Emergency Management Survey

2025 Survey: Coming Soon!

WALGA’s Emergency Management Survey is a biennial initiative designed to capture the experiences, capabilities, challenges, and priorities of Western Australian Local Governments in managing emergencies.

These surveys play a critical role in shaping WALGA’s policy and advocacy efforts.

The surveys aim to:

  • Understand Local Government experiences in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.
  • Identify systemic issues such as funding gaps, workforce capacity, and infrastructure needs.
  • Inform WALGA’s advocacy, including budget submissions and legislative reform proposals

The survey results are used to:

  • Guide WALGA’s submissions to the State Budget.
  • Advocate for reforms in emergency services legislation (e.g., the Consolidated Emergency Services Act).
  • Support WALGA’s State Election campaign focused on emergency management improvements.


2023 Emergency Management Survey

In late 2023, a total of 102 Local Government responded to the 2023 Local Government Emergency Management Survey, meeting WALGA’s target of 75 percent.

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2023 Emergency Management Survey Highlights

The 2023 Survey results provide critical information to underpin WALGA’s Emergency Management policy and advocacy work.

A webinar was held in April 2024 summarising the key findings from the 2023 Local Government Emergency Management Survey. In case you missed it, you can watch the recording here.

The executive summary also provides a valuable overview of the 2023 Local Government Emergency Management Survey results.

Key issues raised by Local Governments in responding to the 2023 Local Government Emergency Management Survey included: community preparedness and resilience; capacity to respond to and manage recovery; the importance of infrastructure betterment funding, management of Bush Fire Brigades; inadequate Local Government Grants Scheme (LGGS) funding; and the need to reform and improve grant funding.

The Survey clearly shows how valuable a CESMs is to Local Government emergency management and supports WALGA's advocacy that all Local Government that want a CESM should have access to one.

WALGA undertakes a Local Government Emergency Management Survey every two years, with previous surveys undertaken in 2019 and 2021. The 2021 Survey built on the feedback received in the 2019 Survey with a specific focus on managing volunteer Bush Fire Brigades. The results provided the basis for a review of WALGA’s Emergency Management Advocacy Positions and have enabled WALGA to effectively represent the Local Government sector’s interests, including through:

  • The State Emergency Management Committee,
  • State Bushfire Advisory Committee,
  • Inter- Agency Bushfire Operations Committee; and
  • Representations to Government and policy submissions, including the 2023-24 and 2024-25 WALGA State Budget Submissions.

For more information about this survey, please contact WALGA's Emergency Management Team

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