Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC

Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC
Name	Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC
Formation	2013
Dissolved	2021
Headquarters	Melbourne, Victoria
Region served	Australia
Leader title	Chief Executive
Leader name	Jonathon Brodie

Bushfire and Natural Hazards CRC was an Australian research cooperative focused on hazard mitigation, emergency management and disaster resilience. It brought together universities, research agencies, emergency services and industry to address bushfire, flood, earthquake and storm risks through applied science and operational collaboration. The CRC aimed to translate research into practice for agencies such as the Country Fire Authority, State Emergency Service and fire and rescue authorities.

Overview

The cooperative connected scholars and practitioners from institutions including Australian National University, University of Melbourne, Monash University, University of Queensland, University of Sydney, University of New South Wales, University of Tasmania, University of Western Australia, Curtin University, Deakin University and agencies such as Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Geoscience Australia, CSIRO, Emergency Management Australia, New South Wales Rural Fire Service, Victoria State Emergency Service, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, Western Australia Department of Fire and Emergency Services, South Australia Country Fire Service, Tasmania Fire Service and Parks Victoria. Collaborations extended to international partners including United States Geological Survey, University of California, Berkeley, University of Oxford, Imperial College London and National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. Key stakeholders encompassed research councils and funding bodies such as the Australian Research Council, Australian Institute of Disaster Resilience and disaster response organizations including Red Cross Australia.

History and Formation

The CRC emerged after reviews of catastrophic events such as the Black Saturday bushfires and floods that prompted engagement with universities and agencies including Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage, Queensland Reconstruction Authority and the Tasmanian Government. Its formation followed precedents set by cooperatives like the CRC for Water Sensitive Cities and CRC for Low Carbon Living, and drew on inquiries such as the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements and lessons from incidents involving Cyclone Yasi, the 2010–2011 Queensland floods and the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires. Founding partners included research institutions alongside operational agencies such as the Metropolitan Fire Brigade (Melbourne), Country Fire Authority (Victoria), NSW Rural Fire Service and departments comparable to Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet.

Research Programs and Themes

Research themes addressed hazard modelling, community preparedness, evacuation behaviour, infrastructure resilience and post-disaster recovery, involving teams from Australian National University, University of Melbourne, Monash University, CSIRO and Geoscience Australia. Projects examined interactions among hazards such as bushfire and flood drawing on methods from Bureau of Meteorology climatology, Geoscience Australia seismic studies and urban planning research at University of Sydney and University of Queensland. Social science collaborations included work with Australian Red Cross, Australian Council of Social Service and emergency service agencies like the State Emergency Service (Victoria), using insights from researchers affiliated with University of Western Australia and Deakin University. Applied outputs influenced policy documents from entities such as the Attorney-General's Department (Australia), Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience and operational guidance used by the Country Fire Authority and Fire and Rescue NSW.

Partnerships and Governance

Governance structures involved boards and advisory committees comprising leaders from universities including Monash University and University of Tasmania, public agencies such as Australian Bureau of Meteorology and Geoscience Australia, and emergency services like NSW Rural Fire Service and SA Country Fire Service. Industry partners included insurers and infrastructure organizations comparable to IAG (insurance) and utilities analogous to Ausgrid, while philanthropic and peak groups included Philanthropy Australia and the Australian Council of Trade Unions in stakeholder dialogues. The CRC model followed Cooperative Research Centre guidelines established with support from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation and the Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, with governance practices drawing on precedents from international programmes such as those at National Science Foundation and European Commission research consortia.

Major Projects and Contributions

Major contributions included the development of bushfire behaviour models used by operational agencies and products for flood risk mapping building on datasets from Bureau of Meteorology and Geoscience Australia, community resilience frameworks tested with partners like Australian Red Cross and evacuation and warning research influencing practice at State Emergency Service (Queensland). The CRC supported toolsets and decision-support systems integrated with platforms used by Fire and Rescue New South Wales and contributed to post-event analyses of incidents such as Black Saturday bushfires, 2011 Queensland floods and regional storms associated with Ex-Tropical Cyclone Marcia. Outputs were cited by inquiries including the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements and influenced training curricula at institutions such as the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience and emergency service academies like Wesley College training partners.

Funding and Infrastructure

Funding combined Commonwealth CRC programme grants with cash and in-kind contributions from university partners including University of Melbourne and Monash University, state agencies such as Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning and industry participants like insurers and utilities analogous to IAG (insurance), with oversight by bodies such as the Australian Research Council. Infrastructure investments included access to observational networks from Bureau of Meteorology and datasets from Geoscience Australia, computational resources at university high-performance computing centres and facilities at partner agencies including fire testing grounds used by the Country Fire Authority and hydrological testbeds supported by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.

Category:Research organisations in Australia