OFFICIAL

Newsletters and communications

Owned by Kerrie Williams
Last updated: Jul 17, 2024
21 min read

We send regular bi-monthly Newsletters packed with tips and tricks, timely information and updates on our Training Program. To opt-in to receive these Newsletters, simply edit your communication and email subscription preferences in your Crisisworks User Profile. More on updating your communication preferences.

Welcome to the latest Crisisworks update.

In this edition:

  • Latest News

    • NEW! Playbooks - Crisisworks Better Practice Guides

    • NEW! VPR Coordinator and VPR Agency User training

  • Assessment Register

  • Training

  • Did you know about... The Work Summaries module?

  • Contact us

Latest News

With quite a number of councils impacted by the recent storms and fires across the state, we’ve kept busy assisting wherever we can. We’ve run several one one-on-one sessions with councils and added extra Secondary Impact Assessment, Beginners and Recovery training sessions for councils. We also helped out with importing and managing rapid impact assessment data. Some of the themes we’ve noted are, inconsistencies with this Initial Impact Assessment data and council staff jumping in to assist with little or no training. Don’t forget, we’re always happy to assist with ‘just in time’ training and advice on how best to use Crisisworks to manage your emergency. 

Emergency Recovery Victoria invited us along to their session on the Crisisworks EM-Impact Portal interface on 12 March. ERV circulated a recording of the session to councils, a recording of a previous similar session is available here along with all our on-demand training videos. 

The Crisisworks Functional Working Group has been collaborating with us to conduct a review of all the Positions and Permissions in Crisisworks. Most of the changes identified are around the names of positions and coming up with alternatives that are more user friendly. We’re almost done with the back-end work, and will let you know soon when it’s ready for release.

NEW! Playbooks - Crisisworks Better Practice Guides

The first of our Playbooks are now up on the Knowledgebase, our online help documentation. Stay tuned as more will be added in the upcoming months. These Playbooks are designed to empower you to use Crisisworks effectively across all stages of an emergency: preparation, response, relief and recovery. 

We understand the challenges of navigating a system amidst a crisis, especially if it’s been some time since you last used it. These Playbooks serve as a guide to help you swiftly grasp Crisisworks features and functionalities so you can establish a streamlined process, making your tasks more manageable in critical situations. 

These Playbooks are intended to complement your council’s existing emergency planning and procedures. We’ve prioritised content that will be most useful to the current round of impacted councils, including handling Initial Impact Assessment data, conducting Secondary Impact Assessments, Kicking off an Event and Emergency Relief.

Check them out here: Playbooks - Crisisworks Better Practice Guides

New! VPR Coordinator and VPR Agency User training

We now offer training for the Coordinators and Agency users of the Vulnerable Persons Register. We have scheduled two VPR Coordinator and two VPR Agency User sessions for April to coincide with the latest round of client verifications. We’ve had great interest so far and sessions are filling up fast.

Register for:

We will make recordings of these sessions available via the Training Video link under Help in Crisisworks.

Training

We offer a number of ways to access Crisisworks training to help keep your staff engaged and up to date. We host around eight online training sessions each month and you can access our collection of on-demand sessions via the Help menu in Crisisworks. 

We have scheduled sessions for the next few months for each of the following sessions. Register here on Eventbrite.

  • Crisisworks for Beginners

  • Crisisworks for Evacuation, Relief and Humanitarian Aid

  • Crisisworks for Recovery Officers

  • Crisisworks for Recovery Managers

  • Secondary Impact Assessment Officers

  • Crisisworks for Coordinators & Administrators

  • Crisisworks Communications

  • New! Crisisworks Cleanup & Maintenance

  • New! VPR Training for Council VPR Coordinators

  • New! VPR Training for VPR Agency User

This training is included free with your Crisisworks subscription, more dates and sessions are released every month.

Assessment Register

A number of Councils impacted by the latest round of storms and bushfires have successfully used the new Assessments Register to import and triage their rapid or initial impact data. This work was prioritised to deliver substantial benefits to users by offering the chance to cleanse and selectively use only quality IIA data. This approach will reduce the confusion and complications that previously arose from directly importing data into recovery cases.  

Check out our new Playbook on IIA Data and the accompanying overview video.

Tip of the day - WORK SUMMARIES!

You might know about the Crisisworks Rostering and Availability functions, but did you know you can also manage staff work times and expenses for an event in Crisisworks? Staff can use the Work Summary module to add their work times, just like a timesheet, record expense claims, and managers can also enter work times and expenses on behalf of other staff. The module includes three registers: Work Summary, Work Time Entry and Work Expenses. 

Check out the Work Summaries page on our KnowledgeBase for more details.

Contact us

Previous Newsletters can be found here

If you or your team need any Crisisworks support or assistance, please contact our Service Desk or, if the matter is urgent, call us on 03 9521 4400 or 1300 DATALINK (1300 328 254).

Periodically we send bulk emails to notify Crisisworks users of major updates, planned outages or unplanned outages, we also send this regular newsletter. These mailing lists are generated from users' own individual Crisisworks Profile settings. To change these settings, simply log into Crisisworks and click on your name to edit your User Profile, then scroll down to the Communication Preferences and Email Subscriptions section.

Welcome, in this edition:

     Crisisworks support available
     Training
     Crisisworks Assessments Update
     Working offline on the Crisisworks mobile App
     Contact us

Crisisworks support available 

With a number of Victorian councils experiencing flood emergencies yet again this season, we wanted to remind you that if you or your team need any help getting what you need out of Crisisworks, we’re here to help!  

Please contact our Service Desk or, if the matter is urgent, call us on 03 9521 4400 or 1300 DATALINK (1300 328 254).

Training

We have online training sessions scheduled every week and we can add more sessions if the demand is there. Register here on Eventbrite, the following sessions are scheduled for January, and we’ll have dates for February and March up by the end of the week.

  • Wed 10 Jan - Crisisworks for Beginners

  • Thu 11 Jan - Crisisworks for Evacuation, Relief and Humanitarian Aid

  • Tue 16 Jan - Crisisworks for Recovery Officers

  • Wed 17 Jan - Crisisworks for Recovery Managers

  • Thu 18 Jan - Secondary Impact Assessment Officers

  • Tue 23 Jan - Crisisworks for Beginners

  • Tue 23 Jan - Crisisworks for Coordinators & Administrators

  • Wed 24 Jan - Crisisworks Communications

These online training sessions are included free with your Crisisworks subscription, more dates and sessions are released every month.

On-demand Training Videos

We also have Online Training Videos available under the Help menu when signed into Crisisworks - simply click on ‘Online Training Videos’, or via our website. Current videos include:

  • Introductory Video (43 mins)

  • Coordinators Video (60 mins)

  • Recovery Introduction (28 mins)

  • Recovery System Administration (30 mins)

  • Relief Centre Registration Module (21 mins)

  • Field Inspections Mobile App Quick-start (11 mins)

  • Fire Prevention Notices Video (36 mins)

  • Contractor Setup and Use Video (7 mins)

  • Work summaries incl. timesheets (22 mins)

  • Rostering (47 mins)

  • Mobile App Quick Start Videos

Crisisworks Assessments Update

Just prior to Christmas, we released stage one of our new Assessment Register. This new register will allow you to import initial impact assessment data (from FRV or SES) into a separate register called Assessments under the Recovery Module rather than importing the data directly into your Recovery Cases. This will be a much cleaner approach and will give you a chance to review the data and select the records that need a Secondary Impact Assessment and then copy them over to create Recovery Cases. This update will only impact you if you experience a large incident - but please always get in touch with us here at Datalink so we can assist with your IIA imports.

Working offline on the Crisisworks mobile App

Crisisworks can be used out on site, in the field and offline via the Crisisworks App on your smartphone or tablet.  By using the app, you can enter and update everything in Crisisworks without the need to take handwritten notes or be in front of your computer. It saves time and energy.

The Crisisworks App has an offline mode. When your network coverage is very weak, it will try to use the internet connection instead of its own offline abilities so you will need to manually switch into offline mode. Watch our short Field Inspections Mobile App Quick-start video (11mins) to learn more or contact us for assistance. 

Tips:  Before going offline be sure to:

  1. Login to Crisisworks on your mobile device while you are still online

  2. Download the asset database from the settings

  3. “Star” the records that you want to have available for offline use (up to a couple of hundred) 

Contact us

If you or your team need any Crisisworks support or assistance, please contact our Service Desk or, if the matter is urgent, call us on 03 9521 4400 or 1300 DATALINK (1300 328 254).

Periodically we send bulk emails to notify Crisisworks users of major updates, planned outages or unplanned outages, we also send this regular newsletter. These mailing lists are generated from users' own individual Crisisworks Profile settings. To change these settings, simply log into Crisisworks and click on your name to edit your User Profile, then scroll down to the Communication Preferences and Email Subscriptions section.

Email notification: opt-out / opt-in

 

One final update from us for 2023. We all here at Datalink would like to wish you a safe, happy and uneventful festive season!

See below for details on our Christmas hours, a new release to help with impact assessment data and some clarification on the VPR advice from our previous newsletter.   

Holiday period support

The Datalink office will have reduced support from Monday 25 December and will reopen Monday 8 January 2024.  During this time, we will have someone on support during the non-public holidays, however we won’t be taking live calls, so please leave a voice message or email support@crisisworks.com and we will get back to you within one business day for high priority issues, please indicate the level of urgency in your message.

Priority support is available for Crisisworks customers via our 24/7 paging service. To access urgent assistance, phone +61 3 9521 4400 or 1300 328 254, press 1 for support and when prompted, press 2 to page the on-duty support technician who will return your call within the hour.

Crisisworks Assessments update [new]

We just released stage one of our new Assessment Register. This new register will allow you to import initial impact assessment data (eg FRV) into a separate register called Assessments under the Recovery Module rather than importing the data directly into your Recovery Cases. This will be a much cleaner approach and will give you a chance to review& clean the data and select the records that need a Secondary Impact Assessment and then copy them over to create Recovery Cases. This update will only impact you if you experience a large incident - but please always get in touch with us here at Datalink so we can assist with your IIA imports. For more information see the online documentation page

Correction…Vulnerable Persons Register

In our previous newsletter we talked about how Victoria Police access Crisisworks, we weren’t as clear as we could have been. To clarify, Victoria Police log directly to the VPR which gives them access to view all vulnerable people across the whole of Victoria.  Council’s should direct any access requests from Victoria Police to their REMI. If you are asked to provide a list of vulnerable people for police - DON’T, as this is an incomplete picture.

Security update affects Mobile users

Due to an increase in security requirements and changes to the cloud services, mobile users may get ‘The server returned an error’ message when they return to their device after 24 hours. To resolve, sign out and sign in again, just enter your council’s Crisisworks site name in the site address, eg darebin, to access http://darebin.crisisworks.com .

Contact us

If you or your team need any Crisisworks support or assistance, please contact our Service Desk or, if the matter is urgent, call us on 03 9521 4400 or 1300 DATALINK (1300 328 254).

Periodically we send bulk emails to notify Crisisworks users of major updates, planned outages or unplanned outages, we also send this regular newsletter. These mailing lists are generated from users' own individual Crisisworks Profile settings. To change these settings, simply log into Crisisworks and click on your name to edit your User Profile, then scroll down to the Communication Preferences and Email Subscriptions section.
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You have received this email because you are subscribed to newsletters or are a key Crisisworks user. Opt-out by editing your communication and email subscription preferences in your Crisisworks User Profile, please do not reply to this email unless you wish to contact our Service Desk. For information on how to edit your preferences, go to Email notification: opt-out / opt-in

Welcome to the latest Crisisworks Newsletter, our final for 2023! The Datalink Team would like to wish you all a merry, safe and emergency free holiday season and we look forward to working with you all in the year to come.

Don't forget, if you are activated this season, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with the Datalink team who can help guide you through the start to ensure you get the most out of Crisisworks.

In this edition:

  • Latest news

  • Useful Tips!

  • Crisisworks Training

  • Contact us

Latest news

Roadshows

Over 75 council staff took part in the Crisisworks Roadshows held across eastern Victoria in October. The Roadshows provided great learning opportunities for emergency teams and featured hands-on training and exercise simulation for beginners through to advanced users. The Crisisworks Team at Datalink would like to sincerely thank the host Councils who generously helped out with planning, logistics and venues, thanks…City of Greater Shepparton, City of Wondonga,Yarra Ranges Shire, Yarra City Council, Latrobe Council and the City of Greater Dandenong. If you would like to get involved in the 2024 Roadshows and host a session for your region, please get in touch via the email link below. 

Recent Activations and Crisisworks Use

We’ve seen a number of councils activated for floods and fires in the recent months and several new councils starting to use the Fire Prevention module. Crisisworks has been used for the first time by a Queensland council in response to the Tara bushfires. We also have an agency in the state who have been successfully using Crisisworks for some time now to manage their health and community services.

App update 

There have been some issues reported to our helpdesk around downloading of offline data on the Crisisworks app. We have resolved the issue and issued an update to the app stores. Please make sure your device is running the latest version.

Useful Tips!

Vulnerable Persons Register

Did you know that Victoria Police don’t use Crisisworks to access the Vulnerable Persons Register? Instead, they log directly into their own system, any queries you get from VicPolice should be directed to their REMI. If you are asked to provide a list of vulnerable people for police DON’T, as this is an incomplete picture. When they login to their own system, their list will cover people from multiple LGAs

Importing Initial Impact Assessment (IIA) Data

The importing of Initial Impact Assessment data (from FRV or SES) is not a straightforward process, but we’re here to help! Please let us know in advance if you're expecting to receive IIA data, we need at least 2 days notice so we can schedule in the work required to clean up the data in import for you. Contact support@datalink.com.au. 

FPN Reminder

With councils well into Fire Prevention season, here’s some timely tips from based on some of our recent helpdesk calls:

  • Make sure your FPN template is up to date and in line with the CFA Act and their Schedule 15.

  • Check that signatures are set up correctly for each of your Fire Prevention Officers. The Officer conducting the Inspection should be the default signatory on your Fire Prevention Notices.

  • Switch your Crisisworks app to offline mode if you’re in a patchy network area. For instruction on this, check out the mobile app quick start guide for tips.

Working offline on the Mobile App

The Crisisworks mobile app has an offline mode. When coverage is very weak, it will try to use the network connection instead of its own offline abilities so you will need to manually switch into offline mode, this is covered our mobile app quick guide. Before going offline be sure to:

  1. Login to Crisisworks on your mobile device while you are still online

  2. Download the asset database from the settings

  3. Star the records that you want to have available offline (up to a couple of hundred) 

Crisisworks Training

Be sure to include Crisisworks Training as part of summer fire season preparations for your team.

We continue to offer FREE online Crisisworks training with new sessions scheduled every month. The courses are broken down into 1-2 hour sessions on specific areas of Crisisworks so you can start as a Beginner and build your skills through to advanced. Our training is designed to improve your confidence and give you direct access to our trainers to help ensure you're well-prepared and using Crisisworks effectively.
Registration is easy - just open the Help Menu when signed into Crisisworks and click on Register for Online Training, or jump directly to Eventbrite.

Upcoming online sessions 

  • Beginners 

  • Communications

  • NEW! Crisisworks Cleanup and Maintenance

  • Fire Prevention

  • Relief, Evacuation and Humanitarian Aid

  • Secondary Impact Assessment Officer

  • Recovery Managers

  • Recovery Officers 

  • Coordinators & Administrators

For dates and registrations, go to our Eventbrite page. 

NOTE: We limit the numbers for each session to keep them small and workable. If the event is full, join the ‘waiting list’ to get notified if a place becomes available. Sessions may be rescheduled or cancelled subject to numbers.

On-Demand Videos

We also offer a number of on-demand training videos, these are also available from the Crisisworks Help menu. Here’s a few you might like to check out in preparation for the summer season:

Contact us

If you or your team need any Crisisworks support or assistance, please contact our Service Desk or, if the matter is urgent, call us on 03 9521 4400 or 1300 DATALINK (1300 328 254).

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You have received this email because you are subscribed to newsletters or are a key Crisisworks user. Opt-out by editing your communication and email subscription preferences in your Crisisworks User Profile, please do not reply to this email unless you wish to contact our Service Desk. For information on how to edit your preferences, go to Email notification: opt-out / opt-in

Crisisworks evening maintenance for Tuesday October 31st (no outage)

Dear Crisisworks user,

This evening your Crisisworks service will enter a maintenance window.

Once this maintenance has completed, the list of changes can be viewed from within the Crisisworks dashboard once you sign in.

  • Purpose: apply software updates and patches to 4.44.72

  • Impact: No outage

  • Time and Date: Monday 31-10-2023 19:00 - 24:00 AEDT

Crisisworks is engineered so that this upgrade can occur with no outage. 

Our software also undergoes extensive testing prior to each release. If you notice any problems resulting from this upgrade, then our service desk can be contacted as follows:

By email: support@crisisworks.com
By phone: 03 9521 4400 or 1300 C-WORKS

You have received this email because you are subscribed to the Crisisworks software upgrades and maintenance list. You can opt-out by following the link below. Please do not reply to this email unless you wish to contact our Service Desk.

Sincerely,

Crisisworks Support