Western Australia has uniquely challenging circumstances for emergency management due its large geographic expanse covering 23 degrees of latitude and multiple climatic zones. As a result it is exposed to a multitude of potential natural and man-made hazards. This, coupled with the State’s growing and shifting demography, is raising the State’s emergency risk profile.

In response, the State Emergency Management Committee (SEMC) introduced a new emergency risk management strategy for WA, namely the State Risk Project. A new direction for Western Australia, the State Risk Project aims to gain a comprehensive and consistent understanding of the risks the State faces from 27 hazards prescribed in legislation. The project will conduct analyses at multiple levels, namely state, district and local level, in a consistent form that allows data to be shared and compared. Through a series of risk assessment workshops, the project utilises worst-case hazard scenarios to identify the State’s priority risks. To date, state-level workshops have been conducted for seven natural hazards, with district workshops due to commence in May 2015.

The State Risk Project is designed to assist the State in planning for potential emergency situations and to help prioritise future resource allocations with emphasis towards prevention and preparedness. In time, treatment strategies will be developed to lower the State’s risks with the goal of reducing them to a point where they are manageable within the State’s capabilities. The project will also provide substantial data to support risk management strategies and an improved basis for the development of state and local emergency management arrangements.

This presentation will discuss the fundamentals of the State Risk Project including results to date, the current situation and plans for future expansion.