Author: necwg-craig

Note: This forum information and registration page is for Industry Delegates.

NECWG-A/NZ will be holding the next Industry Engagement Forum in Geelong, Victoria on 12-13 May 2026 at the Novotel Hotel.

For the 2026 industry engagement forum, the theme is to investigate the factors to commence progress of the Australia and New Zealand NECWG White Paper recommendations. At this forum we will explore this theme and collaborate with you on the opportunities, challenges, development of capabilities, and identification of objectives to support emergency communications.

The draft agenda can be accessed via the GovTeams link below:

• NECWG ANZ – Draft agenda, Geelong May 2026 Members.docx

A final agenda will be distributed closer to the conference date.

Industry Stalls

For this conference, we intend to offer industry partners the option of having stalls on site (approximately 3×2 or 3×3 metres) to showcase products and demonstrate technology.

To support this, we have scheduled longer breaks throughout the conference so attendees can visit your stalls.

Please to advise of your interest in having a stall at the conference by emailing NECWG Chair, Michael Higgie, at michael.higgie@police.govt.nz. Your response will help us estimate the number of stalls and the space required. This will, in turn, inform our overall costs so we can provide accurate pricing for stall participation. We expect the pricing should fall within the norm for this kind of participation.

This is the first time we are offering industry stalls, and if successful, we intend to continue providing this opportunity at future NECWG Industry Engagement forums.

Registration and Fees

You can register online:

• Use the NECWG Industry Delegates Registration Form; OR
• Use the following QR code:

Conference attendance fees have been increased to $1000, however, there is an early bird registration fee of $750 if registration is received by 10^th April. Please note: There will be NO refunds issued for non attendance.

To assist in confirming number of attendees, please submit the registration form no later than 24th April. 

We are excited about the opportunity this year’s event provides and look forward to seeing you there.

Note: This forum information and registration page is for NECWG Members.

NECWG-A/NZ is holding the next Industry Engagement Forum in Geelong, Victoria from 11-14 May 2026 at the Novotel Hotel.

For the 2026 industry engagement forum, the theme is to investigate the factors to commence progress of the Australia and New Zealand NECWG White Paper recommendations. At this forum we will explore this theme and collaborate with you on the opportunities, challenges, development of capabilities, and identification of objectives to support emergency communications of the future.

To ensure attendees can get the appropriate travel approvals, we are distributing the draft agenda now. The draft agenda can be accessed via the GovTeams link below:

• NECWG ANZ – Draft agenda, Geelong May 2026 Members.docx

A final agenda will be distributed closer to the conference date.

A few things to note for this conference:

• The Executive Committee have made the decision to start the conference at 12:00 on Monday, 11^th May. Lunch will be provided at this time and members will then move into SILO meetings for the afternoon. Further information will be provided by your SILO leads.
• Industry colleagues will join the forum for two days, Tuesday 12^th and Wednesday 13^th May.
• The year 2026 marks the 30^th anniversary of NECWG A/NZ. To mark this occasion, past NECWG members have been invited to the official dinner on Wednesday, 13^th May.

Registration and Fees

You can register online:

• Use the NECWG Members Registration Form; OR
• Use the following QR code:
  

Conference attendance fees have been increased to $750, however, there is an early bird registration fee of $500 if registration is received by 10^th April.  Please note: There will be NO refunds issued for non attendance.

To assist in confirming number of attendees, please submit the registration form no later than 24th April.

Venue and Accommodation

The conference is being held at the Novotel, Geelong (recommended). A discounted rate has been negotiated – securing your accommodation by Booking Here.

We are excited about the opportunity this year’s event provides and look forward to seeing you there, along with our past NECWG members and industry colleagues.

The 2019-20 year challenged all people in Australia as they dealt with one disaster event after another. The video contained in the following link highlights the events of this period and its impact on emergency services and the community. Our great appreciation to Matt Rowson of the NSW Police for his excellent collation and presentation of this dramatic period.

BAPCO are happy to announce the launch of English Fire and Rescue Services – Preparedness for ESN webinar hosted with our one of our partner associations – TCCA. Please find details below.

Date: 8th September 2020

Time: 12:00 – 13:00 (British Standard Time)

The University of Leeds has published a significant research report entitled Information and Communication Technologies in the Fire and Rescue Services in England. The report has a distinct focus on the UK’s Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) and the Services’ readiness for and confidence in the UK’s Emergency Services Network (ESN). Whilst this in-depth report is focused on Fire and Rescue Services in England, its findings will be of interest to any organisations or services around the world involved in a critical communications project or intending to migrate to a broadband-based system.

This webinar provides an excellent opportunity to hear first-hand from the report’s author and from those affected by the report’s findings in their work on the UK’s Emergency Services Network.

To register, please visit this link.

For further information please contact support@bapco.org.uk

The National Emergency Communications Working Group – Australia and New Zealand (NECWG-A/NZ) together with the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, Canada (APCO Canada), the British Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (BAPCO), the European Emergency Number Association (EENA), and NENA: The 9-1-1 Association (NENA) form the Collaborative Coalition for International Public Safety (CC:IPS).

In considering the impacts of COVID-19 across the globe, the coalition has developed a document they believe will be valuable in helping public safety organisations and emergency communications professionals across the world navigate this outbreak in the best way possible. 

The document (Global Recommendations for Emergency Services Organisations to manage the outbreak of COVID-19) is now available for your use.

NECWG-A/NZ has worked with the Australian Security Industry Association Ltd (ASIAL) to develop national alarm guidelines for the reference by the alarms industry.

This national guideline is designed to align police classification; requirements; and response to alarms and alarm activations.

The document is available for industry reference at the Publications page.

MBIE Deputy Chief Executive Brad Ward announced New Zealand has gone live with Advanced Mobile Location (AML) for iOS, which is an important extension to the successful Emergency Caller Location Information (ECLI) service and is deployed as part of Apple’s global release of iOS 11.3.

http://www.mbie.govt.nz/about/whats-happening/news/2018/111-mobile-caller-location-extended-to-ios

NECWG-A/NZ has released its review of 2017 activity and achievements.  This document highlights the focus of the NECWG-A/NZ, the gains made and highlights in 2017, and the forward plan for 2018.

The document is available here or at our Publications Page.

UPDATE – Since our last post – 6 days ago – the Emergency+ App is now ready to assist over One Million Australians identify their location during emergency incidents.

The App has been downloaded more than 1 million times via the Apple IOS, Google Play, and Windows Phone App Stores – but the word needs to keep spreading.

Since its introduction, the Emergency+ App has helped a number of people identify their location during emergency incidents.

The App has been downloaded over 985,000 phones via the Apple IOS, Google Play, and Windows Phone App Stores and is fast on its way to 1 Million downloads.