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National Indigenous Disaster Resilience
Our vision
Safe, strong and sustainable Indigenous peoples and communities
National Indigenous Disaster Resilience (NIDR) is a research program within the Faculty of Arts, Monash University. This program was established in 2022 in recognition of the disproportionate impact that natural hazards have had, and will continue to have, on Indigenous peoples and communities. NIDR champions Indigenous leadership in disaster resilience through research with Indigenous communities across Australia.
Our purpose
We find out what happens when Indigenous groups are impacted by major disasters. This supports us to:
- Advocate for a fairer resilience system
- Foster relationships between Indigenous groups and the emergency management and resilience sector
- Create new knowledge
We achieve this by:
- Conducting research
- Holding events
- Producing resources
Tracking the impact
Meet the NIDR team
Upcoming events
Latest news
Current projects
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Foundations in Indigenous Disaster Resilience
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Colonial Load and Cultural Conflict
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Policy Roundtables
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Australia Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training Exchange
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Community of Practice
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Closing the Gap in Emergency Management
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Indigenous Disaster Resilience at the Urban Interface
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- AJEM Indigenous Edition
- Aboriginal Community Governance on the Frontlines and Faultlines in the Black Summer Bushfires (Williamson, CAEPR, 2022)
- Indigenous-informed disaster recovery: Addressing collective trauma using a healing framework (Quinn, Williamson and Gibbs, Progress in Disaster Science, 2022)
- Indigenous Peoples and natural hazard research, policy and practice in south-eastern Australia: An agenda for change (Williamson & Weir, AJEM, 2021)
- Aboriginal Peoples and the response to the 2019-20 bushfires (Williamson, Markham & Weir, CAEPR, 2020)
- National Indigenous Disaster Resilience Summit Proceedings
- International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction webinar, featuring Bhiamie Williamson – Fighting inequality for a resilient future
- Indigenous Australians always come off worst in disasters. This needs to stop (Bhiamie Williamson and Alex Perlinski, The Conversation, March 2026)
- ‘It’s like you’re sitting in front of an oven’: surviving the summer in one of Australia’s hottest towns (Ella Archibald-Binge, The Guardian, December 2025)
- Indigenous organisations need more support to respond to climate change, and the disasters it causes (Bhiamie Williamson, IndigenousX, February 2025)
- A deadly bird flu strain is headed for Australia – and First Nations people have the know-how to tackle it, The Conversation (Nell Reidy, Bhiamie Williamson and Vinod Balasubramaniam, The Conversation, February 2025)
- Disaster resilience gathering begins in flood-hit town (Canberra Times, September 2024)
- Lismore hosts National Indigenous Disaster Resilience talks on culturally safe disaster response (ABC News, September 2024)
- Fire and rain: gathering lights a spark to help build Indigenous disaster resilience (SBS/NITV, September 2024)
- ‘Disasters are story-telling time’: Queensland’s Indigenous Disaster Resilience Policy Roundtable offers fresh insights into disasters (Emma McNicol, Fire to Flourish, August 2024)
- ‘They just rounding us up like cattle’ The catastrophic failure of emergency services in Borroloola (Bhiamie Williamson, IndigenousX, March 2024)
- Disasters within disasters: it’s time to address entrenched Aboriginal inequality (Bhiamie Williamson, The Guardian, Sept 2021)
- Bhiamie Williamson articles in The Conversation, 2021-25
- Closing the Gap in Emergency Management Explainer: This one-page Explainer draws attention to emergency management commitments for jurisdictions in the National Agreement on Closing the Gap, and outlines NIDR's proposed priority actions for governments to help close this widening gap and support Indigenous resilience.
- Disaster Preparedness Scorecard: Closing the Gap in Emergency Management: This Scorecard was launched in Canberra in September 2025, evaluating how well government emergency management agencies have delivered on their commitments to engage with Indigenous peoples before a disaster under the National Agreement on Closing the Gap. The analysis is supported by a Disaster Preparedness Scorecard Technical Paper.
- Communique – New South Wales Policy Roundtable on Aboriginal Disaster Resilience: This Communique follows the NSW Policy Roundtable on Aboriginal Disaster Resilience, held at the Australian Hall, the birthplace of the Aboriginal civil rights movement. Representatives from the emergency management, disaster resilience and Aboriginal community-controlled sectors came together to discuss Aboriginal disaster resilience in NSW. This Communique is informed by these discussions and is directed to all individuals and entities supporting resilience across the emergency management continuum.
- Planning Guide to Enhance Resilience and Preparedness in Aboriginal Communities Across South Australia: This Planning Guide was developed with Aboriginal peoples in South Australia to enhance disaster resilience and preparedness for Aboriginal communities. It promotes good practice and safe engagement between emergency service leaders, policy makers and Aboriginal community leaders.
- Communique - Victorian Policy Roundtable on Aboriginal Disaster Resilience: This Communique was developed by delegates who attended the Victorian Policy Roundtable on Aboriginal Disaster Resilience in Naarm/Melbourne on 30 May 2025. It is addressed to all individuals and entities involved in the business of emergency management, community recovery, and broadly addressing climate change through mitigation, adaptation, and Caring for Country.
- AJEM Indigenous Edition
- HPAI H5N1 (Bird Flu) Factsheet for Indigenous Communities
- Indigenous Evacuation Guide: This guide is a compendium to the Australian Institute of Disaster Resilience’s Evacuation Planning Handbook. The guide supports those engaged in evacuation to work effectively with Indigenous residents to ensure that evacuations occur quickly and in culturally safe ways. It also provides guidance to Indigenous communities and organisations on engaging with emergency management processes.
- Working with Indigenous Peoples and Communities Factsheet
Artwork by Oumoula Mckenzie
The artwork featured on this page was created for the National Indigenous Disaster Resilience program by Aṉangu graphic designer, Oumoula Mckenzie. As well as working as a graphic designer, Oumoula is an artist and has worked extensively with Aṉangu youth and emerging leaders.
