The outcomes presented here represent a consensus of industry experts and are based on extensive consultation - this is the first time an exercise of this scale focussed on natural disasters has been conducted in Australia. It is the first time the collective knowledge of the industry has been drawn together and recorded in such a manner.

This publication collects the top level outcomes of these workshops and, in doing so, presents a broader set of national research priorities in natural hazards emergency management by identifying end user motivated national priorities across major themes.

The workshops provided an exploration of major issues that would benefit from the support of research at a national level. There was no attempt to solve any of the issues or problems raised nor was there any discussion on the details of specific research.