In June 2022, four months after the big flood, then Premier Dominic Perrottet announced a new state-of-the-art NSW SES Incident Control Centre would be built somewhere in the Lismore/Goonellabah area and would be the hub of the Northern Rivers.

Lismore would be the home of a new Northern Rivers SES Incident Control Centre as part of the NSW State Government's record investment of $132.7 million in the NSW State Emergency Services.

Three years later, the result is a $4.2 million renovation of the existing building at Lancaster Drive, Goonellabah.

There was no doubt that a major revamp or a new headquarters was needed. Press conferences were held in the metal shed at the back of the small brick building, where on a windy day, you could hear the roof ventilation fans making audible noises as the SES Superintendent updated the media on the latest weather event that could cause potential flooding. This is okay for a digital newspaper like the Lismore App, but so good for TV networks.

The current facility on Lancaster Drive was originally built in the early 1990s with approximately 280 m2 of office space, which includes both business as usual and Incident Control Centre components combined. 

Since then, there have been significant increases in staff and assets on site, as well as changes to the way emergency service agencies manage and respond to large-scale events. 

During recent weather events, such as Tropical Cyclone Alfred, the Incident Control Centre was based in A Block at Southern Cross University.

That is about to change, as Lismore City Council recently approved the Development Application for works to begin on an upgraded Incident Command Centre for the NSW SES North Eastern Zone at Lancaster Drive in Goonellabah.

The new and improved upgraded site will include a purpose-built, expanded Incident Control Centre as a first-floor addition, and a full refurbishment of the current ground floor area to create modern open plan office spaces with improved functionality, a new enlarged Meal/Breakout to facilitate catering needs during large operational events.

A NSW SES Spokesperson told the Lismore App that the upgraded building will boast the following additions:

1st Floor addition: approx. 370ms2 of Incident Control Centre seats, including;

• a large central Operations Room, including multi-screen “Knowledge Wall” operational display and 39 workstations specifically designed around the Incident Management Team (IMT) functions.
• office space for the Incident Controller and the Deputy Incident Controller
• small Media Room
• a 14-person Situation Room and
• an acoustically treated 7-person Flood Rescue Coordination Centre (FRCC)

Ground floor refurb will expand the area to 400ms2 and include:

• Open Plan BAU office with desks for 24 permanent staff
• expanded Meals/Breakout space
• dedicated Training Room
• Comms Room and
• Parent Room.

Total office space of new facility: Approx. 770ms2

The estimated total project cost is $4.272 million. The works are currently out to Tender. 

The SES North-Eastern Zone stretches from the Queensland border to the North, out to Tabulam and Casino in the West, and to Urunga to the South.

The North Eastern Zone has 10 Local Government Areas, with 27 Units across 6 Clusters.