The New South Wales State Emergency Service (NSW SES) is a civil defence organisation under the Government of New South Wales that provides emergency and rescue services to local communities during and after major disasters. The NSW SES is made up almost entirely of volunteer members, numbering over 10,919 as of September 2023. Personnel are easily identified by their distinctive orange overalls.
From 1955 up until the 1970s, the NSW SES was previously named the Civil Defence Service, in recognition of its role in Cold War-era disaster planning.
The agency is led by a commissioner who reports to the Minister for Emergency Services.
Leadership The current Commissioner of the NSW SES is Michael Wassing who commenced in the role on 2 December 2024.
The Minister for Emergency Services, is responsible to the NSW parliament for the emergency services portfolio which includes NSW SES.
Prior to 1989 the NSW SES reported through a Pro-Director to the Commissioner of Police +NSW SES Directors General and Commissioners (including acting appointments)NameTitleTerm startTerm endPostnominalsCommentsNotesMajor General Brian 'Hori' HowardDirector GeneralLate 198927 August 2001AO, ESM, MCBrigadier Philip McNamaraDirector General27 August 2001September 2008CSC, ESMMurray KearDirector General / CommissionerSeptember 20087 November 2013AFSMOfficially resigned 12 June 2014Jim SmithActing Commissioner7 November 20135 January 2015AFSMFire and Rescue NSW Deputy CommissionerAdam DentCommissioner5 January 201530 January 2016Greg NewtonActing Commissioner30 January 201627 February 2017NSW SES Deputy CommissionerMark SmethurstCommissioner27 February 20178 March 2019DSC, AMKyle StewartActing Commissioner8 March 201930 October 2019APMNSW Police Force Assistant CommissionerCarlene YorkCommissioner30 October 20193 May 2024APMPreviously NSW Police Force Assistant Commissioner, Commander of Human Resources.Michael WassingCommissioner2 December 2024Former Deputy Commissioner of Queensland Fire and Emergency Services
Emergency support
The major responsibilities of the NSW SES are for flood (including Flood Rescue), tsunami and storm operations. The NSW SES also provides the majority of General Land Rescue effort in the rural parts of the state. This includes road crash rescue, vertical rescue, general rescue, bush search and rescue, evidence searches (both metropolitan and rural) and other forms of specialist rescue that may be required due to local threats. The Service's trained rescuers also support the full-time emergency services during major disasters.
The NSW SES also assist other emergency services when they are performing major operations. These services include the New South Wales Police Force, NSW Rural Fire Service, Fire and Rescue NSW and New South Wales Ambulance.
During the 22/23 Financial Year, NSW SES Personnel answered 113,722 calls at the State Operations Centre. Volunteers responded to 47,241 incidents, including 24,043 Storm damage incidents and 1,548 Flood Rescues.
Organisational Structure Source:
State level The State Headquarters (SHQ) of the NSW SES is located in Burelli Street, Wollongong.
At a state level, the NSW SES Commissioner leads the agency and has three deputy commissioners, who each lead a key area of the agency. Operations, Operational Capability & Training and Corporate Services.
Each deputy commissioner leads multiple directorates (Emergency Management, North & West Operations, Metro & South Operations, Operational Capability and Training, Operational Systems Program (Temporary), Flood Rescue Enhancement Program (Temporary), Information & Communications Technology, People & Development, Finance, Asset & Business Services, Elevate Program (Temporary) and Organisation Strategy, Planning & Performance).
Every directorate is led by a director, who has multiple senior managers reporting to them. Directors who lead a directorate which has direct operational responsibilities is appointed to the rank of assistant commissioner. All other directors do not hold an operational rank.
Zone level The state is split up into seven zones (North Western, North Eastern, Northern, Metro, Western, Southern and South Eastern).
Each zone is led by a zone commander who reports to the assistant commissioner responsible for that Operational Area. Deputy zone commanders are also appointed and assigned a command area within that zone. The zone is also staffed with a range of operational and administrative support personnel, including roles such as: Operational Readiness, Volunteer Engagement, Business Services and Planning & Research. Zone staff work out of the Zone Headquarters (ZHQ).
Zones may also have capability units, whose purpose are to provide incident management and other specialised support to units. These capability units are often composed and led by volunteers, operating directly under zone leadership.
In 2023, Commissioner Carlene York announced an investment into SES Facilities from the Government of New South Wales. As part of this investment, the SES created an additional two zones (North Western and North Eastern) in addition to its five existing zones, effectively splitting up the Northern and Western Zones into four zones.
Prior 2 October 2018, the SES was composed of 17 regions, based on river catchment areas. This was inline with the NSW SES responsibility to manage flood events, however an analysis of the demands placed upon the service indicates that a more effective way to organise units would be based around areas which both reflected historic trends in terms of affected areas, and the distribution of the population across the state. This resulted in the formation of five zones as part of the organisational restructure project.
+Old Regions vs New ZonesPrior to 20182018 to 2022From 2022Region NameRegion CodeZone NameZone CodeZone NameZone CodeSydney Northern RegionSNRMetro ZoneMTZMetro ZoneMTZSydney Southern RegionSSRSydney Western RegionSWRCentral West RegionCWRWestern ZoneWTZWestern ZoneWTZFar West RegionFWRMacquarie RegionMQRNorth West RegionNWRNorth Western ZoneNWZNamoi RegionNMRLachlan RegionLARSouthern ZoneSHZSouthern ZoneSHZMurray RegionMYRMurrumbidgee RegionMERHunter RegionHURNorthern ZoneNHZNorthern ZoneNHZMid North Coast RegionMNRClarence-Numbucca RegionCNRNorth Eastern ZoneNEZRichmond-Tweed RegionRTRSouthern Highlands RegionSHRSouth East ZoneSEZSouth East ZoneSEZIllawarra South Coast RegionISR
Cluster Level Dependent on factors such local operational demands, local Unit sizes, etc. Units can be grouped into Clusters. A cluster may contain 2–7 Units.
NSW SES Clusters are managed by a volunteer Local Commander. Local Commanders oversee operations at a scale between localised events which can be managed at a Unit Level, and larger scale events which require management at a Zone Level. Some Clusters may also, dependent on size and operational demands, have a Deputy Local Commander.
Each Cluster is a part of a Zone Command Area and report to one of the Deputy Zone Commanders.
Unit Level There are 261 SES Units forming the NSW SES. Most are based on the former local government boundaries prior to the 2013–2016 council amalgamations, although the NSW SES now also allows for the formation of Units which are not bound to geographic boundaries, such as the NSW SES Bush Search and Rescue Unit. +State UnitsUnit NameUnit CodeAviation ManagementAMUBush Search & RescueBSRAlpine Search & RescueASRPeer Support & ChaplaincyPSUOperational SupportOSU
NSW SES Units are completely staffed by volunteers managed by volunteer Unit Commanders. In the case where the unit is not part of a cluster, and it has an assigned geographical area, the Unit Commander may also act as the Local Commander.
Fleet The bulk of SES vehicles used to be provided by the local council, as part of their contribution to the Local SES Units. More recently, however, funding from the Government of New South Wales has allowed for a standardised fleet of vehicles to be obtained for the SES. This has allowed the services to provide vehicles that are fit-for-task and reduce the average fleet age to under 20 years.
Standard Vehicle Types/Classifications
Command Vehicle Isuzu MU-X Toyota Land Cruiser Prado General Purpose Vehicle (GPV) Isuzu D-MAX Light Storm Vehicle (LSV) Mercedes Sprinter Crew Cab, heavily modified by R.A. Bell Environmental. Medium Storm Vehicle (MSV) Light Rescue Vehicle Toyota 70 series Land Cruiser Medium Rescue Vehicle Heavy Rescue Vehicle High Clearance Vehicle Mercedes Unimog
Vehicle as a Node (VAAN) In early 2023, the SES, working with the NSW Telco Authority and Motorola, started trialing the technology, becoming one of the first Emergency Service Agencies in New South Wales, to utilise the technology.
Vehicle as a node utilises Motorola's SmartConnect technology to provide seamless connectivity for operational communications, even when there is no Public Safety Network (PSN) coverage. When outside of coverage of the PSN, SmartConnect utilises cellular (4G) and satellite connectivity to maintain operational communications.
By August 2023, there were over 1,300 vehicles across the SES and Fire and Rescue New South Wales Fleet now utilising the technology. This provides the ability for SES crews to maintain operational communications regardless of their geographical location and surrounding topography. The Public Safety Network (PSN) only covers around 80% of the State.
High Clearance Vehicles (HCV) In June 2024, the SES was internationally recognised for its research, development and introduction of the nation's most advanced High Clearance vehicles into the Flood Rescue space. The SES was awarded the Special Commendation Award at the Higgins and Langley Memorial Awards in the United States.
These vehicles represent a significant enhancement of the Agency's Flood Rescue capabilities. The vehicles can travel in water up-to 1.2 metres deep, keep flood rescue operators safe whilst performing rescues. The Agency's latest vehicles include advanced features such as forward-scanning SONAR, front and rear hydraulic winches and a vehicle loading crane, which can be used to load rescue boats into the vehicle.
Rank and Insignia In January 2018 the NSW State Emergency Service commenced a review of the rank and insignia structure within the organisation. Between October and December 2018 all members of the NSW State Emergency Service transitioned to the new rank structure.
+Executive Appointments EpauletteRankPre-2018 RankCommissionerDeputy CommissionerAssistant Commissioner Assistant Commissioner Director +Service Appointments EpauletteRankPre-2018 RankZone Commander Region Controller State HQ Department ManagerDeputy Zone Commander Deputy Region Controller State HQ Department Assistant Manager State Protocol OfficerChief Inspector Local Controller Region Business Manager Region Learning & Development Officer Region Community Engagement Coordinator Alpine CoordinatorInspector Unit Controller Deputy Local ControllerSenior Group OfficerDeputy Unit ControllerGroup Officer Officer Region Business Services Officer Volunteer Support Officer
+Local Appointments EpauletteRankPre-2018 RankLeading Senior OperatorDeputy OfficerSenior OperatorTeam LeaderOperatorDeputy Team LeaderJob ReadyAll OthersCadet +Other EpauletteRankChaplain (Jewish)Chaplain (Christian)Senior Chaplain (Christian)OperationsMediaPeer Support GroupCommunity EducationCommunity EngagementBand Drum MajorBand SergeantBand Team LeaderSenior Band MemberBand Member
Capabilities
Honours and awards Emergency Service Medal (ESM)National Emergency Medal National MedalNSW SES Commissioner's Commendation for CourageNSW SES Commissioner's Commendation for ServiceNSW SES Long Service MedalNSW SES Long Service Badge – 5 yearsNSW SES Commissioner's Unit CitationNSW SES Life Member
Funding and support