Study finds Australian community groups exhausted and under-funded despite key disaster role
A new Western Sydney University report says grassroots disaster groups in NSW are burning out and lack adequate government support.
Western Sydney University researchers have documented widespread fatigue among NSW community organisations that act as frontline responders to floods, bushfires and drought. The analysis shows groups like Helping Hands, which distributes ten pallets of food weekly, and the Eugowra progress association, which coordinated flood relief after the 2022 “inland tsunami,” operate with limited or no government funding despite being trusted by agencies such as the NSW Reconstruction Authority.
Funding cuts threaten the survival of entities like the Mountains Community Resource Network, whose core grant ended in April. While the state’s Spontaneous Volunteers Support Program has allocated $3.55 million to 39 projects, officials such as Acting Minister for Recovery Jodie Harrison acknowledge that goodwill alone cannot sustain these volunteers. The authors call for formal recognition of local expertise and a stable financial framework to bolster community resilience ahead of projected super El Niño impacts.
Why it matters
Community groups are essential for disaster response, yet without stable funding they risk collapse, leaving vulnerable populations exposed.
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