Does Anyone Have a Crystal Ball? Imagining the Future of Disaster Management in Queensland
Tracks
Coolangatta Room
| Monday, July 27, 2026 |
| 11:35 AM - 11:55 AM |
| Coolangatta Room |
Overview
Kate Retzki, Office Of The Inspector-general Of Emergency Management
Details
Three Key Learnings
1. Hear what government thought-leaders are saying about the opportunities and challenges facing the sector.
2. Get insights into the themes identified for change as the sector prepares for a more complex future.
3. Learn about the ideas for action – what are the steps the industry can take to lead us to our preferred future?
Speaker
Kate Retzki
Director, Research and Communications
Office Of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management
Does anyone have a crystal ball? Imagining the future of disaster management in Queensland
Abstract
Does anyone have a crystal ball? Imagining the future of disaster management in Queensland
In 2025, Queensland took its first steps to reimagine its approach to disaster prevention and preparedness through two pivotal events: the Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management (IGEM) Futures Connect Round Table and the Queensland Disaster Futures Champions Summit.
These initiatives highlighted the need to shift from reactive disaster and emergency management to a proactive, anticipatory governance model that builds longer-term, adaptive resilience, based on a truly holistic system-wide approach.
Hear from Kylie Mercer and Kate Retzki from the Office of the IGEM as they explore the insights gathered from government leaders at these events. Key to the discussion is an imagined future scenario for disaster prevention and preparedness; a plausible reality where the system breaks free from the response-recovery cycles and truly adopts integrated shared responsibility where disaster and emergency management is everyone's ‘business as usual’.
Through this presentation, delegates will examine some big, strategic questions facing the sector, such as: What is needed to embed a culture of preparedness? How can we identify and resolve systemic barriers to change? What strategies will help map-out a preferred future for disaster and emergency management in Queensland and across Australia?
Kate and Kylie will provoke conversation on a transformative chapter in disaster and emergency management, with the aim of ultimately equipping our communities to confidently live with risk in the face of an increasingly complex disaster reality.
Key takeaways:
1. Hear what government thought-leaders are saying about the opportunities and challenges facing the sector.
2. Get insights into the themes identified for change as the sector prepares for a more complex future.
3. Learn about the ideas for action – what are the steps the industry can take to lead us to our preferred future?
In 2025, Queensland took its first steps to reimagine its approach to disaster prevention and preparedness through two pivotal events: the Office of the Inspector-General of Emergency Management (IGEM) Futures Connect Round Table and the Queensland Disaster Futures Champions Summit.
These initiatives highlighted the need to shift from reactive disaster and emergency management to a proactive, anticipatory governance model that builds longer-term, adaptive resilience, based on a truly holistic system-wide approach.
Hear from Kylie Mercer and Kate Retzki from the Office of the IGEM as they explore the insights gathered from government leaders at these events. Key to the discussion is an imagined future scenario for disaster prevention and preparedness; a plausible reality where the system breaks free from the response-recovery cycles and truly adopts integrated shared responsibility where disaster and emergency management is everyone's ‘business as usual’.
Through this presentation, delegates will examine some big, strategic questions facing the sector, such as: What is needed to embed a culture of preparedness? How can we identify and resolve systemic barriers to change? What strategies will help map-out a preferred future for disaster and emergency management in Queensland and across Australia?
Kate and Kylie will provoke conversation on a transformative chapter in disaster and emergency management, with the aim of ultimately equipping our communities to confidently live with risk in the face of an increasingly complex disaster reality.
Key takeaways:
1. Hear what government thought-leaders are saying about the opportunities and challenges facing the sector.
2. Get insights into the themes identified for change as the sector prepares for a more complex future.
3. Learn about the ideas for action – what are the steps the industry can take to lead us to our preferred future?
Biography
Kylie Mercer is the Director, Legal, Monitoring and Evaluation., providing independent legal advice to the Office of the IGEM and driving the development and delivery of standards and evaluation across disaster management functions. Ms Mercer was admitted as a solicitor in January 2001 and has worked in a range of legal and leadership roles at Legal Aid Queensland, Queensland College of Teachers, Workplace Health and Safety and the Parole Board Queensland where she led significant change and delivered strong outcomes. Prior to commencing with the office, Ms Mercer was engaged as Registrar at the Board of Professional Engineers of Queensland.
