AFAC guidelines are a preferred or advisable course of action. Member agencies are expected to be aware of guidelines and to have considered how best they apply to relevant circumstances faced by the agency. Guidelines are addressed to AFAC member agencies, and agency personnel should refer to their agency operating procedures and policies for further information.

An awareness of vertical rescue procedures may assist support agency personnel in the recognition of this high hazard environment, and can provide some basic actions to support safety of first responders while mobilising appropriately skilled and equipped resources under the direction of a control agency.

This guideline provides a recommended course of action for emergency services as a control agency or to support the control agency during incidents involving vertical rescue. The guideline is not a ready-made operational action plan, and needs to be applied in the context of individual locations and with specific knowledge of the vertical rescue policies and protocols applied by individual agencies. It does outline important aspects vertical rescue responders should consider in both simple and complex vertical environments.