$15.3m for new Tasmanian emergency dispatch system

The Tasmanian Government will spend $15.3 million over the next two years to deliver an integrated emergency services computer aided dispatch (ESCAD) system.

The ESCAD system will replace the three non-integrated CAD systems used by Tasmania Police, the Tasmania Fire Service and Ambulance Tasmania, and the manual process used by the State Emergency Service.

An integrated emergency dispatch system was a key recommendation of the 2013 Tasmanian Bushfires Inquiry.

In a statement, the Minister for Police and Emergency Management, Rene Hidding, said, “The initiative will enable our emergency services’ communications centres to better communicate with each other to improve the management of incidents requiring a multiagency response.”

The system will record information about emergency incidents such as brief details, taskings, attending officers and comments.

ESCAD is due to be fully delivered in 2017.