The awards recognise outstanding contributions in each state and territory across seven categories: business, community, government, local government, mental health and wellbeing, school, and photography.

The awards recognise a wide range of initiatives with past projects centred on risk assessment and mitigation, mental health and wellbeing, education, training and research, and community engagement, as well as response and recovery.

State and territory winners are considered for national awards, along with projects entered directly to the national awards – projects selected as national finalists will benefit from national exposure through a range of communication channels.

Entries in the 2023 awards program must relate to projects or initiatives that commenced after 1 January 2021, or demonstrate significant outcomes or enhancements since 1 January 2021. 

The Resilient Australia Awards is proudly sponsored by the Australian Government in partnership with the states and territories and managed by the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR).

Further information on the program structure and submission requirements are contained in the guidelines.

The Resilient Australia Awards is a two-tiered program. Submissions are judged in the state or territory they are submitted from, with winners from each state and territory considered for national awards.

State and territory award categories

	Resilient Australia Business Award Open to businesses and the private sector, including tertiary colleges and universities.
	Resilient Australia Government Award Open to state and federal government agencies.
	Resilient Australia Local Government Award Open to local governments and local government associations.
	Resilient Australia Schools Award Open to all public and private pre-school, primary and secondary schools only. School-related projects managed by other organisations should be submitted in other categories.
	Resilient Australia Photography Award Open to individuals and groups. Submissions will not be accepted without the permission of the copyright holder.
	Resilient Australia Community Award Open to communities, community based or focussed organisations, and non-government organisations.
	Resilient Australia Mental Health and Wellbeing Award Open to all projects focussing on the mental health and wellbeing of Australian communities before, during and after a disaster.

Multi-jurisdictional projects

National award categories

	Resilient Australia National Award State and territory winners in the business and government categories will be considered alongside multi-jurisdictional projects.
	Resilient Australia National Mental Health and Wellbeing Award Open to all projects focussing on the mental health and wellbeing of Australian communities before, during and after a disaster.
	Resilient Australia National Local Government Award State and territory winners in the local government category will be considered.
	Resilient Australia National Schools Award State and territory winners in the school category will be considered.
	Resilient Australia Photography Award The People's Choice photography winner in each state and territory will be considered. The winning photograph will be considered for the cover of the January 2022 issue of AJEM.
	Resilient Australia National Community Award State and territory winners in the community category will be considered. The winning organisation will receive a cash prize of $5,000.

Award category process map

This process map demonstrates how the jurisdictional award categories link through to the national awards. 

Download the category process map

Assessment questions

All categories, excluding photography

Criteria 1: Executive Summary and overview

Provide an overview of the project or initiative and its benefits. Consider the following when developing your
response:

• How would you pitch your project to media outlets?
• How would you summarise your project for social media posts?
• Will your executive summary spark interest from the judging panel?
• Aim to inspire interest from across the emergency management/resilience sector and the general public.

Word limit: 150    Animation/Video length: 30 seconds

Criteria 2: Purpose, design and aim

Provide information on how the project or initiative was designed, including the target audience. Explain how the project or initiative was developed, its intended purpose, particular characteristics and features, and who was involved. Consider the following questions in developing your response:

• What is the purpose of the project?
• Who is involved in the project? Who benefits?
• What factors or considerations influenced the design of this project?
• Does the project make use of technology? Was this beneficial to the outcome?

Word limit: 500    Animation/Video length: 2 minutes

Criteria 3: Examples of resilience building, sustainability and transferability

Provide specific examples of how the project or initiative has supported resilience building so that the community is better able to prepare for, respond to and/or recovery from disasters and emergencies. Outline how the project or initiative is sustainable into the future, and how it can be transferred to other communities, or to address other hazards. Consider the following questions in developing your response:

• What have the changes in the community been as a result of your project?
• What evidence can you provide?
• How are you ensuring that this project is sustained over time?
• How has the community been directly engaged through the project?
• Could other communities use your project as a model?
• What advice would you give other communities based on your experience through this project?

Word limit: 500    Animation/Video length: 2 minutes

Criteria 4: Findings and achievements

Provide information on the achievements of the project or initiative, and how it promotes and encourages shared responsibility. Include examples of how the project or initiative reflects the key ideas in the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience, and how the community has responded. Consider the following questions in developing your response:

• What are the achievements and outcomes of the project?
• How did the project promote or encourage sharing the responsibility for disaster resilience/community
  safety among multiple sectors/groups?
• Has the project been evaluated, including informal evaluations? How has the community been directly
  engaged through the project?

Word limit: 500    Animation/Video length: 2 minutes

Criteria 5: Diversity and inclusion

Provide specific examples of how the project or initiative engages with and provides benefit to diverse groups within the local community or more broadly. How is the project or initiative fostering inclusive approaches to disaster resilience? Consider the following questions when developing your response:

• How does your project represent or include First Nations people, women, youth, LGBTIQA+, those from
  culturally and linguistically diverse communities, and other underrepresented groups within the community?
• How does your project include those from high and low socio-economic groups in the community, and those
  from urban, rural or neighbouring locations?
• How does your project highlight the needs, voices, and achievements of the estimated 1 in 5 Australians
  with a disability?
• How does your project take into consideration the mental wellbeing of the community before, during and
  after a disaster?

Word limit: 500    Animation/Video length: 2 minutes

Criteria 6: Beyond business as usual

Provide specific examples of how your project or initiative delivers above and beyond the core business activity of the organisations involved. How is your project or initiative different than other similar projects currently being delivered across Australia? Consider the following questions when developing your response:

• What gaps in community expectations and needs does the project address?
• Why is the project different from anything delivered previously, or as part of the core business of those
  involved?
• How does your project inspire the creation of a new ‘business as usual’?

Word limit: 500    Animation/Video length: 2 minutes

Photography category

What about the submitted photograph demonstrates resilience to you?

Submissions must include:

• One high-resolution (300dpi) photograph that demonstrates what resilience means to you, or resilience in action
• The title of the photograph and the location it was taken
• Names and contact details for all identifiable individuals depicted in the photograph to comply with the Privacy Act 1988.

Winning projects will reflect key principles of the National Strategy for Disaster Resilience and the National Disaster Risk Framework. 

Applicants must respond to the following six (6) assessment questions, for all submissions, excluding the photography category. 

Responses for each criterion should be no more than 500 words, unless otherwise stated. The responses to the assessment questions will be assessed against the judging process.

Assistance with applications can be requested from the AIDR Awards Coordinator, however any assistance given does not provide certainty in the outcome. 

At the state and territory level, submissions for the Resilient Australia Photography Award are judged through a popular vote (People's Choice), conducted online via the AIDR Facebook page. All approved photography submissions will be published in a Facebook album, with each 'like' or 'reaction' counted as a vote. The state or territory that the photo was submitted for will not be published. 

At the conclusion of the voting period, the album will be temporarily disabled and AIDR will tally and record the 'votes'. The photo with the most likes/reactions from each state and territory will win its jurisdictions Resilient Australia Photography Award. Once the votes have been counted, the content will be made available again on Facebook, however subsequent likes and reactions will not be considered votes. 

The public vote for the 2023 Resilient Australia Photography Award run 16-30 June 2023.

National Photography Award

The winning photos from each state and territory will be considered for the Resilient Australia National Photography Award.

The National Photography Award winner will be decided by the Editorial Committee of the Australian Journal of Emergency Management (AJEM). The number of votes a photo received during the public vote will not be taken into consideration at the national level. 

The winning photograph will also be considered for the cover of the January 2024 issue of AJEM.