Disaster Resilience Strategy for even stronger, safer, more resilient communities

A new five-year strategy to strengthen disaster resilience in Queensland will further improve the state’s capacity to deal with natural disasters and climate change.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk released the new strategy after addressing the United Nations’ Asia-Pacific Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

“Queensland is the most disaster impacted state in Australia, but we’re also the most resilient,” the Premier said.

“Every year we could be faced with flooding, cyclones, bushfires, or other severe weather events, so it’s vital we continue to improve the framework to overcome any challenge.

“We have built back better after recent disasters, saving money, time and effort.

“But just like the rest of Australia and the Asia-Pacific, climate change means we can’t afford not to continue improving.

“I was pleased to tell the conference what we’ve done to help lead the way in disaster resilience.

“And we can all learn from each other.”

The Queensland Strategy for Disaster Resilience 2022-27 focuses on community-informed resilience investment and greater interagency coordination so communities are best prepared to tackle and recover from natural disasters.

It will also make resilience ‘business as usual’, considering the impact of climate change, to help create a stronger, safer and more resilient state for all Queenslanders.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said this latest five-year strategy builds on many years of building disaster resilience, coordinated by the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.

“Whether it’s government, industry, businesses or communities, we need to embed resilience into every decision we make,” Mr Miles said.

“Every region across Queensland now has a locally-led and regionally-coordinated blueprint to increase statewide disaster resilience.

“This new strategy looks to maximise that local coordination to improve disaster response and recovery.

“By strengthening the lines of resilience between our people and the social, built, economic and natural environments around us, we’ll strengthen resilience in Queensland.

“This includes ensuring strategic commitments, actions and responsibilities are clearly outlined and agreed on by responsible delivery agencies.

“Other important focuses for the new strategy are the knowledge of our First Nations peoples and recognising the significant impacts of climate change.

“It’s about understanding potential disasters, working together to better manage risks, and looking to keep improving how we prepare, respond to and recover from disasters.

“The Queensland Government is proud to lead the way in disaster resilience, as the first state with a permanent recovery and resilience agency in the Queensland Reconstruction Authority.”

The Queensland Strategy for Disaster Resilience 2022-27 complements a suite of Regional Resilience Strategies developed as part of the state’s previous five-year strategy.

This was a commitment made under the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction’s Sendai Framework, which outlines seven global targets to meet by 2030 through the reduction of disaster risk and improvements in preparedness and resilience.

To read the Queensland Strategy for Disaster Resilience visit 

To read the Queensland Strategy for Disaster Resilience visit www.qra.qld.gov.au/QSDR

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Media contact: Amy Hunter 0423 651 484