Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management

What Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management does

The Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management (IGEM) is a Queensland Government state agency established in 2003 under section 16C of the Disaster Management Act 2003, headquartered in Brisbane. Its statutory function is to review and assess the effectiveness of disaster management arrangements at the state, district, and local levels across Queensland. IGEM operates a small, focused team of 17 employees and delivers its mandate through assurance activities, post-event reviews (such as the 2022 South East Queensland Rainfall and Flooding Review and the 2023-24 Severe Weather Season Review), the Standard for Disaster Management in Queensland, and a Lessons Management Framework aligned with the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience's national handbook.

The agency's core products are largely knowledge and assurance artifacts rather than commercial offerings: the IGEM website/portal serves as a central hub, the Standard for Disaster Management provides a regulatory framework with supporting factsheets, and Research Connect is a platform connecting researchers and practitioners. The Disaster Management Research Framework (DMRF) and the annual Queensland Disaster Management Research Forum (held since 2021, with the sixth edition scheduled for November 2026) constitute the agency's primary research convening activities. IGEM also participates in applied AI research through a partnership with QUT, the University of Newcastle, and Natural Hazards Research Australia, using convolutional neural networks on satellite and street-level imagery to build a national database of unreinforced masonry buildings for earthquake risk mitigation.

IGEM does not sell products or services commercially; it is funded through Queensland Government budget allocations. Its customer base is structurally the Queensland disaster management sector — state, district, and local disaster management groups, local government councils, the tertiary and research sector, and community organizations. As a statutory body, the agency is not subject to market competition and operates without the traditional revenue mechanics of a commercial enterprise.

Name

Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management

Legal name

Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management

Website

https://igem.qld.gov.au

Company type

Public

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management (IGEM) is a Queensland Government agency that provides independent statutory oversight, assurance, and research services for Queensland's disaster management arrangements across state, district, and local levels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Regulatory Oversight

NAICS

Public Administration (92)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Emergency Management & Disaster Response (EOC, Civil Defense) (BPAIAGAE)

Keywords

• Disaster management oversight
• Emergency management assurance
• Disaster management research
• Government regulatory review
• Emergency preparedness standards

Headquarters

HQ city

Brisbane

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management (IGEM) is a Queensland Government statutory agency that independently reviews and assesses the effectiveness of disaster management arrangements at state, district, and local levels under section 16C of the Disaster Management Act 2003. It delivers assurance activities, publishes review reports and case studies, maintains the Standard for Disaster Management in Queensland, and operates the Disaster Management Research Framework (DMRF) and Research Connect platform to facilitate collaboration between researchers and emergency management practitioners.

Product overview

The Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management (IGEM) is a Queensland government agency that does not operate a traditional commercial product platform. Instead, it provides a comprehensive ecosystem of disaster management resources consisting of the IGEM Website/Portal as the central hub, the Standard for Disaster Management in Queensland as a framework with supporting factsheets, Research Connect as a research platform connecting academics and practitioners, the Disaster Management Research Framework (DMRF) for research coordination, the annual Queensland Disaster Management Research Forum, and various published reports including the Queensland Disaster Management Arrangements Review, Severe Weather Season Reviews, and the Lessons Management Framework. These products collectively form Queensland's disaster management knowledge and assurance infrastructure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Standard for Disaster Management in Queensland A statutory framework that establishes shared responsibilities, outcomes, and accountabilities for disaster management in Queensland, supported by factsheets and resources for disaster management practitioners across state, district, and local groups.
• Research Connect A research platform that connects researchers and disaster management practitioners, providing access to case studies, events, research guides, and a research hub to bridge academic research with operational practice.
• Disaster Management Research Framework (DMRF) A framework that supports collaboration between the tertiary education sector and Queensland's disaster management sector, promoting the use of research evidence by disaster managers across the state's disaster management arrangements.
• Queensland Disaster Management Arrangements Review A comprehensive review report examining Queensland's disaster management arrangements, assessing the effectiveness of state, district, and local disaster management groups and published as part of IGEM's review report series.
• South East Queensland Rainfall and Flooding February to March 2022 Review A comprehensive review of the February to March 2022 South East Queensland rainfall and flooding events, examining rainfall patterns, flood behavior, and the effectiveness of disaster management response, published as Report 1: 2022-2023.
• 2023-24 Severe Weather Season Review A comprehensive review of the 2023-24 severe weather season in Queensland, published as Report 1: 2024-25, documenting severe weather events and the Queensland Government's response.
• Queensland Disaster Management Lessons Management Framework A framework providing guidance to the Queensland disaster management sector on identifying, developing, and sharing lessons for continuous improvement across disaster prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery phases.
• Assurance Activities Statutory assurance activities conducted under section 16C of the Disaster Management Act 2003, reviewing and assessing the effectiveness of disaster management arrangements by State, district, and local groups across Queensland.

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Queensland Police ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerQueensland Police Service collaborates with IGEM on the Disaster Management Research Framework. Their Web & SharePoint Services team supported the development of the Research Connect webpage. The partnership enables coordination between law enforcement and emergency management sectors.
• Southern Downs Regional CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal disaster management group that collaborated with NSW authorities during the 2023 New England Highway bushfire closure. Worked with Tenterfield Shire Council on cross-border emergency response between Queensland and NSW.
• Tenterfield Shire CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNSW local government partner in cross-border disaster management collaboration with Queensland during the 2023 New England Highway bushfire emergency affecting Jennings and Wallangarra.
• Department of Transport and Main RoadsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSouthern Queensland Region worked with emergency services during the New England Highway closure to coordinate reopening of critical transportation corridors after bushfire damage.
• Queensland University of Technology (QUT)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead research partner for Natural Hazards Research Australia project developing national database of unreinforced masonry buildings using AI and computer vision. Collaborates with University of Newcastle and emergency management organizations nationally.
• University of NewcastleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner in the URM building database project, contributing through Professor Mark Masia as NHRA Chief Investigator.
• Natural Hazards Research AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding body for the unreinforced masonry building database project. Supports research bridging emergency management practice and academic research.
• Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIGEM's Lessons Management Framework is consistent with AIDR's Lessons Management handbook. Partnership supports knowledge sharing and best practice development across the Australian disaster management sector.
• Queensland Reconstruction AuthoritymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on disaster recovery and reconstruction initiatives, represented at the 2021 Disaster Management Research Forum by CEO Brendan Moon.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Bureau of Meteorology: Australia's national weather, climate, and hydrological forecasting agency. Comparable as a data and forecasting provider whose hazard information directly feeds the severe weather and flood review reports that IGEM publishes.
• CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation): Australia's national science agency, active in climate, hazard, and resilience research. Comparable as a research counterpart whose outputs intersect with IGEM's research framework and inform disaster management practice in Queensland.
• Queensland Fire Department: Queensland's primary fire and emergency response agency. Comparable as a key state-level disaster management stakeholder that IGEM reviews and partners with on earthquake risk mitigation and the URM building database project.
• Geoscience Australia: Australian Government agency providing geoscientific data and hazard assessment (earthquakes, tsunamis, floods). Comparable as an enabler of disaster risk information that informs IGEM's review and research work, particularly the URM earthquake risk project.
• Natural Hazards Research Australia (NHRA): Australia's national center for natural hazards and disaster resilience research, funding bodies like IGEM. Comparable as an ecosystem participant that funds and connects disaster management research, overlapping with IGEM's DMRF and Research Connect activities.

Direct peers

• Queensland Reconstruction Authority: Queensland Government agency responsible for disaster recovery and reconstruction policy and programs. Directly comparable to IGEM as a sister state agency focused on disaster management outcomes in the same jurisdiction.

Broad incumbents

• AFAC (Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council): Peak body for fire, emergency service, and land management agencies across Australasia. Comparable as the sector-wide convener and standards body overlapping with IGEM's assurance and knowledge-sharing mandate, though it represents operational agencies rather than conducting statutory reviews.
• Emergency Management Australia: Federal government function within the Department of Home Affairs that coordinates national emergency management policy. Comparable as the national-level counterpart to IGEM's state-level oversight role, though it operates at a broader policy scale rather than as a statutory reviewer.

Emerging players

• Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR): Knowledge-focused institute that develops national disaster resilience handbooks and frameworks (including the Lessons Management handbook that aligns with IGEM's framework). Comparable as a specialist in disaster knowledge and standards, though it operates nationally rather than as a statutory oversight body.

Regional players

• FEMA (US Federal Emergency Management Agency): US federal agency that leads emergency management preparation, response, and recovery. Comparable as the international equivalent of IGEM's oversight function, operating in a different jurisdiction but performing structurally similar reviews, assurance, and disaster management coordination.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/InspectorGeneralEmergencyManagement
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/office-of-the-inspector-general-of-emergency-management

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management