How can Australia's emergency management volunteers be better supported and sustained in the face of increasing disasters?
In our November Hazardous Webinar, attendees heard about the Emergency Management Sustainable Volunteering Blueprint, a national framework designed to strengthen and sustain Australia’s volunteer capacity in disaster response and recovery.
Developed as part of the Centre-funded Emergency management volunteering: more than just words project and involving extensive collaboration with researchers, emergency service agencies and volunteers themselves, the framework includes guiding principles, six strategic directions and practical implementation tools. This comprehensive framework addresses longstanding challenges facing emergency services volunteers.
Webinar panel
- Prof Roger Jones (Victoria University and Natural Hazards Research Australia)
- Celeste Young (Victoria University and Natural Hazards Research Australia)
- Alison McLeod (AFAC Volunteer Management Technical Group)
- Danielle Meggos (NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet)
Emergency management volunteering is deeply embedded in Australian society, yet volunteers increasingly face mounting pressures from climate-driven hazards, expanding roles, and administrative burdens.
Prof Roger Jones introduced the blueprint, which provides a strategic, systemic response that is designed to move beyond symptom treatment and toward addressing root causes of volunteer sustainability challenges. While Celeste Young explained the development of maturity matrices, which allow self-assessment of strategic directions and mapping progress at both an organisational and national level.
The blueprint is already being put to good use, with panellist Alison McLeod from the AFAC Volunteer Management Technical Group sharing how the blueprint has been applied. And Danielle Meggos described how the National Volunteering Strategy, currently in development together with the National Emergency Management Agency, is being informed by the blueprint. She explained how the strategy will link closely with the principles of the blueprint, including a focus on a diverse and inclusive future, collaboration, community, effective and transparent governance, and embracing change and innovation.
The blueprint represents a coordinated effort to ensure the volunteer workforce remains resilient, supported, and capable of protecting communities when disasters strike.
Watch the webinar replay below.