Disability Inclusive Emergency Management Toolkit
The National Emergency Management Agency launched the Disability Inclusive Emergency Management Toolkit in December 2024. This national resource supports governments, emergency planners, and disability and community organisations to make emergency planning more inclusive of people with disability.
The toolkit promotes a practical and collaborative approach, helping local communities learn from each other and identify barriers that people with disability face during emergencies. The 2024ꟷ25 higher-risk weather season reinforced the urgency of inclusive planning, as people with disability continued to experience disproportionate impacts during emergencies.
Dr Jill Charker, Deputy Coordinator General of the NEMA launches the Disability Inclusive Emergency Management Toolkit on 3 December 2024.
Image: National Emergency Management Agency
Working together
NEMA commissioned world-leading researchers from the University of Sydney’s Centre for Disability Research and Policy to lead the project. People with disability and their advocates co-designed the project to ensure resources reflect lived experience.
In the project’s current phase, the agency and the University of Sydney are delivering 37 Disability Inclusive Emergency Planning forums across Australia. These bring together local governments, emergency services and people with disability to assess practices and identify opportunities for improvement.
To help embed the toolkit nationally, NEMA has funded the development of interactive e-Learning modules. These online resources offer a collaborative learning experience, helping participants apply the principles of disability-inclusive emergency management in their work.
Benefits for the community
With one in 6 Australians living with disability, the toolkit aims to improve outcomes by building capability across government, community services, and disability support and advocacy organisations. It supports inclusive, community-led preparedness by equipping the community with the knowledge and tools needed to plan for the needs of people with disability in emergencies.
The toolkit contributes to the implementation of Australia’s Disability Strategy. This strategy calls for disaster preparedness, risk management, and emergency responses to be inclusive of people with disability and to support their physical and mental wellbeing.
The toolkit supports Recommendation 5.4 of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. This recommendation calls for the review of national agreements, strategies and plans affecting people with disability, including those related to emergency management.
Find out more
National Emergency Management Agency (2025) Disability inclusive emergency management, NEMA website, accessed 5 August 2025.
Department of Health, Disability and Ageing (2025) Australia's Disability Strategy, Health, Disability and Ageing website, accessed 5 August 2025.
Royal Commission (n.d.) Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, Royal Commission website, accessed 5 August 2025.