Australians will have the chance to have their say on how national disaster response looks in the future, with consultation now open on the Alternative Commonwealth Capabilities for Crisis Response discussion paper.
Released today, the paper is seeking public views on ways to enhance how the Federal Government responds to requests for disaster assistance from State and Territory Governments.
Consultation will include public online submissions, as well as a series of stakeholder roundtables to be held throughout the rest of the year, including state, territory and local governments, non-government organisations, not-for-profit groups, volunteer organisations, corporate Australia, and many others.
The Department of Home Affairs and National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) will use information gathered from submissions to inform the policy development process and advice to Government on potential options.
Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt said this paper was a unique opportunity for people to have their say on how Australia can better develop the personnel required respond to disasters in the future.
"Australia's disaster management systems continues to be tested and stretched as we experience more frequent, intense, concurrent and compounding disasters," Minister Watt said.
"This work will help shape major changes to the way we support the states and territories as the first responders in the years to come."
Minister Watt said 80 per cent of Australians live in local government areas that have experienced some form of disaster since 2019.
"The Albanese Government is committed to ensuring Australian communities are better prepared for natural disasters, so we can respond and recover faster," Minister Watt said.
"The Australian Defence Force is frequently relied upon to support domestic disaster relief efforts - support that we are all thankful for.
"This is not about removing Defence from disaster response - when Australians find themselves in an emergency situation where Defence has a unique capability to bring to bear, then the ADF will always be there.
"In line with the Defence Strategic Review, this is about making sure Defence is not the first call that's made - it is the last."
As climate change makes natural disasters more frequent and more severe, we need to think differently about how we respond to disasters.
Work is already well underway to broaden support personnel, through the Albanese Government's $38 million October Budget commitment to Disaster Relief Australia, a veteran-led organisation that provides additional support for states and territories when disasters occur.
In recent months Disaster Relief Australia have done great work helping flood victims from Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.
This public consultation is being undertaken in parallel with, and will be complementary to, the work being done by the Senate Select Committee on Australia's Disaster Resilience.
The discussion paper is available on the Department of Home Affairs' website.
Submissions are open until 15 September 2023.
