Central Coast Community Resilience Action Plans
Central coast council, NSW
The Central Coast is one of Australia’s most disaster-prone regions, facing ongoing risk from bushfires, floods and severe storms. Many communities are also experiencing higher social vulnerability, reducing their ability to prepare, respond to and recover from disasters.
In recent years, Central Coast communities have been affected by the compounding impacts of bushfires, successive floods and the COVID-19 pandemic. As recovery from one event began, another often followed, placing ongoing strain on social connections, relationships, mental health, and the community’s ability to bounce back.
CRED Consulting was engaged by Central Coast Council to lead the co-design of hyper-local Community Resilience Plans for four disaster-affected areas:
- Northern Tuggerah Lakes
- Southern Tuggerah Lakes
- Yarramalong Valley
- Hawkesbury River
Funded through the NSW Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF), the plans provide a practical, place-based framework for Council to partner with communities to strengthen preparedness, social connection and local capacity to better withstand, adapt and recover from future disasters.
The plans’ development were rooted in the principle that the people who live in a place are best positioned to identify what their community needs to become more socially cohesive and resilient. An in-depth iterative engagement program ensured that each plan reflected the vision, values, concerns, ideas and priorities of each local community.
HOW WE DID IT
CRED designed and led a place-based, community-led co-design process that translated lived experience, risk data and local priorities into clear, implementable actions.
We delivered:
- 20+ community resilience assessment engagement activities, tailored to each community’s context and readiness including events in each location that included face painting, BBQs run by local community organisations, pizza night at a local venue, cupcakes, music, games and activities.
- Pop-up sessions in well frequented community spaces like shopping centers, trusted local restaurants and local parks.
- Hazard mapping workshops to build a shared understanding of risk.
- Creative and accessible engagement tools, including ‘Big Map’ activities delivered in partnership with Disaster Relief Australia and SIM Table exercises delivered by Council to make complex hazard information easy to explore and discuss.
- Vulnerability and hazard mapping to identify priority risks, strengths and gaps across each community.
- Four Engagement Outcomes Reports, capturing place-specific insights, lived experience and community priorities in each area.
- Four place-based Community Resilience Plans (one per area), bringing together hazard and vulnerability data, strategic priorities and community insights into clear, actionable roadmaps for disaster preparedness.
- Launch events for the Community Resilience Plans in each area.
- Engagement evaluation surveys and a project evaluation report to measure participation, quality of engagement and overall effectiveness of the process.
Image credit: Fancy Boy Photography
OUTCOMES
The Community Resilience Plans have delivered locally owned and actionable roadmaps that are already driving real change across the Central Coast. Through co-design, the project has strengthened trust, relationships and community ownership, enabling people to move from planning to action.
The plans informed the development of practical community tools, including Living in our area guides and Meet your neighbour cards, supporting preparedness, connection and welcoming new residents.
In Yarramalong Valley, the community-owned hall has connected directly with Ausgrid’s Resilience team, resulting in installation of solar power, battery backup and satellite internet. These upgrades have significantly improved the hall’s capacity to support the community during disasters, with the community now working alongside the NSW SES to explore the hall’s role as a local base for response and recovery.
These outcomes reflect growing confidence and capability at a local level, with communities taking ownership of resilience and building momentum beyond the planning process.
The project won a commendation in the Climate Change and Resilience category at the PIA NSW Awards for Planning Excellence 2025.
Image credit: CRED Consulting
2025 Commendation
PIA NSW Awards for Planning and excellence 2025, Climate change and resilience
“Working directly with communities at a hyper localised level means walking alongside, listening deeply, and responding with empathy and flexibility. When this is backed by executive leadership that understands the importance of trauma-informed practice and long-term resilience, it creates a powerful foundation for change. It’s not just about delivering a project – it’s about building trust, capacity, and hope in places that have been impacted by multiple disasters.”
Central Coast Council