State Risk and Capability

In 2013 the WA Government commenced the State Risk and Capability Project which endeavoured to systematically assess the 28 hazards prescribed within EM legislation. The State Risk and Capability Project, completed in December 2023, used both the methodology and criteria outlined in the National Emergency Risk Assessment Guidelines (NERAG) and internationally recognised standards for the risk assessment process (AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009). This methodology provided a consistent approach to assessing risk, facilitating cross-hazard comparison at the State, District and Local levels.  A Western Australian Emergency Risk Management Guideline has been developed to support implementation of the risk management process and the creation of Emergency Risk Management plans.

The State Risk and Capability Project has identified a range of potential vulnerabilities that may be affected by any of the prescribed hazards. Summary fact sheets have been produced for publication on this website.

A capability-based framework of emergency preparedness was first employed by the SEMC in 2014, with the current framework in place since 2016. The State Risk and Capability Project conducted review was of the framework (2023) to ensure that it is consistent with evolving Emergency Management best practice and stakeholder needs.

Climate change is interacting with both the natural hazards and the human systems that are vulnerable to natural hazards This interaction has the potential to exacerbate impacts and has been the focus of recent international and national frameworks and will undoubtedly feature in future directions.

The SEMC is currently in the next phase of assessing state risk, with an intent to leverage emerging tools, technologies and scientific research that were not available during the initial phases of the State Risk and Capability Project. This will enable a shift from a long-term static view of risk to a framework that will incorporate systemic risk, as well as dynamic risk assessment.