EMPA AUSTRALIA 2024 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
Entries for the 2024 awards have now closed. The winners will be announced at the Conference dinner on Wednesday 5 June 2024.
EMPA celebrates outstanding work in emergency communications across Australia
EMPA aims to set benchmarks, celebrate best-practice and build a community of practice for the benefit of emergency communicators and the communities they serve.
The annual EMPA Australia Awards for Excellence in Emergency Communications aims to highlight outstanding emergency communications work undertaken in Australia over the past year.
The awards are judged in six categories:
- Readiness and resilience
- Response
- Recovery
- Research
- Media
- Community engagement
Download the criteria from the boxes below.
Submissions are also judged in relation to their response to the EMPA Principles. Download the Principles below.
WHY ENTER?
The Awards are about recognising success. Enter the Awards to acknowledge your team and their work.
Use the submission process to profile your operational practices and understand what ‘worked’ to create that success.
Benchmark your performance against the industry’s best.
Benefit from the exposure generated by the Awards to boost your profile.
Use the prestige of winning an award in your marketing and collateral to further promote your organisation’s credibility.
A rewarding experience for your staff to know that they are part of a winning team.
Nominate your staff for individual awards to recognise their personal success and achievements.
ELIGIBILITY
The EMPA Australia Awards for Excellence in Emergency Communications are open to:
- All who make an active contribution to emergency management in Australia in any capacity provided that their activity is directly associated with communication / public information.
- Students, tutors or teaching staff in any accredited tertiary institution, whose research is directly related to emergency management in Australia.
- Journalists, including freelancers, who report on hazards and/or emergency responses in Australia.
- Individuals, teams and organisations are all eligible for nomination.
- The project, activity, research or coverage which is the subject of the nomination must be contemporary in nature, ie. carried out or substantially completed within the previous 12 months ending 31 March 2024
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Each entry must be:
- Made via the online entry form
- Provide sufficient information and supporting documents (up to 5) to clearly explain the entry and its response to the criteria.
CRITERIA
Readiness and Resilience
A project or activity that contributes to improved community preparedness and / or resilience.
Research
Research that advances emergency communication by:
- Improving community preparedness and / or resilience; or
- Increasing the effectiveness of communication during an emergency response; or
- Enabling agencies to better support communities recovering from an adverse event.
Media
Media reporting emergencies and/or emergency management with:
- In-depth and balanced coverage of a topic that increases public understanding of a hazard or an emergency response.
- Comprehensive and accurate reporting before or during an emergency response, contributing to public safety.
Community Engagement
Community-focused communications and engagement that involves:
- Collaborating effectively with diverse and varied communities.
- Promoting collaborative communication methods and engagement with the aim that communities will eventually drive their own programs.
EMPA Principles of Communication in Disaster and Emergency
EMPA AUSTRALIA 2023 AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
READINESS & RESILIENCE
Winner
Get Ready Queensland, Queensland Reconstruction Authority, with the project, “Check out what you need: A behaviour-change mission by Get Ready Queensland”.
Highly commended
The Flagstaff Group with the project, “EMBER program – Emergency Management Backpack Evacuation Resource”.
Wollombi Rural Fire Brigade of the NSW Rural Fire Service and Cessnock City Council for the project, “GET READY CESSNOCK – Emergency Preparedness Program”.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Winner
The Flagstaff Group with the project, “EMBER – Emergency planning tools for people with disability”.
Highly commended
Dr Margaret Cook with the project, “Reducing the Flood Hazard: Communicating Lessons from History”.
Bureau of Meteorology, with its project “Delivering community messaging in Gurindji language during major NT
RESPONSE
Winner
Department of Fire and Emergency Services with the entry: “Innovative Crisis Communication Excellence: MCC Team’s Outstanding Achievement in the Kimberley Floods Response”.
Highly commended
CEQ-Engage and Clinical Excellence Queensland with the project “Co-designing and responding with clinicians during a global pandemic”.
ABC Emergency with the project “Expand our emergency messaging to people with disability”.
MEDIA
Winner
SBS Audio, Audio Language Content Division, with the project “SBS Settlement Guide, Emergency Essentials”.
Highly commended
ABC North West Queensland with the entry: “ABC coverage of the Gulf floods, March 2023”.
RESEARCH
Winner
University of Technology Sydney (UTS, School of Education) and Fire and Rescue New South Wales with funding from NSW Reconstruction Authority with the research project “Reducing risk and increasing community resilience in culturally and linguistically diverse communities through culturally appropriate communication”.
