Business preparedness

The Victorian Government is committed to working with business in Victoria to counter terrorism.

Crowded places

Crowded places will continue to be attractive targets for terrorists. This includes places such as:

• stadiums
• shopping centres
• pedestrian malls
• major events

Australia is not immune. Terrorists have plotted similar attacks here, including on crowded places, and we expect more will occur.

Australian governments work with the private sector to protect crowded places. Our law enforcement and intelligence agencies are well-equipped to detect and disrupt plots, and they have a strong history of stopping terrorist attacks.

Owners and operators of crowded places have the primary responsibility for protecting their sites. This includes a duty of care to take steps to protect people that:

• work
• use, or
• visit

their site from a range of foreseeable threats, including terrorism.

Crowded places strategy

The crowded places strategy includes a suite of supplementary materials that will assist owners and operators to understand and implement protective security measures.

These materials also contain modules on specific weapons and tactics used by terrorists.

It is important owners and operators of crowded places read the strategy before they consult any of the additional tools and guidance materials.

• Australia's strategy for protecting crowded places from terrorism(opens in a new window)
• Hostile vehicle guidelines for crowded places(opens in a new window)
• Chemical weapon guidelines for crowded places(opens in a new window)
• Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attacks
• Crowded places security audit(opens in a new window)
• Crowded places self-assessment tool(opens in a new window)
• What is a crowded place.

For more information visit the Australian National Security website(opens in a new window).

Victoria Police SHIELD

Victoria Police SHIELD is an online platform primarily aimed at:

• owners and operators of crowded places
• individuals who have a responsibility for the protection of crowded places or work in a security portfolio.

SHIELD contains important resources including:

• national strategies
• reports and guidelines
• environment updates
• other resources from our local and international partners.

To join, visit the Victoria Police SHIELD website.

Protecting critical infrastructure

Although every effort is made to protect critical infrastructure and the community generally from acts of terrorism, no guarantees can ever be made that an attack will not occur. Good business practices assist in mitigating potential risks. These practices include:

• applying risk management techniques to planning processes
• conducting regular reviews of risk assessments and plans
• developing and reviewing business continuity plans

Trusted Information Sharing Network

The Trusted Information Sharing Network (TISN) provides an environment where business and government can share vital information on security issues relevant to the protection of our critical infrastructure and the continuity of essential services in the face of all hazards.

More information is available on the Cyber and Infrastructure Security Centre website.

Victorian Critical Infrastructure Resilience Arrangements

Within Victoria, critical infrastructure is both publicly and privately owned and managed.

The owners and operators of critical infrastructure are key to ensuring the security of their assets.

Many Victorians accept that ensuring security of their assets is a cost of doing business.

Identifying critical infrastructure within Victoria is an ongoing process, and is subject to continuous review.

Major components of critical infrastructure will most likely remain fixed, while some other assets may become less critical over time. For example when a new piece of infrastructure is constructed this might provide a level of redundancy for another asset that was previously considered critical.

Further information on Victorian Critical Infrastructure Resilience Arrangements can be obtained from the Emergency Management Victoria(opens in a new window) website.

Chemicals of security concern

Terrorist's choice of methods of attack is constantly evolving. Therefore, security planning in Victoria considers a broad range of attack methods. This includes the use of chemicals that can be used to produce explosives or toxic weapons.

A chemical is a material that may pose a health hazard or physical hazard, and include compounds that are:

• toxic
• flammable, or
• corrosive.

A chemical weapon is a device or mechanism designed to deliberately deploy a harmful chemical. Chemical weapons use the toxic properties of chemical substances, rather than their explosive properties, to produce physiological effects on victims.

Approximately 40,000 chemicals are approved for use in Australia. Of those 40,000 chemicals, 96 are identified as being chemicals of security concern because of their potential to be used by terrorists to make bombs or toxic weapons.

Readily available chemicals can be misused by terrorist to make explosives or toxic devices. If you work with chemicals you have an important role to play in keeping Australia safe. Members of the Australian community can also help by being aware and reporting suspicious behaviour.

You are encouraged to report anything that seems unusual to the National Security Hotline via email hotline@nationalsecurity.gov.au or by calling 1800 123 400.

Victoria Police's Counter Terrorism Strategy 2022-25

The Counter Terrorism Strategy 2022–2025 articulates Victoria Police's current and future counter terrorism priorities and activities.

It aims to increase awareness and transparency of our counter terrorism activities and guiding principles.

Should the need arise, the strategy provides information about what you, your business and your community can do to assist in:

• preventing terrorism
• being prepared
• responding to or recovering from a terrorist incident.

Read the Victoria Police Counter Terrorism Strategy 2022–2025.