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| Services |
 Risk Management
Risk management is given a very high priority to ensure that:
- the community is protected,
- the member is protected from legal liabilities, and
- the scheme contains its costs by minimising claims.
CMP is committed to providing regular liability assessments for members.
These assessments occur every 2 years and:
- set criteria to incrementally impose higher performance expectations, leading to a general strengthening of a positive risk management culture in local government,
- show each individual member where their risk management policies, practices and programs have succeeded and failed, allowing strengths to be built upon and weaknesses to be corrected,
- give each member a risk management rating, a factor that is used in determining the member's annual financial contribution.
Targetted Risk Appraisals are provided for members to focus on specific assets and/or services such as High Risk Facilities / Venues (BMX tracks, Swimming Pools, etc) Road Management Plan Compliance and many other areas of Council operations.
CMP also provide Risk Management based workshops, providing an active role in assisting specific Council departments establish Best Practice operations.
Best practice manuals are produced when required on a wide variety of council assets, events and services.
Legal Services
Internal qualified solicitors provide legal advice to members, both written and oral, on:
- a variety of actual and potential liability issues,
- contractual issues which either impact, or could have an impact and in turn impose liability.
The department also:
- provides updates to members on new relevant court decisions and new legislation or changes to regulatory frameworks,
- attends Best Practice Forums to provide presentations and answer legal questions,
- provides assistance to the claims department in relation to the defence of both litigated and non-litigated claims,
- in conjunction with the claims department, monitors the performance and cost of the external legal panel, including barristers, and makes recommendations to ensure CMP engages the best possible external legal providers at the best possible price.
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Claims Management
Claims management activities are conducted in a manner that recognises legitimate liability and minimises costs.
Claims are investigated quickly:
- strengths and weaknesses of the liability aspects are assessed within 90 days,
- early conferencing with claimants/solicitors is arranged with the aim of resolving claims as early as possible on the best terms possible.
In cases where liability is considered to be defensible, or where internal endeavours to settle the claim have been exhausted, CMP is prepared to go to court. For court cases the appointed solicitor is:
- selected as the best solicitor for the particular litigation from the firms on the legal panel,
- controlled by process expectations that are compatible with CMP's underlying philosophy of regular assessment, good communication and cost minimisation.
A central facet of the claims management process is the empowerment of members. This fostered by:
- encouraging relevant officers from the member authority to participate in the investigation, analysis, mediation and settlement processes,
- providing risk management awareness training that is based on an analysis of cases that have been to Court, drawing out the lessons from either win or loss outcomes. These lessons are converted into a form that can be used at Best Practice Forums, one of the forms being mock trials in which officers from member authorities actively participate.
Information sharing
Being a mutual scheme a lot of emphasis is placed on the sharing of information. Advice on liability issues is provided by various means:
- distribution of circulars,
- telephone enquiries through the Help Desk, and
- most beneficially, through face to face exchanges at Best Practice Forums where CMP officers can convey information to council officers and engage in discussion which gives an improved understanding to all parties.
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