Today’s official opening of the upgraded National Situation Room (NSR) represents an important boost to Australia’s capability in crisis response and management. 

The upgrade allows for the rapid scaling up of support during crisis events, including co-location of representatives from across the Australian Government and impacted states and territories.

Enhancing the National Situation Room

The enhancement of the National Situation Room (NSR) forms part of a larger program of work to strengthen Emergency Management and Response, following the extreme bushfire season of 2019-2020 and recommendations from the Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements.

Within the upgrade is enhanced technology that includes the National Joint Common Operating Picture (NJCOP) which will greatly enhance functionality during times of national exposure.

Behind Australia’s crisis response management

The National Situation Room (NSR) is a secure and critical coordination facility directly connected to State and Territory emergency centres, providing 24/7 all-hazard situational awareness, impact analysis and decision support to Government.

The NSR also coordinates physical Australian Government emergency assistance such as the National Security Hotline, which is vital to Australia's national counter-terrorism efforts.

The upgrade also allows related organisations, such as the Bureau of Meteorology, to be better integrated in the crisis response.

The National Situation Room (NSR) previously known as the Australian Government Crisis Coordination Centre (CCC) was established in 2011 as part of the then Emergency Management Australia. The NSR is paramount in the Australian Government’s emergency response and and preparedness activities since its establishment  including:

• the Lindt Café siege 2014
• the Tham Luang Cave Rescue 2018
• Christchurch mosque shootings 2019
• Black Summer Bushfires 2019 – 2020
• Afghanistan Repatriation 2021
• COVID19 Response 2021- 2022
• Eastern Australia Floods 2022

How the National Emergency Management Agency works with the National Situation Room

On the home front, the National Situation Room (NSR) has been integral in supporting the Black Summer bushfire response and early recovery efforts and more recently this year’s floods that continue to impact a large part of Eastern Australia.

As the National Emergency Management Agency, we work side-by-side with relevant government agencies, emergency management organisations and Australian communities, to manage crisis situations and ensure that Australian communities are well prepared for future disasters.

The information the NSR has been able to rapidly pull together from various credible sources and is helping the state-based emergency services to plan and prepare. It provides critical advice to Government, reducing the time taken to deliver support to impacted communities.

NEMA’s staff with expertise in the joint Commonwealth-State Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements, are working with the NSW, Victorian, Tasmanian and South Australian governments to identify the right packages, so that support can roll out sooner.

We also monitor the likely impacts on people’s homes, businesses and employers, to recommend the activation of Australian Government disaster assistance for individuals,

And our regional planning and recovery officers are in communities, working alongside other agencies to connect people with assistance and to report back immediate needs.  

Recovering from tropical cyclones is challenging for many communities but even more so when support and technical help is a four hour drive away.

For the Western Australian communities of Mingenew, Morawa and Perenjori the tyranny of distance has placed significant challenges on their recovery from the impacts of Tropical Cyclone Seroja in April 2021.

Not only did residents lose roofs and suffer major property damage, but the cyclone’s estimated $350 million destructive path also impacted many public areas, essential to the social fabric of these communities and local tourism. Rest areas for passing travellers were impacted with damage to the infrastructure of amenities. Nature reserves surrounding the region’s towns, which are critical during the wildflower tourism season, were also damaged. 

Remoteness impacts Seroja recovery

The remote location of these communities and limited number of local government personnel meant that the recovery of these important public spaces was significantly delayed. Now Preparing Australian Communities Program – Local stream (PACPL) funding is helping the Northern Agricultural Catchments Council Incorporated to create guidelines that will support councils to undertake future recovery work themselves.

In consultation with community and technical experts, project funding has been provided to develop a set of non-technical guidelines that local government staff and community members can use to implement environmental recovery activities in cyclone impacted parts of the Northern Agricultural Region (NAR).  

The guidelines will be based on the re-establishment of natural environments and build internal and community capacity post-cyclone to reduce the likelihood and extent of vegetation damage from future cyclones.

The draft guidelines will be tested at three pre-determined demonstration sites in each of the partner local government areas (Mingenew, Morawa, and Perenjori) before being widely available.

Other government support

In the wake of Tropical Cyclone Seroja Australian Government disaster recovery support for individuals, primary producers and small businesses has supported residents in the impacted regions. Andrew Moore, a local primary producer, has been able to rebuild the agricultural infrastructure on his farm. Doug Brown, a local turf business owner also received financial help to rebuild when Seroja’s winds tore the nails out of his roof and damaged his turf.

To learn more about how we’re helping communities recover from disasters visit Australian Government disaster recovery support.