Every year, Australian communities face devastating losses caused by disasters. Bushfires, floods, storms, other hazards and their associated consequences have significant impacts on communities, the economy, infrastructure and the environment.

Over the past decade, governments have collaborated on reforming disaster management approaches. The endorsement of the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) represented a fundamental shift in the way Australia thought about disaster management. The move to a resilience-based approach to Australia’s disaster management is recognition that disaster resilience is a shared responsibility for individuals, households, businesses and communities, as well as for governments. The strategy is the first step in a long-term, evolving process to deliver sustained behavioural change and enduring partnerships.

Since the strategy was introduced, the Attorney-General’s Department has been tasked with monitoring and guiding the implementation at the federal, state and local levels. The Australia and New Zealand Emergency Management Committee (ANZEMC) has recently commenced reviewing the key successes and challenges that all levels of government and non-government stakeholders have faced in implementing the strategy. This paper will look at the key findings of this review and possible future key priorities for implementation.