When disaster strikes, communities don't wait for the system to catch up. They activate networks, share resources, make decisions, and lead their own recovery—often before emergency services arrive and long after they leave. And yet, the sector's engagement with communities too often stops at consultation, communication, or volunteer coordination.

DisasterWISE is Australia's national community-led disaster resilience network, seeded by Fire2Flourish, Monash University's five-year research and community impact program. Built from the ground up with communities recovering from real disasters, DisasterWISE is what those communities helped create and what continues as the enduring national network after that program concludes. Over four years we've supported communities across the country to share lessons, connect and grow, including hosting a national community congress last year. This year alone we're already in active conversation with more than 30 communities focused on both preparation and recovery.

This session will share what we're learning: what communities say they need from emergency management professionals, where the system is falling short, and what partnership actually looks like in practice. We'll draw on DisasterWISE's national network alongside real case studies to ground the conversation in evidence.

Joining us will be 2–3 community voices bringing direct lived experience of disaster and recovery, offering a perspective that is rarely heard in rooms like this one.

Disaster risk is increasing, systems are under pressure, and communities are being asked to do more with less. The sector needs new models—and the communities already building them have something to say.

This isn't a session about what communities can't do. It's about what becomes possible when emergency management professionals and communities work as partners, and what practical steps you can take back to your organisation immediately.