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Helping you prepare for summer disasters

As Australia approaches its summer season, the nation faces heightened risks from extreme weather events, including bushfires, floods, and prolonged droughts. 'Get Ready Australia' is designed to be a proactive, community-driven force, empowering individuals, families, farmers, and business owners to mitigate risks, enhance preparedness, and build resilience against natural disasters.
Our 'Get Ready Australia' program is built on the principle that informed communities are resilient communities. We focus on raising awareness and educating individuals and communities about the specific threats they may face, particularly during the high-risk summer months. Our goal is to foster a culture of preparedness across Australia, ensuring that everyone has the information they need to take protective actions.
By promoting a proactive approach, we aim to reduce the impact of natural disasters, safeguard property, and preserve lives.

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Vision

To cultivate a nation where every at-risk Australian community is resilient, thoroughly prepared, and confidently equipped to face natural disasters, thereby minimising loss and maximising societal wellbeing.

Mission

To equip Australians with the essential services, crucial resources, and strong community connections necessary to proactively prepare for and effectively respond to seasonal natural disasters, ultimately reducing suffering and loss, and fostering a deeply embedded culture of resilience.

Your Preparedness

Summer in Australia brings unique challenges, with the 2025/26 season predicted to see increased risks of bushfires, floods, and severe storms across many communities. 'Get Ready Australia' is dedicated to providing you with the knowledge and tools needed to face these challenges head-on. We believe that preparedness is not just about reacting to an event, but about proactively building resilience.

By understanding the risks and taking simple steps now, you can significantly minimise potential damage, protect your loved ones, and most importantly, save lives. Your effective preparation involves understanding your risks and having a plan. Here’s how you can get ready:

Preparedness can save lives.
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Bushfires

Know your risk: Understand your local bushfire risk level.

Create a Bushfire Plan: Decide what you will do, when you will do it, and where you will go if a bushfire threatens. Include plans for your pets.

Prepare your property: Maintain your property by clearing gutters, removing flammable materials, and ensuring adequate water supplies.

Emergency Kit: Pack an emergency kit with essentials like water, food, first-aid supplies, a radio, and important documents.

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Floods

Monitor warnings: Stay informed about weather forecasts and flood warnings from official sources.

Know evacuation routes: Identify safe evacuation routes from your home and community.

Secure your home: Move valuable items to higher ground and consider sandbagging if time permits.

Have an Emergency Kit: Ensure your kit is waterproof and accessible.

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Storms and Cyclones

Secure outdoor items: Bring in or tie down anything that could be blown away by strong winds.

Stay indoors: During severe storms, stay inside and away from windows.

Have an Emergency Kit: Essential items are crucial if power is lost.

Generator Safety: If using a generator, ensure it is operated safely outdoors and away from windows.

Remember: Always follow the advice of emergency services.

Your Free Guide

To help you prepare your family for a disaster, we've put together a useful guide to steer you in the right direction.

Our 'Prepare your Family for a Disaster' guide is a great reference to get a head start now on being prepared.

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Download your free guide (PDF)

Benefits of Being Prepared

The 'Get Ready Australia' initiative is fundamentally about shifting the mindset from reactive response to proactive resilience. The benefits of being prepared are profound and far-reaching:

Mitigation of Suffering and Loss: Proactive measures significantly reduce the likelihood and severity of injury, death, property damage, and livelihood disruption.

Economic Resilience: Prepared businesses and farms are better equipped to withstand interruptions, recover faster, and minimise financial losses, supporting local economies.

Enhanced Community Cohesion: Community-led preparedness efforts build stronger social networks, fostering mutual support and a collective sense of agency.

Psychological Wellbeing: Knowing that practical steps have been taken and that support systems are in place can alleviate anxiety and provide a sense of control in uncertain times, thereby preventing despair and loss of hope.

Faster Recovery: Pre-disaster planning and readily available resources expedite post-disaster recovery processes, allowing communities to rebuild and return to normality more swiftly.

Cost reductions: Reduced recovery cost burdens to individuals, insurers, the community and the economy.

Some Great Tips

  • Review your insurance: 
    Review your property, health, and life insurance policies. Consider flood insurance if you live in a flood-prone area. Having adequate coverage can significantly speed up recovery.
  • Record your home inventory: 
    Create a record of your home and belongings. Take photos or videos of your interior, exterior, and personal items. Store a copy of this inventory, along with your insurance documents, in your Family Preparedness Kit.
  • Put aside some money: 
    Maintain an emergency savings account. Keep a small amount of cash in a safe place at home for use during power outages or evacuations when banks may be inaccessible.
  • Have escape routes and meeting points:
    Identify safe escape routes within your home and establish pre-determined meeting locations for different emergency scenarios (e.g., a nearby landmark for a home-based emergency, or a location outside your town for a wider evacuation). Discuss these with your family, involving children in the process.
  • Be prepared to evacuate:
    Keep your car's fuel tank full if an evacuation seems likely. Plan to take one vehicle per family to reduce congestion. If you don't own a car, arrange transport with friends or family. If instructed, leave immediately. Leave early to avoid severe weather. Follow recommended routes and avoid flooded areas or downed power lines.
  • Monitor the weather and conditions:
    Modern technology makes it easier than ever to stay updated on weather conditions. Stay updated via local weather reports and emergency services.

More about Get Ready Australia

Our Strategy

The 'Get Ready Australia' initiative is built upon a multi-faceted, community-centric and locally-led operational strategy:

Proactive Risk Mitigation: A core focus is on preventative actions undertaken before a disaster strikes. This involves advising on and facilitating practical, essential tasks such as:

  • Clearing properties of debris and flammable vegetation to reduce bushfire fuel load.

  • Maintaining fencelines to ensure the safety of farm animals and secure property boundaries.

  • Implementing strategic tree management to minimise risks from falling limbs and reduce bushfire spread.

  • Ensuring gutters and drainage systems are clear to effectively prevent water damage and flooding and ember-induced fires.

Community Hubs and Localised Expertise: The program will leverage a network of new 'hubs' strategically located across Australia. These hubs will serve as central coordination points for locally-led 'branches', ensuring that preparedness strategies and support are tailored to the specific environmental, social, and economic conditions of each region. This decentralised model empowers local communities to take ownership and drive relevant initiatives.

Targeted Support
Emergency Escape Kits: Development and distribution of essential emergency escape kits. Content will be adaptable but may include battery-operated radios, basic survival supplies, vital contact details for emergency services and community support personnel, and potentially pre-paid vouchers for immediate needs. These kits will be prioritised for vulnerable households and at-risk communities.

Farmer Support: A dedicated focus on the unique needs of farmers, including the preparation of livestock, securing essential farm infrastructure, and developing farm-specific business interruption and recovery plans. This will be significantly enhanced through close collaboration with the 'Farmhand Heroes' program.

Business Preparedness: Providing tailored advice and resources for small and medium-sized business owners, covering business continuity, interruption plans, supply chain resilience, and advance recovery strategies to minimise economic impact.

Mental Health Integration: Proactively aligning with mental health service providers to offer support, resources, and information to communities and individuals who may experience stress, anxiety, or trauma related to disaster preparedness and recovery.

Insurance and Financial Preparedness: Educating residents, farmers, and businesses on the importance of adequate insurance coverage and assisting them in understanding policy details and claims processes.

Follow our disaster.org.au socials to keep updated on 'Get Ready Australia', including when we may be in your area, or complete an online form if you need help in preparing for a disaster.