Australian insurance professionals are being urged to incorporate new disaster resilience data and planning tools into risk evaluation frameworks, following a national forum that spotlighted evolving approaches to natural hazard management.
Held in Adelaide from June 18 to 20, the Natural Hazards Research Forum 2025 convened researchers, emergency service leaders, and government representatives to examine the challenges posed by increasingly severe and unpredictable weather events.
Several research outputs presented at the event have potential applications for insurers, risk consultants, and infrastructure planners.
At the centre of the forum was the launch of ADRI-2, the updated Australian Disaster Resilience Index.
The tool, developed by Natural Hazards Research Australia in partnership with the University of New England and the National Emergency Management Agency, maps resilience levels across more than 2,300 statistical regions.
ADRI-2 provides updated assessments of community readiness and recovery capacity in the face of events like bushfires, cyclones, and floods.
The findings indicate that around 13.5 million Australians live in regions with moderate resilience, 6.5 million in high-capacity zones, and 5.9 million in areas requiring greater risk mitigation support.
Andrew Gissing, chief executive officer of Natural Hazards Research Australia, said the index equips decision-makers with place-based insights to better allocate resources and plan mitigation strategies.
Several complementary research programs unveiled at the forum offer additional insights relevant to insurance and operational risk management.
The Transformative Scenarios for a Climate-Changed World initiative encourages emergency management agencies to consider multiple future scenarios shaped by volatile and uncertain climate trends. This scenario-planning framework is designed to challenge assumptions and help organisations build flexible long-term strategies.
New fire behaviour research was also a focal point. A set of Extreme Fire Behaviour Knowledge Modules draws on data from the 2019-20 Black Summer fire season and provides enhanced tools for assessing the likelihood and impact of extreme fire activity. These resources offer practical guidance for on-the-ground operational decisions and safety protocols under dynamic fire conditions.
Building on this, the Predictions in Public project is developing and testing fire spread prediction maps to improve communication with both emergency services and local communities. The goal is to establish a nationally consistent method for conveying real-time bushfire risks to at-risk populations.
Other research initiatives presented at the forum addressed the human and cultural aspects of disaster planning.
The Human Factors stream examines how decisions are made during high-pressure emergency responses, with an emphasis on improving outcomes for responders and affected communities. It seeks to identify the cognitive and situational influences that impact judgement during emergencies.
In addition, a new framework titled “Principles and Protocols for Cultural Land Management Governance and Research” was launched to guide respectful and effective collaboration with First Nations communities. This resource is intended to support the integration of Indigenous knowledge systems into land and hazard management research.
The ADRI-2 release coincides with global data trends suggesting that climate-related risks are accelerating.
NASA's GRACE satellite observations showed that the frequency of extreme weather events doubled in 2023 compared to historical averages from 2003 to 2020. While the scientific analysis is ongoing, the data underscores an increasing volatility in climate systems.
According to FM Global’s 2025 Resilience Index, Australia ranks 87th in terms of climate exposure. A related survey found that 70% of Australian executives had experienced disruption from weather events, yet a quarter still regarded climate-related risks as low or moderate in business planning.
