The Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, which functions as IRDR National Committee Australia, AFAC and a number of NGO and civil society partners, among them the Australian Red Cross, will together deliver services on behalf of Emergency Management Australia (EMA).

Australia’s Minister for Justice announced that the consortium had been selected to deliver EMA’s professional development courses and workshops, school education program, knowledge management services and volunteer support. The consortium will work closely with the Federal Government to ensure that the products and services it delivers are widely accessible to the country’s diverse emergency management community. The consortium is in negotiation with the Attorney-General’s Department with the aim of commencing the delivery of professional development products and services for the emergency management sector later this year.

The CEO of BNHCRC, Dr. Richard Thornton, said the announcement provided further opportunities for research outputs to support those in the emergency management sector and beyond: “This is an exciting development that has the potential for people to be better informed about making their communities safer in the face of natural hazards”.