Australia's new International Development Policy commits Australia to build regional resilience by supporting partner governments and communities to lead their own climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction efforts.
The Indo-Pacific is one of the most disaster-prone regions in the world, and the impacts of climate change are being felt more severely in our region than others.
Australia is supporting regional partners to identify, manage and respond to disaster risks and hazards, helping build resilience to future disasters and climate change. This supports development gains and reduces disaster losses. Studies show that $1 spent on disaster risk reduction delivers an average return of $15 in terms of averted future disaster recovery costs.1
Australia's approach to disaster risk reduction is guided by the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-30), adopted in 2015 along with the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, in recognition of the need for coherence across these efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
Resilience building through disaster risk reduction is integrated across the Australian development program. Australia also supports disaster risk management programs in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines and regionally across the Pacific, using the Australian Government's technical expertise and technology from agencies like Geoscience Australia, CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology.
Australian Humanitarian Partnership: Disaster READY Phase II
The Australian Humanitarian Partnership's Disaster READY program is a significant Australian Government investment in disaster preparedness in our region. With almost 246,000 people equipped with the knowledge and resources to mitigate the effects of disaster and climate change after five years, the program was renewed for another five years. The second phase of Disaster READY began in 2022 with a further emphasis on listening to local voices, and including women and girls, and people with disabilities.
Further information
Disaster risk reduction and resilience