A preparedness guide for Australia's decision makers

If you're seeing this, you're one of Australia’s elected politicians or their staff member, working to make Australia a more liveable, affordable place.

We're bushfire survivors and their families, and many of us have lost our homes to climate-fuelled bushfire.

We've done our preparing - we've cleaned the gutters, cleared our yards and purchased the firefighting equipment. Now we’re asking if you have done your bit to protect our families from worsening disasters. This guide covers the parts we can't do ourselves.

Check your readiness below to see how you can help Australia prepare.

  • When we rebuilt we complied with every regulation to make our home as safe as possible. We then added an extra water tank, firefighting pump and mulched either side of our driveway. We have done our bit - now it’s time for governments to do theirs. Australians shouldn’t be frightened of summer.

    Jan Harris, Co-chair, lost her home to bushfire in 2018 near Tathra

Three things you can do this week

Talk to your fellow parliamentarians

Share this guide with colleagues across the chamber and ask them if they’re ready?

Sign our Declaration

Add your name to The Australian Bushfire Survivor Declaration and its 5 Asks to show your community you've heard them.

Make Big Polluters Pay

Coal and gas corporations profit from exports while communities foot the bill for rebuilding and higher insurance bills. Add your name to our petition and call a climate compensation fund.

Resources

Black Summer Stories

Black Summer Stories is a series of short films from bushfire survivors and firefighters. They speak about what they’ve lost and what they need from you for a safer, fairer future.

National Climate Risk Assessment

The Australian Climate Service has provided an assessment of risk across 8 key systems and 11 regions, prioritising key risks both within each system and across systems.

Make Big Polluters Pay Policy Paper

Big coal, oil and gas corporations are most responsible for the pollution causing climate change, yet right now it is communities that pay the price. This report outlines a solution, why it is necessary and how it could work.

Too Close to Home

Emergency Leaders for Climate Action spell out in this report how the Government can keep Australian communities safer from escalating climate impacts. All adaptation and resilience efforts must sit alongside urgent efforts to reduce climate pollution further and faster this decade.

Need real bushfire preparedness advice? This page is a campaign. For warnings and survival plans, go to your state or territory fire service.

NEMA's support hub is a great place to start. Head to nema.gov.au/support-and-resources-hub

Are YOU Ready?