Australia is failing to keep up with the growing scale and impact of natural disasters, a pair of reviews into the nation's emergency management system has found.
In the face of the growing threat posed by climate change, the nation's disaster response arrangements are in need of widespread reforms.
The frequency and intensity of events such as floods, cyclones and bushfires is expected to grow as the globe heats up, according to an independent review of disaster funding led by Deloitte partner Andrew Colvin.
Even excluding the impact of climate change, Australia's population growth will result in natural disaster costs growing from $11.8 billion per year currently to more than $40 billion by 2050, the report predicts.
A separate review led by climate change risk expert Robert Glasser found existing governance arrangements were out of date.
"Climate change makes it fundamentally necessary to discard the notion that national-scale natural disasters happen only infrequently," the report said.
"They will rapidly become annual occurrences, with less and less 'down time' for first responders to recover, relief supplies and emergency equipment to be replenished, infrastructure to be re-built, and for communities to re-establish their resilience."
Both the Colvin and Glasser reviews recommended clarifying the Commonwealth's role in responding to disasters, given the patchwork of federal, state and local government involvement in emergency management.
Firstly, they found local governments and communities should be given better resources to respond to disasters.
In addition, the current system for receiving recovery funding should be replaced with a simpler and clearer model.
Emergency Management Minister Jenny McAllister said the federal government would undertake widespread consultation with the states and territories, which have primary responsibility for emergency management.
The views of local governments, not-for-profits and the broader industry would also be taken into account before finalising its response to the recommendations.
While the reviews made for grim reading, they presented an opportunity for reforms to better protect the community, she said.
"Addressing these reforms and the challenges and opportunities they present will require us all working together," Ms McAllister said.
"I am looking forward to working with states, territories and other key partners on how to respond to these recommendations."
Opposition emergency management spokeswoman Perrin Davey welcomed the reviews but warned the process of reform was only just beginning.
Australia's disaster response system has already undergone a drastic transformation since it was found underprepared for the Black Summer bushfires of 2019/20.
A national disaster management agency - NEMA - was established to co-ordinate responses at a federal level and governments across the nation increased investment in capabilities such as firefighting aircraft.
