All levels of government, industry, and non-government organisations will come together today for the third annual National Preparedness Summit to better understand and prepare for what's coming in the 2025-26 Higher Risk Weather Season (HRWS).
Over 260 crisis management, response and recovery specialists from governments, industry, community and the not-for-profit sector will attend the two-day event convened by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).
The Summit forms part of Australia's National Preparedness Program and will focus on providing information to stakeholders on what they can expect over the HRWS and testing their preparedness to respond.
The event will include panel discussion on the January 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires, preparedness, response, warnings, evacuation, debris removal and the impact of lithium-ion batteries.
Participants will also attend breakout sessions with thought leaders on best practice and emerging themes in crisis management.
The summit follows yesterday's release of the nation's first comprehensive assessment of the risks posed by climate change across Australia - along with a plan for how we can adapt to its impacts by cutting emissions whilst creating jobs and economic growth.
Delivered by the Albanese Government, the National Climate Risk Assessment (NCRA) finds that no Australian community will be immune from climate risks that will be cascading, compounding and concurrent.
Assistant Minister for Emergency Management, Josh Wilson said the Albanese Government is pleased to once again bring together industry, all levels of government, emergency services and not-for-profit organisations to better prepare for the upcoming 2025-26 HRWS.
"The Albanese Labor Government is proud to work with NEMA to bring together all levels of government, first responders, business and non-government organisations to prepare and plan for the season ahead.
"We will continue to collaborate and share best practice approaches with state and territory governments and key organisations while also focusing on building resilience so that our communities are better prepared.
"The release of the NCRA reinforces how important activities like the national preparedness summit are for sharing critical information with our partners and ensuring all parts of the community can handle multiple and cascading disaster events.
"We understand the importance of protecting Australians and that we can't afford to work in isolation. Government, business and community need to work together to plan and respond to the more frequent and more intense weather events.
"The Summit builds on our government's commitment to enhancing emergency management coordination and co-operation," said Assistant Minister Wilson.
Preparedness activities undertaken at the national level since the last high risk weather season have included:
- Collaborating with state and territory governments to deliver more than 258 projects through Rounds One and Two of the $400 million Disaster Ready Fund (DRF).
- Providing funding to build the National Aerial Firefighting Centre (NAFC) national aerial firefighting fleet's multi-hazard capability.
- Leading Exercise Convergence, bringing together representatives from all levels of government, industry and non-industry across the emergency management sector to 'war game' a hypothetical all-hazards crisis scenario.
- Continuing to expand the National Emergency Management Stockpile, ensuring specialist equipment can be rapidly deployed to support states and territories when needed.
- Delivering of Crisis Appreciation and Strategic Planning training across Australian government agencies.
