Hmmm...no doubt what I'm about to say will sound critical, but its not meant to be...at least not to aircrews, anyway.
Seems to me that what you've got is organized confusion, also known as screwing the pooch. Too many jurisdictions and not enough coordination. Obviously, not being there, this is just my point of view. But my experience in SAR over here, is one of the reasons why I've been asked to head Downunder.
I'm well aware of the incredible job that the helo rescue services provide. From what I've seen, its probably the best system in the world. But rescue is only part of SAR. From the very onset of a missing aircraft or ship, organization is of the utmost importance. We in Canada learned that the hard way. Although SAR is the primary responsibility of the Air Force, shrinking budgets required extra trained assets. Thats where CASARA came into being. Volunteer crews are trained to the same standard as their military counterparts, although the volunteers don't get to fly as much. CASARA members can even be trained as Search Masters, so the possibility exists that a "military" search is conducted under the supervision of a civvy.
Most importantly is crew composition: 1 pilot, 1 navigator and 2 spotters are the absolute minimum. The pilot flies and does lookout, the nav does ALL of the nav work(and most of the radio work), and the spotters sole responsibility is looking for the target.
I guess the big question is whether you guys feel that the current setup in Oz is adequate, and if not, would you be interested in creating a system that is?
Screw Jac, you might find it better to make a survival vest, as opposed to a kit. A vest should carry the essentials, while a kit can carry extra goodies. Fact is, if you survive a crash, its always better to have the essentials on your body. An incredible resource on the net can be found at
http://www.equipped.com/avsrvtoc.htm.