Research leader

Melissa Parsons
Dr Melissa Parsons Research Leader

Research team

Dr Sonya Glavac Research Team
Associate Professor Graham Marshall
A/Prof Graham Marshall Research Team
Dr James McGregor Research Team
Dr Richard Stayner Research Team
Dr Peter Hastings
Dr Peter Hastings Research Team
Ian Reeve
Dr Ian Reeve Research Team
Judith McNeill
Dr Judith McNeill Research Team

End User representatives

Holly Foster
Dr Holly Foster End-User
Suellen Flint
Suellen Flint End-User
Trent Curtin End-User
Karen Enbom
Karen Enbom End-User
Tony Jarrett End-User
Paul Fletcher End-User
Andrew Richards
Andrew Richards End-User
Chris Lewis End-User
Sandra Barber
Sandra Barber End-User
Tamara Beckett End-User
Colleen Ridge
Colleen Ridge End-User
Nicole Hogan End-User

Download key research reports

Resilience is the capacity of individuals and communities to cope with disturbances or changes and to maintain adaptive behaviours. Australia’s National Strategy for Disaster Resilience (NSDR) takes an internationally progressive approach in the application of a disaster resilience paradigm. This strategy gives communities greater options and diversity in managing natural hazards, and places natural hazard preparation, prevention, response and recovery in the context of societies learning from and adapting to change.

The NSDR recognises four characteristics of disaster resilient communities: 1) they function well while under stress 2) they adapt successfully 3) they are self-reliant and 4) they have strong social capacity. Building these characteristics of disaster-resilient communities is seen as a shared responsibility among individuals, households, businesses, governments and communities. Yet how could progress towards the development of these characteristics be assessed? Where are the areas of high and low disaster resilience in Australia? How could investments to develop disaster resilience be prioritised, evaluated and reported?

This project developed an index of the current state of disaster resilience in Australian communities – the Australian Disaster Resilience Index. The Index is a tool for assessing the resilience of communities to natural hazards at a large scale and is designed to provide input into macro-level policy, strategic planning and community engagement activities at national, state and local government levels.

First, it is a snapshot of the current state of natural hazard resilience at a national scale. Second, it is a layer of information for use in strategic policy development and planning. Third, it provides a benchmark against which to assess future change in resilience to natural hazards. Understanding resilience strengths and weaknesses will help communities, governments and organisations to build the capacities needed for living with natural hazards.

Deliverables include the development of disaster resilience indicators, maps of disaster resilience at multiples scales, a State of Disaster Resilience Report, and examples that use the Index in a natural hazard resilience planning context.

The Index has application across local (e.g. local emergency management committees, local councils), state (e.g. emergency service organisations) and national (e.g. Attorney-General’s Department, Red Cross, ANZEMC, AFAC) levels.

The project team worked with end-users to align the results and outputs from the Index with agency policy and programs. The researchers worked with agencies to develop fact sheets that agencies can use in community profiling and community engagement tools. The Index results can also be included in risk assessments. The maps provide quantitative spatial information about resilience for community planning and community engagement activities.

Year Type Citation
2021 Journal Article Parsons, M. et al. Disaster resilience in Australia: A geographic assessment using an index of coping and adaptive capacity. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 62, (2021).
2021 Journal Article McGregor, J., Parsons, M. & Glavac, S. Local Government Capacity and Land Use Planning for Natural Hazards: A Comparative Evaluation of Australian Local Government Areas. Planning Practice & Research (2021). doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2021.1919431
2020 Report Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Disaster Resilience Index: Volume I – State of Disaster Resilience Report. The Australian Disaster Resilience Index (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2020).
2020 Report Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: Volume II – Chapter 4: Statistical outputs: ANDRI, coping capacity and adaptive capacity. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2020).
2020 Report Parsons, M. et al. A typology of disaster resilience in Australia - annual report 2018-19. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2020).
2020 Report Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: Volume II – Chapter 3: Computation of the Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2020).
2020 Report Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: a system for assessing the resilience of Australian communities to natural hazards - final project report. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2020).
2020 Report Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: Volume II – Chapter 2: Indicators. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2020).
2020 Report Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Disaster Resilience Index: a summary. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2020).
2020 Report Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: Volume II – Chapter 1: Design of the Index. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2020).
2020 Report Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: Volume II – Chapter 6: Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2020).
2020 Report Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: Volume II – Index Design and Computation. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2020).
2020 Report Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: Volume II – Chapter 5: Statistical outputs: disaster resilience themes. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2020).
2018 Journal Article Parsons, M. Extreme floods and river values: A social–ecological perspective. River Research and Applications 1-11 (2018). doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3355
2018 Journal Article Parsons, M. & Thoms, M. From academic to applied: operationalising resilience in river systems. Geomorphology 305, 242-251 (2018).
2017 Conference Paper Rumsewicz, M. Research proceedings from the 2017 Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC and AFAC Conference. Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC & AFAC annual conference 2017 (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2017).
2017 Conference Paper Parsons, M. & Lykins, A. Cultural worldviews and natural hazard risk perception: a pilot study of Australian adults. AFAC17 (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2017).
2017 Conference Paper Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: assessing Australia's disaster resilience at a national scale. AFAC17 (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2017).
2017 Report Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: annual project report 2016-17. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2017).
2016 Journal Article Parsons, M. et al. Top-down assessment of disaster resilience: A conceptual framework using coping and adaptive capacities. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 19, (2016).
2016 Report Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: Conceptual framework and indicator approach. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2016).
2016 Report Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: Overview of Indicators. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2016).
2016 Report Parsons, M. et al. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: Annual project report 2015-2016. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2016).
2015 Report Morley, P. et al. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: Annual project report 2014-2015. (Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC, 2015).
2015 Report Morley, P. & Parsons, M. The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index Annual Report 2014. (2015).
Date Title Download Key Topics
19 Mar 2014 The Australian natural disasters resilience index PDF icon 612.61 KB (612.61 KB) capability, multi-hazard, resilience
08 Sep 2014 The Australian natural disaster resilience index PDF icon 1.17 MB (1.17 MB) communities, resilience
27 Oct 2014 Devloping an index of resilience for Australian communities communities, resilience
10 Apr 2015 The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index 2015 NSW RAF Presentation PDF icon 3.5 MB (3.5 MB) communities, multi-hazard, resilience
17 May 2016 The Australian natural disaster resilience index: a system for assessing the resilience of Australian communities to natural hazards PDF icon 2.56 MB (2.56 MB) communities, multi-hazard, resilience
14 Jun 2016 What is disaster resilience and how can it be measured? PDF icon 373.58 KB (373.58 KB) communities, indigenous communities, resilience
18 Apr 2017 The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index - April 2017 PDF icon 2.78 MB (2.78 MB) multi-hazard, resilience, vulnerability
07 Jul 2017 Lightning presentation: the Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index PDF icon 1.16 MB (1.16 MB) multi-hazard, resilience, vulnerability
07 Sep 2017 Cultural worldviews and natural hazard risk perception: a pilot study of Australian adults PDF icon 540.59 KB (540.59 KB) communities, indigenous communities, vulnerability
07 Sep 2017 The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index PDF icon 928.51 KB (928.51 KB) multi-hazard, resilience, vulnerability
15 Sep 2017 Assessing Australia's resilience to natural hazards PDF icon 495.38 KB (495.38 KB) communities, policy, resilience
17 Apr 2018 The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index PDF icon 2.17 MB (2.17 MB) mitigation, multi-hazard, resilience
01 Jun 2018 Fire Australia Issue Two 2018 PDF icon 6.73 MB (6.73 MB) communities, decision making, emergency management
18 Jun 2019 The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: A profile of Australia’s disaster resilience PDF icon 975.98 KB (975.98 KB) communities, resilience
09 Jul 2019 The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: A profile of Australia’s disaster resilience PDF icon 1.47 MB (1.47 MB) economics, planning, policy
15 Jul 2020 Introducing the Australian Disaster Resilience Index File 0 bytes (0 bytes) communities, preparedness, resilience
29 Jul 2020 The Australian Disaster Resilience Index communities, multi-hazard, resilience
29 Jul 2020 The Australian Disaster Resilience Index – User guide: dashboard features File 0 bytes (0 bytes)
29 Jul 2020 The Australian Disaster Resilience Index – User guide: interpreting the Index File 0 bytes (0 bytes)
29 Jul 2020 The Australian Disaster Resilience Index – User guide: selecting and saving areas File 0 bytes (0 bytes)
29 Jul 2020 The Australian Disaster Resilience Index – video tour File 0 bytes (0 bytes)
30 Jul 2020 The Australian Disaster Resilience Index – launch recording File 0 bytes (0 bytes) multi-hazard, resilience, vulnerability
31 Jul 2020 The new Australian Disaster Resilience Index: a tool for building safer, adaptable communities multi-hazard, resilience, vulnerability
25 Nov 2020 A model for relief and recovery multi-hazard, resilience, vulnerability
The Australian natural disaster resilience index: A system for assessing the resilience of Australian communities to natural hazards
25 Aug 2014
Resilient communities will be better able to anticipate hazards, withstand adversity, reduce losses and adapt...
The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index: Assessing the Resilience of Australian Communities to Natural Hazards
18 Aug 2015
Resilient communities are better able to anticipate hazards, withstand adversity, reduce losses and recover...
Melissa Parsons Conference Poster 2016
12 Aug 2016
The Australian natural disaster resilience index (ANDRI) will assess the state of disaster resilience in...
The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index
30 Jun 2017
Australia faces increasing losses from natural hazard events. Resilient communities will be better able to...
Virtually Resolute: Influencing Decision-Making to Promote Mental Health and Reduce Flood Driving
18 Sep 2018
Flood driving fatalities are on the rise despite appeals to the general public. While much is known about the...
The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index
19 Sep 2018
The Australian Natural Disaster Resilience Index will assess and report the resilience of Australian...
27 Aug 2019
Australian communities face increasing losses and disruption from natural disasters. Disaster resilience is a...
31 Aug 2020
Key findings: The Australian Disaster Resilience Index is a snapshot of the capacities for disaster...