The Crisis Arrangements Committee (CAC) is the peak Australian Government senior officials’ crisis management preparedness committee. It has a role in ensuring that Australian Government operational crisis planning and preparedness activities are undertaken to address any identified critical gaps and that crisis arrangements remain fit-for-purpose in a changing threat environment.

The CAC:

• annually reviews and updates the list of identified hazards in the Framework
• oversees the development of new national plans when required
• oversees the maintenance of national plans and arrangements and the review of the full suite of national plans at least once every 3 years for ongoing relevance, currency and alignment with the Framework
• annually reviews and reports to departmental secretaries on the status of cross-government crisis management capability, capacity and surge workforce, and provides advice if required to address vulnerabilities
• oversees Australian Government and relevant multinational crisis exercises and advises departmental secretaries on gaps and priorities for whole of Australian Government exercising
• where a significant crisis prompted Tier 3 or 4 coordination, considers the outcomes of the whole of Australian Government evaluation to ensure identified lessons are integrated into continuous improvement processes across the Australian Government.