Disaster Ready Together

Community Organisations Disaster Adaptation in the Northern Rivers

This year’s Disaster Ready Together Summit will be a quality, practice-focused event held in Lismore, in the heart of the Northern Rivers, on September 16 &17.

This year’s Summit brings together leading experts in the disaster preparedness, recovery and resilience sector alongside local service organisations, emergency management agencies, researchers and community groups to exchange knowledge, strengthen collaboration, and advance the future of disaster preparedness in the Northern Rivers.

What is the Disaster Ready Together Project?

Recent disasters — and the long and difficult journey of recovery — have shown just how important strong, connected and prepared communities and community organisations are when disaster strikes.

Disaster Ready Together (DRT) is a two-year project (2025–2027) led and delivered locally by Resilient Lismore to strengthen disaster preparedness and resilience across the Lismore, Kyogle and Richmond Valley LGAs. Drawing on Resilient Lismore’s place-based experience of disaster, recovery and community-led resilience, DRT works with community service organisations, communities and emergency management to build capability, strengthen relationships and take practical action to reduce local disaster risks — with a particular focus on people most at risk of disaster impacts.

The project builds on lessons from Resilient Lismore’s previous Disaster Ready Together work and recognises the vital role local organisations, relationships, lived experience and community knowledge play in preparing for and responding to disasters.

DRT is part of the NCOSS Community Organisations Disaster Adaptation (CODA) Project, funded through the Australian Government’s Disaster Ready Fund and NSW Government.

Our Objectives

Support Organisations and Networks

to build capacity to reduce their own disaster risk and those of their clients

Identify Strengths, Capabilities and Needs of Community Organisations

in disaster planning and risk reduction

Enhance Person-Centred Emergency Planning

for those living with greater vulnerability

Encourage Collaboration

between the community sector and the emergency management sector to improve disaster planning, procedures and systems.

Strengthening Community Sector Networks

The Disaster Ready Together project is focused on enhancing the capability and preparedness of community sector, non-government organisations.

So that we are all better prepared to support our communities following disasters. The resources on this page are for staff and volunteers who work with these organisations.

The project is coordinated by Karin Ness, with Project Officer Celine Massa and partner Project Officers Jill Samuels (Mid Richmond Neighbourhood Centre) and Narelle Hand (Kyogle Together). The work is supported by Elly Bird, Executive Director of Resilient Lismore, and the whole Resilient Lismore team.

Person Centred Emergency Planning (PCEP)

The DRT project also focuses on increasing disaster preparedness for those who experience vulnerabilities, so that people are supported and empowered to take control of their own emergency planning.

Person Centred Emergency Preparedness is a model that embeds the person as central to understanding and knowing their disaster risk and being supported to determine what their needs are when they are responding to an emergency. 