Disaster Preparedness

Disaster Preparedness

We have been active in our efforts to mitigate the impact of natural disasters and other emergencies including COVID-19 on older Queenslanders. We work closely with the Australian Red Cross, Volunteering Queensland, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, the Office of the Inspector-General Emergency Management Queensland, Queensland and Federal Health departments, and Department of Communities, Disability Services and Seniors to ensure that the requirements of older Queenslanders, as well as the assistance they can provide in emergency situations, is not overlooked.

What we do

We are a member of the COVID-19 Seniors Taskforce, led by Minister Kate Jones reporting directly to the Premier, that coordinates the Care Army. We are also on the Department of Health COVID-19 Working Group – Residential Aged Care that will advise on how to best support this sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.

We appeared before The Queensland Parliament investigation into the Earle Haven Nursing Home closure and advocated for more stringent evacuation management arrangements to be put in place for residential aged care facilities. We have requested that Queensland Fire and Emergency Services in their current review of the Fire and Emergency Services Act 1990 incorporate strengthened requirements on evacuation preparedness in residential facilities.

In 2016 we hosted the International Federation on Ageing’s 13th Global Conference on Ageing in Brisbane. A core theme of this conference was disaster preparedness and response for an ageing population.

Find more information

Volunteering Queensland has disaster preparedness tools and a basic planning questionnaire accessible here volunteeringqld.org.au/tags/disaster-preparedness