Emergencies can occur at any time and can arise from a number of causes including fire, chemical spills, gas leaks, medical emergencies, bomb threats and physical threats. The University has in place a number of procedures to respond to emergency situations should they arise.
Security Services Rapid Response
Rapid response is generally initiated when Security Services is contacted by staff, students or visitors via:
- a call to the emergency line 9385 6666
- one of the Help Points located about campus
- any lift phone
- activation of a duress button (where fitted)
- alarm notification, e.g fire alarm
Responses are managed from the Security Services Control Room and overseen by our Emergency Response Teams.
Emergency Response Teams
The Emergency Response Team at UNSW comprises several teams, including our volunteer Emergency Control Organisations (ECO), Security Services and Emergency Management Team.
The role of the ECO (Wardens) and Security Services is to ensure that life safety takes precedence over asset protection and to provide the initial response to emergencies. The Emergency Management Team is responsible for ensuring the response plans are maintained and training and exercises are conducted. In the event that additional resources are required to contain an incident, the Emergency Management Team will oversee the coordination of resources and lead the response on the ground, whilst ensuring escalation to relevant stakeholders within the university.
Our Emergency arrangements are currently being updated, further details will be provided shortly on the structure and incident levels of our emergency and incident management teams at UNSW.
Join your building Emergency Control Organisation
Our building ECO teams are comprised of volunteer staff, who undertake a valuable role in helping to keep our campus community safe. These volunteers play a significant role in ensuring an effective and consistent response to building emergencies which supports the broader campus response.
There are various roles to be undertaken as part of an ECO, including building Chief Warden, Deputy Warden, Area Wardens, Floor Wardens and First Aiders. Contributing to the safety of others can be very rewarding, so if you are interested in being part of a growing ECO network on campus, where you get to undertake life safety training, be involved in exercises and be part of the broader campus emergency response team, contact emergency@unsw.edu.au and we can help support you in joining the ECO family. You get a flouro uniform too!
UNSWalert - SMS Emergency Notification System
Staff and students are automatically registered to receive an SMS alert when emergency situations arise. Please note there will be an annual test of the system for quality assurance purposes. To opt out, please log in to myUNSW and go to your profile. In the 'Phone' section, select 'Add a new telephone number type' then check the box to opt out.
Emergency procedures and documents
Familiarising yourself with UNSW's emergency procedures is important. You can view the UNSW's current procedures here:
- UNSW Emergency Management Plan 2019
- UNSW Emergency Procedures
- UNSW Emergency Procedures Poster - Kensington Campus
- UNSW Emergency Procedures Poster - Paddington & Randwick Campuses
To order posters for your area, please email UNSW Emergency.