That the Australian Government establish a biannual National Climate Service forum, to bring together key climate service stakeholders from across public, private and community sectors to advance the climate services industry and its understanding of user needs.

That the National Climate Service promote climate literacy through public information to empower users to understand and apply climate information for their own adaptation needs.

The Committee recommends insurers facilitate options for policyholders to provide additional information to insurers about the resilience of their property to flood risks, and make further investments to better integrate reported resilience measures into the calculations of premiums.

The Commonwealth should publicly release a version of the Risk Profile and associated methodology to inform the efforts of communities, industry, local and state and territory governments, and the not-for-profit sectors, to prepare for future natural disasters.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government work with its state and territory counterparts and industry to raise awareness and education of innovative technologies and recyclable materials and construction methods to support

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government’s National Emergency Management Agency increase awareness and education around betterment options under Category B Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements.

State and territory governments should ensure that the implementation of the Australian Warning System is accompanied by a carefully developed national education campaign that considers the needs of all Australians. 

State and territory governments should deliver education to ensure that the public understands the new Australian Fire Danger Rating System ratings, the potential danger attached to each rating, and the action that should be taken in response to each rating. 

Australian, state and territory governments should work together to develop a program for national level recovery exercises, building on the work currently underway through the Community Outcomes and Recovery Subcommittee of the Australia-New Zealand Emergency Management Committee. 

State and territory governments should continue to deliver, evaluate and improve education and engagement programs aimed at promoting disaster resilience for individuals and communities.

Australian, state and territory governments should conduct multi-agency, national-level exercises, not limited to cross-border jurisdictions. These exercises should, at a minimum:
(1) assess national capacity, inform capability development and coordination in response to, and recovery from, natural disasters, and
(2) use scenarios that stress current capabilities. 

State and territory governments should:
(1) each have a process or mechanism in place to communicate natural hazard risk information to households (including prospective purchasers) in ‘hazard prone’ areas, and
(2) work together, and with the Australian Government where appropriate, to explore the development of a national mechanism to do the same. 

Australian, state and territory governments should:
(1) develop close to real-time, nationally consistent air quality information, including consistent categorisation and public health advice
(2) greater community education and guidance, and
(3) targeted health advice to vulnerable groups. 

The Australian Government, coordinated by the Department of Health and Ageing and in consultation with the wider Australian community, develop a national public awareness campaign to better inform and engage the travelling public about infectious disease issues. This campaign should cover the risks associated with travelling overseas, preventative measures that can be undertaken to minimise these risks, and screening measures used at the border to prevent the importation of infectious disease.
Subject to consumer input and feedback, this campaign could include a range of materials and platforms, including:
- videos, which could be published via YouTube, Smartraveller, international flights and/or other relevant access points;
- reading material such as brochures which can be provided at travel agencies, passport offices, on international flights and other relevant access points; and
- targeted ongoing engagement with consumers via social media and on travel websites.

The Australian Department of Health and Ageing consult with members of the general public or representatives of health consumers in the pandemic planning process, including in pandemic exercises designed to test the ability of government to respond to a pandemic event. Consumer involvement should include testing the ability of any communication strategy designed to inform and engage consumers about a pandemic event.

The Australian Government test Australia’s ability to respond to a widespread outbreak of infectious disease other than influenza, by undertaking a pandemic exercise across the relevant Commonwealth, state and territory government agencies.

The Australian Government initiative to improve the coordination and dissemination of flood-risk information should proceed in the most cost-effective way, be regularly updated and be expanded over time to encompass other natural hazards. Guidelines to improve the quality and consistency of risk information should also be regularly updated and take climate change into account where feasible.

The committee recommends emergency service organisations in collaboration with television and radio broadcasters, the print media and other relevant organisations, use regular and ongoing public education well in advance of an emergency situation as an opportunity to teach the public about their responsibilities during an emergency and how they can appropriately prepare themselves for such an event.

To improve customer awareness of the availability of disaster recovery assistance, the ANAO recommends that Centrelink:
• review its communication strategy to ensure that information on disaster recovery assistance is accessible to target audiences and responsive to the particular disaster situation; and
• reinforce key recovery messages for the time period that assistance is available so that information reaches community members when they are receptive.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government nominate 2012 as the Year of the Coast, to further build community awareness about the issues facing the coastal zone. The Australian Government should work with coastal stakeholders, volunteer groups and the general community in determining key activities as part of this initiative.

The Committee recommends that the Australian Government undertake an awareness campaign to alert coastal communities to the key challenges facing the coastal zone and the value of community engagement in addressing these challenges. The campaign should aim to build understanding and awareness of coastal management issues to encourage the continued membership and support of volunteer networks in the coastal zone.

The ANAO recommends that the Attorney-General’s Department, in consultation with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the National Counter-Terrorism Committee, pursue a more strategic and systematic approach to the measurement of performance via the National Capability Development Exercise Programme by:
a) the setting of broad exercise objectives and supporting performance indicators that are aligned with the priority areas of the national arrangements to be tested;
b) the consistent setting of objectives and performance indicators that allow for the measurement and reporting of performance over time; and
c) encouraging agencies to set objectives and performance indicators that are more aligned with those of the broad exercise and those of other relevant participating agencies.

The ANAO recommends that the Attorney-General’s Department, in conjunction with the National Counter-Terrorism Committee’s exercise management advisers, explore options for the incorporation of more contemporary and varied testing and training aids in the National Capability Development Exercise Programme.

The ANAO recommends that the Attorney-General’s Department, in consultation with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the National Counter- Terrorism Committee, pursue the adoption of a more strategic approach to determining the National Capability Development Exercise Programme so that:
a) the exercises conducted better address the areas of greatest priority and maximise their contribution to the enhancement of a basic, viable nation-wide capability;
b) synergies with other exercises and reviews can be better taken into account; and
c) the rationale for the setting of the programme, including the individual components, is clearly documented.

The ANAO recommends that the Attorney-General’s Department, in consultation with the National Counter-Terrorism Committee, strengthens the reporting on the National Capability Development Exercise Programme through:
a) the provision of clearer guidance on, and monitoring of, the quality of reporting required for the exercises; and
b) a review of the exercise umpiring process to maximise the contribution umpires make to effective performance measurement and reporting and hence to continuous improvement.

The ANAO recommends that the Attorney-General’s Department, in consultation with the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and the National Counter-Terrorism Committee:
a) clearly distinguish between the testing/evaluation components and the training components for the exercises conducted under the National Capability Development Exercise Programme; and
b) ensure that the National Capability Development Exercise Programme, and each of the exercises conducted, places sufficient emphasis on evaluation.

The Working Group recommends that Emergency Management Australia and the jurisdictions through the AEMC develop a three year rolling national exercise strategy aimed at testing the response and recovery aspects of large scale disasters. 

The Working Group recommends that the results of the scenario modeling be presented to the Australian Emergency Management Committee (AEMC) upon completion, and that AEMC form Sub Working Groups of State/Territory emergency management representatives as appropriate to be tasked with considering response and recovery capability (both state/territory and national) against the identified consequences. 

The Working Group recommends that the national forum mentioned in recommendation 13 consider the ongoing need for dissemination of information on a national basis both during and following a catastrophic disaster and also identify strategies to ensure the ability of this to be facilitated.

The Working Group recommends that EMA convene a national forum to explore community information and warning needs in catastrophic disasters, to review existing information and warning systems, and to identify possible technologies and techniques that might be used to enhance community needs in disasters. 

The Committee recommends that the Insurance Council of Australia coordinates a public education campaign aimed at illustrating the importance of asset protection and how this can be achieved (that is, insurance products).