Disaster Preparedness for Disability Accommodation Providers

Disability accommodation providers have a responsibility to plan ahead, and to make sound decisions quickly when conditions change. These free resources help providers get ready before an emergency, make safer decisions during one, and learn from it afterwards – with the people they support at the centre. 

QDN worked in partnership with the University of Sydney’s Collaborating4Inclusion research team and National Disability Services (NDS) to co-design resources with disability accommodation providers.  

Disability Accommodation Disaster Risk Assessment Framework Guide 

A practical tool to support frontline disability accommodation staff and managers to make placement decisions during emergencies. The framework moves through five steps:

Step 1 – The property                                    

Step 2 – The people you support 

Step 3 – Deciding on actions

Step 4 – Managing during the emergency 

Step 5 – After the emergency 

It helps you spot the assumptions built into your plans – like a staff member being contactable, a generator starting or a road staying open – and guides decisions as things change. It supports your Business Continuity Plan and each person’s Person-Centred Emergency Plan. It doesn’t replace them. 

Download the Framework Guide by clicking on the following link:
qdn.org.au/Disability-Accommodation-Disaster-Risk-Assessment-Framework-Guide.pdf

Organisational Emergency Preparedness eLearning 

A free online program with four short modules for disability accommodation and support providers. Using a realistic scenario, it explores organisational systems and continuity, shared responsibility, person-centred planning and how to apply learning across different hazards and settings. An embedded self-assessment gives instant feedback on your current preparedness practices, which you can download to support future planning. 

Access the eLearning by clicking on the following link:
collaborating4inclusion.org/organisational-emergency-preparedness/ 

Where to start

Start with the eLearning to reflect on your organisation’s preparedness. Then use the framework to assess risk for each property and each person you support. Steps 1 and 2 in the framework can be done ahead of time as part of your regular planning, so you’re not starting from scratch when under pressure. 

How the resources were developed 

These resources were co-designed with disability accommodation providers across Queensland. Through workshops in Townsville, the Gold Coast, Brisbane and online, providers shared their experiences of recent disasters – what worked, what didn’t and what they wished they had known. Their experience is built into every page, alongside more than a decade of research on person-centred and organisational emergency preparedness. 

This project was funded by the Department of Families, Seniors, Disability Services and Child Safety. 

Want to know more? Contact the QDN team at didrr@qdn.org.au or call 1300 363 783.