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Issue Spotlight: Emergency Planning and Crisis Response for People with Disability

| General

A group of people, some with visible disabilities, arrive at the QDN lunch at the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

Prior to 2018, there were few studies that examined the topic of emergency planning and crisis response from a disability perspective. An integrative review, published in the July 2018 edition of the Australian Journal of Emergency Management, found there were no studies that explored the lived experience of people with disability within the Australian context. The studies that were available showed a recurrent theme that people with disability lacked support to prepare, evacuate and recover from a disaster event.  

In 2022, the landscape of emergency planning and crisis response is dramatically different.  The body of knowledge has grown since 2015, with initiatives across Australia producing resources, data, and analysis on the topic. Alongside this, 2019 and 2020 saw the Summer bushfire crisis and the global COVID-19 pandemic expose gaps in government responses, providing data that will inform policy and practices.

This article presents resources that have been developed around emergency planning and crisis responses that consider the needs of, and barriers facing marginalised communities and isolated individuals with disability.

The Sendai Framework: An international framework that includes people with disability

The development of emergency planning and crisis response for people with disability has gained momentum both in Australia and globally since the endorsement of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030. This framework provides the global blueprint for building the world’s resilience to disasters. 

The Sendai Framework is the first international agreement on disaster management to include the needs of people with disabilities. The guiding principles include that a disability perspective should be integrated in all policies and practices and that disaggregated data on disability should be included in a multi-hazard approach and inclusive risk-informed decision-making.

Disability inclusive disaster risk reduction (DiDRR): A relatively new phenomenon

The term “Disability-Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction” (DiDRR) is used to describe activities that support the inclusion of people with disability in disaster and emergency planning. In Australia, there are now many projects, strategies, and initiatives that examine and employ DiDRR principles. 

One professor who has championed projects in the field of DiDRR is Associate Professor at University of Sydney, Michelle Villeneuve, who leads the Disability-Inclusive Community Development research workstream at the Centre for Disability Research and Policy. Her joint projects with the University of Sydney Centre for Disability Research and Policy are now brought together in one resource: Collaborating 4 Inclusion.

Collaborating 4 Inclusion features projects where the University of Sydney Centre for Disability Research and Policy partnered with disability advocacy and community organisations that apply DiDDR principles. These projects include: 

  • Clearing a path –  Disability Advocacy Resource Unit (DARU) hosted the Disability and Disaster Resilience forum hosted by DARU on 27 August 2020, and jointly published an issues paper with VCOSS to be used by disability advocates and peak organisations to advocate for change toward disability inclusion in disaster risk reduction. 
  • P-CEP Workbook – Queenslanders with Disability Network (QDN) and Community Services Industry Alliance CSIA co-designed a disaster preparedness planning guide for people with disability, which was featured in the Conversation’s article: 3 things we can do now to help people with disability prepare for disaster 
  • Leave Nobody Behind (NSW) – inclusive disaster risk management project funded by the Australian Research Council and the NSW Government through Resilience NSW (formerly Office of Emergency Management). 
  • Disability Inclusive Emergency Planning (Victoria) – VALID and Gippsland Disability Advocacy jointly worked to pilot strategies for developing a more inclusive emergency planning approach at the local municipal level. 

Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness for People with Disability 

A core resource is the Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness (P-CEP) toolkit, which was developed in 2018 through a co-design process together with emergency management, health and community services personnel. The study was covered by the Australian Journal of Emergency Management in October 2019: Increasing involvement of people with disability  Australian Journal of Emergency Management. 

The P-CEP toolkit provides a strengths-based process tool for people with disability and their service providers to develop emergency preparedness through self-assessment, targeted actions and advocacy relevant to the support needs they will have in an emergency. This toolkit has grown to include a host of resources, including a workbook, user guides, and community-specific initiatives. There is a COVID-19 Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness, and a current research project focused on People with Disability from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities conducted in partnership with Settlement Services International (SSI).

Australia’s emergency planning and crisis response is tested by regional and global emergencies

Australian governments were forced to put their emergency planning and crisis response into practice in 2019 and 2020. Australia was challenged in multiple regions by the Summer bushfire crisis, which saw states of emergency declared in New South Wales, ACT and Victoria. With this emergency, and the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, government planning and responses became urgent and vital to the wellbeing of the community. 

The Disability Royal Commission published their Emergency planning and response issues paper on 15 April 2020, providing an opportunity for people with disability, parents and family members, academics and organisations to respond. The consultation saw many advocacy organisations highlight the unique issues and barriers to address in emergency planning and response for people with disability (see full list of submissions below). Many responses reflected a sentiment that people with disability were being left behind and overlooked across government emergency planning responses. 

The Royal Commission held the Public hearing on Experiences of people with disability during the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic in Sydney in August 2020, and published their findings in a report in November. The report stated, “The evidence at Public hearing 5 echoed what people with disability were telling the Royal Commission from the very outset of the pandemic: people with disability were extremely anxious, stressed and frightened as they found themselves severely affected by an unprecedented health crisis.”  The report makes 22 wide-ranging recommendations in light of evidence from people with disability, advocates, experts and government representatives.

Advocacy for emergency planning and crisis responses for people with disability in 2022

This year disability advocacy organisations made calls to action for better emergency planning and crisis responses from Australian government and these calls were covered by the media. Australian disability advocates also took the opportunity to present at international events around the topic of emergency planning and people with disability.

In March 2022, a coalition of 40 leading disability rights, advocacy and peak body organisations (including DANA) endorsed a pre-election open letter to politicians across the country demanding a new approach and more resources for improving disaster and emergency responses for people with disability. In April, The Guardian referenced this call to action and featured Giancarlo de Vera, senior manager of policy at People With Disability Australia (PWDA) in a report highlighting the lack of support provided for people with disability during the NSW and Queensland floods.

A delegation presented to the United Nations in June 2022 at 15th Session of the Conference of States Parties (COSP) to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), where the themes included ‘Building disability-inclusive and participatory societies in the COVID context and beyond.’ Delegate and advocate, Kelly Cox, in collaboration with  PWDA and Cloudcatcher Media, presented a 24-page booklet of stories from Northern Rivers residents who had struggled during the floods and in the aftermath and recovery: Impact of climate change & natural disaster on disabled people. 

In September 2022, Brisbane hosted the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) through a partnership between Australia and the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). The conference program featured a number of spotlight events and panels where disability leaders from across the region spoke about disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction (DiDRR). The University of Sydney Centre for Disability Research and Policy (CDRP), CBM Australia and PWD Australia jointly hosted a networking lunch to discuss the ways in which we can support each other in raising awareness of the importance of DiDRR.  

The Future of Emergency Planning and Crisis Response for People with Disability in Australia

Australia has made steps towards improving their emergency planning and crisis response for people with disability. Australia’s Disability Strategy 2021-2031 established a Targeted Action Plan (TAP) for Emergency Management. The Emergency Management TAP sets out key actions to make real progress on improving the outcomes of people with disability affected by national emergencies. 

In September 2022, the Australian Government established the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), with the aim of strengthening Australia’s preparedness, response and recovery from disasters. NEMA combines the work of the National Recovery and Resilience Agency and Emergency Management Australia, a single, enduring, end-to-end agency to better respond to emergencies.  

Regional events around these issues are also becoming more common. For example, a report by the Star Journal reported on the Greater Dandenong Council’s disability and climate change workshop in June 2022 where disability advocates proposed solutions to better include people with a disability in the discussion around climate adaptation. 

The University of Sydney is carrying out ongoing consultations through various national surveys to understand the level of emergency preparedness among people with disability, carers, health and social care organisations, and frontline staff and volunteers.

The collaborative work of academics, advocacy organisations, community and government has ensured that the conversation will continue around DiDDR. Advocacy organisations will continue to play a core role in ensuring inclusion of people with disability in Australia’s emergency planning and crisis response policy and implementation.

 

Emergency Planning and Crisis Response for People with Disability Resources

National Resources

State Resources

Advocacy Sector Resources: COVID-19

Advocacy Sector Resources: Bushfires and Home Fires

Responses to the DRC’s Emergency planning and response Issues paper (April 2020)

National representative organisations:
Community advocacy organisations: