Disaster Adaptation Planning

The NSW Reconstruction Authority (RA) has developed draft guidelines to support the development of Disaster Adaptation Plans (DAPs). The guidelines outline the approach and process to develop DAPs in collaboration with other appropriate organisations and the community.

RA has worked closely with local councils, joint organisations and regional organisations of councils, state government agencies and other relevant stakeholders including emergency management organisations in the development of the DAP Guidelines.  

In August 2023, the RA surveyed 129 NSW councils to understand existing plans and resources, key drivers in natural hazard risk research and planning, risk exposure and current challenges. The survey results were used to inform the design and development of the draft DAP Guidelines.

In July and August 2024, the RA completed an 8 week consultation period on the draft guidelines. Over 700 stakeholders from government, industry and other relevant organisations were engaged through a series of workshops, briefings, meetings, forums, and the online Have Your Say platform. This feedback will shape the final guidelines, set for release in early 2025.

Since 2019, NSW residents have endured more than 73 declared disasters, costing the NSW Government more than $9 billion, with more than 20,000 homes damaged in 2022 alone. 

Historically, around 97% of disaster funding has been spent on response and recovery with only 3% spent on reducing risk. 

There is a need to work collaboratively across all levels of government and community to better prepare for and reduce the risk of disasters before they happen. The State Disaster Mitigation Plan (SDMP) and place-based Disaster Adaptation Plans (DAPs) will chart this course to a better prepared NSW.

A disaster adaptation plan or DAP brings together hazard information and analysis on risk reducing options for a defined geographic area, that will help protect communities from disasters caused by natural hazards.

An adaptation pathway outlines the various options that can be taken to reduce risk both now and in the future. Options might be proactively implemented, like building a levee in anticipation of a flooding event, or activated when a certain condition is met, for example, when a disaster of a certain magnitude occurs.

DAPs help improve strategic planning processes and decision-making by bringing together the required natural hazard risk information in one place. They will help ensure NSW is best placed to face future disasters caused by natural hazards before they happen and recover more effectively after they have occurred. Over time, DAPs are expected to reduce the costs associated with disasters and build greater future resilience for communities and infrastructure.

The State Disaster Mitigation Plan (SDMP) provides a range of solutions (the risk reduction toolkit) to be considered in place-based plans, as well as actions to address state policy and program gaps. DAPs look at multiple natural hazard risks for a specific area and identify risk reduction actions for that place, with community collaboration and participation.

DAPs focus on natural hazards and have detailed, relevant strategies and actions for risk reduction and adaptation. Emergency and recovery plans are considered when developing a DAP, however emergency and recovery arrangements are not part of DAPs. Actions to reduce risk identified in DAPs aim to reduce emergency response and recovery impacts. 

Hazard and other information from coastal management plans, floodplain risk management plans, bush fire management plans are inputs into the DAP process. Where actions are being or have been implemented through these plans, these will be supported. The DAP development provides an opportunity to reconsider the risk reduction options already identified in these other processes where there have been barriers to implementation.

Community engagement will be undertaken at each stage of the DAP development process. A community engagement plan will be developed when starting work on the DAP, including the channels to be used and the culturally appropriate approaches to engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and Aboriginal landowners.

Relevant subject matter specialists, including Traditional Owners, Aboriginal knowledge holders and Aboriginal scientists will be engaged to inform the DAP process. We are also planning targeted consultation with Aboriginal landowners, including Discrete Aboriginal Communities.

Successful disaster adaptation planning requires collaboration between all levels of government, the community and industry. Through consultation with relevant stakeholders, we’ve learnt that DAPs at a regional scale will provide the best risk reduction outcomes for our communities. 

Regional DAPs will significantly improve the ability to address natural hazard risks in a coordinated way. They will allow for the identification and implementation of regional-scale solutions, cost sharing, data and research across multiple hazards and improve access to subject-matter specialists and funding pathways. 

Implementation plans prepared by local governments and other organisations to support DAP implementation will be aligned to the regional DAP.

Regional boundaries and supporting governance structures will be established in collaboration at the earliest stage of the DAP process. Regional boundaries will be established based on existing boundaries such as regional planning boundaries or geophysical characteristics such as a flood catchment. 

The RA may prepare a DAP or require a relevant entity to do so as outlined in section 37 of the NSW Reconstruction Authority Act 2022. Relevant entities include government agencies, local councils or state-owned corporations. 

The RA is currently developing the first DAPs for two high-risk regions - the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley and the Northern Rivers.

DAPs must be considered by:

• any planning authority when undertaking strategic planning and decision-making 
• councils when undertaking their local government functions
• all relevant entities when preparing applications for and carrying out development.

Under the legislation, DAPs are not mandatory, however the RA does have power to direct entities to deliver a DAP. Over time, the ability to access the proposed NSW Mitigation Fund may rely on information within a DAP. The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) requires states and territories to take a risk based approach to access Australian government funding, which is provided through the development of a DAP.

The NSW Government, through the RA, will coordinate the co-design, development, and implementation of regional DAPs. 

It is intended that a regional steering committee will be established including representatives from all levels of government. The role of the steering committee will include: 

• providing strategic oversight and collective decision making
• ensuring compliance with the DAP process set out in the guidelines
• helping to guide councils and other entities in preparing implementation plans. 

Technical working groups will provide technical advice to inform the DAP process and community and stakeholder engagement forums will also be established to enable effective engagement for affected communities. Coordination of actions by other organisations such as critical infrastructure providers, NGOs (including community organisations), and industry (banking and insurance) will be facilitated through State coordination groups.

The RA is responsible for leading disaster risk reduction in NSW and will work across government to lead the development and implementation of plans, including DAPs, to support this effort. The RA has professional expertise in related technical areas, working relationships with government agencies (NSW State Emergency Service, Transport for NSW, NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure etc) supported by technical information and analytical capability that will play a strong role in the delivery of DAPs.

The RA understands that councils and other organisations will need funding support to deliver actions included in DAPs. One of 37 key actions within the SDMP is to develop a business case for a NSW Mitigation Fund. Once this is established, it will help to fund risk reduction actions set out and prioritised in DAPs.

The guidelines outline a 5 stage disaster adaption planning process for preparing, making and implementing a DAP:

• Stage 1: Readiness involves agreeing to regional governance arrangements and regional boundaries to enable collaboration between state government, local government and other relevant organisations, such as infrastructure providers, banking, insurance and NGOs, as well as community engagement.
• Stage 2: Understanding place involves understanding all the available information and plans in place related to current disaster risk, as well as future risk in context of not taking further action. It will also involve understanding community values and desired outcomes. NSW Reconstruction Authority Frequently Asked Questions Frequently Asked Questions |draft Disaster Adaptation Plan Guidelines June-August 2024 5
• Stage 3: Options and adaptation pathways assessment involves assessing packages of risk reduction options known as ‘adaptation pathways’, and identifying a preferred adaptation pathway.
• Stage 4: Plan finalisation involves the preparation of the final DAP as well as supporting implementation plans.
• Stage 5: Implementation and monitoring is the stage at which actions identified in the DAP and implementation plans are actioned and progress is monitored to ensure action is taken to review or refresh the plan as needed.

Implementation plans may be prepared by local councils or other appropriate organisations to set out how actions identified in the DAP will be implemented as part of their prescribed functions. For local councils, this includes how the DAP actions will be implemented as part of the exercise of their functions under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 or the Local Government Act 1993. For other organisations this might include how DAP implementation will be achieved through their asset management plans or business continuity plans.

A monitoring framework establishes by who and how the actions set out in a DAP will be monitored and evaluated. The framework aims to ensure transparent reporting on DAP progress and to reflect community feedback. It also aims to identify if new actions need to be taken when certain conditions arise or a ‘trigger point’ is reached, for example if a natural disaster occurs.

Consultation on the draft DAP guidelines has now closed and the engagement summary report has been released.

The feedback received during consultation will shape the final guidelines to be released in early 2025.   

RA will then continue the delivery of DAPs, which will take place over the coming years.