Last Friday the Prime Minister announced that Australia’s national terrorism public alert level had been raised to ‘high’.
The PM said that this was not based on any knowledge of a specific attack plan, but a body of evidence that points to an increased likelihood of a terrorist attack against Australia.
It’s a decision which is of significance for owners and operators of places of mass gatherings, like shopping centres and office buildings. These are “encouraged to review their security plans and update their contact details with their state or territory police counter-terrorism unit.”
The Property Council has been liaising with counter-terrorism agencies and further advice for building owners and managers is being prepared, which we will pass on. In the meantime, we have placed a Victorian Government protocol containing advice and checklists relating to the escalation of threat levels on our website.