Prepare your business for an emergency

Insurance helps your business get back on its feet if things go wrong. You can insure against damage from disasters and to cover losses as your business recovers.

Make sure that your insurance covers all potential risks against your business. Read your product disclosure statement carefully and check the definitions of terms (such as floods) that can vary among insurers. You might need to pay extra for cover against certain types of disaster.

Make sure your business property is protected against disasters. You may need to consider things like:

• fire and smoke alarms
• security alarms
• video surveillance
• fire- or flood-resistant building materials.

Ongoing maintenance is important. If you're in a fire prone-area, you should:

• remove leaf litter and long grass from the surrounding area
• clear your gutters regularly.

Store important physical business documents in a safe location. This includes:

• registration records
• financial records
• customer data.

Regularly back up digital records to the cloud or store them on a drive in a secure location away from your main premises.

When considering physical data protection devices, check what you can store in them. For example, some fireproof safes should not hold digital media that can melt in high temperatures.

Check you have up-to-date virus protection, secure networks and good password protection procedures.

Keep a list of emergency phone numbers in a secure location. These should include your:

• local emergency services
• insurance company
• bank
• employees
• suppliers
• other key people.

Internet, mobile and landline services can be affected by network outages and emergencies.

To minimise the impact if this happens, avoid relying on a single network provider, payment method or type of communication.

For example, you could choose different providers for your internet and phone. That means if one network goes down, you can still use the other one.

Your business should already have an evacuation procedure as part of your workplace health and safety (WHS) obligations.

Consider expanding your current evacuation procedures to include emergency scenarios such as a flood, bush fire or severe storm.

An emergency kit includes things you may need in a disaster or emergency, such as:

• key documents (printed or on a USB drive)
• phone numbers a torch
• first-aid kit
• portable radio
• waterproof bags
• hand sanitiser or wipes
• bottled water
• spare batteries.

Keep this in a prominent place that is easy to get to.

Your emergency management plan should specify who’s in your emergency team. These are the people who are responsible in an emergency.

Set clear roles and responsibilities for each member of the team and make sure they get the appropriate training. It’s a good idea to train employees from many different parts of the business.

Clear communication is essential to prepare your business for an emergency. Get your emergency staff to communicate relevant emergency information to all your employees.

You should also display your evacuation plan and key phone numbers in a prominent location. Make sure your employees know where to find them and your emergency kit.

Run regular drills with your staff so everyone knows what to do in an emergency.

Consider expanding your fire evacuation drills to include other emergency scenarios.

Make sure your Australian Business Number (ABN) details and business location are up to date on the Australian Business Register (ABR). Government agencies use this information to check if you are eligible for financial assistance or support during an emergency.

Your main business address on the ABR should not be a post office box or the address of your tax or BAS agent. We need to know your business’s physical street address to make sure you get government support when you need it.