Since signing the National Agreement to Close the Gap in 2020, Australia's federal, state and local governments are formally committed to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples before, during and after disasters. A new Disaster Preparedness Scorecard from the National Indigenous Disaster Resilience (NIDR) program has highlighted significant gaps between government commitment and action, and invites governments to better target their progress.
The Scorecard is the only independent mechanism highlighting how well emergency management agencies across all states and territories are meeting their commitments to close the gap in emergency management. It evaluates governments' performance against three criteria over the past 12 months:
Are emergency management agencies prepared to work with Indigenous peoples?
Are Indigenous organisations being funded to prepare for the next disaster?
Is disaster planning and decision-making being shared with Indigenous peoples?
NIDR's program lead Professor Bhiamie Williamson said while there are improvements being made at a local level, these efforts aren't strategically aligned or co-ordinated under Closing the Gap.
"In the past year alone, 50 out of 63 declared natural disasters disproportionately impacted First Nations communities. Despite this, not a single state or territory government contributed direct funding to Indigenous-led disaster resilience projects in 2026.
"Indigenous communities continue to face the consequences of governments' failure to act, and governments often aren't sure where to start. While the Scorecard holds governments to account, it also invites government agencies to target their efforts in emergency management, in ways that are structured, specific and meaningful to the National Agreement on Closing the Gap."
When it comes to emergency management agencies being prepared to work with Indigenous peoples, a key focus is reducing experiences of racism, either within the agency workforce or when engaging with members of Indigenous communities. The 2026 Disaster Preparedness Scorecard shows that many agencies are taking credible steps towards cultural safety, and that nationally the government results are improving. Jurisdictions with regularly updated Reconciliation Action Plans (NSW, WA and SA) have generally scored better on this measure (Criterion 1).
However, Professor Williamson noted that no state or territory has developed a clear, enduring strategy to match the scale of the work required under Closing the Gap.
"This makes progress piecemeal, ad hoc, and exposed to changing political tides," Professor Williamson said.
The 2026 Disaster Preparedness Scorecard has also marked both Queensland and Tasmania's efforts as 'poor' across all three criteria, highlighting that engagement with Indigenous peoples has actually worsened. Over the past year, Local Disaster Management Groups in Queensland removed First Nations representation and priorities from updated local disaster management plans.
Funding for Indigenous-led disaster preparedness, mitigation and risk reduction projects under the Disaster Ready Fund (DRF) also fell over the last year, with states and territories providing no funding to Indigenous organisations. New South Wales, the only state to have provided funding through the DRF, did not provide any funding to Indigenous organisations this year.
The Scorecard also highlights a few examples of meaningful progress in action, including research into colonial load within emergency management workforces; a new Indigenous Advisory position established in the Northern Territory; NSW government investment in Indigenous organisations such as Jagun Alliance Aboriginal Corporation.
The funding has supported Jagun Alliance's Good Fire Gathering program since 2025,
bringing together First Nations communities and emergency management agencies together
to plan and work together before the fire season, not during it.
Oli Costello, Executive Director, Jagun Alliance said long term funding is crucial to
support ongoing communities' capability to lead preparedness.
"When communities are resourced to lead, preparedness happens on Country, all year
round, not just when an emergency arrives. Good Fire Gathering has grown each year
because communities and agencies keep coming back. With ongoing long term funding, it's
a model other regions can build on."
Professor Williamson said he hoped these positive examples would inspire other agencies to implement similar strategies.
"While the overall picture still shows significant gaps, some government agencies are setting fantastic examples that we hope will inspire others to implement similar strategies," he said. "We are seeing agencies' efforts to identify and eliminate racism, and build cultural safety within their organisations."
In order to make genuine progress on Closing the Gap commitments, NIDR's Disaster Preparedness Scorecard includes three recommendations for immediate government action:
All emergency management agencies embed the required Priority Reform 3 indicators into annual reporting.
The Federal Minister for Emergency Management establishes a dedicated $20 million stream for Indigenous organisations in each Disaster Ready Fund round.
State, territory and local governments establish formal partnerships with Indigenous organisations that enable shared decision-making before emergencies.
Professor Williamson said governments need to turn policy commitments into immediate action to close the gap on disaster preparedness.
"With another high risk weather season already underway, we need urgent action from governments. This means direct investment in First Nations leadership, as well as embedding shared decision-making with Indigenous peoples, so that Indigenous communities are not disproportionately affected, isolated or left behind," he said.
"Creating safe and supportive emergency management agencies is also essential - not only to support First Nations communities during crises, but to encourage, retain, and protect First Nations workers and volunteers across our emergency services workforce. The solutions exist; what we need to see more of is a willingness to act."
