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NEWS
ABC National Breakfast Interviews Disaster Relief Australia about NSW Mid North Flood Recovery
Operation ELLIOT Mission Commander Davina Pye spoke with Radio National Breakfast this morning 13th April, 2021. Fran Kelly and Davina discussed the Mid North Coast Floods and how Disaster Relief...
DRA Launches Vital Flood Recovery to Port Macquarie and Surrounds
Disaster Relief Australia has launched a flood recovery operation dubbed Operation ELLIOT to the Port Macquarie area. The operation will bring vital flood recovery to a community still recovering...
Operation Woods Update
Disaster Relief Australia felt a sense of urgency to quickly gear up and provide much needed bushfire recovery to those affected by the Perth Hills bushfires. We leaned forwards to spin up our...
Disaster Relief Australia Plans for NSW Flood Recovery
The NSW floods have inundated communities just 18 months after the destructive Black Summer bushfires. NSW government has declared a natural disaster in 24 local government areas. Over 18 thousand...
Operation Corkhill Phase 1 March Update
Disaster Relief Australia relaunched bushfire recovery operations in the Eurobodalla Shire on the South coast of New South Wales, continuing the work in communities devastated by the 2019/2020 fire...
A Partnership Forged in Fire: Disaster Relief Australia and Minderoo Foundation Join Forces
Disaster Relief Australia, a veteran-led disaster relief organisation, is collaborating with Minderoo Foundation’s Fire and Flood Resilience initiative to increase the deployment of volunteers to...
Service Project Latrobe On Hold Due to VIC Lockdown
Due to the recent COVID-19 complications in Melbourne, we need to put Service Project Latrobe Legacy on hold while parts of Victoria enter a 5-day lockdown. Our Melbourne DRT has already been...
Jacobs cyclist riding for DRA at RoadNats
Disaster Relief Australia (DRA) is the official volunteer partner of an electric weekend in Aussie Cycling beginning 5th February, 2021. RoadNats, as it’s affectionately known, is the most...
Disaster Relief Australia Ramps up to Bring Urgent Recovery to Bushfire Survivors in Eurobodalla, Bega Valley and East Gippsland
Disaster Relief Australia, (DRA) is launching our first major operation for 2021, returning to bring urgent recovery to 2019/20 Black Summer bushfire survivors in Eurobodalla, Bega Valley and East Gippsland.
How to Support the Adelaide Hills Bushfires
The 2019-20 Australian bushfire season, also known as Black Summer, saw an extended period of multiple large-scale and intense fires. Australia’s Black Summer megafires were a severe blow, with hundreds of homes lost, millions of hectares of lands burned and parts of the ecosystem destroyed.
A Family Affair – Veterans Prepare for Gippsland Bushfire Recovery
Our Melbourne Disaster Relief Team recently assisted the Latrobe City Council in the Gippsland region, providing bushfire recovery post-Yinnar South bushfires of March 2019. Our members sharpened...
Double Your Impact by Volunteering at a Major Sporting Event to Raise Funds for Disaster Relief Australia
An exciting opportunity is available for anyone in the Ballarat area over the age of 18 to volunteer at The Federation University Road National Championships on 3rd - 7th February 2021 in Ballarat,...
DRA featured in BankSA Focus Magazine
Disaster Relief Australia were recently featured in BankSa Foundation's Focus Magazine. This edition of Focus 'A year of challenge' focused on SA's resilience through bushfires and COVID-19. Lifting...
DRA returns to Adelaide Hills for Black Summer bushfire recovery
Disaster Relief Australia is launching a Service Project in the Cudlee Creek bushfire area to continue assisting with bushfire relief and recovery from the Black Summer 2019/2020 bushfires. In...
Disaster Relief Australia’s Members awarded the National Emergency Medal
Disaster Relief Australia’s disaster response teams met Australia wide to celebrate and recognise the achievements of members awarded the National Emergency Medal. On Sunday November 15, 2020, DRA...
Taming Disaster: Drones for Good
Recently, Richard Adams, our National Director of Disaster Relief Teams (DRTs) was invited to speak on podcast show, Taming Disaster. Hosted by Christopher Todd, Rich discussed how the experience he gained working with drones in Afghanistan have been transferred to the field to help the community in emergency and disaster response.
Operation Mason on hold due to SA lockdown
2020 continues to throw curveballs our way. With the six-day lockdown now in effect in South Australia we unfortunately will have to postpone our upcoming Black Summer bushfire relief and recovery...
Disaster Relief Australia (DRA) withdrawing from Kangaroo Island Operations
Due to recent concerns regarding an outbreak of Covid-19 in the Adelaide area, several states have declared that borders will be closed to South Australia as of midnight tonight. Unfortunately, a...
The Story behind Operation Dexter
Before Disaster Relief Australia (DRA) deploys for an Operation, we endeavor to research the history of veterans in the local community. We name our Operations in honour of local Defence veterans...
DRA Guest Speaker Series 2020 with Mike Hartas
Michael (Mike) Hartas commenced his military career at Duntroon in Canberra in 1996 and graduated in 1998 to the Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery. Posted to the 1st Field Regiment in Brisbane...
DRA Guest Speaker Series 2020 with Billy Hedderman
Billy Hedderman presented live on Thursday, 29 October 2020 as a DRA Guest Speaker of the 2020 Series. Billy Hedderman is a recovered quadriplegic. The ex-Irish Special Forces officer broke his neck...
DRA Guest Speaker Series with Matt Newlands
Disaster Relief Australia was privileged to be joined by Mat Newlands as part of our Guest Speaker Series on 15th October 2020. Matt worked as a Police Officer with the South Australian Police from...
Disaster Relief Australia returns to assist bushfire affected Rosedale community with Operation Dexter
Disaster Relief Australia, (DRA) is launching a Type 4 bushfire recovery operation in the SW area of the Gladstone Regional Council LGA, commencing on the 14th of October 2020. In November/December...
DRA Guest Speaker Series with Maj (Retd) Nick Garland
Nick Garland is a former British Army officer who fought back from life threatening injuries sustained during operations in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, returning to lead soldiers on two further...
DRA Guest Speaker Series with Dr Elizabeth Rushbrook
Listen to Dr Elizabeth Rushbrook Chair of Disaster Relief Australia and Executive Director of the Metro North Hospital and Health Service QLD, deliver an inspirational talk on how she has overcome...
Thanks to Disaster Relief Australia partner Mitsubishi
In just five months this year Disaster Relief Australia partner Mitsubishi Motors Australia have donated over $107,000 to our Operations through the use of their Fleet.
Re-branded to become Disaster Relief Australia
As of Friday 29th May 2020, Team Rubicon Australia has re-branded to become Disaster Relief Australia (DRA). It is important to note that only the business name and associated branding will change....
Disaster Relief Australia and Minderoo Fire Fund join forces
Disaster Relief Australia and Minderoo Fire Fund join forces to provide relief to fire affected communities of Australia Sydney, NSW (March 6, 2020) Disaster Relief Australia, a veteran-led disaster...
Bushfire Recovery February 2020
Disaster Relief Australia is now conducting concurrent Operations in 3 states including Cudlee Creek, SA, Cobargo, NSW and Buchan, VIC.
Intense Droughts
An ORT has been deployed to drought affected Dubbo NSW We have deployed an Operational Reconnaissance Team (ORT) to engage with local authorities and community members in the region of Dubbo, NSW to...
Op Dawes Competed
83 Volunteers deployed, 130 Damage Assessments completed, 108 Work Orders Completed, 5335 hours logged and $291,169 saved by the community. Thank you to the community of Tathra for supporting us and...
Tathra Bushfires
DRA has deployed 3 Strike Teams along with an Incident Management Team to assist with local recovery efforts in Tathra, New South Wales. Learn More
News
We are excited to announce that Disaster Relief Australia has been recognised for an Outstanding Achievement in The Australian Charity Awards 2022. This is the third consecutive year that DRA has received an award in this category which recognises charitable organisations that have achieved outstanding results through initiatives that have significantly benefited charitable causes. The 2022 Outstanding Achievement was awarded to DRA for our plans to build our veteran-led volunteer base to create a fit-for-purpose model of continued service to the nation, while at the same time, establishing veterans as a much-needed national asset in disaster resilience and recovery. Our plans to build our volunteer workforce over the next three years will address a whole-of-nation resilience-based approach to disaster management, which recognises that a national, coordinated, and cooperative effort is needed to enhance Australia’s capacity to withstand and recover from emergencies and disasters. In partnership with the Australian Government’s announced funding, we will be significantly building our organisation, infrastructure and capability to always provide optimal support and relief for vulnerable communities affected by natural and #humanitarian disasters. We will further develop systems to connect with other emergency response and relief agencies and increase interoperability as well as to recruit more volunteers into DRA. Volunteering with DRA is a great way for anyone wishing to expand their skills set and either deploy into communities impacted by disaster to aid in their recovery or other #opportunities volunteering behind the scenes to support our recovery operations and daily non-profit activities. To learn more about our award submission visit: Australian Charity Awards – 2022 Winners
With lessons learned from 2017, Debra thought the upstairs of her store was well protected against rising waters. She was wrong. The 2022 Northern Rivers flood hit hard. Her premises, stock and irreplaceable collectables were significantly damaged. Under pressure and devastated, Debra attempted to repair the damage, run her business and manage the loss of her home in South Lismore. With overwhelming tasks piled high, DRA stepped in. They relocated damp and mouldy records, cleaned stock and cleared areas for use again. Debra said of the team: “I just couldn’t stop saying oh my god, oh my god because it had such a huge impact. To really see the progress is psychologically uplifting and amazing. For example, there was a team member who fixed my roller door. It had been damaged after the flood and was covered in mud. Just to see the blue paint on the door rather than the mud was phenomenally uplifting. I don’t know why I keep using the word uplifting, but it was just amazing.”
