A hazard is a source of potential harm. A hazard event is another term for emergency.

Some assurance activities examine system-wide risks that span across multiple hazard types, including reviews into the emergency management functions of sector organisations.

Examples of such assurance activities include the Review of 10 years of reform in Victoria’s emergency management sector and the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.

All links in the table below will open in a new window.
Publish year Assurance activity Summary Organisation
2021 Understanding preparedness and recovery (External link) An examination of the emergency experiences of 165 people who lived through a disaster between 2008 and 2019 to better understand the link between preparedness actions and enhanced recovery. Australian Red Cross
2022 Implementation monitoring of 'Review of 10 years of reform in Victoria's emergency management sector' and 'Inquiry into the 2019-20 Victorian Fire Season – Phase 1’ - Progress Report - 2021 (External link) IGEM's first progress report on government reform in response to the Fire Season Inquiry and 10 Year Review. In terms of implementation progress against the 139 response actions to both of these reports, 48 actions are now complete, 75 actions are in progress, 10 actions are closed with no further activity planned, and six actions are yet to commence. Inspector-General for Emergency Management
2022 Major Incidents Report 2021-22 (External link) The sixth report of a continuing series that provides an annual record of major national incidents that have been viewed as significant by the emergency management sector. It outlines 36 significant events that impacted Australia across 2021-22 and provides an overview of 9 of these incidents, selected based on factors including uniqueness, duration, impacts, resourcing demands, tiers of government involved, specialist equipment required and learnings. Australian Government, Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience, National Emergency Management Agency
2022 Community Report - June 2021 Extreme Weather Event (External link) A report that outlines key lessons identified from the extreme weather event of 2021, including what went well and areas for improvement. It aims to ensure that lessons of significance to both agencies and communities are considered, implemented and shared across the emergency management sector and with impacted communities. Emergency Management Victoria
2022 Navigating the crisis: how governments used intelligence for decision making during the COVID-19 pandemic (External link) An examination of how governments — and the societies around them — mobilised intelligence to handle the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects, it makes recommendations that could improve the ability to organise intelligence for future challenges of all kinds, from pandemics to climate change. Independent
2022 Small Business Natural Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Inquiry Report (External link) The impacts of natural disasters on small and family businesses can be devastating, are difficult to predict, and may be overlooked in preparing disaster plans and in decisions around recovery assistance and support. The Inquiry looked at existing education and engagement practices with respect to promoting small business disaster resilience and made 16 recommendations to Australian Government on how these could be improved. Independent
2022 The Cost of Extreme Weather 2022 (External link) A research report that estimates direct costs from extreme weather events are to grow by 5.13 per cent each year and reach $35.24 billion by 2050, directly costing Australian households an average of $2,509.16 every year. The report concludes that if we are to mitigate the rising costs of extreme weather, the federal government should focus more on resilience and future-proofing Independent
2022 Valuing strengths, building resilience: Improving emergency management outcomes for multicultural communities in Victoria (External link) A report drawn from the insights and experiences of the Multicultural Emergency Management Partnership, it collected experiences around culturally responsive practices related to bushfires and other emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights the critical importance of strong connections and engagement between multicultural communities, government and the emergency management sector.
Victorian Council of Social Service
2022 Australia State of the Environment 2021 (External link) An assessment of the changing condition of our natural environment across 12 themes: air quality, Antarctica, biodiversity, climate, coasts, extreme events, heritage, Indigenous, inland water, land, marine and urban. A committee of independent scientists and environmental experts authored the thematic chapters and contributed to the Overview report and were supported an Australian Government taskforce. Independent
2022 Victoria’s Critical Infrastructure All Sectors Resilience Report 2021 (External link) A report into the ongoing impact of COVID-19 to Victoria's critical infrastructure sectors and the significant efforts of industry to minimise disruption and continue delivering services. It also captures a number of other significant events that occurred during the reporting period and reflects on the effectiveness of Victoria’s critical infrastructure resilience arrangements in an increasingly complex risk environment. Emergency Management Victoria