A coalition of urban planning experts has called for natural disaster resilience and recovery to be embedded into housing planning policies.
Two reports launched today by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute with RMIT, UNSW and Curtin University examine how government housing policies can better prepare for, and aid recovery from, natural disasters.
RMIT's Dr Annette Kroen said even though floods, fires and cyclones already destroyed many Australian homes, and that climate change was already making this worse, our planning system still left large parts of the population vulnerable and exposed.
"Our research found private renters are most vulnerable to disasters', said Kroen from RMIT's Centre for Urban Research, who led the first report.
"They often live in lower-quality housing, earn less money and lack insurance. Many renters struggle to find temporary homes because most support programs don't include them."
The report, 'Integrating housing policy, settlement planning and disaster management' by researchers from RMIT and UNSW, calls for renters to be included in disaster recovery programs and for a review of the quality of temporary housing programs.
"Temporary housing helps families return to normal life, but that support might be needed for years while permanent homes are rebuilt," she said.
"The quality, cultural fit and location of temporary housing matter greatly for recovery."
The researchers have also called for a halt on building new housing in high-risk fire and flood zones, guidelines around safer house design and greater community involvement in emergency responses as crucial pre-emptive actions.
Kroen said trying to address the issue later was fraught with difficulty.
"Take 'managed retreat' policies - where households or whole communities are moved from high-risk to safer areas - as an example," she said.
"It's often politically difficult and rarely popular because of its emotional impact on families."
Fragmented data increases disaster risk
The second report, 'Improving coordination of data and actors for disaster-responsive housing and safer communities' was undertaken by researchers from Curtin University, RMIT and UNSW.
Led by Dr Francesca Perugia from Curtin University, it highlights how disaster-related data remains fragmented, making it even more difficult to manage disaster risks.
"The data exists but is scattered across various government departments and private companies-often in different formats that don't align," Perugia said.
"This lack of coordination makes it more difficult to assess disasters and to plan for future risks."
The research found this lack of standardised approach to recording the information had led to significant gaps in flood, bushfire and cyclone data across states and sectors.
"The lack of coordinated data is a barrier to designing policies to reduce risks. Government agencies often operate in silos, creating a dangerous disconnect between disaster planning and housing policy," she said.
"As a result, planning systems can't keep up with new risk data. This holds back the development of housing that is more disaster resilient."
The research calls for urgent coordination of data systems from across all levels of government and the private sector.
