Australians overwhelmingly expect to face an emergency within five years, yet even experiencing one does not necessarily prompt households to prepare for the next. New Australian Red Cross research found 83% expect to be affected, while 33% lack confidence they would know how to respond.
More strikingly, one in eight people who experienced a disaster in the past year took no steps to prepare afterwards. The most common responses were relatively passive: 36% thought about the risks they faced and the same proportion considered making a plan.
That gap between awareness and action is becoming more relevant to insurers as verified resilience measures increasingly influence both property risk and pricing.
“Australians understand that emergencies can happen, but many still don't feel confident about what to do when they occur. We want people to feel like getting prepared is simple and achievable. Taking a few small actions today can make a real difference in an emergency,” Australian Red Cross director of recovery and resilience Nichola Krey said.
The consequences of that preparedness gap are also becoming easier to quantify. Recent analysis of the January Victorian bushfires found properties assessed as highly vulnerable before the fires were 3.6 times more likely to be destroyed or badly damaged than those rated least vulnerable.
Insurers are beginning to reflect those differences in pricing. Approximately half of Australia's home insurance market now recognises certified ratings under the Bushfire Resilience Rating Scheme, with participating insurers able to reduce the bushfire-risk component of premiums by up to 60%. Households have reported overall premium reductions of between 5% and 21%.
Yet uptake suggests the same gap between awareness and action persists. More than 63,500 households have completed home assessments under the scheme, while just over 19,000 have carried out at least three recommended resilience measures.
The Red Cross findings suggest preparedness is also broader than physical mitigation. Some 77% of Australians considered psychological and emotional readiness just as important as practical preparation.
“Being prepared isn’t just about having supplies on hand. It's about understanding your options, knowing where to find information, identifying your support networks and having a plan that works for your household,” Krey said.
Millennials were the least likely generation to report being physically prepared for emergencies and disasters at 71%, while 62% of Australians from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds said they did not feel psychologically prepared.
The findings sit against a broader affordability problem. APRA's March 2026 Insurance Climate Vulnerability Assessment estimated that around one in seven Australian households are uninsured, while about 15%, or 1.4 million households, face high insurance affordability pressure.
Under severe but plausible climate scenarios, APRA estimated the uninsured share could rise to around one in four households by 2050. The regulator stressed that these are stress-test scenarios, not forecasts.
