Councils across the country are invited to submit projects to the Resilient Australia Awards. There are five award categories in each state and territory: Schools, Community, Business, Government and Photography. Winners will then be considered for the three National Resilient Australia Award categories: National, National School and National Photography.
The Resilient Australia Awards recognise individuals, groups, or organisations that demonstrate excellence and innovation in projects and initiatives that support communities to be better prepared and more disaster resilient.
Last year the City of Mandurah in Western Australia won the National Award with an innovative project to evacuate horses in times of disaster.
The initial Equi-Evac Centre Network project took six months and covered 16 local government districts, including Mandurah, Murray, Rockingham, Bunbury, Busselton, Augusta-Margaret River, Boyup Brook, Bridgetown Greenbushes, Capel, Collie, Dardanup, Donnybrook-Balingup, Harvey, Manjimup and Nannup.
Mayor Rhys Williams said of the project, “It’s encouraging to see this project has provided the tools to help many other local governments and horse-loving communities prepare for emergencies.” The project contributed towards state-level planning for animals in emergencies.
The Federal Government sponsors the awards, in conjunction with the states and territories. The awards program is managed by the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience.
Entries in the 2018 awards must relate to projects or initiatives commenced after 1 January 2016, or demonstrate significant outcomes or enhancements since 1 January 2016. Submissions close on Thursday 31 May 2018.
For more information see here.