15.2 Operational Debriefing

Purpose

To outline the procedures and processes for the consistent and structured delivery of operational debriefs following critical incidents, significant incidents, complex operations, or other events requiring operational review.

Overview

Operational debriefing supports continuous improvement, operational learning, incident documentation, and member welfare awareness.

An operational debrief should focus on what occurred, what actions were taken, what worked well, what could be improved, and what follow-up actions are required.

Operational debriefing may occur alongside initial welfare support processes, but the operational debrief and member welfare processes remain separate functions.

Operational debriefing is mandatory following Critical Incidents as defined in SOP 15.1 – Critical Incidents.

Operational debriefing may also be required following significant incidents, complex operations, near misses, exercises, or other events where operational learning, documentation, or follow-up actions should be captured.

Procedure

Requirement for Operational Debriefing

An operational debrief must be undertaken following as defined in SOP 15.1 – Critical Incidents.

An operational debrief should also be considered following:

• Critical incidents,
• Incidents involving death of a patient, CPR, drowning, or body recovery,
• Shark attacks or serious marine creature incidents,
• Serious injury to a member of SLS,
• Serious or major injury requiring hospitalisation,
• Major or complex rescues,
• Severe trauma,
• Significant operational near misses,
• Abuse or aggressive behaviour by members of the public,
• Significant multi-agency operations,
• Exercises or planned operations where lessons should be captured, or
• Any incident where directed by the Duty Officer, State Duty Officer, SOC, or Lifesaving Department.

Where a Duty Officer attends a critical incident, they should facilitate or participate in the operational debrief unless another appropriate person is appointed.

Purpose of the Operational Debrief

An operational debrief may assist with:

• Documenting environmental conditions and incident details,
• Establishing a shared understanding of the incident,
• Reinforcing effective actions,
• Identifying operational improvements,
• Identifying equipment, training, communications, or procedural issues,
• Supporting accurate incident reporting,
• Identifying follow-up actions, and
• Ensuring personnel are aware of member welfare and support options.

Timing and Location

An operational debrief should be conducted within two weeks following the conclusion of the incident or operational activity where practicable.

Where practicable, the debrief should be held in a private and secure location free from media or public interference.

The location should allow participants to speak openly and should support the recording of key points, actions, and follow-up requirements.

Debrief Lead

The most appropriate person should lead the operational debrief. The person will be nominated by the Lifesaving Department.

This will usually be:

• Duty Officer,
• State Duty Officer,
• Lifesaving Department representative,
• State Officer,
• Event Safety Officer, or
• Another appropriately appointed operational leader.

Attendance

Personnel who were involved in the incident should attend where practicable.

This may include:

• Patrol personnel,
• Lifeguards,
• Duty Officers,
• EOG personnel,
• SLS service management involved in operational coordination,
• Support personnel, and
• Other SLS personnel involved directly or indirectly.

Any personnel who are not able to attend should be recorded where required and followed up as appropriate.

Debrief Content

An operational debrief should consider:

• Incident overview,
• Timeline of events,
• Conditions and hazards,
• Initial notification and escalation,
• Actions taken,
• Command, control and coordination arrangements,
• Communications,
• Resource deployment,
• Patient care or rescue actions,
• Equipment use or issues,
• Public interaction or media issues,
• What worked well,
• What could be improved,
• Follow-up actions,
• Records or statements required, and
• Member welfare considerations.

Records and Follow-Up

Debrief notes must be completed and provided to the SOC.

Where required, the SOC, Duty Officer, or Lifesaving Department may request additional records, statements, or follow-up information.

Member injuries must be reported to the SOC.

Member Welfare

Participants should be reminded of available support options during or following the debrief.

Members do not need to wait for a welfare check, email, or phone call before accessing support.

Critical incident support arrangements are detailed within SOP 15.3 – Member Welfare and Critical Incident Support.

References

• SOP 12.2 – State Operations Centre (SOC) – SURFCOM
• SOP 13.2 – Incident Reporting and Recording
• SOP 15.1 – Critical Incidents
• SOP 15.3 – Member Welfare and Critical Incident Support