Northern Rivers and North Coast organisations have taken out several categories at the 2026 Resilient Australia Awards, recognising initiatives supporting disaster preparedness, mental health and community resilience.
Resilient Uki Inc. won the Resilient Australia Community Award for its Northern Rivers Community Emergency Hub Guide, while Healthy North Coast received the Mental Health and Wellbeing Award for Safe Haven North Coast.
North Coast Regional Landcare Network’s Fiona Berry also won the Photography Award for Catchment resilience, determined through a people’s choice vote on social media.
The Northern Rivers Community Emergency Hub Guide is a free resource co-designed with Community Resilience Groups across Byron and Tweed shires.
It is designed to help communities establish an emergency hub during the critical first 72 hours of a disaster without requiring prior training.
Safe Haven North Coast was recognised for providing accessible mental health and wellbeing support to Northern Rivers communities following the 2022 floods.
The locally designed service supported more than 22,000 participants between January 2024 and June 2026.
The local projects were among the NSW winners presented with awards at a ceremony at NSW Parliament House on Thursday.
Other winners included Wagga Wagga City Council for its Weathering Well initiative, Mission Australia for its approach to maintaining essential community services during disruptions and the Aboriginal Housing Office for its work assessing climate and disaster risks across more than 13,000 homes.
Minister for Recovery Janelle Saffin said the winning projects showed how communities were developing practical approaches to disaster resilience.
“NSW communities have faced extraordinary challenges, but the spirit of innovation shown by this year’s winners is nothing short of inspiring.” said Saffin.
“From safeguarding First Nations housing to designing grassroots emergency hubs in the Northern Rivers, these projects deliver real, practical protection where it’s needed most.
“When we empower communities to lead their own preparation and recovery, we build a safer, more resilient state for everyone.”
NSW Reconstruction Authority CEO Kate Fitzgerald said locally driven initiatives played an important role in building resilience.
“The Resilient Australia Awards recognise that resilience best occurs locally and is driven by the creativity of local communities and organisations.” said Fitzgerald.
“The projects recognised this year demonstrate that this is occurring across communities in NSW.
“The NSW Reconstruction Authority is proud to host these Awards as we recognise the people and organisations that commit their time and effort to strengthen disaster preparedness and resilience in NSW.”
The NSW Reconstruction Authority is the state convenor of the awards, with winners selected by an independent judging panel of experts from disaster resilience, community, government and research sectors.
NSW category winners will now be considered for the National Resilient Australia Awards, which will be announced later this year.
The Resilient Australia Awards have recognised contributions to disaster resilience since 2000 and are managed nationally by the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience.
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