The use of emergency powers during the COVID-19 pandemic — allowing governments to restrict individual freedoms, suspend constitutional norms and bypass normal parliamentary scrutiny —prompted intense public debate across Australia. But how long can a state of emergency remain in place in jurisdictions around Australia?

The Royal Commission into National Natural Disaster Arrangements concluded that the Commonwealth Government has the power to, and should, play a greater role in relation to natural disasters on a national scale. This document outlines how the government intends to respond.

This report focuses on broader questions of national arrangements and responsibilities, in relation to all phases of natural disasters – before, during and after. This inquiry required the Commission to consider whether these existing arrangements are as effective as they can be in a future...

The 2017 Fire Services Statement articulated the Victorian government’s vision for the reform of the state’s fire and rescue services. This report outlines the government's commitment to the Fire Services Statement and a shared course of action.

As the devastating 2019–20 bushfire season showed, all Victorians are at risk from bushfires. This audit was conducted to examine if the responsible state agencies are effectively working together to reduce Victoria’s bushfire risk.

A new version of the Australian Government Crisis Management Framework (AGCMF) has been released, which comes into effect from Monday 12 October 2020. The updates ensure that arrangements which set out the Australian Government’s response to emergencies and natural disasters are up to date in...

This paper argues that lockdowns and social distancing regulations introduced to manage the health concerns associated with COVID-19, have imposed significant social, economic and institutional costs, while being of debatable efficacy.

The economic crisis caused by lockdown measures in response to COVID-19 has distorted the Australian economy. The economic costs of lockdowns have not been equally shared across the country. This paper outlines five key pieces of evidence that lockdowns, rather than freezing the economy in...

The fires that occurred over the 2019/20 Australian summer were unprecedented in scale and had a devastating impact on large parts of the country. This paper estimates the economic costs of bushfires between 2020 and 2049, and the potential reduction in these costs from investments...

This report represents the Queensland Sentencing Advisory Council's work to understand and reform sentencing for assaults on public officers.