The Resilient Australia Awards recognise collaboration and innovation which contributes to building safer and more resilient communities, as the vision for the sector.
The awards are sponsored by the Australian Government in partnership with the states and territories. Emergency Management Victoria works with the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (AIDR) to manage the Victorian awards process.
At the Emergency Management Conference in Melbourne on 5 July 2022, Victoria’s Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp announced the Victorian Resilient Australia Award winners. There were five winners and two highly commended awards from a total of 27 applications.
Winner: School Award
Ivanhoe Primary School – Where's Wally? House Points Hunting!
The program encouraged students and their families to find Where’s Wally cards hidden throughout the local community during the COVID-19 lockdowns in Melbourne. The initiative was inclusive for all ages and abilities and created a healthy sense of competition and camaraderie with students, families and the local community.
Winners: Government Award
Safer Together – Community Based Bushfire Management: A place-based approach to reducing bushfire risk in Victoria
The program engages with communities and organisations to better connect and work together before, during and after bushfire. It uses a place-based community development approach to understand community strengths and better understand bushfire risks.
Bushfire Recovery Victoria – Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Management Program
The program was developed as part of a state-coordinated residential storm and flood clean-up initiative. It has strengthened community connection to Aboriginal culture, knowledge and traditions through the use of specialist advice and consultation with Traditional Owners.
Winner: Mental Health and Wellbeing Award
Phoenix Australia – Helping the helpers support others: Building local capabilities after the Victorian Black Summer Bush Fires
The project delivered a suite of online and in-person training and mentoring programs, coupled with a comprehensive approach to support people after disaster. Over 1800 community leaders and frontline workers accessed free, expert-led, best practice training through 56 workshops or online courses.
Winner: Community Award
The Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) and the Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria (ECCV) – the Multicultural Resilience Program
VCOSS and ECCV partnered to deliver the program, which included establishing the Multicultural Emergency Management Partnership (MEMP). The MEMP supports multicultural communities and emergency management leaders to lead the development and implementation of short, medium and long-term change together.
Highly Commended Mental Health and Wellbeing Award
Life Central Services – Aggregate Suicide Safety Assessment Tool (ASSAT) Upper Murray Project
Residents, community leaders and experts in Corryong used artificial intelligence software to identify and assess the complex nature of contributing suicide risks and safety factors in real time. This information provided the community with a more effective capacity to assess their current response to suicide, build on their strengths and address safety gaps in their services and procedures.
Highly Commended Community Award
Greater Shepparton Lighthouse Project – GV Cares
The initiative delivered food and essentials to Shepparton residents in lockdown, delivering 2,793 food boxes and 657 special deliveries of nappies, formula, medications and pet food over 10 days. This ensured people could stay at home, helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The department acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and acknowledges and pays respect to their Elders, past and present.