Free emergency response plan template
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Free emergency response plan template (PDF-ready). Build a WHS reg 43 emergency plan with procedures, warden roles, evacuation diagrams and drills.
Commercial Director
Key takeaways
- WHS reg 43 requires you to prepare, maintain and implement an emergency plan for the workplace.
- The plan must cover all persons on site, including visitors and contractors.
- Include procedures, warden roles, assembly points, evacuation diagrams and emergency contacts.
- AS 3745-2010 is the facilities benchmark for the control organisation and drills.
- Test procedures with drills and review the plan after changes, incidents or gaps.
Updated 9 June 2026
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- PDF format, ready to print or fill on screen
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What is a emergency response plan template?
An emergency response plan is the written set of procedures a workplace follows when something goes wrong, covering evacuation, fire, medical emergencies, hazardous materials releases and severe weather. Under WHS Regulations 2011 reg 43, the person conducting the business or undertaking must prepare, maintain and implement an emergency plan that provides for effective communication, testing of the emergency procedures, and information, training and instruction for relevant workers. The plan has to account for everyone at the workplace, including visitors and contractors who may not know the site.
This template gives you a ready structure so you are not starting from a blank page. It captures emergency procedures, the response team and warden roles, assembly points and evacuation diagrams, emergency contacts, alarm and communication arrangements, and a schedule for drills and training. For facilities, it aligns with AS 3745-2010, the Australian standard that sets out the emergency planning committee, the emergency control organisation and the evacuation diagrams expected in larger or shared buildings.
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Benefits of using this emergency response plan template
- WHS reg 43 compliance: helps you meet the legal duty to prepare, maintain and implement an emergency plan for your workplace.
- Faster safer response: clear procedures mean people act quickly instead of improvising when fire, injury or a chemical release occurs.
- Defined accountability: warden and response team roles remove confusion about who leads, who sweeps areas and who calls 000.
- Covers all persons: prompts you to plan for workers, visitors and contractors, including anyone with mobility or access needs.
- AS 3745 alignment: structures your plan around the emergency control organisation and evacuation diagrams expected in facilities.
- Audit ready evidence: records your procedures, drill dates and training so you can show regulators the plan is current and tested.
Benefits of digitising forms in MapTrack
When you move your plans from paper to MapTrack, you get:
- Field users can easily scan a QR code to complete a form on mobile. Unlimited users.
- Automatically get alerts when faults are identified.
- Link every form digitally as a PDF to the relevant asset, location or person.
- Receive a digital PDF copy with every submission to your email.
- Ability to share forms digitally.
- Build conditional logic (show or hide questions based on answers).
- Take pictures or attach photos. Not possible with a paper-based form.
- Electronic signatures.
- Edit forms later without reprinting.
- Restrict permissions (who can view, complete or approve).
- Build forms with AI (describe what you need and MapTrack suggests the form).
- Escalate critical hazards instantly to safety managers via push notification.
- Maintain an auditable safety register that satisfies WHS regulator requests.
- Correlate incident trends across sites with built-in safety analytics.
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What to include in a emergency response plan template
This emergency response plan template covers 9 key areas:
- Site details, occupancy and the hazards the plan addresses, plus the date prepared and the next review date
- Emergency procedures for evacuation, fire, medical emergency, hazardous materials release, severe weather and any site specific threats
- The emergency response team and warden roles, including the chief warden, area wardens and first aiders and their deputies
- Primary and alternate assembly points, with a headcount or roll call method for accounting for everyone
- Evacuation diagrams showing exits, paths of travel, fire equipment, alarms and the you are here position
- Emergency contacts for fire and rescue, ambulance, police, poisons information, utilities and key site personnel
- Communication and alarm arrangements, covering how an emergency is raised and how instructions reach all persons on site
- Provisions for visitors and contractors, including sign in, induction and how they are alerted and guided out
- Testing and training schedule covering evacuation drills, warden training and how the plan is reviewed and updated
How to use this emergency response plan template
- Identify the emergencies and people you must plan for: Walk the site and list credible emergencies such as fire, medical events, hazardous chemical releases and severe weather. Have regard to the nature of the work and the hazards present, and count everyone who could be on site including workers, visitors and contractors.
- Write the emergency procedures and assign roles: Document what people do for each scenario, from raising the alarm to evacuating and meeting at the assembly point. Appoint a chief warden, area wardens and first aiders with deputies, and set out exactly who calls emergency services and who coordinates the response.
- Map exits, assembly points and contacts: Prepare evacuation diagrams that show exits, paths of travel, fire equipment and assembly points, following AS 3745-2010 where it applies. Record emergency service numbers, poisons information and key site contacts, and display the diagrams where workers and visitors can see them.
- Train people and communicate the plan: Give workers information, training and instruction so they understand the procedures and their role. Brief contractors and visitors at induction or sign in, confirm the alarm and communication systems work, and make sure everyone knows how an emergency is raised.
- Test, review and keep the plan current: Run evacuation drills and exercise the procedures at a frequency you set in the plan, then capture what worked and what failed. Update the plan after drills, incidents, new hazards or layout changes, and re-issue it so the maintained version stays effective.
In MapTrack, you can digitise safety inspections and compliance forms. Each submission is stored as a timestamped PDF against the asset record.
Get the free templateEnter your email above to download the full emergency response plan template as a PDF.Back to download formHow often should you complete this plan?
There is no single legislated drill interval in the WHS Regulations. Reg 43 requires the plan to provide for testing of the emergency procedures, including how often that testing happens, so you set and justify the frequency based on your risks. AS 3745-2010 is the common benchmark for facilities and points to an evacuation exercise at least every twelve months, with warden skills retention activities roughly every six months. Higher risk or complex sites often test more often.
Beyond scheduled drills, review the plan whenever something material changes. That includes after an actual emergency or near miss, when work, hazards or chemicals change, when the building layout or occupancy changes, when key wardens or first aiders leave, and when a drill exposes a gap. Treating the plan as a living document is how you meet the duty to maintain it so it stays effective, rather than letting it date on a shelf.
Frequently asked questions
Applicable regulatory standards
This template aligns with the following regulations and standards:
- WHS Regulations 2011 reg 43 - Duty to prepare, maintain and implement an emergency plan for the workplace
- AS 3745-2010 Planning for emergencies in facilities - emergency planning committee, emergency control organisation and evacuation diagrams
- Safe Work Australia - Emergency plans and procedures guidance and Emergency plans fact sheet
- First Aid in the Workplace Code of Practice - first aiders, first aid kits and emergency first aid arrangements
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Run an industry blog, trade association site, or training resource? Drop a preview of this free emergency response plan template straight into your page. The snippet is self-contained, needs no scripts, and links readers back to the full free template.
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<p style="font-size:12px;font-weight:700;letter-spacing:0.05em;text-transform:uppercase;color:#0E7490;margin:0;">Free template</p>
<p style="font-size:18px;font-weight:700;color:#071D49;margin:6px 0 0;">Emergency response plan template</p>
<ul style="margin:12px 0 0;padding-left:18px;color:#374151;font-size:14px;line-height:1.6;">
<li style="margin:4px 0;">Site details, occupancy and the hazards the plan addresses, plus the date prepared and the next review date</li>
<li style="margin:4px 0;">Emergency procedures for evacuation, fire, medical emergency, hazardous materials release, severe weather and any site specific threats</li>
<li style="margin:4px 0;">The emergency response team and warden roles, including the chief warden, area wardens and first aiders and their deputies</li>
<li style="margin:4px 0;">Primary and alternate assembly points, with a headcount or roll call method for accounting for everyone</li>
<li style="margin:4px 0;">Evacuation diagrams showing exits, paths of travel, fire equipment, alarms and the you are here position</li>
<li style="margin:4px 0;">Emergency contacts for fire and rescue, ambulance, police, poisons information, utilities and key site personnel</li>
</ul>
<p style="font-size:13px;color:#6B7280;margin:14px 0 0;padding-top:12px;border-top:1px solid #E5E7EB;">Free <a href="https://www.maptrack.com/templates/emergency-response-plan-template" style="color:#071D49;font-weight:600;text-decoration:none;">Emergency response plan template</a> by MapTrack</p>
</div>Please keep the “by MapTrack” attribution link in the snippet.
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