Julia Hartelius, International Disaster Response Law Coordinator, jhartelius@redcross.org.au
• In accordance with our auxiliary role, Australian Red Cross continues to provide advice and support to Government in the development and implementation of effective legal and policy frameworks for disaster and emergency management domestically, for example the Tasmanian State Emergency Management Plan, Victorian Government’s Relief and Recovery Policy Review and the Australian Government’s approach to implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in the States and Territories.
• ARC has supported the IFRC Asia Pacific Disaster Law Programme (DLP) since its inception and is a key partner to the programme. ARC's contribution to the DLP includes funding three core positions that undertake the activities of the DLP in Asia Pacific. The DLP supports National Societies and public authorities to develop modern and integrated legal frameworks for disaster risk reduction and response, ensuring inclusion of gender and protection issues in key disaster laws and policies and contextual approaches to regulatory issues in post-disaster shelter. The DLP also support the further anchoring of the Red Cross and Red Crescent auxiliary role in laws and policies.
• Australian Red Cross co-hosted the first Asia Pacific Regional Disaster Law Field School in April 2017 in Sydney, Australia. The Field School brought together 12 Red Cross Red Crescent National Societies with their respective governments, regional organisations such as ASEAN and Pacific Island Forum Secretariat, as well as UN agencies including UNOCHA and UNDP. Australian participants included ARC Emergency Services, Emergency Management Australia and DFAT. Over four days, the participants explored legal issues related to preparedness, response, risk reduction, and recovery, as well as cross-cutting issues such as gender, protection and inclusion, displacement and climate change and how these issues can be addressed through strengthened approaches in law, policy and practice. ARC was a key contributor to the development of the training modules, including materials, content and format.
• Australian Red Cross facilitated a training session on IDRL for the Civil-Military Interaction Workshop ‘Delivering ‘Joined-up’ Government: Achieving the Integrated Approach to Offshore Crisis Management’, hosted by the Australian Civil-Military Centre between 19-24 March 2017 in Sydney, Australia.
• Australian Red Cross provided technical support to the legislative review to strengthen disaster risk governance in Vanuatu in 2016.
• Australian Red Cross is currently undertaking an IDRL mapping of 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, in order to provide a comprehensive summary of the disaster law provisions in countries where Australian Red Cross is actively engaged in.
• ARC published a report around the challenges of Unsolicited Bilateral Donations (UBDs) in Pacific humanitarian responses. The report launch was supported by a successful joint media campaign with the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) promoting 'cash is best' messaging to reduce incidence of UBDs in light of the strain they put on local governments during responses. Following on from the launch of the report, the Government of Vanuatu adopted 'cash is best' messaging during Tropical Cyclone Donna, and the findings of the report shared at the Disaster Law field school in April 2017.
• Disaster Law is included in courses on international legal frameworks run through the IHL program, including a three-day course for humanitarians and courses for ADF personnel.
As above, Australian Red Cross is a key partner to the IFRC DLP, which supports National Societies and public authorities in utilizing the Checklist on Law and Disaster Risk Reduction to guide country specific research for evidence-based recommendations to strengthen domestic disaster-related legislation, policies and procedures.
• House Land and Property Rights (HLP), and regulatory barriers to shelter, continues to be an identified priority for Australian Red Cross and the IFRC, with work progressing at several levels. Australian Red Cross supported the development of Regulatory Barriers to Shelter Training toolkit, which was first delivered in September 2016.
• In partnership with Allens law firm, Australian Red Cross is currently undertaking a HLP country mapping for 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The expected outputs include extensive HLP research memos for each jurisdiction, as well as fat-sheets tailored for shelter practitioners to inform interventions for each respective country.
Australian Red Cross continues to deliver Public Awareness and Information programs primarily through Emergency Rediplan, the continuation of the International pilot of the Pillowcase Project, training community service providers to deliver preparedness messaging, and the conduct of a disaster preparedness week campaign.
Australian Red Cross also provides psycho-social support services (although does not provide clinical mental health services, as this is done by government funded and private health services). Support was provided in a range of circumstances including Cyclone Debbie in Queensland and NSW, the Bourke St, Melbourne multiple deaths tragedy, the Dreamworld Multiple Deaths tragedy. We continue to provide psycho-social support in longer term recovery in Western Australia after the Yarloop fires of 2016, and in South Australia after the Sampson’s Flat and Pinery Fires.
Australian Red Cross continues to have a response capacity in all states and territories to provide Register Find Reunite (domestic application of Restoring Family Links), and psychological first aid in evacuation settings, and in early relief and recovery settings.
Australian Red Cross has not taken steps to support the public authorities in assessing legal frameworks related to first aid.