Local government plays a critical role in reducing disaster risk and building community resilience. From land use planning and infrastructure investment to community engagement and emergency management, councils are at the forefront of preparing for, responding to and recovering from natural disasters.
The Local Government Disaster Resilience Self-Reflection Tool has been developed to support councils in understanding their current disaster resilience capability and identifying practical opportunities for improvement. The tool provides a consistent framework that enables councils to assess their maturity across key areas of disaster resilience and embed disaster resilience thinking into everyday decision-making.
What the Tool Assesses
The self-reflection tool evaluates resilience capability across seven core themes:
- Community Resilience – strengthening community preparedness, awareness and social cohesion
- Council as an Organisation – governance, business continuity and organisational capability
- Council Services – continuity and resilience of essential council services
- Emergency Management – preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation activities
- Environment – managing natural systems that help reduce disaster risk
- Infrastructure – ensuring critical assets can withstand and recover from disasters
- Land Use Planning – incorporating hazard and climate risk into planning decisions.
Why Use the Tool?
The tool helps councils to:
- Understand their current level of disaster resilience maturity
- Identify opportunities for improvement and investment
- Support resilience-focused planning and decision-making
- Strengthen business cases and funding applications
- Inform Integrated Planning and Reporting (IP&R) processes
- Improve collaboration across council teams and external partners
- Measure progress through repeat assessments over time.
Importantly, the tool is not a compliance assessment or ranking system. It is instead designed as a practical learning and improvement resource that recognises the unique circumstances, hazards and challenges faced by different councils across NSW.
Collaboration across NSW
The tool was developed by the Illawarra Shoalhaven Joint Organisation in partnership with the Canberra Region Joint Organisation, Central NSW Joint Organisation, Hunter Joint Organisation and the Riverina and Murray Joint Organisation utilising resources under the Disaster Ready Fund Program.
It builds on existing resilience and Integrated Planning & Reporting guidance creating a practical and consistent approach for councils seeking to strengthen disaster resilience across their organisations and communities
To download the tool please click on the image at the top of this page.
