, including key roles and responsibilities
 an emergency kit
 evacuation procedures for your premises
 a communication plan, including key communication methods and timings needed to keep
everyone safe
 contact lists for all the people you will need to communicate with during a crisis,
including staff and emergency services
 an event log to record information, decisions and actions that you take during a crisis.

This guide explains how you can prepare an incident response plan for your business.

 Characteristics of a crisis
 Assemble an incident response team
 Prepare for an emergency

Last updated
14 September 2012

Characteristics of a crisis
While every crisis is different, there are some common characteristics. Understanding the
common characteristics of crises will help you develop a practical and reliable incident response
plan for your business.

During a crisis:
  there may be physical danger, which should be your first priority
 you and your staff may suffer from confusion, friction, pressure and stress
 key staff may be unavailable
 it may be difficult or impossible to carry out your usual daily activities
 external support may be needed (e.g. from emergency services or neighbouring
businesses)
 there may be a lack of clear information about what is happening
 there may be limited time in which to make decisions about what to do
 attention from your stakeholders, customers and the media may be intense
 news may travel fast, shaping the public perception of the crisis and how it is being
handled.

An incident response plan provides clear instructions for dealing with these characteristics.
Having a plan will help you stay calm and in control during a crisis, which will help reduce the
impact to your business.

Business continuity planning

Your incident response plan should be part of your broader business continuity plan, which
includes a risk management plan and a business impact analysis that identify possible risks to
your business. An incident response plan is the response step in the prevention, preparedness,
response and recovery (PPRR) model of business continuity planning.

While your risk management plan will identify and help you treat most of the risks to your
business, some will be untreatable or unpredictable. Having an incident response plan will help
you and your staff deal with these risks if they do happen by reducing confusion and stress in a
crisis situation. An incident response plan can also help minimise the impact a crisis has on your
business.

Related links
 Read an example business continuity plan (PDF, 92KB).
 Attend a building business resilience workshop to help develop your business continuity
plan.
 View a recorded webinar on business continuity planning to learn more about how to
prepare for an unexpected crisis or natural disaster.
 Once the crisis has passed and it is safe for you to return to work, your recovery plan will
help get your business running again.
 Find out how to identify business risk.
 Read about information technology risk management.
 Take our surviving economic challenges quiz to help you prepare and plan for potential
risks.
 Read about how to respond to, and recover from an economic downturn.
Assemble an incident response team
If your business is large enough, you should put together an incident response team that can
evaluate a crisis and develop strategies to keep everyone safe and minimise the impact to your
business.

During a crisis, your incident response team's usual duties may need to be disbanded or passed on
to other staff members, as responding to the crisis will be their top priority. Team members
should have a backup and everyone must be clear about their roles.

Depending on the size of your business, your incident response team may include the following
members.

Team leader
The team leader should be someone who knows your business inside and out, and who can take
full responsibility for the ongoing management of an incident or crisis.

Response team
The response team, or individual in a small business, must be able to make decisions, approve
recommendations and provide direction in the event of a crisis.

Assessors
Assessors, along with their backups, are responsible for assessing the impact an incident or crisis
has on your business. The assessors can then provide feedback to the incident response team to
help them work out what needs to be done.

Spokesperson
During a crisis you may face questions from your customers, stakeholders and the media. If you
have a large enough business, you may be able to appoint a staff member with experience dealing
with the media as a spokesperson. If you are a small business, you as the owner will most likely
be the spokesperson.

The spokesperson should be the one voice responsible for all internal and external
communications. They must create and build the perception that the business is under control,
that you know and understand what is happening, and that you are working to resolve the
situation. An effective spokesperson can help minimise negative publicity for your business.

Others
Depending on your business, you may also include staff from departments such as human
resources, security and other specialists who have specific expertise regarding your business.

Related links
 Read more about workplace incidents and your reporting obligations to Workplace Health
and Safety Queensland.
 Once the crisis has passed and it is safe for you to return to work, your recovery plan will
help get your business running again.
 Take our surviving economic challenges quiz to help you prepare and plan for potential
risks.

Prepare for an emergency

In the event of a crisis, you may not receive advance warning to evacuate. You may even be
ordered to evacuate by local authorities (e.g. the police). Being prepared with an evacuation
procedure and team in place avoids confusion and possible injury during an emergency situation.

As well as an evacuation procedure you should include an emergency kit in your incident
response plan and develop an incident response checklist so that you and your staff know what to
do in an emergency.

Preparing an emergency kit

Having an emergency kit available can help keep your business running in a different location.
Keep your emergency kit where you can quickly and easily retrieve it. Ideally, you should store
your kit safely and securely off site in case your premises are destroyed or unreachable in a crisis.

Record in your incident response plan the contents of your emergency kit and make sure you
keep it up to date.

Learn more about preparing an emergency kit.

Emergency checklists
To help you prepare for an emergency, review the following natural disaster checklists:

 cyclone and storm surge

 severe storm
 flood
 bushfire
 pandemic
Prepare evacuation procedures
Making sure you have evacuation procedures will ensure you are prepared in advance should a
crisis occur. Consider in advance who will take control in an emergency and make sure that staff
understand the evacuation procedures and their responsibilities.

Read more about evacuating your business.

Related links
 Learn more about how to prepare your business for a natural disaster.
 Read more about keeping your workplace safe.
 Once the crisis has passed and it is safe for you to return to work, your recovery plan will
help get your business running again.