Embedding disability inclusion and awareness into disaster management

Every cloud has a silver lining. 

Such was the case for Southern Downs Regional Council (SDRC) whose residents were badly impacted by the Southern Queensland Flooding event of 2022.

Despite their best efforts, SDRC, as a small regional local council, had struggled to meet the needs and ensure the safety of residents with a disability or mobility issue during disaster events.

With an estimated 1 in 5 Australians having a disability, SDRC saw the need to create an official disability-focused sub-group of their Local Disaster Management Group (LDMG).

The group would be co-chaired by a community member living with a disability with other positions filled by service providers, community members and interested disaster sector agencies.

To be known as the Southern Downs Higher-Risk Sub-Group (HRSG), the group’s aim was to embed disability inclusion and awareness into disaster management.

However, early efforts to establish the group met with limited success.

When a Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness (PCEP) training session for NDIS providers attracted just one person, Council sensed it would be a long road.

Undeterred, Council offered further training, delivered extensive PCEP promotion to the community at public events, and produced enough PCEP workbooks and resources for every Southern Downs resident with a disability. 

But the real game-changer was the 2022 flood event.

Following the flood, a community member named Christof entered the recovery hub with his support worker, seeking disaster assistance. 

Because of his bipolar disorder, Christof had limited recollection of the day’s events, including being evacuated, the procedures at the evacuation centre, his support worker stepping in, and being moved to alternative accommodation. 

This traumatic experience motivated Christof to attend PCEP workshops and community forums which encouraged him to develop his disaster preparedness skills.

His enthusiasm for the training saw him become the first HRSG member.

Christof was later elected as the co-chair, in line with the group’s philosophy that a lived-experience community member would co-chair the group.

From there the group flourished.

Community forums held between 2022 and 2024 included 33 organisations across the emergency services sector, local and state government, local community organisations, national not-for-profits, disability service providers, and lived experience community members.

That extensive engagement translated into having key stakeholders including local government, QPS, NDIS, young people, and Indigenous health service providers, involved in the HRSG diligently working on bettering outcomes for the region’s most vulnerable residents.

Importantly, Council’s LDMG endorsed the HRSG, giving it credibility and a voice to its decisions and concerns.

The HRSG’s value was further recognised with their inclusion at district and state disaster management group levels.

The HRSG has highlighted the additional preparedness challenges faced by vulnerable residents while also offering the LDMG an opportunity to apply disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction practices informed by lived experience.

The success of SDRC’s HRSG was recognised with a Highly Commended award in the Local Government category at the 2024 Queensland Resilient Australia Awards which recognise the importance locally-led organisations play in communities when faced with natural disasters.