Natural Disasters
16. Natural Disasters
16.1. Types of natural disasters
16.1.1. Natural disasters may include, but are not limited to:
i. Floods
ii. Cyclones or other significant weather events
iii. Bushfires iv. Earthquakes v. Volcanoes vi. Tsunamis
16.2. Natural disasters – Critical Incidents
16.2.1. Any natural disaster in Australia that affects awardees should be considered a
critical incident.
16.3. Natural disasters – Welfare Incidents
16.3.1. Any natural disaster in the home country or region of awardees should be
considered a welfare incident.
16.3.2. When a natural disaster occurs, the responsibilities of awardees, institutions
and DFAT are different to other welfare or critical incidents. The appropriate processes are outlined in this chapter.
16.4. Natural disasters in Australia
16.4.1. Any natural disaster in Australia that affects awardees should be considered a
critical incident.
16.4.2. If a natural disaster affects, or is predicted to affect, any campus that is
hosting awardees the following responsibilities apply.
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16.4.3. All affected awardees must make contact with their Student Contact Officer
as soon as possible.
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16.4.4. Institutions must:
i. consider the wellbeing of awardees and any accompanying family members as paramount. This includes ensuring affected individuals:
o have safe and secure accommodation o have access to information regarding emergency relief funding where
appropriateavailable o have access to counselling services o are able to return to their studies with minimum disruption.
ii. notify the Australia Awards Delivery Section immediately when it becomes aware of a natural disaster
iii. prepare a group critical incident report to DFAT noting: o the number of affected awardees o the status (e.g. health, wellbeing and location) of all awardees o the anticipated disruption to the academic year o if there is prior warning of a natural disaster, what steps are being taken to
ensure the welfare of affected awardees o if at all possible, the report template included at Appendix B should be used. iv. continue to monitor the situation, keep up-to-date records of the natural disaster
and its implications for awardees v. report regularly to the Australia Awards Delivery Section
16.4.5. If there is prior warning of a natural disaster, notification should be by phone and
email and should follow the standard procedure for notification of any critical incident as outlined in Section 15.3 of this document.
16.4.6. If there is no prior warning and the natural disaster affects electricity or
telecommunications infrastructure, DFAT will accept non-standard notification. However, DFAT does expect all affected institutions to make contact with the Australia Awards Delivery Section as soon as possible.
16.5. Natural disasters in an awardee’s home country
16.5.1. Any natural disaster in an awardee’s home country or region should be
considered a welfare incident.
16.5.2. If a natural disaster affects, or is predicted to affect, an awardee’s home
country or region the following responsibilities apply.
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16.5.3. If you are conducting fieldwork outside Australia in an area that
experiences a natural disaster please contact your Student Contact Officer
immediately.
16.5.4. If you are concerned about the welfare of friends and family in your home country
DFAT advises you to speak to your Student Contact Officer.
16.5.5. If you are scheduled to return to your home country within 14 days of a natural
disaster please contact your Student Contact Officer to confirm your travel arrangements.
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16.5.6. If any awardees are conducting fieldwork outside Australia in an area that
experiences a natural disaster, DFAT should be notified as per the processes
outlined in Section 14.2 .
16.5.7. If an awardee reports to their Student Contact Officer concerns about natural
disasters overseas, DFAT should be notified as per the processes outlined in Section 14.2 .
16.5.8. Facilitate the provision of support to any affected awardees and any accompanying
family members (where possible).
16.5.9. Support may include access to counselling services.
16.5.10. If necessary, intervene early with the awardee and discuss options such as altered study plans, tutoring or short-term suspensions to allow the awardee to successfully manage their study load during a difficult time.
16.5.11. If an awardee is due to return to their home country within 14 days of a natural disaster contact the Program Area to confirm it is safe for the awardee to return.
16.5.12. If necessary, following consultation with DFAT, institutions may approve an awardee’s use of a Reunion Airfare entitlement in advance to enable the awardee to return home on compassionate grounds for a short period of time.
16.5.13. The use of the Reunion Airfare entitlement for this purpose should be noted in the OASIS journal.
16.5.14. The awardee and institution will need to agree on the period of absence. In some cases, it may be more appropriate for the institution to suspend the scholarship.
16.5.15. If travel is restricted or considered unsafe the Program Area should contact the Australia Awards Delivery Section as soon as possible so that this
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information can be passed on to awardees in Australia.
16.5.16. If advised by the Program Area that travel is restricted or considered unsafe for awardees to return, pass this information on to all relevant institutions.
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