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The 12th Australasian Natural Hazards Management Conference was a little different from what you might expect from a conference. It started with questions and worked through to a strategic view on whether we have the best knowledge to deal with the extreme hazards of our future that are of a nature and scale beyond our current experience.

As natural hazards continue to increase in frequency and severity, it is more important than ever to provide decision-makers with the evidence, information and tools to make the necessary critical decisions. As our demographics change, cities expand further into the bush and dependence on technology increases, our exposure to risk intensifies. The economic, social and environmental costs are forecasted to rise in a way that is unprecedented and unsustainable. These challenges are complex, and we should be wary of quick fix solutions.

The Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC undertakes research with a vision that firmly imagines what we can do now to improve outcomes in the future. Our research explores what is possible and then develops evidence, knowledge and tools to help improve outcomes.

But the CRC is not a decision maker. The decision makers are governments, response agencies, organisations and communities. We all make choices and compromises: we make decisions on where to live, what to invest in and how prepared to be for the hazards we are familiar with and the ones we are yet to face – the cascading, extreme hazards of our future.

This conference was an opportunity for us to explore the decisions available to us that can be made to reduce the impacts of these inevitable natural hazards. We drew together a diverse cross-section of industries that deal with natural hazards and provided them with opportunities to stretch their thinking beyond their current experiences. We invited them to contribute to the development of pathways to take research, knowledge and lessons into policy and practice.

To navigate the challenges of the changing risk profile in our region, we must act upon the knowledge generated through research and through the relationships cultivated at this conference. We encourage decision-makers at all levels to make courageous and creative choices to improve Australia’s resilience.

The CRC draws together all of Australia and New Zealand’s fire and emergency service authorities with the leading experts across a range of scientific fields to explore the causes, consequences and mitigation of natural disasters and, ultimately, contribute to a more disaster resilient Australia.

The 12th Australasian Natural Hazards Management Conference was integral to this process and this report provides a summary of the discussions to extend our collective strategic view into the coming years.