Building safer, more resilient communities
Over the past decade, Queensland has been the country’s most disaster-prone State and has incurred a total economic cost of $11 billion per year.1
It’s clear that long-term investment in mitigation strategies is essential to protect communities from the growing risk and cost of natural disasters.
Key to all of this is ensuring those who play a role in our State’s disaster management efforts are trained to not only respond to severe weather but to also implement resilience-building initiatives in communities.
With an increased focus on disaster resilience building, RACQ Foundation has established five new partnerships with Local Government Association Queensland (LGAQ), Brisbane Sustainability Agency, Farm Angels, Community Owned Enterprises - My Pathway and The Resilience Canopy to support communities at a grassroots level.
RACQ Head of Sustainability Will Soutar said RACQ is proud to partner with like-minded organisations and not-for-profits that deliver on the Club’s purpose – to drive a positive future for all Queenslanders.
“As the State’s largest club, RACQ is committed to building safer, more resilient communities,” Mr Soutar said.
“We’ve seen through RACQ Foundation’s grant program a changing attitude amongst Queenslanders as an increasing number of community groups requested funding for resilience-based projects in the last financial year.
“With more frequent and severe weather a growing risk, these new resilience partnerships will allow us to extend our impact at a local level, where support is needed most.”
One of these partnerships is LGAQ’s new Council to Council (C2C) Exchange Pilot, which is funded by the RACQ Foundation and was officially launched in August.
The program aims to help local government areas across Queensland better prepare before disaster strikes.
Through peer-to-peer learning, the C2C pilot will see established disaster professionals from 20 councils improve their skills so they can better support post-event relief and response and lead disaster coordination in their communities.
LGAQ CEO Alison Smith said the program will involve cross-regional exchanges and is all about Queenslanders helping Queenslanders.
“LGAQ couldn’t be more delighted to be partnering with RACQ Foundation to bring extra capacity and professional development to our councils ahead of the next wet season,” Ms Smith said.
“We activate our C2C program for councils every year when disaster hits, ensuring impacted councils are supported by local governments who can lend a hand with expertise and/or equipment.
“However, what this program is all about is helping councils in the off-season to be in the strongest position yet to be able to deal with the next disaster.”
Similarly, The Resilience Canopy is helping Australian’s build long-term resilience to climate and societal challenges as it aims to support 500 communities on their own resilience journeys.
Now, with the RACQ Foundation's support, this independent not-for-profit is set to train and mentor a network of community resilience practitioners throughout Queensland, who will help communities become stronger and more adaptable to these risks.
Community Owned Enterprises is another not-for-profit partnering with the RACQ Foundation to support sustainable employment pathways, training, and enterprise development for First Nations communities.
RACQ Foundation is also supporting resilience-based Community Assistance Projects with two new partners.
Brisbane Sustainability Agency is dedicated to enhancing the natural environment and building resilience within local communities and with RACQ Foundation’s support will deliver resilience assessments, retrofit works for non-council clubs, sustainability awareness and education in schools and suburban sponges, which absorbs and slows stormwater runoff.
In 2025, RACQ Foundation also delivered a project in Mitchell alongside Farm Angels, who continue to support farmers and families across Queensland as they recover from natural disasters.
Through an ongoing partnership, RACQ Foundation will support the development of a new Future Farmers Resilience program to promote youth retention in agricultural communities.
It’s through these partnerships that RACQ Foundation can help make an impact in our built and natural environments and ultimately, start preparing communities for what the future holds.
RACQ Foundation’s next round of funding for the Community Grant Program is now open.
1Deloitte Access Economics, ‘Building Resilience to natural disasters in our states and territories’, Australian Business Round Table, 2017, http://australianbusinessroundtable.com.au/assets/documents/ABR_building-resilience-in-our-states-and-territories.pdf (accessed 19 January 2023).
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