The National Council for Fire & Emergency Services (formerly the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council or AFAC), is the peak body responsible for representing fire, emergency services and land management agencies in the Australasian region. It was formed in 1993 and has 34 full members and 13 affiliate members.[1]
AFAC Members are drawn from every state and territory in Australia and New Zealand and from around the Pacific. Full members for the AFAC council and Affiliate members still have access to the support and knowledge network of AFAC without holding a seat on the AFAC council. The current member list is as follows:[2]
'The AFAC Knowledge Web was an initiative born out of the Bushfire CRC's Fire Knowledge Network project. That project aimed to bring together the broad spectrum of research, both within the CRC and from researchers in other organisations, together with local knowledge, and lessons from history.
A joint partnership between the Bushfire CRC and AFAC, this concept was expanded to draw in the operational knowledge of fire, land management and emergency service organisations in Australia and New Zealand, creating an online source of knowledge and sharing for the industry.'[4]
It was launched on 1 September 2008 at the Annual AFAC Bushfire CRC Conference.
Members of the public are able to access a wide range of content such as research reports, case studies and AFAC news articles. Membership of the Knowledge Web is currently only open to volunteers and staff of AFAC member agencies and key research partners.