Training and professional development resources

This collection offers practical, future‑focused learning that equips individuals and organisations with the skills needed to navigate an increasingly complex disaster environment.

Contact us to design professional development tailored to your organisation’s needs: events@aidr.org.au

AIDR Programs

About AIDR's offerings

Learn more about courses and events delivered by AIDR

Australian Disaster Resilience Conference

The nation's premier event focused on contemporary disaster resilience practice and research

Lessons Management Forum

Share good practice, learnings and innovations in lessons management

Volunteer Leadership Program

The Volunteer Leadership Program equips emergency sector volunteers with the skills and confidence to grow as leaders

2026 Events calendar

AIDR Masterclasses

Masterclass - Decision Making Under Pressure: New Skills for the New Normal

Enhance your ability to make high consequence decisions.

Masterclass - Facilitating Successful Debriefs

Debriefing offers a valuable opportunity to review activities undertaken.

Masterclass - Leading Diverse Recovery Teams

This masterclass for recovery leaders focuses on enhancing the capability of recovery leaders to work with diverse stakeholders on complex issues to align cooperative goals and purposes.

Masterclass - Leadership in Adversity

Explore the leadership skills required to work in increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex, sometimes chaotic and ambiguous (VUCCA) environments.

Masterclass - Leading Multi Agency Teams in Deep Uncertainty

This masterclass focuses on enhancing the capability of leaders to launch and manage high functioning interdependent teams to operate effectively in disaster, crisis and adversity.

Masterclass - Managing Organisational Crises

This Masterclass focusses on the key elements that enhance executive and board crisis leadership and what factors may undermine meeting goals and expectations.

Masterclass - Meteorology for Disaster Managers

Take your understanding of the weather and natural hazards to the next level.

A snapshot of what to expect from the AIDR program

View recordings, read proceedings and explore resources from previous professional development events.

Leave Nobody Behind webinar series and National DIDRR Forum (2023-2024)

View recordings from the Leave Nobody Behind webinar series on disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction

International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (2023)

View the Fighting Inequality for a Resilient Future webinar recording

National Indigenous Disaster Resilience Summit (2023)

View proceedings from the National Indigenous Disaster Resilience Summit

National Recovery Forum (2022)

View the Participant Harvest Report, Graphic Harvest and photos from the Forum held in August 2022

From Risk to Resilience Summit (2022)

View proceedings from the From Risk to Resilience Summit

International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction (2020)

Learn more about business leaders perspectives about good disaster risk governance.

Understanding Disaster Risk Forum Proceedings (2019)

View presentations and videos from the series of national forums held in October 2019

Webinars collection

All our webinar recordings in one place!

Other sector based training and professional development opportunities

Many other organisations and programs in this sector support Australia's disaster resilience. Please explore the following as you develop your skills and knowledge in this space.

Australian and New Zealand Council for fire and emergency services (AFAC)

Provides learning opportunities for many different areas in the sector.

AFAC Learning hub

United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) training

Risk is everybody’s business. UNDRR cannot reduce risk alone.

UNDRR works globally with governments, institutions, the private sector and civil society to build capacity to mainstream disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into sustainable development.

Training | UNDRR

Gender and Disasters Australia (GADAus) training

Increase your capacity to identify, respond to and prevent the harmful impacts of gendered expectations in disaster.

Training - Gender & Disaster Australia

Resilience Canopy

Become a Canopy Collective Community Resilience Practitioner and help your community connect and strengthen themselves.

The Resilience Canopy | Training

Phoenix Australia courses

Phoenix Australia are world leaders in trauma. Our educational activities support individuals, workforces, and communities to achieve better outcomes after trauma.

All Courses

Animal Health Australia

Hosts a variety of online courses related to emergency animal disease (EAD) preparedness, arrangements and biosecurity. Online training courses - Animal Health Australia

United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR)

Offers a wide range of learning events through workshops, seminars, briefings, conferences, public lectures, side events and online courses.

For more information about categories of courses and events currently offered, explore the full catalogue.

UNITAR | Knowledge to lead

VIC - Emergency Management Victoria learning and development page

Offers a coordinated integration of accreditation and endorsement across the sector.

Learning and development | Emergency Management Victoria

NSW - Government Capability Hub

If you work in emergency management, including volunteering, we encourage you to explore these resources to enhance your capability.

Home - Emergency Management Capability Hub

WA - Local Government Association Training Courses

Offers a range of professional development courses that provide the essential knowledge and skills the Local Government sector requires.

Training Courses | WALGA

SA - Local Government Association Training

LGFSG provides a range of training opportunities to build the capacity of the sector.

Emergency Management – LGA South Australia Training

NT - Workforce Training & Development Calendar

The calendar provides a ‘one stop shop’ that advertises training and professional opportunities available to community sector workers that are delivered in the NT and accessed by region.

Events - NTCOSS - Northern Territory Council of Social Service

TAS - Government Training and Development Hub

Professional development courses for TAS staff, external partners and volunteers.

Training and Development Hub - Department for Education, Children and Young People

QLD - Disaster Management Training

Training for Disaster Management in Queensland under the Queensland Disaster Management Training Framework and the responsibility of the Queensland Police Service (QPS).

Under the Framework, QPS Emergency Management Coordinators with the Queensland Reconstruction Authority (QRA) provide training in conjunction with for councils, government agencies and NGOs, on the following topics:

Queensland Recovery Plan and recovery governance in Queensland
Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements (DRFA)
State Disaster Relief Arrangements (SDRA)
Event specific (exceptional circumstances assistance)

Disaster Management Training | Queensland Reconstruction Authority

Related university courses, short courses, modules and/or subjects

Many universities within Australia and overseas offer a diverse range of learning opportunities. This includes master's courses, graduate diplomas, graduate certifications or even content specific subjects within graduate degree. Explore the variety of option below.

Frequently Asked Questions

I am a student just out of high school, what course should I look into?

Disasters are systemic, meaning that all choices related to how we live in the environment affect how we cope when a hazard event occurs. It is these choices that determine if the hazard event like a fire or a flood become a disaster.

For example, the choice about where homes are built. If a house is built directly in a flood plain such as the town of Lismore, the houses and the people are more exposed when a flooding hazard occurs. It becomes a disaster because building in this location meant homes were destroyed by the flood.

This explanation and example are here to demonstrate that any type of learning after high school has an impact on people, hazards and choices.

Those subjects more closely related include

- Environmental science

This include things such as understanding hazards, or landscapes

- Disaster management

This includes how we respond and prepare for

- Policy

This includes the decisions such as who gets to respond, how much money can they use, who is responsible to prepare the community or where homes should be built.

- Development studies

This includes things like

University of Tasmania: Offers courses in Emergency Management, focusing on community resilience and disaster management.

University of New South Wales (UNSW): Provides a Bachelor of Emergency Management, covering principles and practices of emergency and disaster management.

Macquarie University: Offers a course on Crisis Management and Disaster Relief, focusing on national resilience and emergency management principles.

University of Technology Sydney (UTS): Features a unit on Hazards, Climate Change and Disasters, exploring natural hazards and disaster risk reduction.

Western Sydney University: Offers a Bachelor of Humanitarian and Development Studies, focusing on disaster management and humanitarian response.

Queensland University of Technology (QUT): Provides a unit on Disaster Response and Recovery, addressing inclusive disaster response and recovery.

I am new to the sector, which course is the best place to start?

I am exploring post graduate opportunities, what courses do you suggest?

If you are looking for a master's course these are a great place to start. Tip - look at the subject partnerships each university has within the sector and follow one that suit your interests.

UNI Tar

Master of Disaster Resilience and Sustainable Development | UNITAR

University of Newcastle

Master of Disaster Risk and Resilience / Degrees / The University of Newcastle, Australia

Charles Darwin University

Humanitarian, Emergency and Disaster Management | Postgraduate Courses | Charles Darwin University

ANU

Disaster Risk Reduction and Management - ANU

Griffith university

Disaster Management and Resilience Building - 7422MED

I am interested in this topic but I want a taste of the subject matter before I fully commit, where should I look?

If you are a student wanting to find a subject about disaster resilience, try key word searches in your directory such as [...]

I am already in this sector and I want to specialise more in disaster risk reduction and resilience, where should I go?

...

Spotlight course

Training you might not have known is out these

Financial Counselling Victoria (FCVic)

FCVic supports the delivery nationally accredited Diploma of Financial Counselling, which is the required qualification to practice as a financial counsellor in Australia.

Along with the Diploma, FCVic offers a range of Continuing Professional Development opportunities about disaster recovery which includes learning opportunities such as;

- Gender, Disaster and Financial Wellbeing e-learning for workers supporting people recovering from disaster

- Post disaster – Rebuilding resilience and looking after ourselves and clients

- Disaster and Community Recovery workshop

Explore the full range here: CPD Library - Financial Counselling Victoria

FCVic also has a Disaster Recovery Toolkit to guide and support financial counsellors working with people and communities recovering from disaster.

Sections | Disaster Recovery Toolkit

Learn more about FCVic webinars to government staff and community service workers to improve their understanding of the role of financial counselling following a disaster.

Disaster Recovery Project: Update and learnings from recent FCA training - Financial Counselling Victoria