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Expecting the Unexpected:
How to get ready

Being Prepared

The more prepared you are, the calmer you will be in an emergency. This website contains information that will help you prepare for the unexpected. Find out how to:

• Take the Get Ready Sydney test for workers
• Prepare a worker’s Go Bag
• Develop a Personal Emergency Plan
• Know how to Respond

Know how to respond

In an emergency, the authorities may ask you to:

• Remain inside the building; or
• Evacuate your workplace.

These instructions may come from emergency services personnel, other authorized personnel or building management.

• If you have to evacuate, you will be given instructions either by emergency services personnel or by designated people within your organisation.
• Know your evacuation route, including the nearest fire escapes and your organisation’s off-site evacuation meeting points. Your organisation should practise evacuating at least twice a year. If they don’t, raise the matter with management.
• You may have to evacuate very quickly. Consider having a Grab and Go drawer in your desk, where you store anything you might need in an emergency including a Go Bag. Your drawer might contain walking shoes, hat and sunscreen in summer or jacket in winter, a bottle of water, a battery-operated AM radio, and a back-up disc of your most important work.
• If you have any colleagues who need help evacuating, check on them first.