Emergency Response Standard

This standard applies to all staff, students, visitors, contractors and tenants whether physically located on University property or elsewhere, and to all premises which are to any extent under the control of the university.

This standard extends the application of the University Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy to reasonably foreseeable emergencies, whether or not they derive from University activities, in order to plan responses with the following goals:

• To protect the health and safety of the University community
• To ensure an appropriate and timely response to an emergency event
• To protect campus assets
• To preserve the University’s ability to operate

The University of Auckland (UoA) is committed to providing and sustaining a safe and healthy work and study environment for all staff, students, contractors, visitors and others, however, it recognises that emergencies can arise. UoA considers emergency preparedness to be of critical importance and effective emergency preparedness ensures that it can rapidly respond to and efficiently recover from an emergency.

Should an emergency occur, the integrity of the University’s work and study environment can be threatened or damaged. UoA has an obligation to ensure that the threat or damage engendered by the emergency is minimised through effective and deliberate emergency management. The overall goal is to ensure the safety of our community.

Emergency Notifications

1. The University will notify all those likely to be affected or impacted in the event of a significant emergency or dangerous situation involving immediate threats to the health or safety of staff, students, faculty or others occurring on or near any campus.
2. UoA Alert is the official emergency and safety app of the University of UoA. The app will send you important safety alerts and provide instant access to campus safety resources, information and other useful links. All staff and students are advised to download the UoA Alert app from their app store.
3. Desktop alerts. Messages will be automatically received on University-issued laptops and desktops through the desktop notification tool.
4. The University will, as soon as reasonably practicable and with due regard for community safety, determine who should be notified and what information to provide, including any required actions, timelines, and responsibilities. Communication will be issued centrally using the most effective channels.

Emergency Response Plans

1. UoA will prepare guidance and instructions in the form of Emergency Response Plans, structured according to accepted planning principles and consistent with prevailing emergency-related legislation.
2. These emergency response plans will define the actions to be taken when responding to each reasonably foreseeable emergency situation.
3. Emergency Response Plans will be reviewed at least every 5 years.
4. Each Faculty and Service Division will determine which of the following Emergency Response Plans are applicable to their operations, ensure relevant staff are familiarised with them and how to access them, appropriate resources are available and include appropriate tests in their annual health and safety plans.
   
   • Active armed offender
   • Bomb Threat
   • Earthquake
   • Fire and Evacuation
   • Gas leak
   • Hazardous substances
   • Lift entrapment
   • Medical and first aid emergencies
   • Personal safety
   • Radioactive Materials Spillages
   • Power failure
   • Severe weather
   • Suspicious activity
   • Suspicious package or mail
   • Tsunami
   • Unattended suspicious item
   • Violent or aggressive person
   • Volcanic eruption

Deans and Directors 

Under the University Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy, Deans of Faculties and Directors of Service Divisions and large-scale research institutes are responsible for ensuring compliance with health, safety and wellbeing matters, on a day-to-day basis. They are therefore responsible for ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Emergency Response Standard, including planning for the need to test Emergency Response Plans.

Academic Heads of Schools (Department)/Associate Directors of Services and Functional Leads

While the Dean of Faculty/Director of Service Division remains ultimately responsible for health, safety and wellbeing, in practice the day-to-day management responsibilities for implementing health, safety and wellbeing policies and protocols rest with Academic Heads of School (Department)/ Directors and Associate Directors of Service. Academic Heads of School (Department/Associate) Directors of Service are therefore responsible in their area for the detailed implementation of this standard, and its requirements.

• Identifying risks and developing appropriate emergency response plans
• Ensuring appropriate emergency resources are available to implement the emergency response plans
• Staff are appropriately trained
• Staff are made aware of this standard and emergency response plans
• Emergency response plans are appropriately tested

Associate Director of Health, Safety & Wellbeing

The Associate Director of Health, Safety & Wellbeing will:

• Ensure standards, arrangements and guidance are provided and kept updated to reflect current statutory requirements for emergency response
• Ensure appropriate oversight for compliance with regulations and provide reports to University Health, Safety & Wellbeing Committee, and Risk Management Advisory Group as required
• Have oversight of reported incidents concerning emergency response and make recommendations where necessary

Health, Safety & Wellbeing Service

• Provide competent, practical and pragmatic safety advice and support the University in emergency response
• Liaise and maintain a relationship with Fire and Emergency NZ and other statutory bodies and government agencies
• Keep up to date with emergency response developments and where needed, update University standards and procedures to reflect changes to the Regulatory landscape
• Develop and deliver emergency response resources, where appropriate

Line Managers/Academic Supervisors

All staff with a line management responsibility for others must ensure that:

• Ensure that staff and students within their remit receive induction, training, resources (including time), advice and support concerning emergency response requirements
• Apply and implement the emergency response standard and local arrangements

Staff, Students and Users of University Property and Facilities

• Must comply with this emergency response standard and any emergency response arrangements and procedures in their place of work or study
• Make themselves aware of the actions to take in the event of an emergency arising in their area of work or study
• Familiarise themselves with the fire safety and evacuation arrangements for those buildings/areas in which they regularly spend time
• Must not remove, misuse, disable or otherwise tamper with any emergency response equipment provided by the University
• Report incidents, near-misses or concerns, as appropriate
• Undertake any emergency response training that has been identified for them in a risk assessment or emergency response plan

Emergency resources are resources provided to minimise or mitigate the effects of emergencies affecting a number of similar places of work or study, floors, buildings, sectors or campuses. Examples include emergency showers, spill kits, defibrillators and evacuation chairs

• Health, Safety and Wellbeing Policy
• Fire Safety Standard
• Biological Risk Management and Containment Standard
• Chemical Risk Management Protocol: Standard, Guidelines, Safe Methods of Use
• Radiation Safety Plan
• Ionising Radiation Safety Standard
• Ionising Radiation Guidelines
• Ultraviolet Light Guidelines
• Incident and Resilience Management - The University of Auckland

Owner: Director of Human Resources
Content Manager: Associate Director, Health Safety and Wellbeing
Approved by: University Health, Safety and Wellbeing Committee
Date approved: April 2026  
Next review date:  April 2029