In partnership the Community Outcomes and Recovery Sub-committee, Queensland Reconstruction Authority and the National Emergency Management Agency developed the National Disaster Recovery Needs Assessment Guidelines (PDF 2104KB).

The Guidelines provide nationally compatible approaches that support the design and implementation of disaster recovery needs assessments by providing principles and processes that:

• Clarify the important distinction between disaster impact assessments, disaster consequence assessments and disaster recovery needs assessments.
• Detail the different types of disaster recovery needs assessments.
• Explain why and how to undertake disaster recovery needs assessments.
• Identify recovery needs across the four recovery domains: social environment, economic environment, natural environment and built environment.
• Identify recovery needs across the four recovery domains.
• Assist with collecting, analysing and sharing assessment needs data.

The Guidelines:

• Link recovery needs assessments with recovery program design.
• Deliver a set of national principles and processes for undertaking a needs assessment with practical methods for information gathering and use.

Disaster Recovery Needs Assessments (DRNA) are a critical component of managing recovery programs. DRNAs identify specific impacts, needs, available services and gaps in disaster affected communities. They must be dynamic to keep pace with the evolving situation.

Effective needs assessments support recovery programs to be evidence based and tailored to the context and needs of the disaster affected communities. This includes consideration of pre-event context such as community profile, demographics and vulnerabilities.

These assessments form part of the ongoing process of monitoring recovery programs. Needs are not static and evolve over time. As such, collection and analysis of data on disaster impact, consequence and recovery needs should be repeated over time so that changing community needs are understood and addressed.

Drawing on best practice and guidance used by recovery practitioners, the Guidelines may support jurisdictions within their existing recovery arrangements and may contribute to a nationally consistent way of collecting recovery-related data.

For more information or any enquiries about the Guidelines please contact the CORS Secretariat: nationalrecoveryprojects@nema.gov.au.