Community organisation involvement in disaster management
This research focuses specifically on the role and involvement of community organisations in disaster management. Severe to catastrophic disasters pose the potential to overwhelm traditional emergency management approaches, necessitating the adoption of a wholeof-community approach. A key component of the whole-of-community approach is building collaborative partnerships between communities, government agencies, community organisations and businesses across the phases of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery to engage their full capacity. To date there has been little research examining the role of Australian community organisations in disaster management although many organisations provide assistance.
Recommendations were made for consideration to improve the utilisation of capabilities offered by community organisations in disaster management, including:
- Australian disaster management doctrine should be revised to embrace a whole-of-community approach to disaster management.
- Community organisations should be involved in government-led disaster planning and exercises, including involvement in relevant emergency management committees.
- Government emergency management organisations should collectively work with community organisations to develop an understanding of community networks and community organisation capabilities.