Deadline: 01-Jul-2026
The Disaster Ready Fund (DRF) Round 4 provides funding for projects that strengthen disaster resilience, preparedness, and risk reduction across Australia. The program supports initiatives that improve understanding of natural hazards, enhance community and government adaptive capacity, reduce future disaster impacts, and align with national resilience and hazard mitigation priorities, with projects eligible for funding over a period of up to three years.
Program Overview
The Disaster Ready Fund (DRF) Round 4 is a national funding initiative designed to strengthen Australia’s resilience to natural disasters by supporting projects that reduce risk, improve preparedness, and enhance long-term disaster management outcomes.
The program encourages investments in evidence-based initiatives that help communities, governments, and organizations better understand natural hazards, prepare for future disasters, and reduce the impacts of events such as floods, bushfires, cyclones, storms, droughts, and other natural hazards.
By prioritizing risk-informed planning and resilience-building activities, the Disaster Ready Fund aims to reduce future recovery costs, protect communities, and improve Australia’s capacity to adapt to increasing disaster risks associated with climate variability and other environmental challenges.
Focus Areas
Projects should contribute to one or more of the following priority areas:
- Increasing understanding of natural disaster risks and impacts.
- Improving disaster preparedness across communities and governments.
- Strengthening resilience to natural hazards.
- Enhancing adaptive capacity in disaster-prone regions.
- Reducing vulnerability to future natural disasters.
- Lowering exposure to disaster risks.
- Minimizing the severity and consequences of natural hazard events.
- Supporting evidence-based disaster risk reduction strategies.
- Improving long-term resilience planning.
- Enhancing disaster mitigation and prevention efforts.
- Supporting informed decision-making through data and risk assessments.
- Strengthening preparedness and emergency management systems.
Projects should demonstrate clear links between proposed activities and measurable improvements in disaster resilience outcomes.
Program Objectives
The Disaster Ready Fund seeks to:
- Reduce the impact of future natural disasters.
- Strengthen community resilience and preparedness.
- Improve disaster risk awareness and understanding.
- Support proactive investment in disaster mitigation.
- Encourage evidence-based resilience planning.
- Improve coordination across government and community sectors.
- Support adaptation to changing hazard profiles.
- Reduce future recovery and reconstruction costs.
- Promote sustainable and long-term resilience outcomes.
- Strengthen Australia’s disaster risk management capability.
The program focuses on preparedness and mitigation rather than post-disaster recovery activities.
Funding Information
Key funding details include:
- Funding program: Disaster Ready Fund (DRF) Round 4.
- Application opening date: 29 May 2026.
- Maximum project duration: Three years.
- Maximum grant amount: No maximum funding limit specified.
- Infrastructure projects:
- Minimum total project value of $0.5 million.
- Non-infrastructure projects:
- No minimum project value requirement.
Funding levels should be aligned with the relevant DRF funding streams and project requirements.
Applicants should ensure that proposed budgets are realistic, evidence-based, and proportional to anticipated outcomes and benefits.
Funding Priorities
The program prioritizes investments that demonstrate:
- Strong disaster risk reduction outcomes.
- Evidence-based project design.
- Alignment with existing resilience strategies.
- Alignment with hazard mitigation plans.
- Support for national resilience priorities.
- Long-term sustainability.
- Community benefit and preparedness improvements.
- Geographic and demographic equity.
- Collaboration among stakeholders.
- Clear measurement of outcomes and impacts.
Projects should demonstrate how funding will contribute to reducing future disaster impacts and strengthening resilience over time.
Who is Eligible?
Eligible applicants include:
- Australian entities with a valid Australian Business Number (ABN).
- State government agencies.
- Territory government agencies.
- Local government authorities.
- First Nations organizations.
- Not-for-profit organizations.
- Other legally constituted entities capable of entering into binding agreements.
Applicants must be legally authorized to receive and manage grant funding.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must provide evidence of eligibility, including:
- Australian Business Number (ABN) details.
- Not-for-profit registration documentation where applicable.
- Indigenous organization documentation where applicable.
- Legal status documentation demonstrating authority to enter into funding agreements.
- Any additional supporting evidence required under program guidelines.
Organizations should ensure all eligibility documentation is current and accurate at the time of application.
Guiding Principles
Funding decisions under the Disaster Ready Fund are guided by several core principles:
Risk-Informed Investment
Projects should be based on sound evidence, hazard data, risk assessments, and demonstrated community needs.
Alignment with Existing Planning
Activities should align with:
- Existing disaster resilience strategies.
- Hazard mitigation plans.
- Community resilience frameworks.
- Government planning and preparedness initiatives.
National Priority Outcomes
Projects should contribute to broader national objectives related to disaster risk reduction and resilience building.
Equity and Inclusion
The program promotes equitable investment across:
- Urban communities.
- Regional communities.
- Remote communities.
- First Nations communities.
- Diverse hazard environments.
- Different population groups and community types.
Long-Term Impact
Projects should generate sustainable outcomes that continue beyond the grant period and contribute to reducing future recovery burdens.
How to Apply
- Review the Disaster Ready Fund Round 4 guidelines and eligibility requirements.
- Identify a project that addresses disaster preparedness, resilience, or risk reduction.
- Ensure the project aligns with existing resilience and hazard mitigation strategies.
- Gather evidence supporting the proposed project, including risk assessments and planning documents.
- Develop a detailed project plan with measurable outcomes.
- Prepare a realistic project budget aligned with the appropriate funding stream.
- Assemble required eligibility documentation.
- Demonstrate how the project contributes to national resilience priorities and equitable outcomes.
- Submit the application through the designated application process before the closing date.
Strong applications will clearly demonstrate risk reduction benefits, evidence-based planning, and long-term resilience outcomes.
Why This Program Matters
Australia faces increasing challenges from natural hazards, including bushfires, floods, cyclones, severe storms, heatwaves, and droughts. These events can cause significant social, environmental, and economic impacts on communities and infrastructure.
The Disaster Ready Fund supports a shift from reactive disaster recovery toward proactive risk reduction and preparedness. By investing in resilience-building measures before disasters occur, governments and communities can reduce future losses, strengthen adaptive capacity, and improve public safety.
The program also encourages better integration of scientific evidence, community knowledge, and strategic planning to support more effective disaster risk management across Australia.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Proposing projects that are not aligned with disaster resilience objectives.
- Failing to demonstrate clear risk reduction outcomes.
- Submitting projects without supporting evidence or risk assessments.
- Ignoring existing resilience or hazard mitigation plans.
- Providing unrealistic budgets or timelines.
- Failing to demonstrate long-term sustainability.
- Incomplete eligibility documentation.
- Weak measurement and evaluation frameworks.
- Insufficient consideration of community needs and equity outcomes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the Disaster Ready Fund Round 4?
The Disaster Ready Fund Round 4 is a funding program that supports projects aimed at improving disaster preparedness, resilience, risk reduction, and adaptive capacity across Australian communities and governments.
What types of projects are eligible?
Eligible projects include initiatives that improve understanding of natural hazards, strengthen resilience, reduce disaster risk, enhance preparedness, support mitigation efforts, and align with existing resilience and hazard management strategies.
Is there a maximum grant amount?
No maximum grant amount has been specified. Funding requests must align with the relevant program stream and project requirements.
What is the minimum project value for infrastructure projects?
Infrastructure projects must have a minimum total project value of $0.5 million.
Who can apply for funding?
Eligible applicants include government agencies, local governments, First Nations organizations, not-for-profit organizations, and other Australian entities with a valid ABN that can legally enter into funding agreements.
How long can projects run?
Projects funded under Round 4 may be delivered over a maximum period of three years.
Why does the program emphasize resilience and preparedness?
Investing in preparedness and resilience helps reduce the impacts of future disasters, lowers recovery costs, improves community safety, and strengthens Australia’s capacity to adapt to evolving natural hazard risks.
Conclusion
The Disaster Ready Fund Round 4 provides significant opportunities for governments, First Nations organizations, not-for-profits, and other eligible entities to invest in disaster risk reduction, preparedness, and resilience-building initiatives. By supporting evidence-based, risk-informed, and strategically aligned projects, the program helps strengthen Australia’s ability to withstand and recover from natural hazards. Through its focus on long-term resilience, equitable outcomes, and proactive disaster management, the Disaster Ready Fund contributes to safer, more prepared, and more resilient communities across the country.
For more information, visit NSW Government.