The Resilient Australia Awards recognise projects focusing on collaboration and innovative thinking across a board range of sectors and initiatives. Across every corner of Australia, communities, organisations and individuals are working together to build a more resilient nation in the face of disaster.

The 2025 National Resilient Australia Awards, supported by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and managed by the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR), shines a spotlight on these remarkable efforts to strengthen disaster preparedness, risk reduction and recovery capabilities. The Awards recognise projects from a range of sectors around the country that focus on collaboration and innovative thinking.

‘These Awards are such an important event, as it allows us to take a moment to reflect on the impact of disasters, as well as recognise the efforts of people, everyday Australians, strengthening disaster resilience in their own unique and equally important ways,’ said NEMA First Assistant Coordinator-General Andrew Minack (pictured above).

This year’s awards celebrated a diverse range of initiatives delivered by emergency services, businesses, schools, governments and not-for-profit organisations. Each project demonstrates the value of community-led action and the impact of partnerships in protecting lives, livelihoods and culture.

2025 Resilient Australia National Award Winner

The 2025 Resilient Australia National Award was presented to the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action for a project working with Traditional Owners in emergency management at the Gariwerd Complex and Little Desert Fires. This initiative safeguarded Aboriginal cultural heritage during the 2024/25 bushfire season through a culturally informed response and recovery program, setting a powerful example for integrating traditional knowledge into emergency management.

Recognising excellence across categories

‘The Awards celebrate and promote initiatives that build whole of community resilience to disasters and emergencies, as well as capture and share examples of resilience in action,’ said NEMA First Assistant Coordinator-General Andrew Minack.

• Resilient Australia National Photography Award – Protecting Country Together, Victoria Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action’s (DEECA) Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee: recognising efforts to protect Aboriginal rock art during the Gariwerd Complex bushfires.
• Resilient Australia National Community Award – Community-led flood resilience on the Kurilpa Peninsula, Resilient Kurilpa: engaging residents and neighborhoods in flood preparedness and recovery.
• Resilient Australia National Local Government Award – The Maribyrnong Insurance Project: empowering communities to navigate flood insurance, Maribyrnong City Council, GenWest and Maribyrnong Community Recovery Committee: guiding residents through complex post-flood insurance processes.
• Resilient Australia National Government Award – Australian first - Aboriginal Cultural Incident Management Exercise (NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water of Australia (DCCEEW), NSW Rural Fire Service, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Merrimans Local Aboriginal Land Council and NSW Crown Lands); and Traditional Owners involvement in Emergency Management at the Gariwerd Complex and Little Desert Fires: embedding cultural knowledge into emergency planning and operations.
• Resilient Australia National Research for Impact Award – Queering Disasters, - a new research, policy and practice paradigm, University of Sydney and Western Sydney University: Advancing disaster risk reduction for sexual and gender diverse communities.
• Resilient Australia National Business Award – Building Resilience from the Ground Up: Community Emergency Management Planning, The Six C’s: empowering Victorian communities to plan, prepare, respond to and recover from disasters.
• Resilient Australia National School Award – Our River, Richmond Agricultural Centre: Centre of Excellence in Agricultural Education: Educating students in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Catchment about flood preparedness and river stewardship.
• Resilient Australia National Mental Health and Wellbeing Award – Resilient Kids: Empowered Young People Can Weather Life’s Biggest Storms, Social Futures: Supporting youth engagement, wellbeing and disaster readiness in flood-affected communities.
• Resilient Australia National Collaboration and Partnership Award – The Maribyrnong Insurance Project: empowering communities to navigate flood insurance, Maribyrnong City Council, GenWest and Maribyrnong Community Recovery Committee: highlighting collaborative approaches to community recovery post-floods.

Spotlight on community-led action

Federal Minister for Emergency Management, The Hon Kristy McBain MP reflected on the power of these initiatives to drive positive change. ‘These awards recognise the remarkable work being done by individuals, organisations and communities across Australia to strengthen disaster resilience.’

These award-winning projects demonstrate what’s possible when collaboration, systemic impact and inclusion are at the heart of building resilience across diverse communities and sectors.

To see more about the Awards, please visit 2025 Resilient Australia Award national finalists.