Training program

All Community Recovery Ready Reserve members must complete mandatory online training to be eligible for deployment. After joining the program, the Community Recovery team will email your enrolment details and instructions for access to the training courses.

Training can be completed either from your workplace or from home. Access information and system requirements will be included in your welcome email.

Community Recovery training courses have been developed on:

• Community Recovery service overview and how they are delivered to disaster affected individuals, families and communities
• the roles and responsibilities of Ready Reserve members and how to prepare for deployment
• workforce systems and processes and how to apply them
• strategies and available services to support yourself and others during and after deployment.

To maintain deployment readiness, all Ready Reserve members are required to refresh their knowledge and complete pre-season preparedness activities between August and November each year.

Human and Social Recovery Training and Capability Development Framework

The training framework has been designed to ensure you are prepared for activation, by completing mandatory training to obtain the knowledge and skills to undertake your assigned roles during a community recovery deployment. This training includes:

• virtual training via MS teams for State and District Recovery Event Management Teams
• self-paced online courses organised into four categories
• refresher training, and
• coaching during an event activation.

Training requirements for event season

The Training Matrix provides a roadmap of learning and capability requirements for each role group within the Community Recovery Ready Reserve workforce. It helps members understand the training, development activities and readiness requirements relevant to their role and level of responsibility.

The Training Matrix is currently being enhanced to support ongoing workforce preparedness and capability development. A revised matrix and additional learning pathways and guidance will be released as they become available.

Training for capability

The Training Matrix outlines the training to be undertaken by all Community Recovery stakeholders to support the effective performance of an assigned role:

1. Mandatory Core Skills
   completing the Mandatory Core Skills training course program is considered mandatory for all levels of the Ready Reserve workforce and is a pre-requisite requirement to attending face-to-face training sessions.
2. Role Specific
3. Leadership and Management
4. Exercise Management and Development

Disaster Management in Queensland is a short awareness video which provides an overview of disaster management and briefly outlines the functions and activities that underpin disaster management and disaster operations in Queensland.

Mandatory Core Skills

The Mandatory Core Skills Training program provides Community Recovery Ready Reserve members with the essential knowledge, skills and confidence required to operate effectively in a community recovery environment.

Completion of all training modules is required to establish and maintain deployment readiness, ensuring staff are prepared to support individuals, families and communities affected by disaster.

The training package includes:

• Introduction to Community Recovery
• Deployment – A Call to Action
• Delivering Outreach Services
• Self Care in Community Recovery
• Psychological First Aid
• Community Recovery Grants
• Navigating Community Recovery Systems.

These modules provide foundational knowledge of community recovery principles, service delivery practices, disaster impacts, staff wellbeing, operational systems, and deployment expectations. Together, they build the core capabilities required to effectively support disaster-affected individuals, families and communities.

Optional / Desirable

• Disaster Management in Queensland (video)
• National Principles for Disaster Recovery.

All Ready Reserve members have access to the entire training program above and are encouraged to build knowledge, skills and capability by completing the courses specified as ‘Desirable’ in the Training Matrix.

Role specific

Role Specific training courses have been developed for the different functions of the District Recovery Event Management Team (DREMT) and State Recovery Event Management Team (SREMT). Training pathways have been developed for all staff with a designated recovery role in the Ready Reserve workforce and these are detailed in the Training Matrix

Mandatory Core Skills training for District and State Recovery Event Management Team members

Completion of courses will depend on the functional area role you are assigned to or have an interest in. These include:

• Command, control, coordination
• Establishing service delivery models
• Leadership, management, supervision
• Managing the Ready Reserve
• Managing Deployment
• Managing Logistics
• Managing Communications
• Managing Business Services
• Administration of Income Tested Grants
• Administration of Hardship Assistance Grants
• Planning, Intelligence and Reporting.

Optional

• Functional Recovery Groups

Desirable

• Check the Training Matrix for courses designated as ‘Desirable’ for this training group.

Leadership and Management

The Training Matrix identifies the learning pathway for the department’s Senior Executive Leadership, Senior Officers and Managers, and Senior Leaders assuming Recovery Event Coordinator or Controller roles. This group is required to complete Mandatory and Desirable courses.

Exercise Management and Development

This training is for State and District Recovery Event Management Teams (SREMT and DREMT) and government and non-government organisations.

• Exercise Management
• Communities of Practice
• Community Recovery Partnerships
• Functional Recovery Groups

Accessing online courses

Ready Reserve members can access the online learning program by logging onto their agency’s unique link, from:

• Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation
• Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety
• Department of Local Government, Water and Volunteers
• Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development
• Department of the Premier and Cabinet
• Department of Sport, Racing and Olympic and Paralympic Games
• Department of Youth Justice and Victim Support
• Ministerial Services
• Public Sector Commission
• Queensland Academy of Sport.

Departments and agencies not listed above should use the Community Recovery Ready Reserve Training.

All enquiries should be directed to the iLearn support team at the iLearn Support Hub.

Community Recovery Grant Systems training

The department offers personal financial assistance to applicants who are affected by a natural disaster event and meet the eligibility criteria. Applicants use the online Community Recovery Grants Portal to apply for a grant.

Ready Reserve members may be expected to use the Community Recovery Grants Portal during their deployment to assist a community member in applying for a grant. They may also be required to use Community Recovery Assist (CR Assist), the department's client relationship management tool. It is used to manage the relationship between the business and their customers. CR Assist is activated during an event to process grant applications submitted via the Community Recovery Grants Portal.

Online training on the Community Recovery Grants Portal and CR Assist is delivered annually between September and November to ensure Ready Reserve members have the skills and knowledge required to support community members with grant applications.

Additional training and system support may also be provided by Community Recovery Trainers during event activations.

Refresher training, briefing and debriefing, and on-the-job coaching

Trainers are deployed for most disaster event activations to provide further training and support to Ready Reserves.

Depending on the size and scale of the event, trainers deliver orientation briefings, refresher training, on-the-job coaching and exit debriefings. They provide practical guidance and support to ensure the Ready Reserve workforce is prepared to perform effectively in community recovery operations.

Refresher training is also delivered annually to District Recovery Event Management Teams annually between September and November by Community Recovery using MS Teams.

Quick Reference Guides for different functions may be available during an event to assist with on-the-job training for Ready Reserves. These will be provided during an event via the Community Recovery SharePoint.

Corporate training

The following courses offer important information and may enhance your understanding of community recovery service delivery to vulnerable people. Access to these courses is through iLearn and completion is optional.

SUPPORT: Recognise, Respond, Refer: Domestic violence and the workplace

This course covers both understanding domestic violence, and the impacts of domestic violence, as well as how to respond to staff and clients who may be impacted by domestic violence. Although, this module is not directly related to Community Recovery, it is advised that recovery workers complete it, as some aspects may be relevant.

View more about this course.

Starting the journey

This course is the department’s foundational Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Capability training. It provides insight into interpreting your own culture as well as the lived experiences for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in Queensland. Although this module is not directly related to Community Recovery, it is advised that recovery workers complete it, as some aspects may be relevant.

View more about this course.

SBS Cultural Atlas

The Cultural Atlas is an interactive educational resource providing comprehensive cultural information of the countries from which Australia’s biggest migrant populations have originated. The Cultural Atlas is a free resource available at: culturalatlas.sbs.com.au.

Disability Awareness Program

By completing this module you will gain an overall introductory view of the disability sector and an understanding that inclusion is within everyone’s ability.

View more about this course.

Other agency resources

To continue your learning journey, the Ready Reserve learning platform contains additional training opportunities and resources, including:

• Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience Knowledge Hub—a national, open-source platform that supports and informs policy, planning, decision making and contemporary good practice in disaster resilience
• Disaster Ready—an international online learning library that covers core topics such as Humanitarianism, Program/Operations, Protection, Staff Welfare, Management and Leadership, Staff Safety and Security, and Soft Skills development.
• Get Ready – Queensland Reconstruction Authority
  The Get Ready Queensland program is a year round, all hazards, resilience building initiative coordinated by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) to help communities prepare for natural disasters. QRA is the State’s lead agency responsible for disaster recovery and resilience policy. QRA leads initiatives that help deliver on our strategic objective of making Queensland the most disaster resilient state in Australia. These activities assist government, businesses and the wider community mitigate risks and prepare for disasters.
• Volunteering Queensland—the lead voice for volunteering in Queensland supporting this essential industry to thrive.
• Australian Red Cross
  Red Cross mobilises the power of humanity to bring people and communities together in times of need and builds on community strengths to achieve the following outcomes.
• Qld Disaster Management Training Framework
  The Queensland Fire and Emergency Services hosts the Disaster Management Learning Management System—a web-based learning and student management system that supports training delivered under the Queensland Disaster Management Training Framework.

Contact

• Email the Community Recovery team: community.recovery@communityrecovery.qld.gov.au