What the Community Sector Brings

Every day community organisations work with the most vulnerable people in our communities facing adversity and hardship.

Through building relationships, providing services and supporting vulnerable people the community sector averts disasters. This ‘peacetime’ work of the community sector work is already building Australia’s disaster resilience.

However in relation to disasters and emergencies this work can be done better if community organisations are formally networked to address disasters and emergencies.

The community sector has unique and unparalleled specialist skills and assets to assist clients to both prepare for and recover from climate change and emergencies.

The local expertise and trust community organisations have within their communities, means that they are well placed to help prepare people for disasters and emergencies through education, planning and sharing information.

Some community organisations (e.g. Red Cross) are also able to assist during a response to a disaster (e.g. evacuating clients from high-risk locations before an extreme weather event).

In the recovery phase the community sector has enormous assets, skills and services to contribute.