Joint media release with the Hon Jaclyn Symes MLC
More than $38 million dollars will be invested in bushfire preparedness across Victoria, through Round One of the Albanese Government’s signature Disaster Ready Fund (DRF).
Through the DRF, up to $200 million in Commonwealth funding is being made available per year over five years, from 2023-24, to reduce disaster risk and improve Australia’s resilience to natural disasters, with states, territories and delivery partners matching this investment, where possible.
Federal Minister for Emergency Management Murray Watt said a total of 11 projects would build bushfire resilience and reduce bushfire risk across the state.
“The DRF is about being better prepared to respond to and recover from devastating natural disasters,” Minister Watt said.
“And we know that bushfires are particularly prevalent in Victoria, so being better prepared is key.
“The Albanese Government takes this very seriously, which is why we have committed up to $1 billion dollars in disaster resilience through the DRF.
“These projects will help people from different parts of the community including youth, people with a disability and people living in regional Victoria.”
The Fund was an election commitment by the Albanese Government and will deliver national long-term mitigation funding to help protect communities from natural disasters.
State and Territory governments submitted applications for a range of projects to improve mitigation and resilience, in collaboration with local Councils and community groups.
Minister Watt said while governments and authorities were building resilience to be better prepared, now is also the time for communities to begin preparing for the risk of potential fires and heatwaves across Victoria.
“This will be the first significant fire season since Black Summer and we know that there will be a lot of stress in the community, particularly in those areas that were impacted during those devastating months in 2019 and 2020,” Minister Watt said.
“Following two years of record-breaking floods in almost every state and territory, we expect that the predicted hot and dry conditions this summer will result in more fast-moving grass and scrub fires, rather than the longer forest fires experienced in 2019-20.
“That being said, every community in a bushfire risk area should be prepared for all types of fires that might impact them.
“Significant changes have been implemented since the Black Summer fires, that will improve how we prepare, respond and recover from fire in the landscape.
“We will have a ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Large Air Tanker on hand to respond quickly where needed.
“We have also implemented a new Australian Fire Danger Rating System, which better forecasts the risk of a fire and better informs the community of that risk.
“We have also improved the programs and processes behind the scenes, to ensure that, where possible, resources are getting to those impacted communities as quickly as possible.”
Victorian Minister for Emergency Services Jaclyn Symes welcomed the funding.
“These projects are vital to ensure communities are as prepared as possible for disasters,” Minister Symes said.
“We know that natural disasters are becoming more frequent due to climate change – these projects are driven by the communities who face them and are best placed to know what they need.”
Federal Member for McEwen Rob Mitchell said that the seat of McEwen has suffered through many major bushfire events from the 1939 fires, Ash Wednesday, Black Saturday and the Kilmore fires.
“With the change in climate and a drier summer expected we all need a heightened awareness,” Mr Mitchell said.
“This funding is just another example of the Albanese Government delivering on its promises and is a very welcome announcement here in Victoria.
“I also appreciate that we now have a Minister at the table who is proactively working to improve and protect lives in our community.”
For more information on the DRF, visit
Project name | Details | Comm. funding | Partner funding | Total funding |
Business case for Emergency Preparedness model for people with disability | This project will develop a business case for a staged state‐wide rollout of a Person‐Centred Emergency Preparedness (P‐CEP) model for Victoria’s people with disability community. It will focus on increasing awareness and the benefits of P‐CEP in disaster risk reduction to increase P‐CEP uptake and foster collaborative emergency management planning approaches. | $176,749 | $373,097 | $549,846 |
Remote Bushfire Detection | This project seeks to provide rapid identification of bushfire ignitions using satellite and terrestrial camera technology integrated with machine learning. Early detection allows a quicker response to ignitions, reduced impact of bushfire on people, property, and the environment and increased first responder safety. | $1.5m | $1.5m | $3m |
Jamieson Police Paddock Community Hub ‐ Business Case and Project Plan | This project will create a business case and project plan to develop a purpose‐built command post, gathering place, and recovery centre during and after emergencies. Outside of emergencies, the facility will be a multifunctional community space. | $30,000 | $30,000 | $60,000 |
Mount Alexander Shire Community Information Monitors | This project will install 8 fixed TV monitors in key locations and two mobile boards. During and after emergencies, they will share localised warnings, hazards, safety advice and information about relief and recovery. Outside of emergencies, they will promote awareness and share risk and resilience information. | $42,594 | $42,594 | $85,188 |
Strengthening resilience in Yarra Ranges and Campaspe communities | This project will support a network of organisations to build resilience through collaboration. It will deliver sector workshops, local communities of practice, analysis and mapping, a collaborative action plan, and final project report. This will enable Community Legal Centres (CLCs) and related organisations to strengthen partnerships and a coordinated approach to risk reduction | $1.83m | $1.83m | $3.67m |
Resilient Regions and capable communities | This project will work with vulnerable communities across Gippsland and deliver facilitated workshops on reducing risk exposure and building community resilience. Skilled business volunteers will support implementation. The program is underpinned by research into the role of businesses in disaster preparedness and recovery and will reduce risk exposure, improve recovery and economical resilience. | $2.4m | $2.43m | $4.84m |
Corryong Advanced Microgrid | In 2019‐20 Victoria endured extreme fire conditions with over 1.5M hectares burnt. There were 6 towns in East Gippsland/Towong disconnected from power for over a month. Essential services, critical business and residents were without power. Without appropriate infrastructure, it is very likely a future extreme weather event will cause prolonged power outages exacerbating the emergency. DEECA are finalising studies for a solution for energy resilience, with Corryong’s Microgrid to have finalised studies in May. The focus in Corryong is to establish an Advanced Microgrid that would provide electricity to a large area of the town. It will operate for an extended period allowing essential services and the community to respond to the emergency and in some cases continue business. | $7m | $8m | $15m |
Centre of Excellence ‐ Young People and Disasters | This project will bring together expertise around young people, youth participation, and disasters to create a leading hub to involve young people as active agents in disaster prevention, preparedness, response and recovery, and community resilience building. This Project is Stage 1 of a larger, national model of the project. | $2.19m | $2.19m | $4.39m |
Integrated Strategic Bushfire Management in a Changing Climate | This project will study the relative effectiveness of fire management actions (including prescribed burning, suppression, mechanical fuel treatments, fuel breaks) in a changing climate. This will increase understanding of the risk reduction achieved by management actions, and potential impacts. The project will deliver a state‐wide framework to deliver the most effective risk reduction activities. | $1.5m | $1.5m | $3m |
Increasing understanding of risk and resilience across East Gippsland | This project will produce a web‐based tool to share geographic data with community and council, to improve community knowledge of risk and enable better decision making about investment and emergency management. This project will also deliver community engagement and education, and ensure community assembly areas are safer, with reliable independent power and communication facilities. | $1.2m | $1.2m | $2.4m |
Schools in Fire Country | This project will provide bushfire education to upper primary school students in bushfire-prone areas to reduce their bushfire risk. This project will co-design a sustainable implementation strategy to enable scalability of the program and provide professional learning opportunities for teachers and emergency management personnel. | $610,000 | $675,000 | $1.28m |
