Emergency Planning For People With Disabilities
Emergency Easy Read Resources
Simple and easy to read guides about preparing for and how to act during an emergency, crisis or natural disaster.
Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness (P-CEP)
The Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness (P-CEP) Workbook is a simple and practical tool designed with and for people with disability to help them prepare for emergencies like fires or floods. P-CEP was co-designed by the University of Sydney Disability Inclusive Community Development Team in collaboration with experts and the disability community.
How Does P-CEP Work?
P-CEP breaks emergency planning into four easy steps, each focusing on conversations and actions to create a personalised plan tailored to an individual's needs. It’s a guided process that helps identify support requirements, potential challenges, and strategies to stay safe during an emergency.
Why is P-CEP Important?
Why is P-CEP Important?
P-CEP is about empowerment and collaboration, helping people with disability manage their needs before, during, and after a disaster. It focuses on abilities, community resources, and teamwork.
Workbook, Toolkit and Facilitators Guide
The P-CEP Workbook is a guide for people with disability to assist them in writing an emergency preparedness plan based on their individual support needs.
(PDF, 2MB)
The P-CEP Toolkit is designed for community support workers to enable them to assist people with disability to develop a Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness (P-CEP) plan.
(PDF, 869KB)
The Community-Centred Emergency Preparedness Facilitators Guide is a guide for discussing Person-Centred Emergency Preparedness (P-CEP) in a group setting.
(PDF, 3MB)
Disability Inclusive Emergency Management (DIEM)
1 in 6 Australians live with a disability, and during disasters, they face increased risks of death, injury, and neglect. To address these challenges, the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) partnered with the University of Sydney Centre for Disability Research and Policy to develop the Disability Inclusive Emergency Management (DIEM) project.
- Funding: $1 million investment to enhance national capabilities and improve safety and well-being outcomes for people with disabilities during emergencies.
- Co-Design: Developed with input from people with disabilities, all levels of government, and emergency, disability, and community sectors.
- Advisory Panel: Supported by an Expert Advisory Panel consisting of government representatives, people with disabilities, and sector advocates.
The DIEM Toolkit
The DIEM Toolkit is the key deliverable of the Disability Inclusive Emergency Management (DIEM) project. It consists of a series of documents designed to support:
- Emergency planners,
- Governments, and
- Disability and community organisations.
The Toolkit ensures disability inclusion is embedded in emergency preparedness planning and aligns with the recommendations of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation of People with Disability.
The DIEM Toolkit provides essential guidance for creating a consistent, inclusive approach to emergency management nationwide.
Toolkit Components
- Overview: Summarises Toolkit elements, promoting self-assessment, collaboration, and tailored action planning.
(PDF, 1MB)
- Principles and Practical Action Guide: Offers a framework and templates to translate seven principles of disability inclusion into practical actions.
(PDF, 798KB)
- Organisational Emergency Preparedness Profile: A self-assessment tool for organisations to evaluate their emergency preparedness and capabilities.
(PDF, 2MB)
- Resource Map: Highlights best practices for disability-inclusive emergency management from across Australian sectors.
(PDF, 1MB)
Disability-Inclusive Emergency Planning (DIEP
This activates inclusive community-led preparedness actions of multiple stakeholders that focus on pre-planning for the extra support needs of people with disabilities in emergencies and building community willingness and capability to share responsibility for the organisation and delivery of supports so that nobody is left behind.