---
sourceDocument: Australia IT Service Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/r/it-service-management

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    - australia

ft:locale :

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ft:publication_title :

    - Australia IT Service Management

ft:clusterId :

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---

# Responsibilities for Incident Communication Plan

# Responsibilities for Incident Communication Plan {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated March 12, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read  
Contact responsibilities helps you to identify contacts by their responsibilities and to understand what you can expect from the user throughout the life cycle of the communication plan.
There are two types of responsibilities available for use with incident communication plans:

* Default Responsibilities: Contacts who are notified by default.
* Other Responsibilities: Contacts who can be selected for notification.

{#r_ResponsibilitiesForIncidentAlerts__ul_lw5_btj_sz}

Use contact definitions to view and modify the rules that determine the specific users associated with contact responsibilities.

## Default Responsibilities {#r_ResponsibilitiesForIncidentAlerts__section_ywl_zhd_l1c}

By default, contacts with the following responsibilities are notified when an incident communication plan is created:

* Duty Manager
* Incident Manager
* Duty Director
{#r_ResponsibilitiesForIncidentAlerts__ul_fxv_kgl_2p}

These roles are involved with resolving the source incident or original event that the incident communication plan relates to. They are seen as key contacts for the incident communication plan.  
The following sections describe typical operational roles for these responsibilities.{#r_ResponsibilitiesForIncidentAlerts__table_j1d_5gl_2p__entry__2}

| Responsibility | Description |
|-|-|
| Duty Manager | The senior point of presence in the monitoring environment at the time an incident occurs. The Duty Manager assesses the incident against standard operating procedures, escalation triggers, and personal knowledge and experience, to take corrective actions. To clarify the urgency and impact of an incident, the Duty Manager can contact the Incident Manager for advice. |
| Incident Manager | A senior technician, accountable for coordinating and managing all technical resources required to resolve incidents. After being notified by the Duty Manager of a serious incident, the Incident Manager assesses the seriousness and associated business impact. Based on this assessment, the Incident Manager decides whether to escalate the incident to the Duty Director. The Incident Manager may escalate to the Duty Director to gain access to resources outside of the department, if necessary. |
| Duty Director | The escalation point for all issues that affect critical services. The Duty Director works in partnership with the business directors in the organization to approve recovery plans developed by the Incident Manager. The Duty Director also manages the senior level communications for the source incident. |
[Table 1. Contact Administration Default Responsibilities]

{#r_ResponsibilitiesForIncidentAlerts__table_j1d_5gl_2p}

## Other Responsibilities {#r_ResponsibilitiesForIncidentAlerts__section_zwl_zhd_l1c}

Incident Communications Management provides the following additional responsibilities that can be added to incident communication plans. You can also create contact responsibilities, as needed. The associated users receive notifications about the incident communication plan.{#r_ResponsibilitiesForIncidentAlerts__table_i5c_thl_2p__entry__2}

| Responsibility | Description |
|-|-|
| Business Director | Director within the business who is identified as a potential contact when an incident communication plan occurs. |
| Communication Manager | Business-facing role in the event communication is required in an incident communication plan. |
| Crisis Action Manager | Overall responsibility and accountability for managing incident communication plans. |
| Crisis Action Team Member | Nominated department heads who are involved when an incident communication plan occurs. |
| Development personnel | Development personnel involved in the troubleshooting and resolving an incident communication plan. |
| Operations support personnel | Personnel involved in the second or third level of support in troubleshooting and resolving an incident communication plan. |
| Service Owner | Service owner or manager who is identified as a potential contact when an incident communication plan relates to one or more of their services. |
| Technical Support | Second or third level technical support personnel involved in troubleshooting and resolving an incident communication plan. |
[Table 2. Contact Administration Other Responsibilities]

{#r_ResponsibilitiesForIncidentAlerts__table_i5c_thl_2p}
**Related tasks**   

* [Define contact responsibilities](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/gOpoSfVVa~uu7n7TJBh7Mw "Define the different contacts or target audience involved in the communication process and their responsibility to understand the expectations from those contacts throughout the process.")
* [Create a contact definition](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/~fxuXH4XL0GlI1kVLlbeRA "Define the recipients of a particular incident communication plan to determine the target audience involved in each communication task and the responsibilities the recipients are expected to handle.")
* [Create a default override](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/0ps68g9X2U5U659xVFnzag "Create a default override to specify user or group for a contact definition of an incident communication plan. It helps you to set multiple conditions based on which a user or a group is considered as a contact.")
* [Add a user as a contact](https://servicenow-prod.fluidtopics.net/6M_~jwCLziii2ghHhm1XUA "Add a user to a communication plan if you have not added the user earlier in the contact. You can assign a communication task to the user to resolve an issue.")