The New South Wales State Emergency Service (NSW SES) has issued a request for information seeking innovative technological solutions to enhance its operational capabilities in the wake of devastating floods that exposed gaps in its emergency response systems.
In the RFI, NSW SES invites industry partners to propose digital solutions across three key opportunity areas: data-driven decision making, improved incident management, and enhanced situational awareness.
The emergency service is facing growing demand for its services, with incident numbers increasing by an average of 9 per cent annually since 2013-14.
During the catastrophic floods of 2022, the service responded to over 6000 requests for assistance and conducted more than 1100 flood rescues in the Northern Rivers region alone.
"While NSW SES' response was crucial and effective, these events exposed gaps in the organisation's capability to handle large-scale disasters, largely due to operational system constraints and reliance on manual processes," the tender document says.
The RFI specifically seeks innovative ideas from organisations beyond those traditionally associated with emergency services to explore untapped solutions and emerging technologies.
NSW SES operates within a complex and interconnected digital ecosystem that underpins its operational effectiveness the document explains.
The service is exploring opportunities to enhance and integrate systems that strengthen its ability to deliver a high-quality, professional service to communities across New South Wales.
Key objectives include identifying solutions that utilise operational data for more informed decision-making, exploring technologies that automate emergency management processes, and seeking systems that enable responders to share real-time understanding of incidents.
The service is particularly interested in technologies that can enhance data integration, automated planning and reporting, and multi-source data fusion for improved real-time intelligence during emergencies.
Interested parties must submit their responses by 15:00 AEST on 22 April 2025 via the Buy NSW platform, with evaluations expected to conclude by 16 May 2025.
A briefing on the tender was held on March 31.
The RFI stresses that it does not guarantee future procurement opportunities, serving primarily as a market engagement exercise to inform potential future activities.
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