AWE Newsletter October 2025 |
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AWE News |
| 2026 AWE Recognition Awards |
| The third annual AWE Recognition Awards Ceremony, held online on 16 September, celebrated and honoured the diverse and significant contributions of women and their allies to emergency management and disaster resilience. |
| Hosted by Ruth Wraith OAM, 27 AWE Recognition Awards were conferred across the following categories: |
| · Disaster Resilience and Inclusion |
| · Emergency Management and Disaster Resilience Practice |
| · Knowledge and Capability Development |
| · Leadership |
| · Mentoring and Supporting Women |
| · Research, Policy and Practice |
| · Volunteering and Community Engagement |
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| Congratulations to Charlotte Morrison, Bridget Kerans, Lauren Banting, Tiffany King, and Sarah Dean, who are are just some of this year’s AWE Recognition Award recipients |
| AWE President Bridget Tehan said, “The 2026 AWE Recognition Awards reflect the calibre, leadership and dedication of women, and men, who are making an extraordinary impact in our sector. Their contributions – often behind the scenes and across different contexts – are vital to building safer, stronger and more connected communities. It is a privilege to celebrate and acknowledge their achievements.” |
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| Award Ceremony attendees were asked to provide one word to describe women in emergencies. |
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| Congratulations to all 2025 AWE Recognition Award recipients! |
| Head to our webpage for details of this year’s Awards and the recipients |
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| Scholarship recipients |
| We are delighted to announce the recipients of the AWE-University of Sydney Disability-Inclusive Preparedness Scholarships: |
| · Amber Stinton, Ministry of Disabled People and New Zealand Response Team 7 |
| · Mackenzie Woodbury, NSW RFS Volunteer |
| · Ruby Rogers, Auckland Emergency Management |
| These three AWE members are looking forward to learning more about disability-inclusive preparedness. Drawing on their lived experience and professional expertise, each has committed to championing person-centred preparedness, strengthening disability representation in emergency response, and driving more inclusive policies and practices in their organisations and communities. |
| Huge thanks to the University of Sydney for their generosity in building AWE members’ skills and capabilities, and for supporting the inclusion and resilience of people with a disability. |
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| Mary Fran Myers Scholarship – applications now open |
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| The 2026 scholarship is available to residents outside the USA, including Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. Applications are now open and close on 1 December 2025. AWE’s Lisa Jackson received a Mary Fran Myers Scholarship in 2017. If you’d like to learn more about the Scholarship from Lisa please email us at [email protected] |
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| Gender and Disaster Australia update |
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| CEO Margaret Moreton says, “Our bold new logo above reflects our work at the intersection of gender and disaster. Our new five-year Strategic Plan, informed by an environmental scan, is being finalised and will be launched later in 2025. GADAus helps emergency management and disaster resilience organisations achieve stronger outcomes by applying a gendered lens, and we’re expanding our partnerships to enhance collective impact. We welcome new connections across the sector as we step into this next chapter, and invite you to contact us to arrange a discussion about how we can work together.” |
| GADAus is delighted to offer free places for AWE members in the Lessons in Disaster training program. This program is conducted across Australia and is funded by the Department of Social Services as part of the National Plan to End Violence Against Women and Children 2022-2032. Please email [email protected] for details. |
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| International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction: Fund Resilience, Not Disasters |
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| Our region faces escalating climate-driven disasters—floods, fires, cyclones, and earthquakes—placing huge strain on communities, economies, and governments. The costs are rising, while insurance, incomes, and international assistance are under pressure. |
| By funding disaster risk reduction, and ensuring all development is risk-informed, we can reduce future disaster losses and strengthen resilience across every part of society. The choice is clear: fund resilience now, or face growing humanitarian and economic costs later. |
| AWE Mentoring Program |
| 2025 Mentoring Program Wrap-Up |
| The 2025 AWE Mentoring Program officially wrapped up a few weeks ago with mentors and mentees coming together for final reflections, goal sharing, and celebratory bevs over Zoom! We want to celebrate and commend the incredible women who took part. |
| Over the course of the program, participants achieved so much – from moving interstate, finding new jobs and breaking into the emergency management sector, to developing new skills and building leadership experience. The journey was filled with everything from deep belly laughs to structured, thoughtful discussions. Each meeting left the group revitalised, inspired, and excited for the future, eager to collaborate, learn from each other, and keep building the AWE community as a place to access resources, connect, and lift one another up. |
| It was wonderful to hear how valuable the experience was for both mentors and mentees, with genuine two-way learning throughout. We also took time to explore what worked well, what could be improved, and will begin making improvements to the 2026 intake plan to ensure the program continues to grow and thrive. |
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| Be part of what’s next |
| We’re now looking for sub-group committee members to help design and deliver the 2026 Mentoring Program. This is your chance to bring new ideas, shape the experience, and make it truly AWE-some. |
| And if you’re ready to take the next step in your professional journey, applications for mentors and mentees open soon. Whether you want to grow through a carefully paired partnership, learn how to be a mentor, or share your experience with others, the 2026 intake is the perfect opportunity to invest in yourself, your career, and the future of women in emergencies. |
| Don’t just follow the journey — help shape it: https://www.awenetwork.org.au/mentoring/ |
| AWE Member Profiles |
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Senior Station Officer Josey Sensi has dedicated 26 years to fire services, shaping a supportive and progressive workplace culture. She has mentored and developed countless firefighters, advocating for women in a male-dominated industry. Her leadership has driven key initiatives, including pregnancy policies, flexible work arrangements, and command training programs. Passionate about inclusion, she has influenced multi-agency programs advancing women in firefighting. Her contributions extend across CFA and FRV, earning her deep respect from colleagues. Josey’s commitment to mentorship, advocacy, and operational excellence has left a lasting impact on the firefighters of Victoria and beyond. In recognition of her contributions, Josey received a 2024 AWE Promoting Volunteerism Recognition Award.
Susan Shaw has made an exceptional contribution to emergency management through her expertise in geospatial data and imagery. As a Geospatial Specialist at LINZ and a long-standing member of GEMA, she has played a key role in improving data quality for emergency response. Her leadership in aligning road accessibility data across New Zealand and supporting NEMA’s satellite imagery protocols has strengthened situational awareness and decision-making. Susan’s collaborative, pragmatic approach and dedication to mentoring and stakeholder engagement have driven significant advancements in resilience planning. Her selfless efforts continue to shape the sector, making her a truly invaluable asset. Susan received a 2024 AWE Mentoring Recognition Award in recognition of her influence.| AWE Member Profiles showcase the diversity, skills, and experience of our members. They also highlight the vast range of roles, paid and volunteer, that make up the emergency and disaster resilience sector. We’ve been featuring recipients of the 2024 AWE Recognition Awards in this year’s newsletter and will be featuring the recipients of the 2025 AWE Recognition Awards next year. |
AWE Australian Chapters |
| AWE VIC
AWE CBD Melbourne Breakfast Catch-Up 8.00am Tuesday 7 October 2025 Brunetti Oro on Flinders Lane, 250 Flinders Lane, Melbourne Connect with other AWE Network members for a relaxed coffee/ breakfast on the first Tuesday of the even months Feb, April, June, August, October. Please email us if you’d like to connect! Details and more dates here AWE Port Melbourne Breakfast Catch-Up 8.30am Monday 25 November 2025 Details and more dates here. AWE Yarra Ranges Breakfast AWE members living or working in or around the Yarra Ranges and outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne are invited to come along to breakfast at Hutch & Co, 251 Main Street Lilydale at 8.30am on the third Wednesday of each month. Email Amanda at [email protected] to let us know if you can make it. Connect at Comms Connect Melbourne! The 19th Comms Connect Melbourne, on 15–16 October, will feature the show’s first ever Women in Critical Comms panel session. As more and more women join the public safety and critical communications sectors, this session will explore the pathways, challenges and opportunities that present in an industry that traditionally has been male-dominated. We’ve got some AWEsome members attending who are keen to meet others. Please email us if you’d like to connect! AWE QLD The Council of Ambulance Authorities’ Women in Leadership Symposium, dedicated to empowering women in early stages of their careers to take the next step, will be held on 12 November in Brisbane. While the content will feature ambulance health sector speakers, the day itself is an open and welcoming environment for any emerging leader keen to network with like-minded people and learn from those who are blazing a trail, sharing their stories and experiences. |
AWE New Zealand |
| Kia ora AWE whānau!
We’re keeping the energy going with a mix of engaging in-person and online events across Aotearoa. Here’s what’s coming up – we’d love to see you there! AWE New Zealand Monthly Breakfast Join AWE for breakfast on the first Tuesday of every month in Wellington. Drop in to Dillinger’s from 7:30am – have a coffee or breakfast before work and connect with AWE members and others in our sector. Book now! Disaster First Aid: Self-Sufficiency and Innovation in the Field 8:00–8:45pm NZDT Sunday 20 October. Online Webinar When disaster strikes, volunteers need to be capable and self-sufficient. Join Taskforce Kiwi’s Medical Director Dr Malin Zachau and Registered Paramedic Campbell Doak to hear how this veteran-led charity is developing disaster first aid capacity. Topics will include the establishment of a Disaster First Aid course, chainsaw injury training, and an app that matches medical skills with deployment risks. Register now to be part of this fascinating discussion! Reflecting on self-care in emergencies and disasters 6 -7.30pm Tuesday 25 November NZ Online Join AWE NZ for our final session of 2025: Reflecting on Self-Care in Emergencies and Disasters. This interactive session will give us the chance to pause, reflect, and share strategies for looking after ourselves while working in demanding and often unpredictable emergency contexts. Together we’ll explore practical ways to sustain wellbeing, prevent burnout, and support each other. Event Recap: Including the Disabled Community in Resilience, Response and Recovery On 24 September, AWE NZ hosted an online session with Renee Santos from the Wellington Region Emergency Management Office (WREMO) exploring disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction. Renee sparked thoughtful discussion and questions from participants and provided some takeaway material on accessibility criteria and considerations, Together, we worked through a fictional scenario to unpack biases and assumptions, highlighting the importance of designing resilience, response, and recovery with — not just for — disabled people. |
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| If you have any specific news or information to share with other AWE NZ members, or queries, please forward them to AWE NZ Chapter Lead Amy. |
AWE Pacific |
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Women in Emergencies for Climate Action |
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Professional Development |
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| Girls on Fire empowers young people, and adults, to find future work and volunteering pathways, and greater community connection, through learning firefighting and disaster management skills. |
| Using local and international research, together with multi-agency collaboration, Girls on Fire helps recruit the fire service of the future, while giving young girls the opportunity to uncover their strengths, build personal resilience and connect in a positive way with the community. Girls on Fire now offers a new adults program designed to boost confidence, job skills, and career pathways for people looking to explore employment in fire and emergency, courtesy of the Workforce Australia Local Jobs Pathways Program. |
| There are a range of Girls on Fire opportunities across NSW and the ACT in October and November including: |
| · Fire, Flood & Emergency Services Job Pathways programs (for adults) |
| · Girls Fire and Resilience Programs |
| · Mentor Development Day |
| Visit Girls on Fire’s events webpage for details. |
Sector News & Resources |
| Australia’s Climate Risk Assessment and National Adaptation Plan: The new Climate Risk Assessment report from the Australian Climate Service outlines risks associated with increased natural hazards, while the new Australian National Adaptation Plan outlines the Federal Government’s response to a changing climate.
Climate change modelling for insurance: This article explores whether forward looking climate change modelling, now used across California, might be an option for insurance in Australia. Children and disaster: This new UNICEF/Deloitte report quantifies the social and economic cost of disasters on children and young people, while this article explores how schools across Europe are building children’s resilience and civic roles through games, workshops and real-world exploration. Children and disaster recovery: Check out Phoenix Australia’s Harry and the Storm, A Story for Children who have Experienced Trauma, designed for disaster-impacted children to help them understand and process their emotions surrounding the disaster and begin their journey to recovery. Disaster Recovery Almanac: Take a look out HowWeSurvive’s second Disaster Recovery Almanac in the series, featuring contributions from a wide range of authors including 2026 AWE Recognition Award recipient Dr Claire Leppold. Disastrous Writing: Two-day writing sessions are being hosted in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne throughout October and November. Join other policy makers, practitioners and researchers who all need some for intensive writing interspersed with opportunities to meet colleagues to help build potential future collaborations (and food!). Emergency management volunteers: Take a look at EMV’s video series about the wide range of roles that emergency volunteers play in keeping communities safe. Extreme heat in New Zealand: New research reveals New Zealand is on track for a major spike in extreme heat, with heatwaves potentially striking every other summer. Flood risk data: This article explores how and why Australia’s property owners can’t currently access information and data on flood and other climate related risk. Gaming for resilience: Minecraft’s Power Grid Hero puts players in charge of supplying power for a growing community, while its Heat Wave Survival helps players understand that extreme heat is a clear and present danger. Gender in disaster response: This evidence-based review explores diverse gender perspectives in disaster response. Impacts of Black Summer fires: New research examines the impact of the Black Summer fires on Australians who lived through them, in terms of income, housing stress and unpaid work. Māori and DRR: This article states that New Zealand offers an example of development, disaster risk reduction, and post-disaster recovery that respects and consults Indigenous communities. Media toolkit: Check out this Canadian toolkit on covering wildfires, designed for for editors, reporters and media professionals. Major Incidents Report: AIDR has released its 2025 Major Incidents Report, providing an overview of incidents that have involved the fire and emergency services sector in the financial year. Mental health showcase: ESF is hosting its annual Mental Health Showcase in October with topics from post-traumatic growth to post-incident trauma risk management. National Drowning Report 2025: This report examines the factors that contribute to drowning deaths in 2025 by examining who, where, when and how people have drowned in Australian waterways over the last year. Safety in the snow: Check out these great resources with simple safety messages aimed at people visiting the snow for the first time. Search and rescue survey: Participate in this PhD survey to help understand role of Search and Rescue Non-Government Organisations in emergency management across Aotearoa New Zealand. Social Capital Framework Launch: Check out the launch of the new Social Capital + Social Infrastructure Measurement Framework. Victoria’s climate resilience: Victoria’s Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee has released its report on Victoria’s climate resilience.
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| If you’ve got news or resources you would like shared in the AWE Newsletter, please email us the details by the end of the calendar month in time for publication the first week of each month. |
Sector Events |
| 2025
13 -16 October The 8th International Adaptation Futures Conference (AF2025) (NZ) 2026 8 March International Women’s Day 14-15 July Emergency Management Conference |
| If you are attending any of the major events this year and would like to meet up with other AWE members, please email us at [email protected] and we’ll help you to connect. |
About AWE |
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| The Australasian Women in Emergencies Network (AWE) promotes, supports and recognises the contributions of women in emergency management and disaster resilience across Australasia.
Visit www.awenetwork.org.au. Email us at [email protected]. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, X/Twitter, YouTube and Instagram. To become an AWE member, please visit www.awenetwork.org.au/join-us.
AWE acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past and present. AWE acknowledges the injustices committed against First Nations people and recognise Sovereignty has never been ceded. Australian land always was, and always will be Aboriginal land. AWE recognises the unique role of Māori, and embraces the Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti), NZ’s foundation document confirming Māori as tangata whenua, the first people of Aotearoa, New Zealand. It recognises that they have tino rangatiratanga (absolute authority or sovereignty) over their lands, resources, and taonga (treasured possessions) while embracing the three guiding principles of the Te Tiriti – partnership, participation and protection. AWE acknowledges, values and celebrates the rich diversity and intersectionality of our members, workplaces and communities. We are committed to creating an inclusive, equitable, respectful and safe network, where people of all identities, cultures, backgrounds, abilities and experiences feel they belong and are empowered and able to strive and thrive. |
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Newsletter Contributions: The AWE Newsletter is published monthly and is distributed to more than 2400 AWE members across Australasia. For contributions, queries or to let us know what you would like to see in the newsletter, please email us at [email protected]. Check out past Newsletters here. |